The Editorial Team |

Libya Capital Airport Closed as Rockets Shatter UN Ceasefire

TRIPOLI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Tripoli’s international airport was closed and flights rerouted after a series of overnight rocket attacks rendered all but meaningless a ceasefire announced by the United Nations days earlier. Inbound flights were being sent to the city of Misrata, Libyan television reported, noting that there were no reports of injuries from the attacks. The Maitiga International Airport’s Facebook page said that no planes were damaged in the violence. The incidents came…

First Genetically Modified Mosquitoes Set to Be Released in Africa

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – A new front has been opened up in the battle against malaria with the release of the first ever genetically modified mosquitoes in Africa. Some 10,000 sterile male mosquitoes will be released in Burkina Faso, a country at the front line of the war against the disease. Last year there were 9.8m cases of malaria here, resulting in almost 4,000 deaths. Malaria is the biggest killer of children under…

Birth Control for Tanzanians? President Says `No Thanks’

Posted on by The Editorial Team

DAR ES SALAAM (Capital Markets in Africa) – President John Magufuli said Tanzanians have no need for birth control and only those who are lazy and can’t feed their children should use contraception. The 58-year-old leader has embarked on a nationwide anti-corruption drive and cut wasteful government spending since winning elections in 2015, but criticism of his administration is growing amid a clampdown on the media and the opposition. In a speech to citizens in Simiyu, northern…

Kenya Rate-Cap Retention Dents Policy Credibility, Moody’s Says

Posted on by The Editorial Team

NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Kenyan lawmakers’ move to postpone a value-added tax on fuel and their failure to repeal a cap on commercial lending rates weakens the government’s fiscal-policy credibility, Moody’s Investors Service said. While President Uhuru Kenyatta can still reject the proposed amendments to legislation, they could exacerbate Kenya’s “sizeable financing needs in light of the government’s recurring fiscal deficits and growing debt burden,” Moody’s Vice President Lucie Villa said in an emailed report Monday. The 16 percent…

Zimbabwe Will Accelerate Debt Plan, Finance Minister

Posted on by The Editorial Team

HARARE (Capital Markets in Africa) – Zimbabwe will fast-track plans to settle its debt arrears, a key step needed to restore investor confidence in the country’s economy, Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube said. The government needs funds to rebuild an economy battered by almost two decades of misrule under former President Robert Mugabe that’s left infrastructure crumbling and crippling cash shortages. Emmerson Mnangagwa, who won a disputed presidential election last month, has said his government plans to prioritize the repayment of…

Rebellion Boils as Cameroon President Seeks to Extend Rule

Posted on by The Editorial Team

YAOUNDE (Capital Markets in Africa) – While President Paul Biya appears to be a shoo-in to extend his 36-year rule in elections next month, he’s had no success in stifling a rebellion in Anglophone regions that’s threatening to split the mainly French-speaking central African nation. Africa’s second-longest serving head of state, Biya, 85, is facing eight candidates in an Oct. 7 vote that will be overshadowed by insurgent attacks, a violent clampdown by the security forces and…

World Hunger Rises as Climate Change, Conflict Curb Food Access

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – The number of people suffering from hunger climbed to an eight-year high in 2017 as extreme and erratic weather, conflicts and economic slowdowns limited food availability. Those categorized as hungry increased by 16.6 million to 821 million, the highest since 2009, according to the United Nations. It warned of the alarming signs of rising food insecurity and high levels of malnutrition as more people go undernourished in Africa and Latin America. “Climate…

« 1 … 440 441 442 443 444 … 1,078 »