Welcome to Africa Now, your weekly newsletter for Africa, presenting the most important developments in the continent - news that matters.
COMMENTARY
Cameroon’s Forgotten Civil War Is Getting Worse
On Nov. 12, riots broke out in the city of Bamenda, the capital of Cameroon’s Northwest region, in response to the killing of 8-year-old Brandy Tataw by a stray bullet after a police officer fired a live round at a car that had supposedly not obeyed orders at a checkpoint. Click here to read...
NEWS
Gambians set for high-stakes polls, first since end of Jammeh era
Six candidates, including incumbent President Adama Barrow, vying for the country’s top post in Saturday’s election. Click here to read...
Uganda Sends Ground Troops into the Democratic Republic of Congo
Uganda's military has confirmed sending troops into the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) against Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels. Uganda blames the ADF for a series of bombings in the country. But analysts say inviting the Ugandan army into the DRC could raise tensions with neighboring Rwanda. Click here to read...
Chinese president Xi woos African leaders with debt waiver, Covid vaccines, jobs amid US push into Africa
The meeting took place amid efforts by US President Joe Biden's initiative of Build Back Better World (B3W), which was seen as rival to Xi's multibillion dollar Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) with a focus on developing countries especially the African countries. Click here to read...
Uganda loses its only international airport to China for failing to repay loan
Uganda has lost its only international airport, the Entebbe International Airport, to China for failing to repay a loan, African media reported. Click here to read...
Nigeria and Ghana have reported first cases of the omicron variant
The omicron variant has been detected in west Africa. According to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), three persons with history of travel to South Africa returned positive tests for the new covid-19 variant. Click here to read...
World Bank Provides $100 Million to Accelerate Rwanda’s Digital Transformation
The World Bank Group today approved $100 million in financing under the International Development Association’s (IDA) Scale Up Window to help the Government of Rwanda increase access to broadband and selected digital public services, and strengthen the digital innovation ecosystem in Rwanda. Click here to read...
Kenya - DR Congo Trade Mission Officially Kicks Off in Kinshasa
More than 250 Kenyan businessmen and investors are currently in the DRC for a 15 - day trade mission which began on Tuesday. The mission which will see them visit the cities of Kinshasa, Lubumbashi, Goma, and Mbuji Mayi is aimed at exposing Kenyan entrepreneurs to business opportunities in DRC which is Kenya's sixth largest international trading partnerClick here to read...
Chinese embassy urges nationals in 3 provinces of DR Congo to evacuate immediately
The Chinese Embassy in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) issued an urgent notice requesting Chinese nationals in the three eastern provinces of DRC -- Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu -- to report their information to the embassy and evacuate immediately after a number of vicious cases of armed robbery and kidnapping of Chinese nationals took place in the region. Click here to read...
Militants kill at least 31 in central Mali, say local authorities
Militants killed at least 31 people in central Mali on Friday when they fired upon a bus ferrying people to a local market, local authorities said - the latest deadly attack in a region racked by violent insurgency. Click here to read...
Sudan military leader says ties with Israel ‘may eventually take a natural form’
Sudan’s top general, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, has said that “Sudan’s relationship with Israel may eventually take a natural form.” In an interview with the Al Arabiya network published Friday, al-Burhan added that normalization with Israel was “necessary to return Sudan to the international community.” Click here to read...
Why Libya’s upcoming election raises more questions than answers
Analysts say the real test of Libya’s fledgeling democracy is not whether the December 24 election can be held, but what happens after it. Click here to read...
IMF agrees $1.4bn Zambia bailout
The IMF has reached an agreement with the Zambian authorities on a crucial three-year lending programme worth around $1.4bn that will help the country to restructure its extensive debts. Click here to read...
US launches talks with Guinea amid fears of Sahel militancy spill over
The State Department is dispatching its top West Africa official to Guinea to discuss a post-coup transition amid fears of rising instability in the region. Click here to read...
Russian Language Added to Central African Republic University Curriculum
Central African Republic universities will require students to study the Russian language, CAR media has reported as Bangui and Moscow continue to pursue activated military and economic cooperation. Click here to read...
What lies behind Mozambique’s failure to find lasting peace and true democracy
Mozambique gained independence from Portugal in 1975 following a bloody liberation war that lasted about 11 years. But independence did not mean the end of conflict. Click here to read...
Angola: Start-Up of CLOV Phase 2 Project
TotalEnergies, operator of Block 17 in Angola, together with the Angolan National Oil, Gas and Biofuels Agency (ANPG) announced Friday the start of production of CLOV Phase 2, a project connected to the existing CLOV FPSO (Floating Production, Storage and Offloading unit). This tie-back project will reach a production of 40,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in mid-2022. Click here to read...
INDIA IN AFRICA
India vows to stand by Africa, says all Covax orders cleared
Expressing support for Africa, which has been rattled by the discovery of Covid-19 variant Omicron, the government on Monday announced it had cleared all orders placed so far by the UN-backed Covax programme for supplies of Covishield vaccines, including to African countries like Malawi, Ethiopia, Zambia, Mozambique, Guinea and Lesotho. Click here to read...
India offers support to Africa to fight variant
As Africa grapples with new coronavirus variant Omicron, India on Monday said it stands ready to support the affected countries in the continent including by supplying vaccines, life-saving drugs and test kits. Click here to read...
Ethiopia’s Tigray conflict has impacted an unlikely group—hundreds of Indian professors
While the respect and goodwill cultivated over decades by Indian educators in Ethiopia has remained, the ongoing domestic turbulence has resulted in concerns for the future of the large community of Indian academics in the country and whether they will still be able to contribute to the country’s education system. Click here to read...
Morocco plans to open new Consulate in India, launches campaign to seek investments
A high-level trade delegation from North African economic major Morocco was on a six-day visit to India, beginning with Bengaluru to increase bilateral trade through ‘Morocco Now’ – the national brand that promotes investments and export in the country. Click here to read...
Vedanta will support Zambian govt in green energy transition goals
Vedanta, a global natural resources company, on Friday said it supports the Zambian government in its green energy transition goals. Click here to read...
Kasaija decries Uganda-India trade imbalance
Minister of finance, Matia Kasaija has expressed concern that trade between Uganda and India is still skewed in favour of the later. Click here to read...
Indian Embassy in Madagascar's monthly literary program resumes after long hiatus
The Embassy of India’s monthly literary program, known as La Lit Tana, resumed after a long hiatus. Click here to read...
