Blogs Community

Leaders condemn Russia’s war in Ukraine at UN, pledging billions to fight AIDS, malaria and TB

At the United Nations General Assembly, leaders from Qatar, Senegal and Turkey called for immediate peace talks between Moscow and Kiev to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as Germany and France denounced Putin’s imperialism in its smaller neighbor. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has taken centre stage at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday (20 September), […]

Asia International

Limits to Japanese ambitions in Africa to weaken China’s influence

Japan has recently announced an ambitious multibillion-dollar program of economic assistance to Africa — pledging to spend $30 billion on the continent and stressing a focus on training African professionals, food production and green growth — in a bid to provide the continent with an alternative to Chinese lending and investment. The recent flurry of […]

Business Emerging Markets

Central African farmers warn of looming hunger as Russia’s war in Ukraine disrupts imports

Disruptions in food supplies caused by Russia’s war in Ukraine have deepened the struggles of millions of Africans to survive, more than 60 farmers’ associations from 11 Central African countries have warned. Calling on the region’s governments to help people cope with food shortages, the farmers say scarcity, high prices and a worsening economic situation […]

Business Emerging Markets

Central African states inked deal to create regional oil, gas pipeline network and hubs

Central African countries have signed an agreement to create a regional oil and gas pipeline network and hub infrastructures which proponents say will strengthen energy supply and reduce dependence on imports of refined products. The deal, inked on Thursday (8 September), aims to construct three multinational oil and gas pipeline systems of around 6,500 km, […]

Africa International

Dozens of civilians killed in April by Malian army & Foreign Troops’ — UN report

At least 50 civilians, including a woman and a child, were killed and more than 500 arrested during a military operation conducted by Mali’s army and “foreign troops” on 19 April, the United Nations’s peacekeeping mission MINUSMA said in a report published on Wednesday (31 August). The alleged massacre took place on market day in […]

Business Finance

US grants Madagascar $20m to address food insecurity

The United States has allocated to Madagascar $20 million to help the African country to tackle food security exacerbated by the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. The financing, the US ambassador Claire A. Pierangelo, notes, is within the framework of the US government’s global response to the impact of the “illegal invasion of Ukraine by Russia. The […]

Energy

Russia-Ukraine War Impacts Severely on Nigeria’s Economy

With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in its seventh month, Nigerians are feeling a harder punch with the scarcity of energy sources, wheat and fertilizer, as well as a worsening foreign exchange scarcity. While oil and gas exports account for 90% of Nigeria’s foreign exchange earnings, falling oil output and demographic growth mean that production is […]

Africa International

Fertilizer shortages in conflict-torn Burkina Faso threaten crops and food security

Since the invasion of Ukraine by Russia — the second largest international exporter after China — the prices of fertilizers in West Africa have skyrocketed, severely aggravating the ongoing food crisis in countries such as Burkina Faso. In the last few months, the Sahel region has been hit by the worst drought in over a […]

Africa Energy International

Pandemic and Ukraine war are pushing Africa’s power companies to the brink

The COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing war in Ukraine have been pushing many electric grid utilities in Africa — which have long been strapped for cash — close to financial collapse, whereby this situation is in turn also slowing down the continent’s clean energy transition. Ghana’s electric grid is in dire straits. In the mid-2010s, […]

Africa International

Mali junta slams France for allegedly sending weapons to Islamist militants

Mali has accused France of violating its airspace and supporting “terrorist groups” by delivering weapons to armed groups, the latest in a barrage of accusations that have strained the relationship between the West African country and the former colonial power. In a recent letter to the UN Security Council’s president, Mali’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Abdoulaye […]