AFRICA

Luanda, Angola | AFP | Angolan state-owned oil company Sonangol rode the commodities boom that drove the country’s extraordinary growth after civil war ended in 2002, but today it symbolises a national economic crisis. The Luanda-based company has increasingly been in focus since Isabel dos Santos, the billionaire daughter of …

Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Zimbabweans know the risks of worthless money all too well after hyperinflation between 2007 and 2009 gave them the 100-trillion-dollar banknote that barely bought a loaf of bread. Now they fear that the government is about to create another devastating crisis by printing its own …

Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta began a two-day visit to Sudan on Saturday, just days after Khartoum issued a call to all African countries to withdraw from the International Criminal Court. Sudan has urged African members to quit the Hague-based ICC which it said was a …

The Hague, Netherlands | AFP |  The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor has described decisions by three African countries to withdraw as a “setback”, as she vowed that the tribunal will continue its work on the continent. “You could expect a setback as the ICC started to make more progress,” …

Lagos, Nigeria | AFP |  US oil and gas group ExxonMobil says it has discovered up to one billion barrels of oil in an offshore field in Nigeria, signalling a boost to the country’s crude reserves. The company said in a statement on its website on Thursday that the Owowo …

Maputo, Mozambique | AFP |  The impact of the most severe drought to hit southern Africa in 35 years is expected to worsen in the coming months, a UN climate envoy warned Friday. “The crisis has yet to peak,” Macharia Kamau, special envoy on El Nino and climate, said at …

Abidjan, Ivory Coast | AFP |  Ivory Coast heads to the polls Sunday for a referendum on a new constitution their president insists will heal a nation beset by violent turmoil, but which the opposition says is dangerously anti-democratic. Given that President Alassane Ouattara’s political foes have called for a …

Cairo, Egypt | AFP |  IMF chief Christine Lagarde said Thursday that Egypt is going through a currency “crisis,” suggesting a quick devaluation to tackle a widening gap between the official and black market rates. Egypt has been struggling to shore up its foreign currency reserves in the political and …

Luanda, Angola | AFP |  Leaders of the Great Lakes region called Thursday for the UN peacekeeping force in strife-torn DR Congo to be bolstered, as fears rise of an upsurge in violence linked to delayed presidential polls. At the end of two-day talks, they called for more contributions to …

United Nations, United States | AFP |  Burundi on Thursday formally notified the United Nations of its withdrawal from the International Criminal Court, dealing a blow to the tribunal seen as a pillar of international justice. South Africa was the first to take the formal step at the United Nations …