Africa Now - Weekly Newsletter (Week 46, 2021)

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

COMMENTARY

Curious Case of Owning a National Career in Africa

On 17th October 2021, the government of Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) announced its plan to launch a new national airline “Air Congo”. The new airline will be developed in partnership with Ethiopian Airlines. In this arrangement, Ethiopian Airlines will provide ten aircrafts to the company comprising a mixed fleet of turboprops, narrow-bodies, and wide-bodies to commence the operation. Along with that, all the other requisite equipment, management, and operational support will also be provided by Ethiopian Airlines. The operation is expected to commence sometime in last quarter of 2021. Click here to read... [2]

NEWS

Egypt to host COP27 international climate conference next year

The UN climate change conference COP26 in Glasgow has announced that Egypt was chosen to host the upcoming session of the conference in 2022 (COP27). Click here to read... [3]

UN says 16 local staff detained in Ethiopia’s capital

The United Nations has said 16 of its Ethiopian staff have been detained in the country’s capital, Addis Ababa, with six others having been released. Click here to read... [4]

The Gambia elections: Meet the men running for president

Gambians will head to the polls on December 4 to pick the country’s president, in a race that will see five challengers seeking to unseat incumbent Adama Barrow. Click here to read... [5]

Sudan army chief names new governing Sovereign Council

General al-Burhan remains head of the top body, with Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo also keeping his post as deputy. Click here to read... [6]

Thousands rally in DRC capital against electoral commission pick

Thousands of people have taken to the streets of Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), to protest against President Felix Tshisekedi’s move to install a close friend to head the country’s electoral commission. Click here to read... [7]

Mozambique Launches New Force to Fight Islamist Unrest

Mozambique on Thursday launched a special force of elite soldiers and police to combat an Islamist uprising that has threatened the country’s lucrative natural gas projects. Click here to read... [8]

Zimbabwe’s Scientists Look Forward to Country’s First Satellite

Zimbabwe plans to launch its first satellite, ZIMSAT-1, in February 2022. The CubeSat will host a multispectral camera and image classification tool, as well as a device to transmit and receive signals from amateur radio operators. Click here to read... [9]

Moscow Vows Military Support for Mali, Denies Wagner Links

Moscow vowed to continue military cooperation with Mali and to defend the Sahel state's territorial integrity while denying any links to Russian military contractors in the country. Click here to read... [10]

South Africa's last apartheid president FW de Klerk dies

FW de Klerk, who shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Nelson Mandela and as South Africa's last apartheid president oversaw the end of the country's white minority rule, has died at the age of 85Click here to read... [11]

Russia could act as security provider, sell railroad equipment in Africa

As a security provider, Russia would prevent interference of outside forces and attempts to destabilize the political systems on the continent. Click here to read... [12]

Libya: Political muddle ahead of Paris summit

France’s President Emmanuel Macron will host an international conference on Libya on 12 November. Click here to read... [13]

Morocco keen to ‘turn page' on Algeria tensions while insisting W. Sahara status ‘not negotiable’

Morocco is determined to "turn the page definitively" on the Western Sahara conflict but without giving up its "legitimate rights" over the disputed territory. Click here to read... [14]

Why Kenya and Nigeria haven’t agreed to a historic global corporate tax deal

Last month, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) announced that 136 countries and jurisdictions had signed up to an agreement to have global corporations pay a minimum tax rate of 15%. But Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka had not agreed to the deal. Click here to read... [15]

INDIA IN AFRICA

President Museveni Praised Indian Community's Contribution In Uganda': MoS Muraleedharan

MoS V Muraleedharan met Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and said he praised the Indian community in the country for their significant contributions. Click here to read... [16]

India to Support Uganda’s Dairy, Grain and Cotton Sectors

Indian MoS Muraleedharan says India used to have a struggling agricultural sector to the extent that it was a net importer of many foodstuffs but that has now changed, thanks to strategic investment in agriculture, citing dairy and grains as examples. Click here to read... [17]

Uganda, India to strengthen commercial diplomacy – President

President Yoweri Museveni has said Uganda and India have agreed to strengthen commercial diplomacy and boost trade between the two countries. Click here to read... [18]

Africa may have to depend more on Indian rice

As India’s overall rice exports increased by a handsome 80 per cent in 2020, it has once again become the largest supplier of the staple grain to Africa amid concerns over food security owing to the Covid 19 pandemic. Over 65 per cent of Africa’s total rice needs is being met by India. Click here to read... [19]

Jaishankar greets Zambian counterpart on country's Independence Day

External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar extended greetings to his Zambian counterpart on the anniversary of his country’s independence day. Click here to read... [20]

UNSC meet on Ethiopia: India urges all sides to exercise restraint, reiterates commitment to sovereignty

India, during a United Nations Security Council's meet on Ethiopia on Monday, urged all sides to exercise restraint and reiterated commitment to the unity, sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Ethiopia. Click here to read... [21]

Egypt’s ban of tuk-tuk to hit India’s 3-wheeler OEMs

Egypt’s decision to ban the import of three-wheelers (tuk-tuks), citing safety concerns, can have major implications for India’s three-wheeler-makers including Bajaj Auto. Egypt accounts for about 5 per cent of three-wheelers exported by Indian OEMs. Click here to read... [22]