Welcome to Africa Now, your weekly newsletter for Africa, presenting the most important developments in the continent - news that matters.
COMMENTARY
Africa needs reliable and resilient healthcare system: How India can deliver it
It is crucial to strengthen cooperation between Indian healthcare providers and African partners in areas like capacity building, the establishment of hospitals, and investment in telemedicine, given the significance of India in providing medicines to Africa. Click here to read...
Lessons from South Africa: The fading Gandhi-Mandela legacy
“Papa, I want to leave South Africa. I see no future for myself here. I’ll go abroad for studies and to live the rest of my life.” This is what the 16-year-old son of an Indian academic in Cape Town told his father. Click here to read...
NEWS
Benin holds parliamentary election set to test democracy
Voters in Benin go to the polls on Sunday for a parliamentary election seen as a test of democracy as opposition parties are back on the ballot after boycotting or being excluded from the most recent presidential and legislative votes. Click here to read...
Ethiopia sets out on long road to peace after two years of war
A year that began with no end in sight for one of the world's deadliest conflicts finished on a note of cautious optimism in Ethiopia's northern region of Tigray after a November ceasefire agreement. Click here to read...
Final round of Sudan’s political process set to start Sunday
The final stage of Sudan’s political process is set to kick off on Sunday, according to the country’s trilateral mechanism body. Click here to read...
Burkina Faso’s military regime expels French ambassador
Burkina Faso’s military junta has expelled France’s ambassador, authorities said Monday, amid a surge in anti-French sentiment as the West African country moves to develop closer ties with Russia. Click here to read...
Libyan govt ready to hold elections in 2023: PM
Libyan Prime Minister Abdul-Hamed Dbeibah said his government is ready to hold general elections this year. Click here to read...
Arab League welcomes joint Libyan declaration on election road map
The Arab League on Friday welcomed a Libyan joint statement agreeing to draw a “clear and specified” road map to hold long-awaited elections. Click here to read...
‘Destabilization’ plot foiled, 11 officers indicted, says Chad
An attempt to destabilize Chad has been defeated, authorities in the Central African nation have announced, adding that 11 army officers were indicted over their alleged roles in the bid that took place last month. Click here to read...
After Yet Another Coup Attempt, It’s Time for The Gambia to Demilitarize
About two weeks ago, someone called me and said there were rumors of a failed attempt to stage a coup d’etat in The Gambia. Click here to read...
Sudan shuts border with Central African Republic amid heightened security presence
Sudan closed its border with the Central African Republic (CAR) and sent military reinforcements to frontier areas, local media reported on Thursday. Click here to read...
Morocco links Israel embassy to W Sahara recognition: Report
Morocco has demanded that Israel recognise its sovereignty over the disputed territory of Western Sahara before Rabat opens an embassy in Tel Aviv, the news outlet Axios has reported, citing four current and former Israeli officials involved in the matter. Click here to read...
Ethnic clashes hit Somaliland ahead of this year’s elections
Kenyan Member of Parliament has been accused of inciting the violence to stop Somaliland from being recognised as an independent entity. Click here to read...
Somalia for 1st time claims Al Shabab extremists seek talks
Somalia’s government claimed on Saturday that the Al Shabab extremist group has for the first time asked to open negotiations, amid a military offensive the government has described as “total war.” Click here to read...
U.N. internal report flags east Congo rebels flouting ceasefire and withdrawal deal
United Nations intelligence analysts have spotted suspected movements by M23 rebels in parts of eastern Congo from which they were meant to have withdrawn and signs the armed group has seized ground in other areas, internal U.N. documents showed on Thursday. Click here to read...
Tanzania’s Government Lifts Ban on Political Rallies
Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan has lifted a six-year-old ban on political rallies. Her predecessor, the late John Magufuli, banned public rallies in 2016, one year after he came to power, saying they could escalate into violence. Click here to read...
Mali escapes sanctions over detention of 46 Ivorian soldiers
West African leaders will not go through with a threat to sanction Mali for jailing 46 Ivorian soldiers, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) said on Wednesday. Click here to read...
Mali junta leader pardons 49 convicted Ivorian soldiers
Mali’s junta leader on Friday pardoned all 49 Ivorian soldiers whose arrest in July triggered a bitter diplomatic row, a government spokesman said, just a week after the courts sentenced them. Click here to read...
Botswana’s ex-leader Khama asks court to set aside arrest warrant
Botswana’s former president Ian Khama has filed an urgent court application seeking to strike down an arrest warrant issued against him by a magistrate last week. Click here to read...
World’s ‘most wanted people smuggler’ arrested in Sudan
An Eritrean fugitive accused of being “the world’s most wanted” people smuggler has been arrested in Sudan in coordination with UAE authorities, Interpol announced. Click here to read...
Cameroon Adopts Maritime Security Law to Fight Gulf of Guinea Piracy
Almost six months after the UN Security Council adopted a text compelling Gulf of Guinea countries to criminalize piracy and armed robbery at sea, Cameroon has adopted a law on suppression of piracy and general safety of maritime navigation within its waters. Click here to read...
Cameroonian fishery products banned in EU, commission says
The European Commission on Thursday banned imports of seafood caught in Cameroon’s waters, or caught by ships flagged there, and it labeled the West African country as “non-cooperating” in the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. Click here to read...
UN rights chief urges rapid inquiry after 28 die in Burkina Faso town
The head of the United Nations human rights office has called for a prompt, transparent investigation into the deaths of at least 28 people whose bodies were found in north-west Burkina Faso last month. Click here to read...
Five African migrants die, 10 missing after boat sinks off Tunisia
At least five African migrants died and another 10 were missing after a boat sank off Tunisia, as they tried to cross the Mediterranean to Italy, a judicial official said on Saturday. Click here to read...
EU calls on Rwanda to stop supporting M23 rebels in DR Congo
The European Union has urged Rwanda to stop supporting the M23 rebel group, which has captured swaths of territory in North Kivu province in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Click here to read...
Morocco says EU ties under attack amid corruption scandal
Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita said Thursday that the north African country is the target of calculated media attacks and legal harassment aimed at undermining ties with the European Union, weeks after Belgian authorities implicated Morocco in a major corruption scandal. Click here to read...
Strike over pay paralyses transport in the Tunisian capital
Metro and bus traffic in the Tunisian capital ground to a halt on Monday, after employees of the state transport company held a strike over delays in the payment of wages and bonuses. Click here to read...
Zambians brace up for up to 12 hours of daily power cuts
Starting from Wednesday, January 4, Zambia’s power utility has updated the hours of load shedding to 12 hours daily. Click here to read...
South Sudan: Journalists held over film of president appearing to wet himself
Six journalists in South Sudan have been detained over the circulation of footage showing President Salva Kiir appearing to wet himself at an official event, the national journalists union said on Saturday. Click here to read...
Edwin Chiloba: LGBTQ activist found dead in Kenya
Police in Kenya are investigating the death of young fashion designer and LGBTQ activist Edwin Chiloba after his body was found dumped in a metal box by the roadside near the town of Eldoret. Click here to read...
Mass grave with 18 bodies found in ex-Daesh stronghold in Libya
Libyan authorities on Sunday said they have found 18 bodies buried in a mass grave in a former stronghold of Daesh along the conflict-stricken North African nation’s coast. Click here to read...
US-Angola military ties deepen
“So there is a game changer. We may say it’s significant and this is in the interest of both parties – Angola and the United States of America,” Angolan President João Lourenço said at last month’s US-Angola bilateral meeting in Washington, at the US Department of State. Click here to read...
Chinese firm to manufacture lithium batteries in Zim
CHINESE steel manufacturer Dinson Iron and Steel Company (DISCO) says it intends to locally produce lithium-ion batteriesClick here to read...
Namibia orders Russian uranium exploration to stop due to environmental concerns
Namibian authorities have ordered Russia’s state atomic energy agency to stop uranium exploration over concerns about potential contamination of underground water. Click here to read...
Israeli foreign minister sees Abraham Accords summit in Morocco in March
Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said on Monday he planned to attend a summit in March with counterparts from Arab countries that have drawn closer to Israel following a U.S.-sponsored diplomatic drive in 2020. Click here to read...
Iran sees ‘no problem’ with building ties with Egypt
Iranian Foreign Ministry’s spokesman Nasser Kanaani has said that Iran sees no problem with building relations with Egypt. Click here to read...
Mauritius, UK open talks on status of contested islands
Britain and Mauritius have begun talks on the sovereignty of the disputed Chagos archipelago, the Mauritian prime minister announced Sunday. Click here to read...
U.S. cuts off Burkina Faso from Africa duty-free trade program
The United States has dropped Burkina Faso from its AGOA trade preference program citing deep concerns over "unconstitutional change" in government in the West African country, the U.S. Trade Representative's (USTR) office said on Sunday. Click here to read...
Nigeria to Ban Cash Withdrawals from Government Accounts
Nigeria will ban cash withdrawals from government accounts from March 1 to tackle illicit activity and push toward a cashless economy. Click here to read...
Sierra Leone Becomes First in Africa to Hike Rate This Year
Sierra Leone's central bank became the first in Africa and second globally after Israel to raise interest rates this year. Click here to read...
Mauritania celebrates Nouakchott as cultural capital of Islamic world
Mauritania on Friday commenced the first events since Nouakchott was chosen as the capital of culture in the Islamic world for 2023. Click here to read...
Uganda’s Ebola outbreak nearly under control, says Africa CDC
Africa’s top public health body has said the Ebola outbreak in Uganda was coming under control, as it had been 39 days since the last confirmed case of the virus was reported in the country. Click here to read...
Burundi declares cholera outbreak in Bujumbura
Burundi has declared a cholera outbreak in the commercial capital Bujumbura, the Health minister Sylvie Nzeyimana announced Sunday evening, noting that at least nine cases had been recorded. Click here to read...
INDIA IN AFRICA
Largest unit of Indian women peacekeepers in Sudan conflict zone
India Friday deployed a platoon of women peacekeepers in Abyei on the border of Sudan and South Sudan as part of the Indian Battalion in the United Nations Interim Security Force. Click here to read...
Army sends largest contingent of women peacekeepers for UN
The Indian Army has deployed its largest-ever contingent of women soldiers for UN peacekeeping operations in the volatile oil-rich Abyei region of Africa, which straddles northern and southern Sudan and is hotly contested by both. Click here to read...
India condemns ‘mindless act of vandalism’ on Mahatma Gandhi statue in Seychelles
The high commission of India in Seychelles has condemned what it termed as “the mindless act of vandalism” on statues of Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela located at the Peace Park in Victoria. Click here to read...
MoS Muraleedharan discusses trade, investment with visiting Tanzanian minister Jenista Mhagama
Union Minister of State (MoS) V Muraleedharan met with visiting Tanzanian minister Jenista Mhagama on Saturday and discussed wide-ranging bilateral cooperation including trade, investment and capacity building. Click here to read...
India Madagascar Trade Conference was organized by the Indian Economic Trade Organization and the Embassy of Madagascar on DECEMBER 27, 2022
The India Madagascar Trade Conference was organized on December 27, 2022 by the Indian Economic Trade Organization and the Embassy of Madagascar to strengthen bilateral trade relations. Click here to read...
Navi Mumbai: Mauritius Health Minister visits NMMC’s Vashi Public Hospital, praises cleanliness and digitisation
Health Minister of Mauritius Dr. Kailash Kumar Singh Jagutpal along with Senior Chief Executive Officer Shri. Devichand Anandi Ray Seevuruthoon, Digital Health Services Officer Dr. Bholah Mamal as well as Director of Ministry of Electronic and Information Technology Delhi Ravindra Kumar paid a special visit to NMMC Hospital, Vashi. They inspected the E-Hospital and AYUSH Center functioning in Vashi hospital. Click here to read...
Tanzania minister calls on Dr Jitendra, lauds India's governance practices
Minister in the President’s Office of the United Republic of Tanzania, Jenista Joakim Mhagama Wednesday called on Union Minister of State for Science and Technology Dr Jitendra Singh at North Block New Delhi. Click here to read...
India to Secure Rock Phosphate from Morocco
India’s Minister of chemicals and fertilizers Mansukh Mandaviya is set to visit Morocco to seal a deal to import rock phosphate. Click here to read...
India seeks food security through more Moroccan phosphates supplies
Indian chemicals and fertilizers minister Mansukh Mandaviya will be visiting Morocco this month to seal long-term phosphates supply deal amid surging prices in the international market. Click here to read...
Morocco to receive 90 'Made In India' military trucks manufactured by Indian Tata
The Royal Moroccan Army is set to receive 90 'Made in India' 6x6 trucks made by Indian Tata Advance Systems LimitedClick here to read...
Morocco revamps it’s logistics capacity with new trucks
In order to plug capability gaps Moroccan governments has invested in procuring military trucks to revamp it’s logistics operations. Click here to read...
AGI attends India International Textile Manufacturing Expo
A delegation of businesses from the Textiles, Garments and Leather Sector of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), and the Spinnet Textiles and Garment Cluster has participated in the India International Textile Manufacturing Expo (ITME) to identify and meet with potential partners. Click here to read...
Mob attacks Delhi Police after Nigerians detained for overstaying visa
A huge mob, comprising 100 African nationals, surrounded a police team in the Neb Sarai area of South Delhi and clashed with them when the cops apprehended three NigeriansClick here to read...
Atua Enkop Africa Appoints Avenir Research Marketing As India Representative
Atua Enkop Africa Ltd has appointing Avenir Research Marketing to promote its portfolio of luxury camps in the Indian market. Click here to read...
