chidi Nduka Aja

The International Monitory Fund (IMF) says it will promote gender equality and its impact on growth, economic diversification in Nigeria in the first quarter of 2018. Mrs Monique Newiak, IMF Economist, Western 1 Division, Africa Department, disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja, when she led a delegation of the IMF team to the Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen. Chris Ngige, in his office. “We will deal with the issues of promoting gender equality and its strong impact on economic growth in the first quarter of 2018. “We will also look at a broad range of indicators, such as economy growth, challenges of the economy, unemployment rate, key policies such as the physical deficit. “This is in terms of its composition, such as revenue, exchange rates, balance of payments, monitory policy and what the Central Bank of Nigeria is doing, and how it has led to different development growth in the country. “So, we will be working with the Bureau of Statistics and we have formed ...

In the second of our two-part article, Ben Longman , managing director of market intelligence firm  Trendtype , further examines the main risks exporters to Africa need to be aware of. Read Part 1. Mistake #6: Disconnecting from distributors Your distributors are your eyes and ears. You’ve been working with your distributor for 12 months but results have been unsatisfactory. Your distributor has been complaining about pack sizes, pricing and the product. It’s time for your once-every-two-year trip to see them. We hear lots of complaints from distributors and brand owners. Brand owners complain that distributors overpromise and underdeliver. Distributors complain that brand owners don’t listen. When you disconnect from your distributor you’re disconnecting from the market. Distributors work for you. Distributors also need to work with you. The underlying mistake is that exporters disconnect from distributors and the markets they service when things are okay. Produ...

Ben Longman , managing director of African market intelligence firm Trendtype , looks at the main risks exporters need to be aware of. Mistake #1: One size fits all “We did well in country X, so we should do well in country Y.” For a busy export director tasked with driving growth in Africa it might make sense that what works in Kenya will also work in Rwanda , or what works in Liberia will succeed in Ghana . Sometimes it does. But different consumer preferences, behaviours, purchasing power, existing players in the market, retail dynamics, regulations, and duty rates can frustrate expansion plans. Markets in Africa demand respect and research if you want exports to succeed, like any other market. A version of this mistake is when head office decides to take product from, for example, the South African factory and send it to a growing market in West Africa. They’re both Africa, right? Well, yes. In the same way that Azerbaijan and Vietnam are both Asia. There are...

With 2017 drawing to a close, it’s time to take stock and reflect on what kind of year it’s been for African private equity, and to look forward to what we can expect next year. All things considered, 2017 was an improvement on 2016 in terms of money raised and the number and breadth of projects greenlit, and this was very welcome after some slower years for the private equity industry. If we take just one part of the private equity market, and look at funding for large infrastructure projects like new power generation, roads and major housing schemes, in 2016 the private equity industry only raised US$250m for African infrastructure projects. But in 2017 the figure was at least four-times higher, with well over $1bn of new investment secured. Next year, we are optimistic that the sums raised will continue to rise, as investor confidence returns to Africa, boosted in part by recovering commodity and natural resources prices. There’s no doubting Africa’s potential. ...

As Nigeria exits the recession of 2017, investor sentiment across West Africa is likely to experience uplift in 2018. Still, political uncertainty ahead of Nigeria’s 2019 presidential elections and on-going security concerns are among the key risks for businesses operating in the region, says specialist global risk consultancy Control Risks in its annual political and security risk forecast ‘RiskMap’. “2017 has been a tough and turbulent year for businesses in the region, however with Nigeria exiting recession, and foreign exchange shortages easing, we see a strong improvement in investor sentiment emerging. Another major engine of growth will be Cote d’Ivoire, where economic expansion is projected at around 7% next year. There will be only a handful of elections in the region in 2018, meaning continuity will largely prevail with policy decisions having the biggest impact on the business environment,” comments Control Risks’ senior partner for West Africa, Tom Griffin. ...

A Court in India on Thursday sentenced a man who was found guilty of the 2016 rape and murder of a law student known as Jisha to death, a prosecution lawyer said. The 30-year-old victim was found dead by her mother at their home in Ernakulam district on April 28, 2016. She was left with signs of strangulation and more than 30 stab wounds on her body. Prosecution lawyer NK Unnikrishnan said the court handed down the death sentence to the convict, Ameerul Islam for Jisha’s rape and murder. “Islam is a migrant labourer from north-eastern Assam state. “This was a brutal murder that shocked the conscience of Kerala. We are happy that we managed to get the harshest punishment awarded to him by the court,” Unnikrishnan said Under India’s legal system, the convict can challenge both his conviction and sentence in a higher court. The police were accused of botching the investigation. The case triggered an intense debate in Kerala about the safety of women, especially Dalit ...

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the U.S. embassy in Israel was unlikely to be moved to Jerusalem before 2020, national media outlets reported. “It’s not going to be anything that happens right away,” U.S. news daily the New York Times quoted Tillerson’s speech at the State Department. “Probably no earlier than three years out, and that’s pretty ambitious,” the head of the State Department added. U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Dec. 6 the recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and his intention of moving the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The declaration serves “the interest of the United States and the peace between Israel and the Palestinians,” said Trump at a televised speech. Speaking of the moving of the U.S. embassy, Trump said the State Department will immediately begin to hire architects and engineers, so as to make the new embassy “a magnificent tribute to peace” when completed. Trump’s decision, which was seen as underm...

Presidential elections in Libya may be held in mid-2018, Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA) Foreign Minister Mohamed Siala said Wednesday at the Valdai Club panel discussion in Russia. “We believe that presidential elections will be held in the middle of 2018,” Siala said. He invited Russia to reopen its embassy in Tripoli. “There are a lot of rumors that Tripoli is not safe… It is about time that the Russian embassy starts to practice from Tripoli,” Siala said. Siala also called on Russian companies to return into Tripoli. “All Russian companies are welcome. We have a witness of the security situation in Tripoli, and all Russian companies are welcome,” Siala said. Earlier, Lev Dengov, head of the contact group on Libya at the Russian Foreign Ministry and State Duma, said that a forum with participation of all parties to the Libyan conflict may be held prior to elections in the country. He told Spunik on Wednesday that Russia may act as a mediator at such a...

Indonesian Parliament Speaker went on trial on Wednesday for alleged involvement in a multi-million-dollar graft case. House of Representatives speaker Setya Novanto was arrested in November by the country’s anti-corruption commission after evading questioning for weeks, claiming ill health. Sitting in the dock, Novanto refused to answer questions on his identity by the chief judge. He then told the panel of five judges that he was ill with diarrhoea. The trial was adjourned pending a medical examination. Novanto had ignored summons by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and evaded an attempt to arrest him in November by disappearing for a day, before being taken to hospital for injuries apparently sustained in a car crash. Investigators picked him up at the hospital after doctors certified that he was fit for questioning. The KPK has accused Novanto of corruption in a 440-million-dollar project by the previous government to issue...

An Afghan Refugee deported from Germany due to a procedural error received in his visa at the German Embassy in Pakistan on Wednesday, clearing his way for a return. The man, identified as Hashmatullah F, had to travel to the German embassy in Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, since the German embassy in Afghanistan is closed after being severely damaged in a major bombing in Kabul earlier this year. “I am very happy“, the man told dpa during a conversation in Islamabad, adding that he “cannot believe’’ he is returning to Germany. F’s visa is valid for three months. When exactly he would fly back to Germany remained unclear. The International Organisation of Migration (IOM), upon the request of the German authorities, is helping with the journey. “We will book a flight for Mr F as soon as he has his German visa,’’ an IOM officer had told dpa previously. (dpa/NAN)

Vietnam spots 105,000 to 106,000 tuberculosis (TB) patients each year, and it aims to eliminate the disease by 2030, the country’s National Lung Hospital said on Wednesday. Every year, around 20,000 TB sufferers are not spotted due to various reasons, including difficulties in TB detection and management among HIV carriers, and in clinical and laboratory capacity enhancement. Vietnam has set targets of reducing 30 per cent of TB infections and 40 per cent of TB mortality rates in the 2015 to 2020 period. The numbers of Vietnamese people dying of TB between 2015 and 2016 dropped by 3,000 mainly due to early and active diagnosis. Earlier, Vietnam had some 17,000 TB deaths each year. “Since the adoption of multidrug-resistant TB treatment in 2009, Vietnam has treated some 11,000 patients with the success rate of over 70 per cent,’’ the hospital said. It noted that the world’s rate of successfully treating multidrug-resistant TB is 54 per cent. According to the U.S. Age...

Russia is ready to consider easing an arms embargo for Libya, the Interfax news agency cited Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov as saying on Wednesday. Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj on Dec. 1, said he was hopeful that a UN-imposed arms embargo would be partially lifted against some branches of the country’s military. The Libyan government is allowed to import weapons and related materiel with the approval of a UN Security Council committee overseeing the embargo imposed in 2011. NAN reports that the North African country has been in turmoil since Muammar Gaddafi’s downfall gave space to militants and smuggling networks that have sent hundreds of thousands of migrants to Europe. Political and military fractures have left the country mired in conflict. Rival parliaments and governments have vied for power. Libya’s eastern-based military commander Khalifa Haftar is aligned with a government and parliament in eastern Libya. He has rejected a UN-backe...

The Rwandan Government has called for an investigation into alleged French complicity in the country’s 1994 genocide in a published a report on Wednesday. A U.S. law firm helped to investigate and  put together a report. The firm alleged that France helped with arms and provided safe harbour for Rwandan perpetrators of the genocide, knowing full well that ethnic Tutsis were being targeted. The report “exposes a damning summary of conduct by French officials in Rwanda during the 1990s and thereafter,’’ said Louise Mushikiwabo, Rwandan minister for foreign affairs. “We agree with the report recommendation that a full investigation into the role of French officials in the genocide is warranted,’’ she said. The government has submitted the report to the French side, she added, “with a view toward better collaboration with French authorities in the pursuit of truth, justice and accountability regarding the Genocide against the Tutsi.” Key findings in the report are...

Alphabet Inc’s Google says on Wednesday it is opening an artificial intelligence (AI) research centre in China to target the country’s local talent, even as the United States search firm’s products remain blocked in the country. Google said in a statement that the research centre was the first of its kind in Asia and would comprise a small team operating out of its existing office in Beijing. Chinese policy makers have voiced strong support for AI research and development in the country. However, they have imposed increasingly strict rules on foreign firms in the past year, including new censorship restrictions. Google’s search engine is banned in the Chinese market along with its app store, email and cloud storage services. China’s cyber regulators say restrictions on foreign media and internet platforms are designed to block influences that contravene stability and socialist ideas. While tightening restrictions are likely to hamper a re-entry to the Chinese market ...

Libya needs the assistance of the EU to tackle the migration issue, in particular, given the increasing number of migrants and refugees, Mohamed Siala, the minister of foreign affairs of the Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA), said Wednesday. “We can fight immigration also by helping Libya with immigration camps … We are feeding them, we are putting a sort of health care scheme, but their numbers are increasing, so without the European Union we cannot help them,” Siala said at the Valdai club panel discussion in Russia. According to Siala, the number of irregular migrants on Libyan soil amounts to nearly 500,000. “The number, the estimation of illegal immigrants within our borders is half a million,” Siala added. Siala said Libya sends one plane load of migrants to their home countries on a daily basis in an effort to solve the refugee crisis. “We are asking the European Union, including Italy, to help to convince their countries to take them [migrants] back ho...

Five people died after a fire broke out in a nursing home outside the Malaysian capital on Wednesday, officials said. Four of the victims were residents in their 60s and 70s, and the fifth was reportedly a 25-year-old Pakistani caretaker. The incident occurred in Kajang, about 25 kilometres south-east of Kuala Lumpur. “The two-storey nursing home was not registered, and officials were not aware that the bungalow was operating as such,’’ Lai Wa Chong, a local municipal official, told newsmen. The official added that the fire department could not vouch for the safety of the home as it lacked a proper license. Report said the cause of the fire was still under investigation. (dpa/NAN)

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) Authorities on Wednesday signed a deal with a Local Environmental Organisation to achieve the renewable energy target UAE state news agency, WAM reported. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), part of the National Energy Strategy, was signed between the UAE Ministry of Energy and Industry and the Emirates Wildlife Society (EWS). “This partnership will contribute to achieving the ambitious goals set by the government of the UAE to ensure sustainable development for future generations, “Especially as the WWF (World Wildlife Fund) has extensive expertise and more experience,’’ said Matar Hamed Al Neyadi, the under-secretary of the Ministry of Energy and Industry. Since its establishment in 2001, EWS has been working in association with the WWF. According to its website, the mission of EWS is “to protect biodiversity in key sites across the emirates including species and ecosystems of concern in the region.’’ Laila Mustafa Abdul Latif, g...

Jordan’s King Abdullah on Wednesday rejected any attempt to change the status of Jerusalem or its holy sites, and said peace would not come to the region without a resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. “All violence… is a result of a failure to find a peaceful solution to the Palestinian issue,” he told an emergency summit of Muslim leaders in Turkey. King Abdullah’s Hashemite dynasty is custodian of the Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem, making Amman particularly sensitive to any changes of status after the Trump’s administration’s decision to recognise it as Israel’s capital. Also speaking, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said, the Trump administration’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel was the “greatest crime” and a flagrant violation of international law. “Jerusalem is and always will be the capital of Palestine,” he told an emergency meeting of Muslim leaders in Turkey. He said the United States was giving away Jerusalem as if ...

South Sudan needs $1.7 billion in aid in 2018 to help six million people, half of its population, cope with the effects of war, hunger and economic decline, the government and the United Nations announced on Wednesday. South Sudan slid into civil war in late 2013, two years after gaining independence from Sudan and a third of its 12 million population has fled their homes. The conflict was sparked by a feud between President Salva Kiir and his former deputy Riek Machar, who is being held in South Africa, and eventually led to a fight along ethnic lines. “We are calling for $1.72 billion to continue providing life-saving assistance and protection for six million people most in need in South Sudan,” Alain Noudehou, UN Humanitarian Coordinator for South Sudan, told a news conference. Noudehou said humanitarian assistance was needed for people suffering the effects of displacement, food insecurity, malnutrition, violence and economic decline. He said since the conflict...

Zimbabwean wildlife officials have intercepted 200 kg of ivory worth more than 500,000 U.S. dollars which was destined for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The state controlled Herald Newspaper reported on Wednesday that the ivory was intercepted at Robert Gabriel International Airport on Monday following a joint operation by wildlife officials and security agencies. However, the owners were still not known and investigations to identify them were on-going. Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority spokesperson Tinashe Farawo confirmed the interception and said the case had since been reported to the police. (Xinhua/NAN)

Virgin Atlantic Airways has invested over one million dollars in the outgoing year to help promising Nigerian entrepreneurs to develop their commercial skills and businesses. The airlines’s Country Manager, Mr Samuel Lindfield, made the disclosure on Tuesday in Lagos at a media parley. Lindfield said that the airline in the year collaborated with the winners of the British Council “Enterprise Challenge’’, Nasir Yammama and Sophia Onu.  Nasir Yammama is a 26-year-old from the northern part of the country with a knack for technology. He was raised as a farmer’s child and most of his siblings are still active farmers. Once Nasir became old enough, he ventured out from the fields and into the Institute and Creative Technology at Middlesex University, London. “Nasir and Sophia were the faces of the entrepreneur advertising campaign recently run in Nigeria. “Sophia Onu also took part in the Virgin Atlantic `Business is an Adventure’ series, offering unrivalled level...

The murder of a man and an attempt to steal his identity was uncovered when the impersonator chose vegetarian food at a hospital, police in southern India said Wednesday. Family members of Sudhakar Reddy were surprised when “he” refused non-vegetarian food at a hospital in Hyderabad where he was admitted after an acid attack, local police official Kamleswar Shingvenar said. The family complained to the police that he may be a different person, leading authorities to the alleged murderers, Shingvenar said. Sudhakar’s wife, Swathi Reddy, and her lover Rajesh Ajakole have now been accused of the murder in the town of Nagarkurnool in Telangana state. According to police investigations, the lovers, Swati Reddy and Rajesh Ajakole, allegedly killed Swathi’s husband Sudhakar Reddy on the night of Nov. 26 and disposed of his body in a local forest. In an attempt to stage an attack, they then poured acid on the male lover Rajesh Ajakole’s face. Ajakole, his face swathed in b...

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has said that Nigeria’s total exports in the third quarter of 2017 stood at N3.57 billon, showing 13.19 per cent increase over the amount recorded in the second quarter. The NBS stated this in “Foreign Trade Statistics for the Third Quarter 2017’’ posted on the bureau’s website. The bureau stated the value (N3.57 billion) in the third quarter of 2017 represented an increase of 35 per cent over the amount recorded in the same period in 2016. The report stated that raw material exports value increased by 16.88 per cent in third quarter of 2017 against the level in second quarter of 2017 and 70.42 per cent higher than third quarter of 2016. It noted that solid minerals exports value increased by 85.3 per cent in third quarter of 2017 compared to the second quarter of 2017 and was 78.72 per cent higher than third quarter of 2016. Meanwhile, NBS said that total imports value of N2,348.6 billion in third quarter of 2017 which was 10.5...

A 38-year-old man, Samuel Urhuogo, on Wednesday appeared before an Apapa Magistrates’ Court, Lagos, for alleged theft of five laptops worth N505,000. Urhuogo, who resides at Festac Town area of Lagos, is facing a three-count charge bordering on conspiracy and stealing. The Prosecutor, Sgt. Olusegun Kokoye, told the court that the accused committed the offences with some others still at large on Oct. 20 at Durbar Road, Amuwo Odofin, Festac Town, Lagos. Kokoye said that the accused broke into the shop of the complainant, one Ada Opurozor, and stole the laptops. He said the accused was caught by some security guards while he was trying to escape with his accomplices. “The accused was later handed over to the police, while accomplices escaped with the laptops,’’ he said. Kokoye said the offences contravened Sections 287, 309 and 411 of the Criminal Law of Lagos, 2015.  Section 287 stipulates a three-year jail term for stealing, while Section 309 prescribes seven year...

Gold, silver and other raw materials worth 55 billion euros ($63.5 billion ) are contained in the world’s electronic waste each year, according to a UN report that highlights the economic opportunities in recycling. A total of 44.7 million tonnes of e-waste was generated in 2016, but only 20 per cent was recycled, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) reported on Wednesday in Geneva. The annual amount of discarded mobile phones, laptops, electronic toys and other products will rise 17 per cent in the next five years, the UN agency estimates. Countries should tap into the value of the world’s giant heap of e-waste not only by recycling its rare metals, the ITU says, but also by embracing other elements of the so-called circular economy, such as refurbishing second-hand products. “Therefore, the circular economy concept offers huge economic and employment opportunities for e-waste management,” the ITU report said. “The presented 55 billion euros of secondary...

Russia and Egypt may sign an agreement on Friday to resume Russian flights to Egypt Russian Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov and Egyptian sources said on Thursday. Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Egypt’s President Abdel al-Sisi in Cairo on Monday to discuss resumption of flights and to sign a deal for a nuclear power plant as part of growing bilateral cooperation. Egyptian sources did not confirm the date for the signing of the agreement while the TASS news agency cited Russian minister as saying that the two governments may sign the flight resumption deal on Friday. “We expect that he (the Egyptian minister) will come on Friday,” Sokolov said, according to the RIA news agency. Asked whether an aviation security protocol with Egypt will be signed, he said: “we expect that it will be signed.” NAN reports that Russia halted civilian air traffic to Egypt in 2015 after militants detonated a bomb on a Russian Metrojet flight leaving the tourist resort of Sharm el...

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence’s upcoming visit to Israel, where he is expected to lay out in more detail the controversial U.S. plan to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, has been delayed, a spokesman for the Israeli parliament said. Knesset Spokesman, Yotam Yakir, said Pence was scheduled to speak at the Israeli parliament on Monday, but his visit was postponed. Yakir did not offer further details. The postponement comes as Republicans in the U.S. Congress are attempting to push through a tax reform bill, the original version of which only passed the Senate 51 to 49. As vice president, Pence casts a tie-breaking vote if any legislation is deadlocked 50 – 50. On Wednesday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas blasted U.S. President Donald Trump for declaring Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and said the U.S is no longer “qualified” for leading an Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Representatives of the Palestinian premier have said that Abbas would not meet with...

All French children under the age of 16 will have to seek parental approval to open an account on Facebook or any other social network under draft legislation presented on Wednesday. The requirement is part of a French bill that seeks to adapt data privacy regulations and improve access to the information internet companies gather, store and in many cases sell to other firms about people’s online activity. “Joining Facebook will involve parental authorisation for minors aged under 16,” Justice Minister, Nicole Belloubet, said. She was presenting the outlines of a data privacy bill that was approved at a weekly cabinet meeting. It now goes to parliament for approval before it can become law. The bill aims to ensure easier access for users to all the data companies collect so they can more easily seek to have certain details amended or deleted. The minister said signing up to join a social network would involve ticking a box to confirm that approval from parents or rig...

EU member states must do more to crack down on the practice of tax avoidance, the European Parliament said on Wednesday. The call followed an 18-month probe set up after last year’s Panama Papers scandal. In 2016, a massive data leak by Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca put numerous politicians, athletes and celebrities in the spotlight after detailing how money was funnelled to shell companies in tax havens. The report by the EU legislature adopted on Wednesday, has more than 200 recommendations, including an end to the bloc’s practice of agreeing tax-related issues by unanimity and the introduction of EU-wide sanctions against tax havens. “Our conclusions are clear – the EU legislation on anti-money laundering has not been properly implemented by member states or enforced by the European Commission,’’ Socialist EU lawmaker. “The EU is caught in a sick race to the bottom on taxation and lack of implementation of our own EU legislation,” Jeppe Kofod said. Tax...

At least 21 different vehicles and five motorcycles were burnt on Wednesday in Lagos after a tanker laden with petroleum product had exploded. Confirming the incident, Mr Kehinde Adebayo, the spokesman of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), however, said no life was lost in the incident. “A distress call was passed to the LASEMA Response Team on 13th December concerning a tanker on fire at FESTAC link bridge. “Upon arrival to the scene of incident at about 12:45p.m, it was revealed that a tanker loaded with 33,000 litres AGO (diesel) detached from its truck and fell by its side. “It later exploded due to an aftermath ignition of a commuter bus. “However, no life was lost but one adult male sustained a minor injury. The inferno affected 21 cars (18 cars and 3 commuter buses) and 5 bikes. “The agency’s rescue/recovery equipment is on ground to ensure the burnt vehicles are taken off the road,” he said. Adebayo said combined effort of the emergency r...

Transactions on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) ended on a bearish trend on Wednesday as the All-Share Index dropped by one per cent due to sell pressure. The index lost 389.99 points or one per cent to close at 38,534.64, compared with 38,924.63 achieved on Tuesday. Also, the market capitalisation, which opened at N13.556 trillion, shed N136 billion or one per cent to close at N13.420 trillion following price depreciation. Nigerian Breweries topped the losers’ chart for the day, shedding N3.67 to close at N139.65 per share. Presco trailed with a loss of N3.41 to close at N65, while Lafarge Africa shed N2 to close at N45 per share. GT Bank was down by N2 to close at N39.90m while Dangote Cement dropped N1.12 to close at N239.88 per share. On the other hand, Nestle led the gainers’ table with N2.40 to close at N1,462.50 per share. Mobil followed with a gain of N1.50 to close at 170, while Guinness appreciated by N1.15 to close at N95.20 per share. Ecobank Transnat...

Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Wednesday chaired his first ZANU-PF politburo meeting since taking over from former President Robert Mugabe three weeks ago. The politburo meeting at the ruling party headquarters marked the official start of processes leading to the party’s one-day extra ordinary congress set for Friday. The congress’ agenda will include confirmation of Mnangagwa as the president and first secretary of ZANU-PF, his endorsement as the party’s presidential candidate for 2018 elections and endorsement of expulsion of party members allegedly aligned to former First Lady Grace Mugabe’s G40 faction. Mnangagwa is yet to appoint his two deputies, and it has not been confirmed whether he will make such announcements at the congress. Mnangagwa said he would maintain the same politburo until the end of its term in 2019, according to party spokesperson, Simon Moyo. The politburo meeting will be followed by a central committee meeting of the party on Th...

France and Mali said the G5 Sahel military force must secure its first victories in tackling Islamist militants by the middle of 2018 to prove its worth and ensure more concrete support from the UN. The G5 Sahel force is composed of the armies of Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Burkina Faso and Chad. It was launched in October amid growing unrest in the region, whose porous borders are regularly crossed by jihadists, including affiliates of al Qaeda and Islamic State. However, France which has some 4,000 troops in the region, has bemoaned that the militants have scored military and symbolic victories in West Africa while the G5 force has struggled to win financing and become operational. To give the force a boost, French President Emmanuel Macron hosted the leaders of the five participating countries, Germany and Italy as well as the Saudi and Emirati ministers at a summit. In a sign Gulf Arab states are upping their influence in the region, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab...

A suicide bomber in police uniform blew himself up inside a police training camp in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu on Thursday, killing at least 13 police officers, officials said. Police spokesman Maj. Mohamed Hussein said the attacker, with explosives strapped to his body, infiltrated the General Kahiye Police Training Academy and struck during a police parade. Abdikadir Abdirahman, the director of Amin Ambulances, told Reuters: “We have carried 13 dead people and fifteen others who were injured from the police academy.” The militant Islamist group al Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack. “We will give details of casualties later,” said Abdiasis Musab, the group’s military operations spokesman. Al Shabaab carries out frequent bombings in Mogadishu and other towns. It is waging an insurgency against the UN-backed government and its African Union allies in a bid to topple the weak administration and impose its own strict interpretation of Islam. The militants...

President Jacob Zuma of South Africa has filed an appeal against a court ruling that his appointment of a state prosecutor to decide whether to reinstate corruption charges against him was not valid, local media reported on Thursday. The High Court ruled on Dec. 8 that Zuma’s appointment of head prosecutor, Shaun Abrahams should be set aside immediately and that Deputy President, Cyril Ramaphosa should appoint a new public prosecutor within 60 days. The ruling was among a series of judicial blows to his administration, which has been hit by a series of scandals. Zuma filed papers saying that people exercise presidential powers at the same time, according to television station eNCA. Zuma’s spokesman could not immediately comment. The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has also said it will appeal the ruling. In October, the Supreme Court of Appeal upheld an earlier decision by a lower court that the nearly 800 corruption charges filed against Zuma before he became pr...

Mr Emmanuel Elon, the Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Local Content, on Wednesday commended Dangote for its huge investment on the refinery and petrochemical industry. He said that the refinery would improve socio-economic development of the nation. Ekon gave the commendation during the oversight visit of the committee to Dangote refinery and petrochemicals in Lekki Free Trade Zone in Ibeju Lekki, Lagos. Ekon assured Dangote of lawmakers’ support to indigenous companies, while also promising to create enabling environment for businesses in Nigeria to thrive. According to him, “we are going to work with the management of Dangote to ensure that local content implementation is deepened. ” We commend Dangote multi-billion dollars investments in the refinery and his vision for the growth of the country. ” We urged others to imbibed the giant strive taken by Dangote in the oil and gas industry,”” he said. Ekon said that the National Assembly would provide a...

Nigeria has demanded an immediate restructuring and expansion of the UN Security Council to correct the injustices meted out against Africa in the composition of the prestigious 15-member body. Nigeria’s position was delivered by Amb. Babatunde Nurudeen, Permanent Representative of Nigeria to ECOWAS at the UN General Assembly Debate on ‘Question of Equitable Representation on and Increase in the Membership of the Security Council’. The Security Council is UN’s most powerful principal organ charged with the maintenance of international peace and security, accepting new members to the UN and approving any changes to the UN Charter. Its powers include the establishment of peacekeeping operations, the establishment of international sanctions, the authorisation of military action and it is the only UN body with the authority to issue binding resolutions to member states. Nurudeen regretted that 72 years after its formation, Africa continued to be marginalised in the repres...

An Indonesian constitutional court on Thursday narrowly rejected a petition by a conservative group to make extramarital sex illegal, but rights activists braced for a renewal of the battle in parliament and other state institutions. Five of nine judges voted for the case to be thrown out, in a slim victory for rights activists who had feared the petition would spur moral policing and further discrimination against the gay community in the world’s largest Muslim-majority country. Most Indonesians adhere to a moderate form of Islam under an officially secular system, but there has been rise of a hardline, politicised Islam in recent years, which until recently had stayed on the fringe of the nation’s politics. Constitutional court chief justice Arief Hidayat said existing laws on adultery did not conflict with the constitution and it was not the court’s authority to create new policies. The judge said the question could be put to parliament, which is currently delibera...

A Court in India found on Tuesday found  a 23-year-old man guilty of raping and killing a 30-year-old female law student in 2016. The victim, who was identified only as Jisha, belonged to India’s lowest-ranked caste called the Dalits. She was found dead at her home in Ernakulam district on April 28, 2016 with signs of strangulation and about 30 stab wounds on her body. The court found Ameerul Islam, a migrant worker from north-eastern Assam state, guilty of the rape and murder, prosecution lawyer K Satish said. The court is likely to pronounce the sentence on Wednesday. The accused could face death penalty after the verdict although, under India’s legal system, a verdict can be challenged in a high court and then the Supreme Court. No fewer than 2,000 people were questioned in the case and 20 were subjected to DNA tests, until the police finally zeroed in on Islam, who was arrested 49 days after the incident. The case also triggered intense debate about the position ...

Renowned U.S. economist Joseph Stiglitz said Tuesday that he believes the crypto currency Bitcoin “has no social value” and that he would be surprised if the rally would continue in 2018. He made the remarks at the one-day annual Arab Strategy Forum held in Dubai in its 10th edition. “The U.S. government can shut down Bitcoin at any time if it wants to do so,” said Stiglitz, who received the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his research on market information in 2001. Bitcoin rose to 19,000 U.S. dollars per unit in value on Thursday from 3,000 dollars per unit in August. On Sunday, the Chicago Board Options Exchange launched Bitcoin futures as the first regulated U.S. exchange, pushing the price of the crypto currency higher by around 26 percent that day. “I think the dollar is still the currency of choice because you can buy goods around the world, while the greenback also has not lost its power as medium of exchange, which the Bitcoin allegedly offers as a c...

The broad-based slowdown in sub-Saharan Africa is easing, and growth is expected to pick up to 2.6% in 2017 from last year’s 1.4%, the IMF said in its latest Regional Economic Outlook for sub-Saharan Africa . A recovery in oil production and a good harvest in Nigeria , as well as the easing of tensions in the Niger Delta account for more than half of the additional growth. The policy environment has started to improve. Fiscal deficits are stabilising and current account deficits are narrowing, partly reflecting a slight rebound in commodity prices. The global environment has also been supportive, with strengthening growth momentum in the largest economies, commodity prices off their troughs, and improved access for sub-Saharan African economies to international capital markets. But while a third of sub-Saharan African countries continue to grow at about 5%, income per capita will barely increase in the region. Moreover, in 12 of the 45 sub-Saharan African countries, home ...