Business Emerging Markets Energy

Amid energy crisis, EU gives gas-rich Mozambique’s security big boost

The European Union is planning a five-fold increase in financial support to 2024 for the mission of the Southern African Development Community’s (SADC) in Mozambique, according to an internal EU document, as Islamist attacks threaten gas projects meant to reduce the EU’s reliance on Russian energy. The SADC mission — a bloc of 16 African […]

Headlines Tunisia

Tunisian leader to attend U.S. – Africa summit in Washington

Tunisia’s President Kais Saied is expected in December to attend the U.S. and Africa summit organized by the American President Joe Biden, the Chargé d’Affaires of the U.S. mission in Tunis has revealed. Natasha Franceschi told Tunisia’s top diplomat Othmane Jerandi Monday that President Biden will extend an invitation to the Tunisian leader. The summit […]

Africa International

UN-chartered food aid cargo ship readies to sail from Ukraine to Ethiopia

The United Nations-chartered ship Brave Commander will shortly set sail from Ukraine bound for Africa after it finishes loading more than 23,000 metric tonnes of wheat in the Ukrainian port of Pivdennyi, a UN official said. The ship, which arrived in the port near Odessa, will sail to Ethiopia via a grain corridor through the […]

Business Emerging Markets Energy

EU imports of South African coal surge eight-fold, replacing Russian fossil fuels

South Africa’s coal sales to Europe rose eight-fold during the first six months of 2022 compared with last year as demand for the fossil fuel surged ahead of a ban on Russian coal, according to Thungela Resources, a South Africa-based thermal coal exporter. The European Union banned Russian coal imports in response to the invasion […]

Africa International

Al-Qaida claims to kill Russian mercenaries in Mali as French forces complete withdrawal

Al-Qaida’s affiliate in Mali claimed Monday (15 August) it had killed four mercenaries from Russia’s private military firm, Wagner Group, as France announced its forces have completed their withdrawal from the conflict-torn country. The media unit for Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen (JNIM), said in a statement its fighters clashed with the Russian mercenaries Saturday […]

Africa International

Mali receives more military aircraft from Russia

Mali’s military government has been handed over several fighter jets and helicopters by Russia that is positioning itself to fill a political vacuum, as French and European forces are in the process of withdrawing from the country. The aircraft were formally received during a ceremony at Bamako’s airport, with Malian President Assimi Goita and Russian […]

Africa Americas International

Blinken to visit Africa to counter Russian charm offensive

The head of US diplomacy will travel in August to South Africa, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda, the State Department announced, as the US seeks to counter Russian diplomatic influence. Antony Blinken will aim to show “African countries that they have a critical geostrategic role and are crucial allies on the most pressing […]

Africa Business Finance International

Economic headwinds: foreign debt and inflation cloud Kenya’s presidential polls

As Kenyans head to the polls on August 9, East Africa’s largest economy could be headed for tough times. With the country’s currency having depreciated sharply, Kenya’s Treasury will face difficulty paying back its huge dollar-denominated debt. Kenya is among developing countries facing an economic crisis, according to a recent report released by Moody’s Investors […]

Africa International

Tug-of-war: West and Russia vying for influence in Africa

French President Emanuel Macron and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov are each visiting several African countries this week in what is widely seen as a tug-of-war over zones of influence on the continent. Speaking during a visit to Ethiopia, Lavrov on Wednesday (27 July) criticized the reliance of the global economy on the US dollar, […]

Europe International

Macron in Cameroon slams ‘hypocrisy’ on African nations

Global food crisis is one of Russia’s “weapons of war“, said French President Emmanuel Macron during a visit to Cameroon on Tuesday (26 July), dismissing suggestions Western sanctions were to blame. It’s Macron’s first foreign trip since his re-election as he seeks to reset France’s post-colonial relationship with the continent. The French leader specifically denounced […]