Botswana ruling party walks tightrope as it prepares to defend 58 years in power with economy wonky
Just over a million people have registered to vote, according to the Independent Electoral Commission that runs elections, with the increasing unemployment rate a key issue for voters. Botswana is larger than France but has a population of just 2.5 million, with the Kalahari Desert covering large portions of the landlocked country that borders South Africa.
Rapid Support Forces go on rampage in east-central Sudan, kill over 120 – UN and doctors
The Sudanese Doctors’ Union said in a statement that at least 124 people were killed and 200 others were wounded in the town of Sariha, adding that the group rounded up at least 150 others. It called on the UN Security Council to pressure the RSF to open “safe corridors” to enable aid groups to reach people in impacted villages.
President Macron of France visits Morocco after his Western Sahara change ushers in ‘new honeymoon’
France and Morocco have historically partnered on issues ranging from counterterrorism to Western Sahara. Morocco is the top destination for French investment in Africa and France is Morocco’s top trade partner.
UN official wants world attention switched to ‘forgotten crisis in Sudan’ as hundreds are killed in renewed fighting
Global attention has been shifted to the Middle East since the militant group Hamas launched its attack on southern Israel in October last year, triggering a war that has killed about 42,000 people in Gaza. The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza does not differentiate between militants and civilians but say more than half of the dead were women and children.
Britain put at centre of slave trade reparatory justice despite push to relegate it to backburner
Goods were traded in West Africa for captured slaves who were shipped across the Atlantic to work in British sugar and tobacco plantations in the Caribbean and the Americas. Goods produced in the so-called New World were transported back to England.
Nelson Mandela’s grandson deemed a threat to UK for supporting Hamas, hence denied visa
“Your presence in the UK has been assessed as not conducive for the public good on the grounds that you have engaged in unacceptable behaviour. You have made multiple statements which explicitly support Hamas and their terrorist violence, including glorifying the October 7 attack on Israel and their recently deceased leader Ismail Haniyeh,” states the letter.
IMF tells African oil exporters to diversify economies to boost ‘subdued’ growth, address poverty
While diversified economies such as Senegal and Tanzania are expected to grow at above the regional average, Nigeria will fall short, growing at 2.9 per cent, according to the IMF’s regional economic outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa launched on Friday.
Uganda, Kenyan currencies hold steady while Ghana and Nigeria’s may weaken against dollar
Ghana’s cedi could weaken further on seasonal demand for dollars, as companies in the commerce and manufacturing sectors stock up ahead of the festive period.
Military faction claims aircraft downed in Darfur with suspected Russian crew was supplying arms to Sudanese army
At least two Russians thought to have been aboard the plane were identified by matching footage shared by the RSF of their IDs with social media profiles. We used public databases of leaked personal data, facial recognition searches, and access to an official Russian database to confirm the identity of the suspected crew members.
A fool’s mission: Trying to track the impact of European Union migration funding in Senegal
Back in Senegal’s capital, Dakar, I chose two EUTF projects focusing on agriculture to look into. One was managed by ANIDA in partnership with the Italian and Spanish Development Cooperation Agencies and had received 20 million euros from the EUTF. The other was run by the Belgian Development Agency, Enabel, and had a budget of 18 million euros from the EUTF.
