One woman has died of the deadly disease of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo raising fears of a fresh outbreak of the deadly haemorrhagic fever. The National Institute of Biomedical Research confirmed in a statement that the death had been identified three days after samples taken from a patient with symptoms who had…
Nigeria’s president Muhammadu Buhari has called on the African Union (AU) to undertake large-scale reforms that will enable the body to remain relevant. As Africa’s most populous country and largest economy, Nigeria holds huge sway in the 55-nation bloc that was formed to promote international cooperation and harmonise member states’ policies. The African Union decided…
There is a common adage that time is a healer, but in Somalia, memories of times gone by evoke painful memories of the good old days in both the elderly that witnessed them and the young who can only fathom such glories. To know how much has changed in this country, picture this. In 1967,…
Coca-Cola will sell a stake in its South African bottling unit to local investors for $669 million, in order for the beverages firm to comply with South Africa’s post-apartheid racial equity policies. Coca-Cola also confirmed in a statement that the deal was a condition for its 2016 buyout of former partner SABMiller, now part of…
Ongoing tensions over the Nile waters have heightened after Sudan’s Minister for Irrigation and Water Resources Yasser Abbas warned that any unilateral move by Ethiopia to fill its Grand Renaissance Dam (GERD) “would threaten Sudan’s national security.” His comments come at a time when both countries have accused each other’s security forces of attacking civilians…
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has excluded Burundi and Tanzania from the list of African countries set to receive COVID-19 vaccines through its COVAX scheme. The global health body aims to start shipping about 90 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to Africa in February, and the list of countries that will receive them, together with their…
Ghana has signed an interim trade agreement with the U.K., one of the last bilateral deals hanging in the balance following Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union. The signed agreement restores the duty-free and quota-free access Ghanaian exporters had to the U.K. market pre-Brexit, according to a joint statement posted on the U.K. government website….
Zambia’s government expects to secure an International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan before nationwide elections are held in August. In November, the copper producing nation became Africa’s first pandemic-era sovereign defaulter after missing a coupon payment on one of its $3 billion of Eurobonds. Holders of the notes have set a deal with the Washington-based lender…
Ethiopia’s opposition parties have blamed federal army troops for killing at least 52,000 people during a military offensive in the country’s northern Tigray region. A further 3 million have been forced to flee their homes and even more are dependent on food aid, the Tigray Independence Party, National Congress of Great Tigray and Salsay Weyane…
Africa will begin receiving COVID-19 vaccines from the COVAX scheme by the end of the month, with millions of doses of AstraZeneca shots already allocated to countries across the continent. Nigeria, the most populous nation, will receive 16 million doses, while Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, the next two most populous states, are…
Teraco Data Environments, Africa’s largest data center company, has raised $170 million to fund construction of a new facility in South Africa. The financing arrangement was led by Johannesburg-based lender Absa Group, and will help Teraco construct a seventh site in Africa’s most developed nation, according to Chief Financial Officer Samuel Erwin. This follows the…
South Africa’s state-owned defense firm Denel made a $129.8 million loss in the 2019/20 financial year compared to a $98.2 million loss in the previous year. Denel manufactures military equipment for South Africa’s armed forces, and has been embroiled in a financial crisis made worse by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. In October, Denel requested for…
American automaker Ford Motor will invest $1.05 billion in its South African manufacturing operations, the firm announced on Tuesday, and expand production of its signature brand, the Ranger pickup truck. The investment aim to increase Ford’s installed capacity in South Africa from 168,000 to 200,000 vehicles, said Andrea Cavallar, operations director of Ford’s International Market…
Ethiopia has launched the construction of a new railway line that will link its market town of Awash with Djibouti’s port. The project is contracted by China Civil Engineering Construction Cooperation (CCECC), further extending Chinese dominance in Ethiopia’s developing economy. The landlocked country currently has two rail lines that connect the interior with Port Djibouti,…
Ethiopia will receive a $4.8 million grant from Japan, following an agreement signed between both countries aimed at enhancing road operations and maintenance. The pact was signed by Ethiopia’s Minister of Finance Yasmin Wohabrebbi and Japanese Ambassador to Ethiopia Ito Takako. According to Yasmin, due to the rapid urbanization and increase in the number of…
Ghana will procure 17.6 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines by the end of June with the first doses slated to arrive in March, President Nana Akufo-Addo announced on Sunday. The West African nation is battling a second wave of the coronavirus that has swept through the continent and mutated. Ghana’s daily infection rate is rising…
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has agreed to provide Chad with $560 million to support its economy under the extended credit facility and extended fund facility, pending a final approval. The financing will support Chad’s economic recovery at a time the Central African country is battling the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and heightened terrorism…
Zimbabwe’s government has allocated $100 million to acquire COVID-19 vaccine shots, though the plan awaits recommendation from local scientists on which type to buy, a state-owned newspaper reported on Sunday. The southern African nation has been grappling with an economic crisis that was in place before the pandemic began, and acute shortages of foreign exchange…