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Dutch PM downplays conflict over ASML after meeting with China’s Xi

Dutch PM downplays conflict over ASML after meeting with China’s Xi

DUTCH Prime Minister Mark Rutte downplayed conflict between the Netherlands and China over restrictions on the export of equipment made by Dutch firm ASML following a meeting with President Xi Jinping in Beijing. Earlier this year, the Dutch government began denying licences for ASML to export advanced "DUV" tool lines to China, joining a U.S. effort to curb chip exports to the world's second-biggest economy. Now in doubt is whether The Hague will allow ASML to continue servicing the billions of euros worth of advanced equipment it has already sold to Chinese customers that now falls under export restrictions when current licences…
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Nissan to test African demand for its e-Power hybrid vehicle

Nissan to test African demand for its e-Power hybrid vehicle

JAPANESE carmaker Nissan Motor plans to introduce its e-power hybrid technology car in Tunisia, its Africa head said, as part of plans to test demand in the African market for electric vehicles. Africa is the world's last remaining automotive frontier due to the low level of vehicle ownership. According to Nissan, elsewhere in the world, the global motorization average is 182 vehicles per 1,000 people versus 42 per 1,000 in Africa. But, like in many countries globally, electric vehicles (EVs) are currently priced out of the reach of most domestic consumers, while some countries in Africa, including South Africa, struggle…
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Ghana seeks to speed up debt restructuring negotiations

Ghana seeks to speed up debt restructuring negotiations

GHANA wants to speed up remaining debt restructuring negotiations, its finance minister said, as the government pushes for a deal to rework over $13 billion of international bonds. The West African country has been overhauling its debts as it tries to emerge from its worst economic crisis in a generation with the help of a $3 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme. The government reached a deal in principle in January to restructure $5.4 billion of loans with official creditors. It has since started formal talks with one bondholder group under non-disclosure agreements, Reuters reported about two weeks ago, citing sources familiar…
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Senegal’s president-elect Faye vows to govern with humility

Senegal’s president-elect Faye vows to govern with humility

SENEGAL opposition presidential candidate Bassirou Diomaye Faye, a political newcomer popular among disaffected youth, promised to govern with humility and transparency. Faye, set to be declared the next president after his main rival called him to concede defeat, thanked President Macky Sall and other candidates for respecting Senegal's democratic tradition by recognising his victory well before the official results. "In electing me, the Senegalese people have decided on a break with a past," Faye told journalists in his first public appearance since the election. "I promise to govern with humility and transparency." Provisional results showed Faye with about 53.7% and…
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Congo and Togo record Africa’s highest increase in happiness levels

Congo and Togo record Africa’s highest increase in happiness levels

THE Republic of Congo and Togo are among the countries that have seen happiness levels amongst their citizens increase the most over the past 12 years. The two African countries are listed among seventeen countries globally that recorded increases in average life evaluations of a full point or more. The World Happiness Report 2024 ranks the Republic of Congo in fourth place globally (with 1.40 points) for the biggest increase in happiness levels, after Serbia (1.84 points), Bulgaria (1.57 points) and Latvia (1.47 points ), mostly thanks to increases among their youth populations. Togo closed the world’s top 10 most…
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Ten influential women in African politics

Ten influential women in African politics

WITH more than a third of African countries headed to the polls in 2024, African women are showing increasing interest in holding leadership positions, including the presidency. Their stories inspire resilience, determination, and visionary leadership, serving as beacons for future generations of female leaders across the continent. The following is a selected list of some influential women in African politics: 1. Sahle-Work Zewde, President of EthiopiaA distinguished Ethiopian diplomat, Zewde made history in 2018 by becoming the first female Ethiopian president. Before her presidency, she held prominent roles within the United Nations, including serving as Special Representative of the Secretary-General…
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Cultural wealth can drive economic growth in African cities

Cultural wealth can drive economic growth in African cities

WITH the right policies, African cities hold immense potential to drive significant economic growth by capitalizing on their rich cultural heritage and harnessing the creativity of their youthful populations, according to a new report. “Africa’s urban landscapes are not just repositories of heritage and tradition; they are dynamic centres of innovation, awaiting the right policies to support unlocking their full potential,” the report finds. Titled 'African Alternatives: The Future of Creative Cities,' the report is published by the World Cities Culture Forum, a network comprising local governments and cultural sector leaders from 44 global cities. Through interviews with over 150…
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Russian investigators question Moscow attack suspects’ families in Tajikistan

Russian investigators question Moscow attack suspects’ families in Tajikistan

RUSSIAN investigators were in Tajikistan, questioning the families of four men charged with carrying out a deadly attack on a concert hall near Moscow, three Tajik security sources told Reuters. The sources, who were not authorised to comment publicly, said Tajik security officials had brought the families to the capital Dushanbe from the towns of Vakhdat and Gissar, and from the Rudaki district. Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon was personally overseeing the investigation on the Tajik side, the sources said. On Monday, making his first public comment on Friday's attack, Rakhmon called it a "shameful and terrible event" and urged Tajiks to…
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Several people killed in accident at abandoned Liberia gold mine

Several people killed in accident at abandoned Liberia gold mine

SEVERAL people have been killed in Liberia in an accident at an abandoned gold mine, the West African country's mines minister said. Minister Wilmot Paye said that seven people died in Monday night's incident but acknowledged the authorities could not yet provide an exact death toll until a team reached the site in River Cess County in south-central Liberia. "I was told that seven persons died, but I can't say much until the team gets there. The mines had been abandoned several months ago," Paye told Reuters, adding that he did not know which company had operated the site. "If…
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Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ properties in L.A. and Miami raided by federal agents

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ properties in L.A. and Miami raided by federal agents

U.S. Department of Homeland Security agents have opened an investigation of hip-hop star Sean "Diddy" Combs, searching his properties in Los Angeles and the Miami area, agency officials said on Monday. The inquiry was led by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents in New York, where a lawsuit was filed against Combs by a former girlfriend in federal court in November accusing him of engaging in sex trafficking. Combs, 54, has said that he is innocent and that his accusers were seeking "a quick payday." His New York-based lawyer, Ben Brafman, did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment. Television…
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