🇬🇦 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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🇬🇭 Ghana cocoa farmers struggle amid cash shortage

Ghana’s cocoa farmers are complaining that they’re broke as the cocoa board – to which they are obliged by law to sell their produce – is unable to pay them.

The farmers say that the board – known as Cocobod - has not treated them fairly.

Anane Boateng, the president of the Ghana National Cocoa Farmers Association, complained that while his members do all the work and shoulder the costs, Cocobod seem unable to make a profit.

There are currently worries that some farmers might be forced to smuggle their remaining beans into neighbouring Ivory Coast in order to sell them.

Cocobod says that it is still trying to secure a loan to pay for the 2023/24 crop.

#Ghana

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🇱🇾 ICC Prosecutor notes positive progress in probes into crimes against migrants in Libya

The International Criminal court Prosecutor updated the United Nations Security Council on the progress in human trafficking investigations in Libya.

Karim Khan said his Office has undertaken over 15 investigation missions and collected more than 4,000 items of evidence over the last six months.

The update came 18 months after the implementation of a renewed Strategic Plan for the work of ICC in Libya.

“So over the last six months, my office has continued to work closely with the joint investigative team that is investigating crimes against migrants on the Central Mediterranean route," Karim Khan said.

"Based on this collective work, the office has been able to provide tangible support with respect to ongoing investigations and prosecutions, with respect to key suspects in human trafficking investigations and prosecutions in Italy and in the Netherlands.”

#Libya

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🇰🇪🇭🇹🇺🇳 Kenya say it won't send police mission to Haiti until UN funds it

Kenya’s government has said it won't deploy its police officers to Haiti until all conditions on training and funding are met.

Last month the U.N Security Council gave its approval for Kenya to command a multinational mission to combat violent gangs in the troubled Caribbean country.

Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki told Parliament’s Departmental Committee on Administration and Internal Security that “unless all resources are mobilized and availed, our troops will not leave the country.”

He said U.N. member states are securing resources and have identified how funds will be mobilised and made available to Kenya for the mission. However, it was not immediately clear when the forces would be fully trained and funded to allow for deployment, or when they might be deployed.

#Kenya #Haiti #UN

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🇳🇬🇨🇿 Nigeria reportedly cancels visit by Czech Republic PM

Nigeria has cancelled a planned visit by Czech Republic Prime Minister Petr Fiala, several Czech media outlets say.

"Nigeria has informed us that it is unable to provide an adequate reception and programme, so we have agreed to cancel the visit," Czech Republic government spokesman Václav Smolka told.

Czech media, citing diplomatic sources, report that Nigeria’s decision is linked to the Czech Republic’s support of Israel in the ongoing conflict with Hamas.

Nigeria, which has a large Muslim population, voted for a ceasefire, and some residents have held protests in support of Palestinians.

#Nigeria #Czech

@africaintel

🇿🇦 South Africa to miss 2030 emissions goal as it keeps coal plants burning

South Africa will miss its binding 2030 carbon emissions targets under the Paris climate agreement, three senior government officials confirmed, as the country plans to run eight coal-fired power plants for longer than planned.

South Africa is the world's 11th biggest greenhouse gas emitter and has one of the world's highest per capita emissions.

It had committed under the Paris Climate Accords to cut emissions to between 350 and 420 million tonnes by 2030, from 442 million tonnes in 2020.

Now a power supply crisis makes this target unrealistic, said the officials.

"Our models suggest we will miss the 2030 target," an official in the president's office said, although he added that a new decommissioning target for 2035 was being discussed.

An official from power utility Eskom also confirmed the target would be missed.

#SouthAfrica

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🇰🇪🇯🇵 Kenya's Safaricom, Sumitomo launch support platform for start-ups

Kenyan telecoms operator Safaricom and Japan's Sumitomo Corp. have created a platform for supporting start-up companies, they said.

Although African economies like Kenya were in the past seen as the next frontier for start-ups especially in the technology sector, entrepreneurs faced issues including lack of financing and proper market strategies.

"Studies show that entrepreneurs in Kenya face major challenges, with a 30% lifetime survival rate for startups," Safaricom said in a statement.

Both companies have been joined by M-Pesa Africa in the venture that is called Spark Accelerator, they said. M-Pesa Africa manages Safaricom's M-Pesa mobile financial services platform.

"We trust this acceleration program will enable startups to create value within this ecosystem," said the managing director of M-Pesa Africa.

The platform aims to improve key sectors in Africa, said general manager for Sumitomo's smart communications platform division.

#Kenya #Japan

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