Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Buoyed by rising stock markets and commodity prices, Africa’s billionaires are collectively wealthier than a year ago. The 23 billionaires that Forbes found in Africa – up from 21 billionaires last year — are worth a combined $75.4 billion, compared to $70 billion in January …
Read More »‘Massive’ infrastructure spending needed in Africa, says report
Abidjan, Ivory Coast | AFP | Economic growth in Africa picked up steam last year and is set to accelerate strongly in 2018, but “massive investments” are needed in infrastructure, the African Development Bank (ADB) said Wednesday. Growth in Africa rose from 2.2 percent in 2016 to 3.6 percent in …
Read More »Fake medicines flourish in Africa despite killing thousands
Abidjan, Ivory Coast | AFP | There’s nothing covert about Roxy — a huge market in Abidjan selling counterfeit medicine, the scourge of Africa and the cause of around 100,000 deaths annually on the world’s poorest continent. Located in the bustling Adjame quarter of Ivory Coast’s main city and commercial hub, …
Read More »Second Sahel ‘G5’ anti-terror force mission begins
Paris, France | AFP | Five Sahel countries – Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Chad and Burkina Faso — on Monday launched their second anti-Jihadist operation in the troubled region, after talks in Paris with their partner France. After the discussions between the defence ministers of the so-called G5 Sahel and their …
Read More »Seven migrants die trying to reach Lanzarote: police
Madrid, Spain | AFP | Seven African migrants, some of whom “could be minors,” were found dead Monday as they tried to reach Lanzarote in Spain’s Canary Islands, authorities said. Authorities found an inflatable boat off a beach at the popular resort of Costa Teguise with five bodies inside, a …
Read More »Juju: Africa doping
How African athletes challenge Western notions of doping Kampala, Uganda | UROS KOVAC | The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has expanded the power of World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), making it a central authority in the “fight against cheating”. WADA defines doping as the use of prohibited substances and methods designed to …
Read More »To live or die in Israel
African migrants in face a tough choice as mass deportation looms Kampala, Uganda | AGENCIES | In the next three months, Israel intends to force thousands of African asylum seekers out of the country. Their choice: An airline ticket and temporary financial assistance, or prison. Tania Krämer reports from Tel Aviv. …
Read More »The poverty of Africa’s elites
THE LAST WORD: Why the tendency of African intellectuals to blame leaders for the failures of our nations is escapism THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | I recently had a Twitter debate with Prof. George Ayittey; the Ghanaian author of `Africa Unchained: the blueprint for development’ (Palgrave/MacMillan, 2004) …
Read More »Trump language on Africa unacceptable, racist: Ghana
Accra, Ghana | AFP | Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo on Saturday said Donald Trump’s reported description of African nations as “shithole countries” was unacceptable, while his predecessor branded the US head of state a racist. President Akufo-Addo tweeted that Trump’s reported language was “extremely unfortunate”, adding: “We are certainly not …
Read More »Africans outraged over ‘racist’ Trump remarks
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Africans reacted angrily Friday after US President Donald Trump reportedly referred to their nations as “shithole countries”, with many lashing the US president for racism and ignorance. The 55-nation African Union condemned the remarks while the southern African state of Botswana hauled in the US …
Read More »