Environmentalists push Nigeria to delay Shell’s $2.4 billion sale of assets in sorely polluted Niger Delta
Activists say Shell has a history of poor divestment in the region. They point to a wellhead blowout in the Santa Barbara River, which flows through the Niger Delta, in 2021. The wellhead wasn’t producing but wasn’t decommissioned by Shell or its new owners, Aiteo Eastern E & P. The facility spewed crude oil and associated gas for 38 days and caused planet-warming methane to be released into the atmosphere, killed fish and devastated riverside farms.
Congo Brazzaville starts exporting liquified natural gas a year after Italian firm ENI launched local project
Europe has been in search of new energy sources since moving to cut off Russian supplies following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine two years ago.
Nigerian civil servants launch nationwide strike over soaring inflation and unmet promises
Gasoline prices have more than doubled and inflation has shot up as a result, reaching close to 30 per cent last month, the highest in nearly three decades, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
President Macky Sall: Senegal’s delayed elections will be held in July before rainy season begins
Senegal had been seen as one of Africa’s most stable democracies, but disputes over the election have plunged the country into a political crisis.
Algeria inaugurates Africa’s largest mosque after years of political delays and cost overruns
The inauguration would guide Muslims “toward goodness and moderation,” said Ali Mohamed Salabi, the General Secretary of world union of Muslim Ulemas. Propagating a moderate brand of Islam has been a key priority in Algeria since government forces subdued an Islamist-led rebellion throughout the 1990s when a bloody civil war swept the country.
Why South Africa faces a turning point in May’s national election and who the major players are
The ANC once commanded 70 per cent of the vote and was almost untouchable in South African politics. It was admired for leading the anti-apartheid movement and freeing South Africa from the system of forced racial segregation.
South African prosecutors seek extradition of suspects in $580,000 stolen from the president’s house
Two men and a woman have been arrested and charged with the theft. Prosecutor Nkhetheni Munyai said at a hearing on Friday in the northern town of Bela-Bela that an extradition process to bring other suspects to South Africa had begun. He didn’t say how many suspects or where they would be extradited from.
Nigeria eyes interest rate hikes as economists urge CBN governor to follow Kenya’s monetary policy
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has not had a policy meeting since July, putting it out of kilter with the rest of the continent’s key central banks that hold meetings almost every second month.
Investigation: In Ethiopia, a secret committee retained by PM Abiy Ahmed orders killings and arrest of rivals
During Haile Selassie’s four-decade rule last century, the emperor created a network of spies known colloquially as the “joro tabi,” or listeners, to hunt his opponents. The communist Derg military junta that toppled Selassie in 1974 set up a vast new security system to eliminate threats to the regime.
‘Sudanese war is horror I’m personally caught up in, no longer as a journalist and impartial witness but a victim’
My inability to cover this conflict has left me silent and tearful. This is not the first civil war Sudan has experienced, but it is the worst. It’s a conflict that has challenged all taboos, where everyone stands to lose – and yet we still have no idea when it may end.