Page 8 - Africa

Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso withdraw from West Africa's regional bloc

Three West African nations of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have withdrawn from the regional economic bloc known as ECOWAS, their respective juntas announced Sunday, accusing the bloc of inhumane sanctions to reverse the coups in their nations. The juntas said in a joint statement read on state television that they have decided in complete sovereignty on the immediate withdrawal of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), alleging that the bloc has moved away from the ideals of its founding fathers and pan-Africanism after nearly 50 years of its establishment. Furthermore, ECOWAS, under the influence of foreign powers, betraying its founding principles, has become a threat to its member states and its populations whose happiness it is supposed to ensure, their statements read. It is the latest twist in a series of events that have deepened political tension in West Africa since it experienced its latest of a string of coups in Niger

Blinken to visit Africa as crises continue to vex US foreign policy

Secretary of State Antony Blinken is planning to visit four African countries as the Biden administration tries to keep its eyes on all corners of the world while being consumed by crises in Ukraine, the Mideast and the Red Sea. The State Department announced on Thursday that Blinken will go to Cape Verde, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Angola starting Sunday for talks focused on regional security, conflict prevention, democracy promotion and trade. Nigeria is West Africa's regional heavyweight and plays a major role in security issues, especially those involving Islamic extremist violence in the Sahel, the vast arid expanse south of the Sahara Desert. The trip will be his third overseas mission in the new year. He returned from a Gaza-focused, weeklong 10-nation trip to the Middle East last Thursday and a three-day trip to the World Economic Forum in Switzerland on Wednesday. Blinken's Africa trip comes as the United States is increasingly nervous about its relationships on the continent

From the US to France: Here's how the world is celebrating Ram temple

From the United States to France and Australia, festivities to mark the historic occasion have been arranged all across the world

Novac Technology mulls expansion of footprint to Africa; expects 20% growth

This development follows Novac Technology Solutions' recent foray into Dubai through the establishment of its new subsidiary, Novac GT Technologies LLCN

Committed to cease-fire, but no progress on peace talks: Sudanese general

Sudanese paramilitary leader Gen Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo said Thursday he was committed to a cease-fire to end the devastating war that has wrecked his country, even as fighting continues and there has been no progress on proposed peace talks between Dagalo and Sudan military chief Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan. Dagalo, leader of the Rapid Support Forces, said in a statement following a meeting in Pretoria with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa that he had briefed Ramaphosa on the considerable efforts taken to end this war. I emphasized our unwavering commitment to cease hostilities, Dagalo said, although he didn't say if or when he would meet with Burhan. The warring generals agreed last month to a face-to-face meeting and to start talks over a possible cease-fire, according to the East African regional bloc IGAD. No date or location for the talks have been announced. During Thursday's meeting with Dagalo, Ramaphosa said he hoped there would be an "imminent face-to-face dialogue"

Red Sea chaos has shippers bracing for weeks without key trade route

So shippers are sending vessels the long way around Africa, adding $1 million in costs - and seven to 10 days - to each voyage. Oil prices are creeping higher

13 dead, 178 injured after massive fuel depot explosion in Guinea's capital

An explosion and inferno at Guinea's main fuel depot in the capital of Conakry left at least 13 people dead and 178 injured, authorities said on Monday, as the West African country was assisted by other nations in managing the disaster. The massive explosion sparked the fire at the Guinean Petroleum Company depot after midnight Sunday, Guinea's presidency said. It caused significant damage in the heart of the Kaloum administrative district, home to most government offices. At least 89 of the 178 people injured have been treated and are back home, the government said in a statement. It also updated the casualty toll that Guinea's Civil Protection Service had earlier said was provisional. Among the 13 killed were foreigners, it added. Authorities said an investigation has started to reveal what caused the explosion at the depot that supplies most of the fuel in Guinea. The depot had been in the process of being relocated to a remote site in a bid to avoid such a disaster. There are n

At least 11 dead, 88 badly injured after massive fuel depot blast in Guinea

An explosion and inferno at Guinea's main fuel depot in the capital of Conakry left at least 11 people dead and more than 80 seriously injured, authorities said Monday, as the West African country awaited help from other nations and the death toll was expected to rise. The massive explosion sparked the fire at the Guinean Petroleum Company depot after midnight Sunday, Guinea's presidency said. It caused significant damage in the heart of the Kaloum administrative district, home to most government offices. At least 88 people sustained serious injuries, said Lt Col Jean Traor, technical director of Guinea's Civil Protection Service. This assessment is only provisional, he told reporters. It was not immediately clear what caused the explosion at the depot that supplies most of the fuel in Guinea. The depot had been in the process of being relocated to a remote site in a bid to avoid such a disaster. There are now fears of a major supply disruption as the country relies on imported ...

Kenyan President William Ruto pays homage to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat

President Droupadi Murmu and PM Narendra Modi welcomed William Ruto at Rashtrapati Bhavan. William Ruto was accorded a ceremonial welcome at the forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhavan

Landslide in Zambia kills 7 miners digging illegal tunnels, 20 missing

Seven miners were confirmed dead and more than 20 others were missing and presumed dead after heavy rains caused landslides that buried them inside tunnels they had been digging illegally at a copper mine in Zambia, police and local authorities said Saturday. No bodies had yet been retrieved after the landslides late on Thursday night, police said. Many of the victims were believed to have drowned. The miners were digging for copper ore at the Seseli open-pit mine in the copper-belt city of Chingola, around 400 km (250 miles) north of the capital, Lusaka, according to police. The landslides happened some time between 9 pm and 10 pm on Thursday, police said. Police gave names or partial names of seven confirmed victims and said all of the miners in the tunnels are suspected to have died. Neither police nor government officials could say exactly how many miners were trapped in the tunnels, but Chingola District Commissioner Raphael Chumupi told The Associated Press that there were at

Want to thank PM Modi for helping Africa become G20 member: Kenya President

He said that India and Kenya have a fantastic bilateral relationship and added that he is looking forward to visiting India

Leaders of attacks on Sierra Leone's military arrested as curfew eases

Sierra Leone's president said most leaders of attacks on the nation's main military barracks and prisons had been arrested and normalcy had returned across the country after a 24-hour curfew was relaxed to a dusk-to-dawn lockdown. The attacks early Sunday morning surprised residents and security forces in the West African nation and raised fears of a possible coup in a troubled region. But most of the leaders of the attacks now have been arrested and calm has been restored", President Julius Maada Bio said in a Sunday night address. Residents in the capital city of Freetown were awoken by sounds of heavy gunfire as gunmen tried to break into the key armoury in the country's largest military barracks, located near the presidential villa. They engaged in sustained gunfire with security forces and targeted major detention centres including the central prison holding more than 2,000 inmates and freed or abducted an unconfirmed number of people, authorities said. Videos on social med

Nationwide curfew in Sierra Leone after gunmen attack military barracks

Sierra Leone's President Julius Maada Bio declared a nationwide curfew on Sunday after gunmen attacked military barracks in the West African nation's capital, raising fears of a breakdown of order amid a surge of coups in the region. The unidentified gunmen attacked a military armoury within the barracks in the capital, Freetown, early morning, Bio said in a statement posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, adding that they were driven back by security forces and calm has been restored. As the combined team of our Security Forces continue to root out the remnant of the fleeing renegades, a nationwide curfew has been declared and citizens are encouraged to stay indoors, he wrote. Bio was reelected for a second term in June in a disputed vote in which the main opposition party accused Sierra Leone's electoral commission of conspiring with his party to rig the results. It was the country's fifth presidential election since the end of a brutal 11-year civil war more than two decades a

Underdeveloped nations fighting drugmakers over access to TB, HIV drugs

South Africa, Colombia and other countries that lost out in the global race for coronavirus vaccines are taking a more combative approach towards drugmakers and pushing back on policies that deny cheap treatment to millions of people with tuberculosis and HIV. Experts see it as a shift in how such countries deal with pharmaceutical behemoths and say it could trigger more efforts to make lifesaving medicines more widely available. In the COVID-19 pandemic, rich countries bought most of the world's vaccines early, leaving few shots for poor countries and creating a disparity the World Health Organization called a catastrophic moral failure. Now, poorer countries are trying to become more self-reliant because they've realized after COVID they can't count on anyone else, said Brook Baker, who studies treatment-access issues at Northeastern University. One of the targets is a drug, bedaquiline, that is used for treating people with drug-resistant versions of tuberculosis. The pills are

Nigeria aims Brics in two years, join G-20 in new foreign policy push

BRICS is a grouping of the emerging market powers Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. In August they invited six other nations, including top oil exporter Saudi Arabia, to join their ranks

Global South existed geographically, getting voice for first time: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi made the remarks while addressing the inaugural session of the 2nd Voice of Global South Summit held virtually on Friday.

El Salvador slaps $1,130 fee on African, Indian travelers to curb migration

El Salvador's government has begun slapping a USD 1,130 fee on travellers from dozens of countries connecting through the nation's main airport, amid US pressure to help control migration flows to its southern border. Since the end of October, citizens of 57 largely African countries and India have had to pay the fee, according to El Salvador's aviation authority. Aviation officials did not say whether the measure was aimed at reducing migration and have described the tariff as an airport improvement fee, but El Salvador's government acknowledged an uptick in travellers from those countries this year. Also, the US has been pressuring Central American countries to curb migration flows to its border with Mexico. US authorities say they stopped migrants there more than 2 million times during the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30. El Salvador's aviation authority said most passengers who have to pay the fee are headed to Nicaragua on the commercial airline Avianca. Because of its lax vis

Trade with Africa in excess of $100 billion, is fairly evenly balanced: EAM

The EAM said that in the last decade, a bulk of Indian embassies have also opened in Africa

India's power demand for ACs to exceed total consumption of Africa: IEA

India's demand for electricity for running household air conditioners is estimated to expand nine-fold by 2050 and will exceed total power consumption in the whole of Africa today, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Tuesday. In its latest World Energy Outlook, IEA said India will see the largest energy demand growth of any country or region in the world over the next three decades. It projected India's energy supply to rise from 42 exajoules (EJ) in 2022 to 53.7 EJ in 2030 and 73 EJ in 2050 under stated policies scenarios and 47.6 EJ by 2030 and 60.3 EJ by 2050 as per announced pledges. Oil demand is seen rising from 5.2 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2022 to 6.8 million bpd in 2030 and 7.8 million bpd in 2050 under stated policies scenario. Under announced pledges, this demand is seeking 6.2 million bpd in 2030 and 4.7 million bpd in 2050. IEA said over the past five decades, India witnessed over 700 heatwave events, which have claimed over 17,000 lives. Fuelled by it

S Africa to topple Nigeria to regain mantle as continent's biggest economy

The IMF's World Economic Outlook envisions South Africa's gross domestic product reaching $401 billion based on current prices in 2024, compared with Nigeria's $395 billion