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Nomadic Bedouins set up camp by the housing blocks of Egypt’s Nile Delta

Nomadic Bedouins set up camp by the housing blocks of Egypt’s Nile Delta

WITH the roads and brick housing blocks of Egypt's densely populated Nile Delta in the distance, Elsayed Abuhamed and his family have pitched their tents in a field scattered with straw, tied up their livestock, and are cooking over an open fire. They are part of the El Dawaghra tribe, more than 300 families of livestock herders who for generations have wandered the land as nomads, resisting the urge to settle like many other Bedouin tribes. Although they have identification papers, they otherwise live outside the boundaries of Egypt's vast bureaucracy, not sending their children to public schools nor benefiting…
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S.A’s Zuma, Mantashe to face for criminal investigations

S.A’s Zuma, Mantashe to face for criminal investigations

A South African corruption inquiry said it had referred former president Jacob Zuma and current mineral resources minister Gwede Mantashe for investigation by law enforcement with a view to establishing potential graft charges. The inquiry was established in 2018 to examine allegations of high-level graft during Zuma's nine years in power from 2009 and is publishing its findings after more than three years of investigations. Its latest report focuses on corruption and fraud related to privately-owned services company Bosasa, now in voluntary liquidation after banks closed its accounts amid graft allegations. "The evidence revealed that corruption was Bosasa's way of…
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14 missing after Tanzanian aircraft crash

14 missing after Tanzanian aircraft crash

RESCUERS in the Indian Ocean archipelago of Comoros are searching for 14 passengers and crew on a Tanzania-registered light aircraft that crashed over the weekend, the plane's owner said on Monday. The Cessna Caravan plane, which was on a short-term lease to a Comoran operator, plunged into the sea on Saturday as it flew between the capital Moroni and the city of Fomboni, local media reported. Searchers and rescuers spotted what looked like floating debris in the sea at lunchtime on Monday, Mohammed Mazrui, the managing director of Fly Zanzibar which owns the plane, told Reuters. There had been no…
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Burkina Faso national conference approves 3-year military-led transition

Burkina Faso national conference approves 3-year military-led transition

THIAM NDIAGA A national conference in Burkina Faso has authorised the ruling junta to hold power for three years, potentially setting the West African country on a collision course with international partners who have urged a speedy return to constitutional order. The junta seized power in a January coup against President Roch Kabore, blaming him for failing to contain surging violence by Islamist militants. The putsch was led by Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Damiba, who is now interim president. The charter was approved by the conference and signed by Damiba in the early hours of Tuesday after a day-long debate in the…
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From kitchen to farms: meet African inventor on a mission

From kitchen to farms: meet African inventor on a mission

BLAME EKOUE, BIRD STORY AGENCY SEEING imported agricultural machinery - often paid for by government or donors - lying discarded due to the unavailability of local servicing or parts was enough for Minsob Logou to invest his time, money and energy into a local solution for farmers. The result: the Logoutrac mini-tractor. It's a step out of the kitchen and into the field for this award-winning Togolese inventor. Better known in Togo and the region as the "father of Foufoumix" Logou requires little introduction to those who keep an eye on the world of African invention. As early as 2002,…
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Mali debt defaults due to sanctions reach $180 million

Mali debt defaults due to sanctions reach $180 million

MALI has failed to pay 46.32 billion CFA francs ($78.5 million) in principal and interest on a treasury bond, the West African debt agency Umoa-Titres said, pushing its debt defaults due to sanctions following two coups to $180 million. West Africa's main political bloc, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the UEMOA monetary union ordered the sanctions after Mali's military rulers pushed back the timeline for elections. The missed payments, which were due on Monday, bring the total payments that Mali has defaulted on because of sanctions since January to about $180 million. The sanctions include border…
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At least nine migrants drown off Tunisia in shipwreck

At least nine migrants drown off Tunisia in shipwreck

AT least nine African migrants drowned in a shipwreck off Tunisia as they tried to cross the Mediterranean to Italy, while another nine were rescued by the navy, the defence ministry said. In recent months, several people have drowned off the Tunisian coast, with an increase in the frequency of attempted crossings to Europe from Tunisia and Libya towards Italy. "Navy units backed by the Coast Guard recovered the bodies of nine migrants from different African countries and rescued nine other migrants, after their boat sank 18 km ... off Chebba, Mahdia governorate," the ministry said. It added that the…
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Uganda welcomes young mothers back to school

Uganda welcomes young mothers back to school

ELIAS BIRYABAREMA AT a tumble-down wooden shack in a fishing village on the shores of Lake Victoria in Uganda, 17-year-old Margaret Babirye cuddles her baby at lunch break before dashing back to school - a right she could only have dreamed about before Uganda's reforms. Babirye is one of thousands of girls benefiting from a new Ugandan government policy encouraging girls who have given birth to return to class, part of a broader trend documented by Human Rights Watch where African nations are encouraging young mothers back to school. "I made a mistake giving birth while still young and in…
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OPEC chief, African ministers defend oil and gas investments

OPEC chief, African ministers defend oil and gas investments

MACDONALD DZIRUTWE and ESTELLE SHIRBON THE OPEC chief and ministers from major African oil producing countries defended investments in fossil fuels, saying Africa's development needs were being overlooked in the global drive towards decarbonisation. Africa accounts for less than 3% of global carbon emissions while some 600 million Africans have no access to electricity, they said, arguing that investments in the continent's natural resources should go forward. "It would be a tragedy of unimaginable proportions if, despite billions of dollars being poured into investments for these resources, these went west as stranded assets," OPEC Secretary-General Mohammad Barkindo told an energy…
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Egypt plans sukuk to finance government investment projects

Egypt plans sukuk to finance government investment projects

EGYPT'S government plans to issue sharia-compliant sukuk bonds, as well as more Eurobonds and Green bonds, to fund public projects, the finance ministry said on Monday. The country aims to increase the government's contribution to state-backed green investments in next year's budget as part of a programme coinciding with its hosting of the COP27 United Nations Climate Change Conference in November, the ministry added. Egypt's government became the first in the Middle East and North Africa to issue Green bonds when it issued five-year Green bonds in September 2020 with a $750 million deal to finance environmentally-friendly projects in the…
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