Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Several months of protests in Zimbabwe over shortages of basic goods, inflation and the depreciation of the local currency have escalated into riots after the government doubled the price of fuel. In power since the fall of Robert Mugabe in November 2017, President Emmerson Mnangagwa …
Read More »African growth strong but unemployment high: AfDB
Abidjan, Ivory Coast | AFP | Africa’s strong growth will accelerate in 2019 but fail to roll back high unemployment and poverty, the African Development Bank (AfDB) said Thursday. The continent’s gross domestic product expanded by 3.5 percent in 2018 after 3.6 percent in 2017 and should reach 4.0 percent …
Read More »Zimbabwe activist in court for ‘subversion’ after protests
Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Zimbabwean activist Evan Mawarire appeared in court in Harare on Thursday to face subversion charges as authorities cracked down on anti-government protests in which doctors say 68 people suffered gunshot wounds. Nationwide demonstrations erupted on Monday after President Emmerson Mnangagwa announced that fuel prices were …
Read More »Fuel protests turn deadly in Zimbabwe
Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Violent protests in Zimbabwe claimed lives on Monday as soldiers were deployed after the embattled government more than doubled fuel prices, sparking widespread anger. Protesters burnt tyres and barricaded roads while cars were torched as demonstrations turned violent in the capital Harare and Bulawayo, Zimbabwe’s …
Read More »Zimbabwe’s president hikes fuel prices to tackle shortages
Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa has announced an sharp increase in fuel prices in a measure to improve supplies as the country struggles with its worst petrol shortages in a decade. After years in international isolation, Zimbabwe’s economy has been on a downturn for more than …
Read More »US shutdown sends economy into uncharted waters
Washington, United States | AFP | The US government shutdown on Saturday became the longest in history and is taking a growing bite out of the world’s largest economy with each passing day, economists say. While most of the 21 “lapses” in government spending since 1976 left barely a scratch …
Read More »Zimbabwe doctors end strike without deal
Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Doctors in Zimbabwe have ended a more than month-long strike without winning a deal on higher salaries, their union said Thursday, adding the government had pledged to address their grievances. Hundreds of doctors in public hospitals walked out on December 1 demanding salaries in US …
Read More »550 million barrels of oil discovered off Ghana coast
Accra, Ghana | AFP | Norway’s Aker Energy on Thursday said it had discovered oil in commercial quantities off Ghana, which the government welcomed as a potential boost to the economy. The oil and gas operator said exploratory drilling indicated an “estimated 450-550 million barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe)” in the Pecan field, 166 kilometres …
Read More »Economy to remain resilient
But risks to inflation including future direction of food crop prices, exchange rate prevail Kampala, Uganda | JULIUS BUSINGE | Uganda’s economy is projected to grow faster this year subject to a number of fundamentals. These include; continued investment in public infrastructure which will in turn have positive spillovers on …
Read More »Mozambique says working with US over ex-minister arrest
Maputo, Mozambique | AFP | Mozambique said Monday it was working with US and South African authorities after its former finance minister was arrested in Johannesburg over $2 billion in alleged secret loans to Mozambican state companies. Manuel Chang, 63, was arrested on December 29 and will appear in a …
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