Welcome to Africa Now, your weekly newsletter for Africa, presenting the most important developments in the continent - news that matters.
COMMENTARY
Western Sahara: The Conclusion (Almost) Everyone Suspects Is Coming
More than ever, the (reluctant) consensus among Western Sahara analysts and diplomats is that the self-determination referendum debate is over. Click here to read...
NEWS
Gambian President Barrow wins re-election; opposition cries foul
Gambian President Adama Barrow has comfortably won re-election, the electoral commission said on Sunday, though he may face a legal challenge from opposition candidates who rejected the results because of unspecified irregularitiesClick here to read...
Burkina Faso president names Lassina Zerbo as prime minister
The 58-year-old geophysicist is to take office amid rising popular discontent over deadly violence in the country. Click here to read...
Mali’s leader promises election timetable by new year
The leader of Mali’s military government says a timetable for a return to democratic rule will be announced by January 31. Click here to read...
Angola ruling party backs President Joao Lourenco for second term
MPLA leader, who succeeded Jose Eduardo dos Santos as president in 2017, will contest next year’s poll. Click here to read...
Libya delays list of presidential election candidates
Libya’s election commission on Saturday delayed publication of a final list of candidates for a presidential election scheduled in less than two weeks. Click here to read...
Western states ask Tunisia to return to ‘democratic institutions’
Diplomatic mission heads of the G7 nations plus the EU call for a swift return to functioning democratic institutions with an elected parliament. Click here to read...
Egypt to host UN anti-corruption conference
Egypt will host the ninth session of the Conference of the States Parties to the UN Convention against Corruption in Sharm El-Sheikh from Dec. 13-17Click here to read...
Senegal’s Parliament Backs Sall’s Move to Reintroduce Post of PM
Lawmakers in Senegal voted overwhelmingly to reintroduce the role of prime minister two years after President Macky Sall scrapped it, Agence de Presse Senegalaise reported. Click here to read...
More than 30,000 flee to Chad to escape violence in Cameroon: UN
More than 20 killed as farmers, fishermen and herders fight over access to water resources, the UN refugee agency says. Click here to read...
Witnesses say Tigrayan forces in Ethiopia retook Lalibela, UN Heritage site
Tigrayan forces have recaptured the town of Lalibela in Ethiopia, less than two weeks after government forces and their allies took control. Lalibela is a town in the Amhara region and a United Nations World Heritage site. Click here to read...
Algeria: Two Years After His Election, President Tebboune Continues Building New Algeria
Two years after the election of President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, on 12 December 2019, time has seemingly given reason to the Algerian people who, according to several observers, have made the right choice. Click here to read...
Burkina Faso president fires PM amid security crisis
Burkina Faso President Roch Marc Christian Kabore fired his prime minister on Wednesday amid an escalating security crisis that has killed thousands and led to street protests calling for him to go. Click here to read...
Benin opposition leader sentenced to 20 years in prison
A court in Benin on Saturday convicted one of President Patrice Talon’s main opponents for complicity in acts of terrorism. Click here to read...
China’s influence on African media: Challenge for Continent’s Democracies
Since 2012, Xi Jinping has repeatedly instructed Chinese State Media Organizations to tell “compelling Chinese narratives” and “better communicate China’s message to the world”. Click here to read...
Botswana’s removal from financial grey list spurs optimism
Botswana’s removal from the Financial Action Task Force’s grey list after improvements to money-laundering regulations could boost efforts to diversify the economy and attract foreign investment. Amine Dinar reportsClick here to read...
As vaccines trickle into Africa, Zambia’s challenges highlight other obstacles
Vaccine misinformation spreads on TikTok and WhatsApp, and in evangelical churches where pastors warn that the shot “contains the mark of the beast.” Click here to read...
Somalia: Caught between drought and fighting
Scars left by the fighting remain in Guriel, but it is the drought that weighs heavily on people’s minds. Click here to read...
Nigeria’s digital payroll platform Bento expands to Kenya, Rwanda and Ghana, to enter six other African markets in 2022
Bento, Nigeria’s digital payroll and human resource management platform, is expanding to Ghana, Kenya and Rwanda, with plans to set up operations in six other markets in Africa over the next year. Click here to read...
How armed drones may have helped turn the tide in Ethiopia’s war
Cheap and efficient drones are increasingly becoming decisive weapons in modern conflicts. Click here to read...
South Sudan peace process at risk, UN warns
The United Nations on Wednesday warned South Sudan's leaders that the young nation's fragile peace process was under serious threat due to slow progress, calling for "fresh urgency" to revive negotiations. Click here to read...
Why is US worried about possible Chinese military base in Equatorial Guinea?
China's massive investments in Africa were in the news recently, thanks to an airport in Uganda. There was speculation Beijing may take control of the Entebbe International Airport if Uganda failed to service a $200 million loan. Click here to read...
INDIA IN AFRICA
Sudan owes ONGC Videsh $560 mn in unpaid dues: Govt
OVL, the overseas arm of state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), had a 25 per cent stake in Block 2A&4 in Sudan. Sudan had since 2011 not paid OVL and partners for oil it bought from the block. Click here to read...
PM Modi's 2022 foreign destinations: UAE, Germany, Denmark, Indonesia, Russia, Japan, Sri Lanka & Rwanda
A whole host of countries from West Asia to Europe will be on the list of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's foreign travel in 2022, all of which depends on the COVID-19 situation globallyClick here to read...
India Strongly Condemns 'barbaric' Terrorist Attack on UN Peacekeepers in Mali
India on Friday, 10 December, condemned the terrorist attack on the convoy of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali. Click here to read...
Will support Zambian govt in green energy transition goals: Vedanta
Demand for power in the country has been increasing over the last few years but generation capacity remains stagnantClick here to read...
