Ghana’s president defers action on anti-gay bill as he fears it imperils IMF, World Bank funding

Ghana’s president defers action on anti-gay bill as he fears it imperils IMF, World Bank funding

On Monday, Ghana’s Ministry of Finance warned that the bill puts $3.8 billion in World Bank funding at risk and likely would derail the $3 billion International Monetary Fund bailout programme agreed to in 2023 and negatively affect the local currency’s exchange rate.

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Jailbreak: Haiti prime minister’s whereabouts unknown after Kenya trip, neighbours prepare for ‘drastic escalation’ in violence

Jailbreak: Haiti prime minister’s whereabouts unknown after Kenya trip, neighbours prepare for ‘drastic escalation’ in violence

Heavy gunfire was seen near Port Au Prince’s international airport during the day, airport authorities said. The United States urged its citizens to leave Haiti “as soon as possible.” A spokesperson for the US State Department said he believed Henry was returning to Haiti.

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US sanctions Zimbabwe president over ‘criminal network of government officials and businesspeople’

US sanctions Zimbabwe president over ‘criminal network of government officials and businesspeople’

Treasury Deputy Secretary Wally Adeyemo said the changes to Zimbabwe’s sanctions regime “are intended to make clear what has always been true: our sanctions are not intended to target the people of Zimbabwe.”

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Psychological mindset of peacekeepers in Congo stoke fears as South African soldier kills a colleague, commits suicide

Psychological mindset of peacekeepers in Congo stoke fears as South African soldier kills a colleague, commits suicide

South Africa announced in February that it would be deploying an additional 2,900 soldiers to the mission.

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Why in Senegal’s capital Nicaragua is popular flight path for illegal migrants headed for US

Why in Senegal’s capital Nicaragua is popular flight path for illegal migrants headed for US

US authorities arrested Senegalese migrants 20,231 times for crossing the border illegally from July to December. That’s a 10-fold increase from 2,049 arrests during the same period of 2022, according to US Customs and Border Protection. Many like Ba cross in remote deserts of western Arizona and California.

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UN experts blacklist Sudan’s paramilitary forces as perpetrators of ethnic killings, rape and war crimes in Darfur

UN experts blacklist Sudan’s paramilitary forces as perpetrators of ethnic killings, rape and war crimes in Darfur

The ongoing conflict has caused a large-scale humanitarian crisis and displaced approximately 6.8 million people – 5.4 million within Sudan and 1.4 million who have fled to other countries, including approximately 555,000 to neighbouring Chad, the experts said.

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Ghana’s anti-gay law draws United Nations condemnation after it is passed by parliament

Ghana’s anti-gay law draws United Nations condemnation after it is passed by parliament

The United States said it was deeply troubled by the bill, saying it threatens Ghanaians’ freedom of speech and is urging for its constitutionality to be reviewed, said State Department spokesman Matthew Miller on Wednesday.

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Environmentalists push Nigeria to delay Shell’s $2.4 billion sale of assets in sorely polluted Niger Delta

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.

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Congo Brazzaville starts exporting liquified natural gas a year after Italian firm ENI launched local project

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.

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Nigerian civil servants launch nationwide strike over soaring inflation and unmet promises

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.

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