AFRICA

Gaborone, Botswana | Xinhua | Botswana has deposited its instrument ratifying the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement with African Union Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat, local media reported. The southern African country becomes the 45th African Union (AU) member to ratify the AfCFTA. Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi presented the …

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | Xinhua | African Union (AU) Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy Amani Abou-Zeid on Sunday urged African countries to turn difficulties into opportunities to transform Africa’s energy sector. “The last three years have been difficult years in the whole world with a series of crises that have …

Juba, South Sudan | Xinhua | The Sudan transitional government and several opposition groups under the Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF) on Sunday signed an implementation matrix and agreed to a two-year timetable for implementation of the Juba peace agreement. The Sudanese parties’ commenced a workshop in Juba on Feb. 13 to …

We will become food secure again, says President Muhamud Kampala, Uganda | RONALD MUSOKE | Somalia might be on the brink of famine following five consecutive failed rainy seasons but President Hassan Sheikh Muhamud recently told the annual Governing Council of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) meeting in Rome …

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | Xinhua | The African continent should apply its own solutions to a wide range of problems affecting the continent, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said Saturday. Ahmed made the remarks while addressing the 36th Ordinary Session of the African Union (AU) Assembly, which is underway from Feb. 18 …

Nairobi, Kenya | Xinhua | Human and climate-induced threats to pangolins have soared, threatening their survival while worsening ecosystem imbalances and risk to public health, an African conservationist said Friday ahead of World Pangolin Day to be marked on Saturday. Edith Kabesiime, the Wildlife Campaign Manager at World Animal Protection, an international …

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | Xinhua | Comorian President Azali Assoumani on Saturday took over the rotating African Union (AU) chairmanship at the opening of the 36th Ordinary Session of the AU Assembly. Assoumani replaces the outgoing chairman, also Senegalese President Macky Sall. In his acceptance speech, the Comorian president emphasized the need …

African mobile money M-PESA giant is looking to replicate its African success in new markets as the global demand for seamless, fast and affordable remittance services heats up. Nairobi, Kenya | BIRD AGENCY | With global remittances set to reach US$5.4 trillion by 2030, according to a specialised UN agency, African …

Nairobi, Kenya | Xinhua | The growing threat of violent extremism in the Sub-Saharan African region should be nipped in the bud using a raft of economic, social and political tools in order to realize progress and stability in the continent, a United Nations Development Program (UNDP) report has said. Africa is …

Brazzaville, Congo | Xinhua | A year since Malawi confirmed its first case of wild poliovirus type 1 in 30 years, more than 33 million children across five southern African countries have been vaccinated against the virus, with over 80 million vaccine doses administered over the past year, said the World Health …