🇦🇴 Angola to scrap fuel subsidy by end-2025, says finance minister

Angola will push ahead with removing all fuel subsidies by the end of 2025, which should enable state oil company Sonangol to pay taxes and dividends again, the country's finance minister Vera Daves de Sousa said.

In October, Daves de Sousa told that the full removal of fuel subsidies might be slowed down beyond the end-2025 deadline, after their partial removal sparked deadly protests.

"We are taking out the fuel subsidies. End of 2025, we expect to see this process stabilise and closed as much as possible," she said.

"We will be able to see Sonangol normally paying taxes, (improving) profits and paying dividends to the state."

Sonangol imports refined petroleum products to the southern African OPEC member which it sells locally at a lower price with the government meant to reimburse the difference.

#Angola

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An unusual national Congolese invention called "chukudu scooter". Affordable, easy to use, good for transportation of various goods. What else do you need from transport?

#Africa #fun

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🇧🇮 Burundi prosecutors seek life sentence for ex-PM Bunyoni

Prosecutors in Burundi are seeking life imprisonment for former Prime Minister Alain-Guillaume Bunyoni, who is on trial for seven charges, including using witchcraft to threaten the president’s life.

Bunyoni’s trial started in September, a year after he was fired by President Evariste Ndayishimiye over suspicions that Mr Bunyoni was plotting a "coup" against him.

Bunyoni is also accused of undermining national security, subverting government institutions, destabilising the economy and enriching himself through illegal means.

Prosecutor also called for Bunyoni to pay "damages equivalent to twice the value of the 153 houses and plots of land and the 43 vehicles belonging to him", in addition to a fine of 7.1m Burundian francs ($2,400).

The prosecution also requested 30-year sentences for the six co-accused, who include a police colonel and a senior intelligence agent.

#Burundi

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🇪🇬🇵🇸 Evacuations from Gaza to Egypt suspended on Friday

Evacuations from the Gaza Strip into Egypt for foreign passport holders and for Palestinians needing urgent medical treatment were suspended on Friday, Reuters sources told.

The Palestinian official and an Egyptian medical source said the suspension was due to problems bringing medical evacuees to the Rafah border crossing from inside Gaza.

Limited evacuations from Gaza to Egypt began on November 1 and were paused twice in the past week due to bombardments that aid staff said hit or targeted medical convoys.

The Egyptian sources said several dozen foreign passport holders and their dependents as well as a small number of medical evacuees had entered Egypt on Friday before crossings were suspended.

#Egypt #Palestine

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🇪🇬🇵🇸 Egypt's stumbling economy faces new pressures from Gaza crisis

Egypt's struggling economy faces new risks as the war in the neighbouring Gaza Strip threatens to disrupt tourism bookings and natural gas imports.

Egypt had relied heavily on inflows of short-term portfolio investment, tourism revenues and remittances to partially cover a chronic trade deficit, leaving it vulnerable to shocks.

After a borrowing binge quadrupled foreign debt, Egypt needs more than $28 billion to meet repayments in 2024 alone. A foreign currency shortage has led to a $5 billion backlog of imports stuck at ports, and problems for foreign companies repatriating dividends, bankers say.

Government payments for some wheat imports and to foreign oil and gas companies have been deferred.

A $3 billion IMF programme has gone off track over Egypt's reluctance to float its currency and delays in state asset sales.

#Egypt #Palestine

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🇲🇬 Calls to suspend Madagascar poll over political tension

The head of Madagascar's lower house of parliament has called for the suspension of next week's presidential elections, following weeks of opposition protests.

Christine Razanamahasoa, who leads a mediation group to try to resolve the political crisis, said the current climate in the country did not allow for a free and credible vote to be held as scheduled on 16 November.

She said the poll should be delayed to ensure what she called peace and harmony in the country.

Early Thursday, some 60 Madagascan civil society organisations and trade unions have called for the "cancellation" of the first round vote, warning of an "even harder crisis" if the election were to go ahead.

#Madagascar

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🇸🇴 Floods destroy major bridge in south-west Somalia

A major bridge in the south-western Somali town of Bardhere has collapsed following flooding caused by heavy rain that has been pounding the country for days.

The bridge was vital to the movement of people travelling between towns and villages in the Gedo region.

Locals have expressed concerns about being isolated from their neighbourhoods. Authorities have dispatched two boats to rescue those affected.

Gedo is one of the regions in Somalia worst affected by devastating floods.

More than a dozen people have been killed by the floods across the country, while thousands have either been displaced or isolated.

#Somalia

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🇿🇦🇮🇱 South Africa called in Israeli ambassador to discuss conduct over Gaza war

South Africa has called in Israel's ambassador to discuss what it described as his recent "unfortunate conduct" linked to the war in Gaza, the foreign ministry in Pretoria said on Friday.

The ministry said Eliav Belotsercovsky received the order on Thursday, but it did not go into details on his conduct.

"Ambassador Belotsercovsky is called upon to conduct himself in line with the Vienna Conventions, which accord heads of diplomatic missions certain privileges and responsibilities, key amongst which is to recognise the sovereign decisions of the host nation," the South African statement said.

"Ambassador Belotsercovsky was once again called upon to convey South African Government concerns to Tel Aviv," it added.

#SouthAfrica #Israel

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🇬🇦 Gabon welcomes African bank's lifting of sanctions

The Gabonese government says the African Development Bank (AfDB) has lifted financial sanctions imposed on the country following the removal of President Ali Bongo in a coup in August.

The economy ministry said the decision was taken at the beginning of the week after “successful negotiations between the new Gabonese authorities and senior AfDB officials”.

The AfDB's decision to lift the sanctions also followed Gabon’s move to restore confidence by clearing its arrears to the continental financial institution at the end of October, the ministry revealed.

The AfDB becomes the first international institution to lift sanctions on Gabon since the coup just over two months ago.

#Gabon

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🇲🇼 Malawi hikes fuel and electricity prices after currency devaluation

Malawi will hike fuel and electricity prices after the central bank devalued the local currency by about 30%, the country's energy regulatory authority said.

The Reserve Bank of Malawi devalued the kwacha currency's exchange rate to the dollar earlier this week in a bid to prop up dwindling foreign currency reserves.

The price for petrol would increase to 2,530 kwacha ($1.52) per litre from 1,746 kwacha per litre, while the diesel price has been increased to 2,734 kwacha per litre from 1,920 kwacha per litre, the Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority said in a statement.

Citing the impact of the devaluation and high inflation, the regulator said it was also applying an over 40% tariff increase on electricity.

The central bank said it was needed due to prevailing supply-demand imbalances in the currency market.

#Malawi

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🇿🇦🇺🇳 South African professor elected to top UN court

University of Pretoria law professor Dire Tladi became the first South African elected as a judge at the UN International Court of Justice.

President Cyril Ramaphosa on Friday hailed Prof Tladi’s election as “an outstanding personal achievement in which the nation shares with great pride”.

He is one of five judges who were elected on Thursday by the UN's General Assembly and the Security Council for nine-year terms, beginning February next year.

ICJ is the UN's main judicial body, providing legal advice to UN agencies and settling legal disputes between countries.

To be elected, candidates must secure an absolute majority in both the General Assembly and Security Council.

#SouthAfrica #UN

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🇸🇩Las RSF denuncian que las SAF han destruido el puente de Shambat que conecta las zonas de Omdurman y Bahri bajo control de las Fuerzas de Apoyo Rápido.

🇬🇧The RSF reports that the SAF has destroyed the Shambat bridge connecting the areas of Omdurman and Bahri under the control of the Rapid Support Forces.

🔗Mapa de WarMapper

▫️@ENTRE_GUERRAS▫️

🇿🇦 Diphtheria outbreak hits SA's Pollsmoor prison

A diphtheria outbreak has been declared at South Africa's Pollsmoor Maximum Security Prison following the death of a 19-year-old inmate.

Health Minister Joe Phaahla said the male inmate, who contracted the disease last month, died on Sunday.

Eight more inmates, aged 18 to 23, are in isolation after testing positive for the disease.

Two staff members who displayed symptoms are awaiting their results. Doctor said that a vaccination drive in the affected section of the prison is under way.

Diphtheria is a vaccine-preventable but highly contagious bacterial disease that affects the nose and throat and also causes skin ulcers.

Nigeria is currently battling diphtheria outbreak, which has killed more than 600 people and infected over 14,000.

#SouthAfrica

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🇵🇸🇪🇬 Hamas calls on Egypt to provide Gaza with roaming services, Internet connection

Hamas has asked Egypt to provide roaming services to the Gaza Strip, where telephone communication and the Internet have been cut off, the movement's spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said.

"The terrorist Zionist occupation has cut telephone services and the Internet in the Gaza Strip. We call on Egypt to open roaming services on Egyptian networks," the spokesman said.

On November 5, Palestinian provider Paltel reported that telephone and Internet services had again been disrupted throughout the Gaza Strip. A similar announcement was made by Jawwal, the second provider of telecommunications services in Gaza.

The complete shutdown of Internet, wireline and cellular services in the Palestinian enclave was first reported on October 27.

#Palestine #Egypt

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🇰🇪 Kenyan president defends his government's tough economic measures

Kenya’s President William Ruto defended his tough economic measures in his first State of the Nation address since coming to power last year, saying they were necessary to get the country back on track.

There has been widespread anger among Kenyans over his government’s decision to remove food and fuel subsidies and implement a host of new taxes.

“The time has come, therefore, to retire the false comforts and illusionary benefits of wasteful expenditure and counterproductive subsidies on consumption by which we dug ourselves deeper into the hole of avoidable debt," he said.

Ruto said that they had to admit that “as a country we have been living large and way beyond our means”.

His speech came a day after the finance minister admitted that the country was in a difficult financial position.

#Kenya

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🇺🇬💰 Uganda central banker sees progress in talks with World Bank over anti-gay law

Uganda has made good progress in talks with the World Bank over the country's anti-gay law, the country's central bank deputy governor said.

The World Bank in August halted all new lending to Uganda over the country's anti-gay law.

Speaking at the Reuters NEXT conference, central banker Michael Atingi-Ego said that the World Bank statement had caused the country's currency to depreciate rapidly, although it later recovered.

He said the government has been speaking to the World Bank ever since to understand their concerns.

The World Bank said it was continuing to engage in discussions with Ugandan authorities, but gave no further details.

#Uganda #WorldBank

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🇰🇪 Kenya's President Ruto called out for encouraging austerity

Kenya’s President William Ruto has faced some criticism following his first State of the Nation address on Thursday, in which he called for austerity measures.

“The time has come to retire the false comforts and illusory benefits of wasteful expenditure, and counterproductive subsidies on consumption by which we dug ourselves deeper into the hole of avoidable debt,” Ruto said.

Critics say the president failed to adequately address how he was going to address the mounting concerns about the worsening cost of living.

Some also called him out for promising to cut "wasteful expenditure" yet spending millions on foreign travel, with his latest trip to Saudi Arabia on Friday.

#Kenya

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🇰🇪 Kenya cult pastor found guilty

Paul Mackenzie, the Kenyan man accused of leading a cult and being responsible for the deaths of more than 400 people, has been found guilty on separate charges.

A court in the coastal town of Malindi convicted him of illegally operating a film studio associated with his preaching and distributing films without a valid filming licence.

The magistrate, however, acquitted him of the offence of inciting children against attending school.

Mackenzie could face imprisonment of up to five years or pay a fine. Sentencing has been scheduled for next month.

Mackenzie has not been formally charged in relation to the death of hundreds of his alleged followers, despite being in custody since April.

#Kenya

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🇺🇳🇸🇩 UN alarmed by violence in Sudan's Darfur region

The UN's refugee agency (UNHCR) has said it is alarmed by the escalating fighting in Sudan's Darfur region.

It says around 800 people have been killed following recent clashes between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

A local civil society group - the Roots Organisation for Human Rights - says as many as 1,300 have died since last Friday around the city of El Geneina, and blames the RSF for the killings.

The UNHCR says that in the last week alone at least 8,000 people have fled into neighbouring Chad, some of whom say they've been subjected to sexual violence, torture and extortion.

#UN #Sudan

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