While there have recently been many bad developments in Africa, one that may hold some promise is the continuing growth of development between the People’s Republic of China and Sub-Saharan Africa. In recent years, China has become Africa’s largest trading partner, and the Chinese government has offered many loans and aid programs to countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, culminating in a… Read more »
(South China Morning Post) A multibillion-dollar China-built rail line linking the Horn of Africa with the continent’s vast interior was officially launched on Tuesday, an important milestone for China’s burgeoning influence in the region. The 750km line connects port city Djibouti and Addis Ababa, the capital of landlocked Ethiopia, the fastest-growing economy in Africa. The railway is expected to reduce… Read more »
(Forbes) The number of billionaires in Africa–and the size of their fortunes–continues to drop. On this year’s list, FORBES is only including African billionaires living in Africa, instead of featuring Africa’s 50 richest people. There are 21 billionaires on this year’s list, worth a combined $70 billion. On the November 2015 Africa Rich List, there were 23 African billionaires worth a… Read more »
(Al-Jazeera) South Africa’s ruling African National Congress is marking 105 years since it was formed but there are deep divisions in the ranks of Africa’s oldest liberation movement. President Jacob Zuma, ANC leader, will speak to party members on Sunday in Soweto, Johannesburg. The party, which has won every election since the end of apartheid in 1994, has been plagued… Read more »
(BBC News)The Gambia’s Supreme Court is unable to hear the petition seeking to annul last month’s election until May, chief justice Emmanuel Fagbenle says. The Nigerian judge due to oversee the seven-member panel was not available till then, he said. Longstanding ruler President Yahya Jammeh, 51, initially accepted defeat but later rejected the result. It is not yet clear what… Read more »
A rather worrisome trend in South Sudan, the world’s newest country, has seen the country slide nearer and nearer to genocide and a civil war continuing to grow worse, after a peace agreement had deteriorated earlier in the year. The ongoing violence is made worse by the ethnic conflict present in the nation- the 2 dominant ethnic groups, the Nuer… Read more »
UYO, Nigeria (Reuters) – At least 100 people were killed by the collapse of a church in southeastern Nigeria, a resident and photojournalist who visited the town morgue said on Sunday, a day after the incident. “At Uyo teaching hospital where I am now I could see over a hundred corpses, many are heaped on top off each other on… Read more »
(Reuters) The United States on Monday imposed sanctions on members of Joseph Kabila’s inner circle for the first time, a week before the Congolese president’s mandate expires, to try to force the government to agree a compromise with opposition leaders. Earlier on Monday, the European Union imposed travel bans and asset freezes – its first – on seven security officials… Read more »
(The Independent) South Sudan is “on the brink” of a genocide comparable to what happened in Rwanda, the UN has warned, urging that the international community is “under an obligation” to prevent such a catastrophe from taking place. Following a 10-day visit to the country, the UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan urged the international community to take action after they… Read more »
(The Guardian) Troops have been deployed to the streets of Banjul, the capital of the Gambia, after the autocratic president, Yahya Jammeh, unexpectedly rejected his defeat in an election last week and called for a fresh vote. Jammeh had initially accepted the result, ceding power after 22 years, to a coalition led by the opposition leader, Adama Barrow. But few… Read more »