AFRICA

Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | First there was Tutu, the “African Mona Lisa” sold last year for 1.5 million dollars. Then a second portrait by revered Nigerian painter Ben Enwonwu, called Christine, sold in mid-October, for 1.4 million dollars. Both record sales of famous works by the late “father of African …

Benin City, Nigeria | AFP | Deep in the tropical forest in southern Nigeria, an evangelical pastor runs a sprawling camp billed as a refuge for thousands of children who fled the Boko Haram jihadist insurgency in the north. Solomon Folorunsho, known as Pastor Solomon, says he is on a self-proclaimed …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Four journalists and their driver are still being held in Burundi after being arrested for undermining national security while covering a rebel attack from neighbouring DR Congo, the attorney general said. The Burundian reporters were detained on Tuesday last week while reporting in Bubanza, in the …

Phundundu, Zimbabwe | AFP | Chiyevedzo Mutero was one of dozens competing in the remote Zimbabwean bush to join the all-female anti-poaching Akashinga rangers when she broke her finger. She didn’t consider quitting — she even smiled as her finger was bandaged, before returning to the brutal military-style training. “I’m happy, …

Kericho, Kenya | AFP | Kibore Cheruiyot Ngasura was just a small boy when his family was violently expelled from their ancestral land in Kenya’s lush tea-growing western highlands by British colonizers, and banished never to return. Eighty-five years later he still bristles at the memory, recalling the fear and confusion …

The AfroChampions Initiative held its second conference on sustainable green growth and industrialisation in Kigali, Rwanda. Kigali, Rwanda | TOM COLLINS | The AfroChampions Initiative, a set of public-private partnerships designed to leverage resources and funds to create more multinational corporate champions in Africa, has proposed a $1trn investment framework …

Cairo, Egypt | AFP | Egypt’s foreign minister confirmed Tuesday that his country would take part in mediated talks in Washington next month over a controversial dam Ethiopia is building on the Nile. Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia “will meet in the United States on 6 November… to break the deadlock in …

Dawhan, Ethiopia | AFP | When Zaid Aregawi learned that Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed won this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, her first thought was of her brother Alem, who is languishing in jail across the border in Eritrea. He crossed over five months ago carrying wood for an Eritrean businessman …

Benin City, Nigeria | AFP |  Deep in the tropical forest in southern Nigeria, an evangelical pastor runs a sprawling camp billed as a refuge for thousands of children who fled the Boko Haram jihadist insurgency in the north. Solomon Folorunsho, known as Pastor Solomon, says he is on a self-proclaimed …

  Significant reduction or elimination of tariffs would boost intra-Africa trade to more than 50% COMMENT | Damali Ssali |  There are several factors that influence the value and volume of trade. However, tariffs on tradeable goods and services are one of the most significant. International trade grew dramatically in the …