Welcome to Africa Now, your weekly newsletter for Africa, presenting the most important developments in the continent - news that matters.
Commentary
What India's Traditional Medicine mean for Africa
For Africa, traditional Indian medicine, including Ayurveda, Yoga and Unani medicine presents an opportunity to prevent and treat different physical and mental diseases. By promoting and incorporating these practices into the health system, Africa can preserve and expand this priceless knowledge for future generations.click here to read…
The Future of Indian Consultancy Services in Africa
India's service industry is the most significant contributor to the country's economy and accounts for over 50 per cent of the GDP.click here to read…
Africa: UN peacekeepers increasingly unwelcome
UN peacekeeping missions in Africa are struggling to restore peace and stability to the nations in which they operate. Some African states want them out.click here to read…
News
Sierra Leone’s president is re-elected in the first round
Inside the opposition headquarters people suddenly hit the floor and crawled for safety; outside, the security forces kept firing.click here to read…
Sierra Leone election observers flag ‘statistical inconsistencies’
European election observers in Sierra Leone said there were “statistical inconsistencies” in the presidential results published by the electoral commission, which declared President Julius Maada Bio the winner of Saturday’s vote.click here to read…
Gabon: elections to be held on August 26
Gabon will hold presidential, legislative and local elections on August 26, the country's government announced Tuesday.click here to read…
Ivory Coast: Gbagbo's electoral roll appeal rejected
Former Ivorian president Laurent Gbagbo has had his appeal to be included on the electoral role in the Ivory Coast rejected by the Independent Electoral Commission (CEI), his party announced in a statement on Friday.click here to read…
South Africa to host BRICS summit despite Putin arrest warrant
South Africa said on Thursday it will host the BRICS bloc summit in August as planned, amid speculation that it may move to China so Russia’s President Vladimir Putin can attend in a nation not obliged to arrest him on war crimes accusations.click here to read…
African leaders meet in Angola to discuss East DRC tensions
The president of the African Union considered today that the deterioration of the situation in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) "destabilizes the country" and defended efforts to make the country "a source of happiness and not of conflict".click here to read…
Zimbabwe president pledges economic revival as election campaign kicks off
Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa vowed to do "what we can to remain in power", promising to revive an economy that has collapsed.click here to read…
Congo president and bishops at odds over democracy, electoral reform
Six months away from general elections, a rift between bishops in the Democratic Republic of Congo and President Félix Tshisekedi recently burst into public view with the Congolese leader complaining of a “dangerous drift” in the Catholic Church.click here to read…
Tunisia: Cabinet meeting approves political draft laws
The Cabinet also approved a draft decree on the organisation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Migration and Tunisians Abroad.click here to read…
Sudan extends airspace closure to July 10
Sudan's Civil Aviation Authority on Friday extended the closure of the country's airspace to July 10 amid conflicts between the Sudanese Army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.click here to read…
AU mission concludes first phase of troop withdrawal from Somalia
The African Union (AU) Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) said on Thursday that it has completed the first phase of troop withdrawal from Somalia with the handover of military bases in the capital of Mogadishu and the southern region.click here to read…
Ghana Parliament Hung Again After Opposition Wins By-Election
Ghana’s opposition retained its seat in a by-election resulting in a hung parliament.click here to read…
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa cleared of wrongdoing in 'Farmegate' scandal
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has been cleared of wrongdoing in a scandal involving the theft of cash from a sofa at his game farm.click here to read…
Mozambique’s $2bn corrupt debt: what if there was no trial?
The judge in charge of Mozambique’s $2bn corruption case is considering bringing the proceedings to a halt due to a technicality, three months before the trial is due to begin.click here to read…
Kenya: President Ruto enacts new finance bill
Kenyan President William Ruto has enacted a contentious new finance bill which will see the introduction of new taxes, amidst fierce criticism from the opposition and public.click here to read…
Kenya's High Court blocks tax hikes in newly signed law
Kenya's High Court on Friday suspended the implementation of a newly signed finance law that was set to double fuel tax and introduce new taxes.click here to read…
Russia says Wagner will continue operations in the Central African Republic and Mali
The paramilitary group Wagner will continue to operate in Mali and the Central African Republic, the head of Russian diplomacy assured us on Monday, adding that the organization's rebellion in Russia will not affect relations between Moscow and its allies.click here to read…
Boost for Wagner as Mali shuns UN troops, but at what cost?
The outcome of Friday's UN Security Council vote on the future of the peacekeeping force in Mali was never in doubt - they had little choice but to terminate what has been the most deadly of all such UN operations around the world.click here to read…
Drone attacks hit Wagner base in Libya; no casualties reported
Libya’s government denied reports it is responsible for drone attacks that hit an airbase in the east used by mercenaries of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner.click here to read…
Sudan’s Burhan to attend Russia-Africa summit in July
General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Chairman of Sudan’s Sovereign Council, is set to participate in the upcoming Russia-Africa summit scheduled to be held in St. Petersburg next month.click here to read…
The third China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo to begin in Hunan
The third China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo will begin today in Hunan.click here to read…
Algeria condemns France police shooting amid mounting arrests
Violent protests across France continued into a fourth night on Friday, following the fatal police shooting of a 17-year-old male in Nanterre, on the outskirts of Paris.click here to read…
Burkina: at least 34 soldiers and army auxiliaries killed in an attack
At least 31 soldiers and three army auxiliaries were killed on Monday in an attack by suspected jihadists in northern Burkina Faso.click here to read…
Ghana power producers call off shutdown after interim deal reached
Ghana's independent power producers (IPPs) have suspended a threatened shutdown from July 1 after reaching an interim deal with the state-run Electricity Company of Ghana over arrears owed to them, the group said in a statement late on Friday.click here to read…
Tehran says welcomes restoration of ties with Egypt, Morocco
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said on Thursday that Tehran welcomes good relationship with Egypt and Morocco as two Muslim states while expressing his country’s unhappiness the ongoing civil war in Sudan.click here to read…
Morocco Recalls its Ambassador to Sweden Over Burning of the Quran
Morocco has recalled its ambassador to Stockholm, reiterating its firm position against a series of hostile and heinous Islamophobic acts targeting Muslims and Islam in the Nordic country.click here to read…
Malawi opens consulate general in China
The Republic of Malawi has opened a consulate general in Changsha, the capital of southern China's Hunan Province.click here to read…
Zambia says Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, Bank of China debt 'treated as commercial'
Zambia, which has been in default for nearly three years, reached an agreement last week to restructure bilateral debts.click here to read…
Chinese major eyes Tanzania deep-water play with floating LNG potential
CNOOC International in talks to partner state-owned player in potential gas-rich blocks that could host an FLNG facility.click here to read…
Dangote oil scheme raises Nigeria hopes of more refined future
One of Muhammadu Buhari’s last acts as Nigeria’s president was cutting the ribbon at the Dangote oil refinery on the outskirts of Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital.click here to read…
Botswana signs new diamond sales deal with De Beers
Botswana and mining company De Beers have announced a new diamond sales deal. The new deal, concluded on Friday, gives Botswana a bigger share of rough stones from their joint venture.click here to read…
Angola Telecom privatisation plans cancelled
In a rather surprising move, an Angolan government minister has said that plans to privatise the troubled state-owned operator Angola Telecom have been cancelled and the government is now focusing on restructuring the company.click here to read…
Over 24,000 UK asylum seekers could be sent to Rwanda despite court ruling
More than 24,000 asylum seekers from about one-third of the world’s countries could face removal to Rwanda by the UK Home Office in the future.click here to read…
BMW to produce plug-in hybrid car in South Africa
Starting next year, "we will manufacture the BMW X3 as a plug-in hybrid for global export in South Africa," Milan Nedeljkovic, board member for production, said in a statement.click here to read…
India in Africa
PM Modi, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi sign strategic partnership pact between India and Egypt
India and Egypt on Sunday signed an agreement on a strategic partnership as Prime Minister Narendra Modi held bilateral talks with President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi in Cairo.click here to read…
President El-Sisi Receives India’s Prime Minister at Ittihadia Palace
Today, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi received at Ittihadia Palace the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, who is on a state visit to Egypt, the first of its kind.click here to read…
Egypt and India Eye 'Strategic Partnership' As Modi Visits
India's Narendra Modi praised his visit to Cairo as "historic" after he and Egypt's Abdel Fattah el-Sissi pledged to boost trade and diplomatic ties.click here to read…
How India’s renewed ties with Egypt can help its global standing
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Egypt marks a significant moment in bilateral relations as it is the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister since 1997.click here to read…
Why is Indian PM Narendra Modi’s Egypt visit significant?
The trip is anticipated to pave the way for a substantial increase in India’s investment in the North African country.click here to read…
From Nasser-Nehru To Modi-Sisi, India-Egypt Ties Grow Stronger
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Egypt came at a very important time.click here to read…
India, Egypt join hands to counter religious radicalisation
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first visit to Egypt last week may have got into the shadow of his pathbreaking state visit to US but the Indian leader, perhaps for the first time, personally initialed the bilateral “Strategic Partnership” document with President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.click here to read…
India should consider free trade agreement with Egypt: Exporters
Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) Director General Ajay Sahai said that India and Egypt have historic trade relations, which are robust and fairly balanced.click here to read…
India and Tanzania hold joint defense cooperation committee meeting
According to reports, the second edition of the Joint Defence Cooperation Committee (JDCC) meeting between India and Tanzania took place in Arusha on June 28 and 29, 2023.click here to read…
India, Tanzania agree on five-year roadmap for defence cooperation
India and Tanzania have finalised a five-year roadmap to expand overall bilateral defence cooperation including in areas of infrastructure building and collaboration in military equipment and technology.click here to read…
Strengthening Defence Relations: India-Tanzania release comprehensive five year plan
The two day meeting June 28-29, in Arusha, between India and Tanzania’s defence representatives marked a significant step towards strengthening bilateral ties.click here to read…
Weapons to blue economy — India ready to strengthen Tanzania like never before
From leveraging ocean resources to drawing a five-year roadmap for defence cooperation, India this week bolstered its partnership with Tanzania – one of its reliable partners on the east coast of Africa at the western edge of the Indian Ocean.click here to read…
During EAM Jaishankar's Tanzania visit, announcement to be made on establishment of IIT campus
The establishment of an IIT campus in Tanzania will not only provide local students with enhanced educational opportunities but also contribute to the overall growth and development of the east African country.click here to read…
India to start FTA talks with African Customs union in next 3-4 months
India and the five-member South African Customs Union (SACU) nations are exploring a free-trade agreement (FTA) and are expected to begin talks in the next three to four months, people aware of the matter said.click here to read…
India and Total Energies hold talks on restarting Mozambique LNG project
Total Energies stopped work at the $20 billion LNG project in Mozambique in April 2021 due to a worsening security situation.click here to read…
Indian firm builds cables plant in Morocco
India’s Indore Group has invested nearly $16 million to build a cables production plant in Morocco under an agreement with the government in the North African Arab country, a newspaper has reported.click here to read…
Gravita India Begins New Recycling Vertical At Ghana, West Africa; Stock Surges 1.5%
Gravita India Limited, a leading recycling company, having its manufacturing presence around the globe, has informed that Recyclers Ghana Limited, a step down subsidiary of the company situated in Ghana, West Africa has started commercial production and recycling of waste rubber with an annual capacity of around 6,000 MTPA.click here to read…
India discusses expanding academic and skill development partnership with Mauritius
Pradhan also held bilateral meetings with counterparts from UAE, UK and Oman, and senior officials from UNICEF and OECD on the side-lines of the 4th Education Working Group Meeting.click here to read…
INS Sunayna Makes A Visit To Mozambique To Enhance Inter-Operability
INS Sunayna, the second ship of the Saryu-class patrol vessel of the Indian Navy entered Port Beira Mozambique, on 28 June.click here to read…
INS Trishul made a port call at Seychelles
INS Trishul made a port call at Seychelles as part of Operational Deployment reflecting India's cordial ties with her maritime neighbours.click here to read…
IndiGo’s safari to Africa begins with flights between Mumbai and Nairobi
The airline has opened bookings for daily non-stop flights that start on August 5 this year.click here to read…
India’s experience in irrigation projects can come to Africa’s rescue
India with its rich experience of irrigation may come to the assistance of the continent in the backdrop of momentum in India-Egypt partnership.click here to read…
EAM Jaishankar wishes Congo on its Independence Day
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday extended wishes to the government and people of Congo on their Independence Day.click here to read…
Djiboutian students Association in Hyderabad celebrate Djibouti’s 46th Independence Day
46th Independence Day celebrations of Djibouti was organized at Osmania University campus which was attended by Home Minister,Mohammed Mahmood Ali.click here to read…
Gambia families sue Indian drugmaker after cough syrup deaths
The relatives of 20 Gambian children whose deaths were linked to toxic cough syrups made in India have sued Indian drugmaker Maiden Pharmaceuticals as well as local authorities in the West African country.click here to read…
What makes South Africa’s Durban a home away from home for Indian travellers?
Durban, the port-city in South Africa, is referred to as Little India due to its significant Indian population.click here to read…
