Africa Now - Weekly Newsletter (Week 17, 2023)

Welcome to Africa Now, your weekly newsletter for Africa, presenting the most important developments in the continent - news that matters.

COMMENTARY

Sudan is Heading towards an all-out Civil War

In the early hours of 15th April, fighting broke out in Khartoum and other parts of Sudan, engulfing the capital in conflict and escalating the risk of an all-out civil war. Click here to read... [2]

Using Geopolitical Complexities and Contradictions for Africa’s Economic Growth

Within the context of geopolitical changes and the Russia-Ukraine crisis, African leaders have to absolutely rethink and take strategies to save their straddling economy. Click here to read... [3]

NEWS

Sudan death toll rises to 413, World Health Organization says

The World Health Organization said on Friday that 413 people had been killed and 3,551 injured in Sudan since intense fighting broke out there six days ago. Click here to read... [4]

Sudan fighting: Special forces airlift US diplomats from Sudan

The US military has evacuated American diplomats and their families from Khartoum, President Joe Biden has said. Click here to read... [5]

Saudi Arabia evacutes Indians along with other foreigners in Sudan

Apart from India, Pakistan Bangladesh, United Arab Emirates and several other countries 91 Saudi citizens were also evacuatedClick here to read... [6]

India to Evacuate Stranded Citizens in Sudan by Road, People Outside Violent Zones to be Rescued First

India is planning to evacuate stranded Indians from Sudan by road, where the conflict between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese Armed Forces has entered its second week, sources have said. Click here to read... [7]

Kenyan president offers to host mediation process to resolve crisis in Sudan

Peacefully negotiated solution to conflict in Sudan is within reach and Kenya stands ready to make its contribution, says William Ruto. Click here to read... [8]

Libyan warlord could plunge Sudan into a drawn-out ‘nightmare’ conflict

The Libyan warlord Khalifa Haftar helped to prepare the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a militia now fighting for control of Sudan, for battle in the months before the devastating violence that broke out on 15 April. Click here to read... [9]

Sudan crisis: Egypt's dilemma over the fighting

Sudan's powerful neighbour to the north is watching what is going there with trepidation, but Egypt seems paralysed, unable to take a clear position. Click here to read... [10]

Will Ethiopia Take Advantage of Sudan’s Unrest to Resolve Border Dispute?

The border dispute between Addis Ababa and Khartoum over Al-Fashaga has returned to the fore, following Sudanese reports about “unusual” movement by the Ethiopian forces in the disputed area since the eruption of the recent unrest in Sudan. Click here to read... [11]

US deploys more troops to Djibouti for possible Sudan evacuation

The United States is preparing to send additional troops to nearby Djibouti in case an evacuation of Americans from Sudan is needed. Click here to read... [12]

South Korea sends plane to Djibouti to await Sudan evacuation

South Korea is sending a military aircraft to stand by at a U.S. military base in Djibouti in east Africa, ready to fly in to neighbouring Sudan and evacuate its nationals there when that is possible, the South Korean military said on Friday. Click here to read... [13]

Opponents form coalition in Senegal against Macky Sall's of third term

More than 100 political and civil society groups in Senegal on Sunday formed a coalition to oppose a third term for President Macky Sall. Click here to read... [14]

Ivory Coast: municipal and regional elections on September 2

Regional and municipal elections in Côte d'Ivoire, a warm-up for the government and the opposition for the 2025 presidential election, will be held on September 2, Click here to read... [15]

Burundi detains former prime minister

Burundi’s former Prime Minister Alain Guillaume Bunyoni has been detained, the National Independent Human Rights Commission confirmed Saturday, days after the government announced he had gone missing. Click here to read... [16]

54 Days to Inauguration: Tinubu Headhunts Best Brains, Competence For Appointments

Not one who is comfortable with mediocrity, it is an indisputable fact that Nigeria’s president-elect, Bola Tinubu, will not condone incompetence and mediocrity in his incoming cabinet. Click here to read... [17]

UN Security Council Holds Closed Consultation on Western Sahara

The United Nations Security Council held closed consultations in New York on the topic of Western Sahara, as provided for in Resolution 2654 adopted on October 27, 2022. Click here to read... [18]

African Union's appointment of a Moroccan delegate confuses Algeria

Amina Salman will be the new permanent representative of the Arab Maghreb Union, causing unease in Algiers. Click here to read... [19]

Rwanda no longer needs a ‘strongman’ say Kagame opponents ahead of 2024 poll

As Rwanda's 2024 presidential elections approach, opposition leaders are urging President Paul Kagame to retire, arguing that the country no longer needs a strongman like him to lead. Click here to read... [20]

Malian president’s chief of staff, three others killed in ambush

The chief of staff for Mali’s interim president, Oumar Traore, and three others have been killed in an ambush, the government said on Thursday. Click here to read... [21]

At least 10 people killed in complex attack in central Mali

At least 10 people were killed and dozens injured on Saturday in a complex attack near a military base in central Mali, said the army. Click here to read... [22]

DR Congo banks on past lessons in fresh disarmament crusade

After two weeks of killings that left nearly 150 dead in Ituri province, according to figures from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo have launched another disarmament programme, hoping to finally do it right. Click here to read... [23]

Dozens of defence forces killed in Burkina Faso attack: Governor

Provisional death toll was 34 volunteers and six soldiers in an attack carried out by unidentified men, authorities say. Click here to read... [24]

At Least 21 Killed As Somalia Battles Jihadis In Remote Area

Somalia's military repulsed an attack by jihadi fighters in a remote region of the country early Saturday, killing at least 18 of the al-Shabab militants, according to a top army official. Click here to read... [25]

At Least 42 People Reported Killed By Rebels In Congo's East

A rebel group in eastern Congo's Ituri province killed at least 42 people Friday, according to a civil society organization. Click here to read... [26]

Groundwater sparks disagreements between Libya, Tunisia, Algeria

Tunisia fears Algeria's ambitions will reinforce the country's water crisis while Libya urges the establishment of a joint exploitation committeeClick here to read... [27]

Air Mauritius to resume Delhi non-stop flights from May 3 after 3 years

The airline's flagship carrier will resume its direct operations to and from Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi on May 3, 2023, with biweekly flights using the Airbus A330 aircraft in a Business and Economy class configuration, accommodating 254 seats. The flight duration is 7 hours and 30 minutes. Click here to read... [28]

Zambia to send debt restructuring plan to China, other creditors 'very soon'

Zambia will send its first fully-formed debt restructuring plan to China and other government creditors "very soon" the government's legal advisors said, as it looks to capitalise on fresh momentum seen in high-level talks in recent days. Click here to read... [29]

Millions in Angola to Get Access to New Mobile-Money Service

Africell Holding SAL will launch new financial services this weekend in Angola, a country that’s lagged behind as the rest of Sub Saharan Africa dominated the mobile payments market. Click here to read... [30]

Court upholds ban on South Africa’s apartheid-era flag

South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal on Friday upheld a ruling that the “gratuitous” public display of the country’s old apartheid-era flag amounts to hate speech and racial discrimination and can be prosecuted. Click here to read... [31]

German officials visit Mali and Niger

With German and other European troops leaving the Sahel region of Africa, German officials are looking for new ways to keep extremist groups there at bay. Click here to read... [32]

Rwanda's Kagame defends Russia's presence in Africa

While visiting West Africa, Rwandan President Paul Kagame said that Russia had the right to be anywhere in Africa ― as much as any other country. He also accused the West of dragging Africa into its own political issues. Click here to read... [33]

Ukraine pleads for Putin's arrest in South Africa

A Ukrainian Nobel peace prize winner on Wednesday called on South Africa not to allow Russian President Vladimir Putin to attend a BRICS summit in the country in August. Click here to read... [34]

Chinese contractor to build green hydrogen project in Morocco

Chinese energy engineering procurement and construction contractor Energy China International Construction Group is moving to develop a major green hydrogen project in the North African country. Click here to read... [35]

Why China Is Building Africa's New Parliaments

Zimbabwe’s new parliament gives an architectural nod to the country’s famous ancient ruins; Lesotho’s has a design resembling a “mokorotlo,” the conical straw hat that’s part of national dress; and Malawi’s has a dome that looks like a calabash. Click here to read... [36]

China’s corruption spreads to Africa: Report

China’s rapid economic growth was referred to as a “miracle” that would not have occurred without the high corruption. Click here to read... [37]

Comoros row with France escalates after it rejected migrants from nearby French island

The Comoros government vowed not to accept illegal migrants expelled from the neighboring French island of Mayotte and urged France to step back from a planned operation that could see their forced return. Click here to read... [38]

Uganda's Museveni conditionally backs controversial anti-gay laws

Ugandan president, Yoweri Museveni, has backed a controversial bill with some of the world's harshest anti-LGBTQ legislation but will pass it back to parliament to include provisions for gay people to be rehabilitated. Click here to read... [39]

INDIA IN AFRICA

IIT Madras to set up its first international campus in Tanzania

The first Indian Institute of Technology to be set up in Africa will come up in October in Tanzania. IIT Madras will set up its first International campus in Zanzibar, Tanzania. Click here to read... [40]

Jaishankar’s visit to Uganda, Mozambique went almost unnoticed but it indicated India’s bold gambit in Africa

India can’t outspend China but it is adopting smarter strategies that involve capacity building and human resource development to make an indelible mark in the continentClick here to read... [41]

India's education diplomacy in Africa gives top forensic institute to Uganda, IIT in Tanzania soon

The overseas campus of India’s National Forensic Sciences University (NFSU) was inaugurated in Uganda last week. The first foreign campus of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), too, is expected to hold its first classes in Tanzania by the end of 2023. Click here to read... [42]

Announcing The Third India Africa Entrepreneurship & Investment Summit

The Third India-Africa Entrepreneurship & Investment Summit is set to take place on the 21st and 22nd of July 2023 in Mauritius at the Le Meridien Hotel. Click here to read... [43]

Culture, Celebration at inauguration of Jharkhand in Kenya

It was a showcase of patriotism and culture as Jharkhand in Kenya (JHIK) was inaugurated during a colourful celebration at Navnat Bhavan, Nairobi on 15th April, 2023. Click here to read... [44]

Sudan shows gullible Indians are cannon fodder for traffickers in Africa

Embassy issues advisories in Khartoum; with trapped Indians belonging to poll-bound Karnataka, Twitter war erupts between contestants. Click here to read... [45]

ONE increases Africa, India, Middle East service frequency to weekly

The increased frequency will begin from the Westbound sailing arriving at Jebel Ali on May 6, 2023 and the Eastbound sailing from Tema on June 9, 2023. Click here to read... [46]

India's Serum in talks on fill-finishing malaria vaccine in Ghana, official says

Vaccine manufacturer Serum Institute of India is holding talks on fill-finishing Oxford University's R21 malaria vaccine in Ghana, which approved the shot this month, a Ghanaian vaccine expert said on Thursday. Click here to read... [47]

Book Review

'Glory' book review: A political satire on Zimbabwe’s history that pays homage to Geroge Orwell’s classic

Glory demands awareness of Zimbabwe’s history, as much as it compels readers to find out more. Click here to read... [48]