Mining Provides Economic Boon for the Region, but Instability in Mali also Makes it Vulnerable
Kedougou, one of the poorest regions of Senegal, is home to over 20 nationalities. Foreigners, mainly from other countries in West Africa, come to Kedougou to try their luck in striking gold. Gold mining is not new in the region bordering Mali and Guinea. Farmers and villagers have practiced it on an artisanal level for […]
Nigeria’s Defence Minister says Paying Ransoms to Kidnappers Makes it Worse
Mohammed Badaru Abubakar’s comments come as a deadline to pay a ransom for the release of five sisters expired. The six sisters, aged from the early teens to 23, were taken hostage in the Abuja suburb of Bwari along with their father Mansoor Al-Kadriyar, who was later released to raise the ransom. His 21-year-old daughter, […]
Patrolling the Deadliest known Migration Route in the World
On Wednesday night, Humanity 1’s crew had received two different Mayday calls about boats in distress, and they desperately tried to clarify whether there was another boat nearby. The first Mayday came from Frontex, the European border control, regarding a wooden boat carrying 40 people and the other from Alarm Phone, [a hotline for people […]
Rights Groups Urge Kenyan Officials to Investigate and Prosecute Cases of Femicide
“This is a national crisis – we are not doing enough as a country to protect women,” said Audrey Mugeni, the co-founder of Femicide Count Kenya, an NGO that documents the number of women killed across the country each year. Last year, Femicide Count Kenya recorded 152 killings – the highest in the past five […]
A Plan by Shell to Sell off a Nigerian Subsidiary Raises Brows
The company this week said it wants to sell off its onshore Nigerian subsidiary, the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) in a deal worth $2.4 billion. It named the buyers as Renaissance, a consortium comprised of four Nigeria-based exploration and production companies and an international energy group. The deal is still subject to Nigerian government […]
Amazon Prime Video to Scale Down Operations in Africa
The global streaming giant is also set to lay off staff in these markets. This is the latest in a line of decisions geared toward restructuring the multinational in order to “improve the operational running of the multi-territory business”. However, some shows in the Middle East and African regions that have begun production such as […]
DRC Opposition to Boycott Inauguration of Incumbent President
Three opposition leaders in the Democratic Republic of Congo have jointly declared a nationwide protest scheduled for Saturday, coinciding with President Félix Tshisekedi’s second-term inauguration. The electoral commission reported Tshisekedi’s victory in last month’s election with 73% of the vote. However, this outcome faced criticism as a “sham” from multiple opposition candidates, including Moïse Katumbi, […]
Pretoria Considers Changing the Way it Attracts Visitors from China
South Africa is a prime destination for international tourists, but industry experts say the government needs to work on attracting more visitors from one massive market: China. Arrivals from China were up in the first 11 months of 2023 thanks to the Asian giant’s reopening and new direct flight routes, said Thandiwe Mathibela, a spokeswoman […]
Tragic Aftermath of Comoros Election
One person has been killed and at least 25 injured in violent protests that erupted after Comoros President Azali Assoumani’s re-election. Demonstrations erupted on Wednesday, a day after the electoral body declared Assoumani winner, giving him a fourth five-year term. A seven-year-old child was among the wounded, Djabir Ibrahim, head of the emergency department at […]
Safaricom, M-PESA Africa and Sumitomo Corporation Open Applications for the Latest Edition of the Spark Accelerator
Safaricom first launched the Spark Venture Fund back in 2014, to invest and support late-seed, early growth stage companies with a presence in Kenya, whilst leveraging Safaricom assets to enable the companies to scale. A US$1 million fund, it invested an average of US$175,000 in six Kenyan startups, namely Sendy, Lynk, Ajua, Eneza, iProcure and […]
