First Independent Mena Newspaper
Sergei Lavrov, Russia’s top diplomat, indicated Tuesday that Moscow was keen to provide assistance to Sahel and Gulf of Guinea countries fighting terrorism, as he was on a two-day trip to ally Mali. “The fight against terrorism is of course a reality for the other countries in the region”, he said at a joint press […]
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrived in Mali Tuesday (7 February) for talks with its junta leaders who only two days earlier ordered the rights chief with the UN peacekeeping mission in the country to leave for expressing views against Russia’s Wagner Group in Mali. Lavrov’s visit of fewer than 24 hours will be his […]
A United Nations peacekeeper from South Africa was killed in an attack on a helicopter in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Sunday (5 February), just as East African regional leaders have renewed their call for an immediate ceasefire by all sides involved in the bloody conflict. The UN aircraft came under fire during […]
Burkina Faso has denied claims that it awarded a mining permit to Nordgold just because it is a Russian company, its mines minister told the media on Sunday (5 February), rebuffing Western concerns that the ruling junta is seeking closer ties with Moscow. Burkina Faso allows all companies to operate in the west African country […]
UN experts on Tuesday (31 January) called for an independent investigation into possible war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by Russian private military contractor Wagner Group and government forces in Mali. This comes just days after the US formally designated (26 January) Russia’s Kremlin-affiliated Wagner Group as a transnational criminal organization responsible for widespread […]
The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and Afreximbank have announced the development of the African Trade Exchange Platform (ATEX), a digital business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-government (B2G) tool to help boost intra-African trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). A statement by the ECA on Friday (27 January) also noted that the ATEX platform […]
Several thousands of demonstrators rallied in Burkina Faso’s capital on Saturday (28 January) in support of the ruling junta, a few days after the confirmation of the departure of France special forces from the country by February. Packing Nation Square in central Ouagadougou, demonstrators held signs bearing slogans including “Down with imperialism,” “Down with French […]
With numerous external and internal headwinds, it is easy to be pessimistic about Africa’s prospects, yet, time and time again Africa has proved resilient and hence also in 2023 many African countries will continue to fare well, despite the odds, says an annual report launched by Brookings Institute launched on Monday (30 January). Since the […]
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko arrived in Harare to pomp and fanfare on Monday (30 January) for a two-day visit and talks with his Zimbabwean counterpart, Emmerson Mnangagwa, aimed at cementing economic and political ties between the two countries that are both close allies of Russia. Mnangagwa and hundreds of singing and cheering ruling party supporters […]
South Africa and its neighbors were at the center of a tussle for influence this week when US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in turn arrived for a diplomatic visit, offering a rare moment of leverage for regional governments intent at using the opportunity to gain concessions and increase trade […]