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As crisis deepens, Cubans scramble to migrate by any means

As crisis deepens, Cubans scramble to migrate by any means

Cuban Idalberto Echavarria manoeuvred his wife Olga in a wheelchair to the front of the line at Terminal 2 of Havana's airport, dodging luggage and a sea of people bidding farewell to friends and family. The crowded terminal, a launch point for Cubans making their way by air to Nicaragua and then overland to the United States, is one barometer of the frenzy to migrate from the communist-run island nation. For many, like Echavarria and his wife, it has also become a last resort as Cuba's economic crisis deepens with no end in sight. "There are other ways, but you need money or…
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Ghana looks to market more oil and gas blocks

Ghana looks to market more oil and gas blocks

GHANA is looking to boost its oil and gas production by selling more exploration rights, aiming to avoid leaving valuable fossil fuels in the ground and generate revenue to fund its energy transition, a Ghanaian official said. The West African country is suffering its worst economic crisis in generations and has been seeking investors from countries such as the United States, China and India for its oil and gas sectors. "For any investor to look at a temporary hiccup as a basis for decisions in Ghana I think would be making a mistake," said Andrew Kofi Egyapa Mercer, deputy minister…
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Multi-day protests over economic crisis grip Ghana’s capital

Multi-day protests over economic crisis grip Ghana’s capital

HUNDREDS of demonstrators gathered in the Ghanaian capital Accra on Saturday for a third day of anti-government protests linked to economic hardship that have led to dozens of arrests. Protesters, some waving placards of the Ghanaian flag, decried the high cost of living and a lack of jobs as they marched under the watch of riot police. The gold-, oil- and cocoa-producing nation has been battling its worst economic crisis in a generation brought on by spiralling public debt. "The average Ghanaian can't afford three square meals (per day) ... the government doesn't care," said 24-year-old unemployed protester Romeo, who like others…
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Egypt’s Sisi praises sacrifices of Egyptians in 10th-anniversary speech

Egypt’s Sisi praises sacrifices of Egyptians in 10th-anniversary speech

PRESIDENT Abdel Fattah al-Sisi paid tribute to the "sacrifices" and "patience" of Egyptians struggling with an economic crisis 10 years after he came to power. His speech marked the anniversary of protests during which Sisi, then army chief, led the ouster of Egypt's first democratically elected president, before becoming president himself the following year. He alluded to the militant attacks and political and economic uncertainty of that era. "I believe that this generation who through their effort and patience transported Egypt from chaos and anxiety to stability and security is able to complete its development transformation," he said, reading from…
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Tunisians struggle to buy sheep for Eid as economic crisis bites

Tunisians struggle to buy sheep for Eid as economic crisis bites

JIHED ABIDELLAOUI TUNISIANS hoping to buy a sheep to slaughter for Islam's Eid al-Adha festival next week are facing much higher prices because of a drought, adding to public anxiety at an economic crisis that looks set to worsen. Small flocks of sheep are a common sight in Tunisian cities and towns in the run-up to the annual festival, feeding on highway verges and in empty lots as farmers bring in their animals from the countryside for sale. But the bleating that echoes across city neighbourhoods as families fatten animals on rooftops or in gardens may be heard less frequently this…
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Zimbabwe to hold general election on Aug. 23

Zimbabwe to hold general election on Aug. 23

ZIMBABWE will hold its presidential and parliamentary elections on August 23, President Emmerson Mnangagwa said, as the southern African country continues to battle a raging economic crisis. Mnangagwa, elected president in 2018, will be seeking a second term in office. His election followed a military coup that deposed Robert Mugabe in 2017. The 80-year-old's main rival is lawyer and pastor Nelson Chamisa, 45, who leads the newly formed Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC). The election proclamation comes amid parliamentary debates over electoral reforms. Chamisa's party is demanding access to and an audit of the voters' roll, as well as public…
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Ghana-based aid and advocacy groups call for debt cancellation amid crisis

Ghana-based aid and advocacy groups call for debt cancellation amid crisis

MORE than two dozen aid and campaign groups called for international creditors to cancel a large portion of Ghana's debts as it struggles to contend with an economic crisis. Ghana's consumer inflation rose to 54.1% year-on-year in December, driven by rising fuel, utilities and food costs. International reserves have dwindled to less than two months of import cover. "The people of Ghana have suffered extensively from the crisis," the groups, which all have operations in Ghana, said in an open letter. "Wealthy private lenders must share in the costs of a crisis they helped to create and cancel the debt."…
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Ghanaian protesters demand president step down over economic crisis

Ghanaian protesters demand president step down over economic crisis

COOPER INVEEN and FRANCIS KOKOROKO MORE than 1,000 protesters marched through Ghana's capital Accra, calling for the resignation of President Nana Akufo-Addo amid an economic crisis that has hammered the cedi currency and seen fuel and food costs spiral to record levels. Filing past police in riot gear, the red-clad crowd waved placards and chanted 'Akufo-Addo must go' and 'IMF no' in reference to the government's ongoing talks with the International Monetary Fund for billions of dollars to prop up the economy. The president last week sought to reassure Ghanaians that the authorities would get the country's finances back on track after consumer inflation…
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Seething Sri Lanka stops president’s brother flying out of the country

Seething Sri Lanka stops president’s brother flying out of the country

UDITHA JAYASINGHE and DEVJYOT GHOSHAL SRI Lankan immigration officials stopped the president's brother and former finance minister Basil Rajapaksa from flying out of the country on Tuesday, as anger mounted over the island's worst economic crisis in decades. It was not clear where Rajapaksa, who also holds U.S. citizenship, was trying to go. He resigned as finance minister in early April as street protests surged against shortages of fuel, food and other necessities, and quit his seat in parliament in June. His elder brother, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, will resign as president on Wednesday to make way for a unity government, after…
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