First Independent Mena Newspaper
Russian President Vladimir Putin and the chief of Niger’s military junta, Abdourahmane Tiani, had an important phone call on Tuesday (26 March), the Kremlin has revealed, adding that both men discussed “security cooperation” and security concerns in the Sahel region. The Russian leader and the chairman of Niger’s National Council also reportedly spoke about “strengthening […]
Morocco’s Bank of Africa said its 2023 profit increased 16% to 260 million dollars last year, with a net banking income of 1.7 billion dollars, up 9%. African branches contributed by 56% in this performance while Moroccan business accounted for 42% of total earnings, the bank said. Bank of Africa, previously known as […]
Tanzania’s central bank will begin selling US dollars to commercial banks to boost liquidity amid high demand for foreign currencies. “The initiative aims to ensure adequate foreign currency liquidity in the market. In addition, it intends to ensure customers’ demands for foreign currency are met through licensed financial institutions at the prevailing market prices,” the […]
Malawi declared drought disaster amid a severe rainfall shortage that compromised the landlocked country’s agriculture-dependent economy. Malawi is the second country in the region after Zambia to declare drought emergency as climate change bites, triggering dry spells such as El Nino, blamed for ravaging crops. This year, rainfall has been erratic and insufficient as drought […]
China is reportedly seeking a new military base in Africa, building on growing anti-western sentiment as it seeks to strengthen its foothold in a continent that is increasingly coveted, the London-based Chatham House Think tank wrote. “For over three decades, every Chinese foreign minister’s first overseas trip of the year has been to Africa. This […]
The European Union has pledged to support the African Union (AU) in its ambitious goal of producing 60% of vaccines on the continent for African citizens by 2040 — one of the key outcomes of a recent high-level conference marking the expansion of the strategic EU-AU health partnership. The recent high-level event held in Brussels […]
The disruption of oil exports from South Sudan after one of its key oil pipelines to international markets was damaged in February could further escalate already acute level of violence and in security in the country, experts have warned. South Sudan depends on its northern neighbor Sudan to export its oil, but Khartoum has recently […]
Senegal’s opposition politician Bassirou Diomaye Faye is on his way to be announced the next president soon after he was released from jail, in a tumultuous vote that highlights the West African country’s standing as a resilient African democracy. While final election results have not yet been revealed, Bassirou is the winner after his rival, […]
Opposition members in Guinea-Bissau have accused the West African head of state of plotting to establish a dictatorship, claiming that the incumbent, Umaro Sissoco Embalo, is bringing, step by step, the country’s most important powers under his control. Since elected president of Guinea-Bissau three years ago, Sissoco, as he is popularly known, has systematically clashed […]
Nigerian army has, over the past two days, successfully rescued more than 150 “unharmed” pupils and teachers who were abducted by gunmen from a school in the country’s northeast earlier this month. The kidnapping in Kaduna state on 7 March, one of the biggest such attacks in years, has prompted a national outcry over security. […]