In Somalia, Hussein Abdurahman has taken it upon himself to feed the neglected dogs and cats he finds on the streets of Mogadishu. The boy’s inspiring mission is a call to action. Jamal Ahmed Osman reports from Mogadishu. Camera: Abdulkadir Zubeyr.
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Category: Africa
Africa news. Africa is highly biodiverse, it is the continent with the largest number of megafauna species, as it was least affected by the extinction of the Pleistocene megafauna. However, Africa also is heavily affected by a wide range of environmental issues, including desertification, deforestation, water scarcity, and pollution
Cameroon Hosts Conference on Chronic Child Malnutrition
DOUALA, CAMEROON — Health workers, officials and humanitarians from 15 French-speaking sub-Saharan countries are meeting in Cameroon’s economic capital, Douala, to discuss chronic child malnutrition in the region.
Many of the children in crisis have been displaced from Sudan and other conflict-ridden countries. Their chronic malnutrition, say those at the meeting, has been compounded by climate shocks that make food and safe water increasingly scarce in sub-Saharan Africa.
“All United Nations agencies are very worried that several million children suffering from acute malnutrition in sub-Saharan Africa risk dying before they celebrate their fifth birthday,” said Simeon Nanama, UNICEF’s regional nutrition adviser for West and Central Africa. “Close to 7 million children affected by acute malnutrition are in dire need of help to save their lives.”
In December, officials in Cameroon pointed to the mass immigration of women and children seeking to escape communal violence and Boko Haram terrorists who operate in Cameroon, Chad and Nigeria and other countries.
Last week, Chad’s President Mahamat Idris Deby declared a food and nutritional emergency throughout the central African state. Deby pleaded for international support, especially for children under the age of five, who he said were suffering from acute malnutrition.
The United Nations says malnutrition is the second-leading cause of death among children after malaria in sub-Saharan African countries.
The Douala meeting aims to update health and humanitarian workers on U.N. guidelines issued in December about how to prevent and manage acute malnutrition to save the lives of millions of malnourished children.
“For the first time, WHO is providing guidance on how to prevent malnutrition and also for the first time we have guidance on how to detect earlier those children that are at risk of poor growth and development,” said meeting participant Laetitia Ouedraogo Nikiema, a World Health Organization consultant and former public health, nutrition and research expert with WHO’s Africa region.
Ouedraogo said the new plan envisages more integration of nutrition services into health systems.
The U.N. has said it intends to give more food and health assistance to the governments of countries most unable to care for malnourished children. The U.N. has a goal of eliminating acute malnutrition by 2030.
The U.N. said the plan faces challenges as the proportion of children with acute malnutrition persists at what it calls worrying levels; at least 216 million African children still suffer from stunting and malnutrition.
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Upsurge in Violence in Northern Mozambique Displaces Thousands
Maputo, Mozambique — A new outbreak of unrest in northern Mozambique, scene of a jihadi insurgency, has forced thousands to flee their homes, according to United Nations figures and sources in Cabo Delgado province.
An alert from the U.N. migration agency IOM said recent attacks in the Macomia, Chiure and Mecufi districts had displaced 13,088 people, most of them children, by bus, canoe and on foot.
Mozambique’s President Filipe Nyusi confirmed there had been new population movements but played down the threat and insisted security forces had the situation under control.
“There are a significant number of people who move from one area to another and complain about support,” he said, after a meeting with military commanders.
“Terrorists try to recruit in this province, which is why we see these movements,” he said.
A recent flight of people from the town of Ocua, he said, was a result of revenge attacks after Mozambican and Rwandan forces had thwarted an attempt to kidnap children.
“The last month recorded significant movements by non-state armed groups towards the southern districts of Cabo Delgado” a spokesperson from the U.N.’s refugee agency, UNHRC, told AFP.
“This wave of attacks has essentially been characterized by a high level of destruction, namely residences, churches and social infrastructures as schools and health centers.”
Forces from Rwanda and countries of the Southern African Development Community, deployed to Mozambique in July 2021 after years of jihadi attacks.
They have helped the country retake lost territory in Cabo Delgado, but unrest continues.
One civil servant in Cabo Delgado confirmed to AFP that the situation had deteriorated. He spoke anonymously on government orders.
“It seems they have returned with great fury,” he said, of the armed groups behind the attacks.
Tobias Miguel, a researcher following the crisis, said those displaced seem to be seeking refuge in the northern town of Pemba or crossing out of the province to neighboring Nampula.
“We have received reports that terrorists have stopped some cargo transport vehicles to demand monetary payments,” he said.
The secretary of state for Nampula Province, Jaime Neto, confirmed that the National Institute for Disaster Management was seeking to open a transit center to accommodate displaced people.
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Zimbabwe Launches New Polio Vaccination Campaign Amid Outbreak
Zimbabwe has launched an emergency polio vaccination campaign to contain a new outbreak, even as it fights a cholera outbreak that has claimed close to 500 lives. Columbus Mavhunga reports from Harare. Camera: Blessing Chigwenhembe.
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Red Sea Conflict Hits Egypt, Other Parts of the Region
cairo — Egypt’s economy is facing serious hurdles after revenue from the country’s most strategic asset — the Suez Canal — has dropped by nearly half. Attacks by the pro-Iranian Houthi militia group on ships passing by Yemen has made merchant ships avoid the Red Sea and the canal.
The Greek-flagged grain ship Sea Champion was slightly damaged Wednesday by two ballistic missiles fired by the northern Yemen-based Houthi group, which says it is attacking Western ships in solidarity with Hamas militants fighting Israel.
Because of such attacks, many ships that normally pass by Yemen, headed to or from the Suez Canal, now avoid the area and take the longer route around the Horn of Africa.
That is cutting deeply into Egypt’s revenue from ships passing through the canal and is just the latest challenge to the country’s economy, Egyptian President Abdel Fatteh el-Sissi said.
First, el-Sissi said, were the two years of the COVID-19 pandemic. Then the Russia-Ukraine conflict added to economic issues, as well as pressure from conflicts in border countries of Libya, Sudan and Gaza. Now, el-Sissi said, Egypt is seeing Suez Canal revenue of approximately $10 billion a year decline by nearly 40% to 50%.
Said Sadek, a professor of political sociology at the Egypt-Japan University of Science and Technology in Alexandria, said Egypt isn’t the only country affected by fewer ships transversing the canal.
“If the conflict continues,” he said, “supply chains all over the world will be affected, especially since many of the cargoes that pass through the canal are oil and gas ships heading to Europe, and that will make the European economy suffer a lot.”
Joshua Landis, who heads the Middle East studies program at the University of Oklahoma, tells VOA the conflict in Gaza has had repercussions on many Middle East fault lines, in addition to the Red Sea conflict affecting world shipping.
“It’s ratcheted up the war between Iran and the U.S., it’s increased violence in countries like Iraq and Syria, along borders that had become stalemates,” he said. “It’s increased instability from one end of the Middle East to the other. It’s like throwing a firecracker into the middle of a beehive.
Landis said that Iran, which controls many of the proxy militias that are participating in far-flung corners of the Gaza conflict, “has the United States by the short hairs,” pulling it into conflicts, not only with the Houthis in Yemen, but also with Shi’ite militias in Iraq and Syria.
Paul Sullivan, a Washington-based Middle East and energy analyst at the Atlantic Council, warns the Houthis are not deterred by any of the U.S. and British retaliatory airstrikes that have been made against them. He said that may indicate “that they have more sources of financing, training and weapons than was previously known.”
“Yemen,” Sullivan added, “has been at war for a good part of its history [and] many of those involved with the attacks are battle-hardened. They also live by a mountain code, which rules out not responding to threats like many others have.”
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Kenya’s Government Says it is Taking Steps to Ease Cost of Living
Nairobi, Kenya — Kenya’s government says it is committed to building the economy by increasing revenue collection, reducing government spending, and ensuring the country is able to repay its debt and live within its means.
The government announcement comes days after the African Development Bank, in its outlook report for 2024, said many nations continue to grapple with higher commodity prices, citing weak domestic currencies and slow economic activities in countries that import more than they export.
The financial institution warned that the high cost of essential food items in some African countries like Angola, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Nigeria will likely cause civil unrest.
Speaking to journalists Wednesday, Kenyan President William Ruto said his government has done just enough to reduce the economic burden on Kenyans.
“The strategy we have put in place over the last one year has seen the cost of living come down, whether you talk about the cost of food, whether you talk about inflation, and what we have done with the management of the debt situation in the country,” he said.
Ruto blamed the previous government for burdening the country with foreign debt and failing to collect enough revenue to balance the country’s accounts.
The government removed fuel subsidies which were meant to cushion Kenyans from the high prices of food as part of its economic reform agenda. That reform, the African Development Bank said, could cause unrest.
According to AfDB research, 19 African countries recorded double-digit inflation rates last year. Earlier this month, The Central Bank of Kenya’s Monetary Policy Committee warned citizens to brace for high food prices due to soaring inflation and expensive imports because of the depreciation of the local currency.
Kenya has also witnessed protests over high food prices, but people continue to express their displeasure with the country’s economic status in public gatherings and on social media networks.
Samuel Nyandemo, economics lecturer at the University of Nairobi, says some Kenyans are losing patience with Ruto’s 18-month-old government.
“Kenyans, their patience is eroding unless some of these issues are addressed with urgency. There will be some animosity whether you like it or not,” Nyandemo said. “You can even see it in political meetings. People are now so courageous they are shouting at the president. What does that show you? It shows you that people are getting disgusted. We better start addressing key issues first and the first thing is reducing the cost of living.”
Kenya’s government says it has managed to lower food prices, and the economy is improving despite spending much of its revenue repaying loans.
Ruto says Kenya needs to reduce its reliance on food imports to strengthen the currency and reduce food prices.
“The 500 billion Kenya shilling we spend every year to import food into Kenya will only go down the day we produce that food in Kenya. That’s a step we are taking and we made a commitment as a government that we want to reduce imports by 50 percent in the next five years,” he said.
Nyandemo the economist says the shilling’s loss of value against the dollar and other currencies will impact the country’s food prices and economy.
“All macroeconomic valuables have shown red lights. We should not be fooled that the shilling is going to stabilize soon. A shilling cannot stabilize because of some mischievousness through the Euro bond,” Nyandemo said. “I think it is a short-lived phenomenon. And as long as the shilling is not going to be stable, as long as the interest rates are going to be very high, businessmen are not going to be able to source loans for investments. In any case, you can see from the Kenya Revenue Authority the revenue being collected is not in line with the targets.”
Africa’s economic growth is expected to grow at 3.2 percent. The African Development Bank urged African countries to build resilience in a world of rising uncertainty and geopolitical competition.
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US Ambassador Meets With Gabon Coup Leader
YAOUNDE, CAMEROON — A U.S. delegation met with the military ruler of Gabon on Tuesday and reiterated the need for a quick return to constitutional order six months after the nation’s August 30 coup.
Even so, the U.S. ambassador to Gabon who led the delegation, Vernelle Trim FitzPatrick, said economic and diplomatic relations with the Central African state will be reinforced despite sanctions imposed on Gabon’s coup leaders.
Military ruler General Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema pleaded for U.S sanctions to be lifted.
Speaking later on Gabon’s state television, FitzPatrick said the United States finds it important to discuss strengthening trade and commercial relations with Gabon to gain the support of the U.S Congress in fostering ties with the nation.
FitzPatrick, who has been ambassador to Gabon for about a month, also said the United States will assist with the transition to civilian rule but did not say how.
Gabon’s military, led by Nguema, ousted President Ali Bongo Ondimba in a bloodless coup on August 30. The military accused Bongo of rigging Gabon’s August 26 elections and ruining the country’s economy.
After the coup, Washington suspended most nonhumanitarian aid and asked for a quick return to constitutional order. Gabon’s military leaders said elections would be held in August 2025, after an inclusive national dialogue this April.
Nembe Patrice, an economic adviser at Alternance 2023, a group of opposition parties created in 2023 to fight for political change in Gabon, said civilians want Nguema to organize elections and hand power to democratically elected officials.
He also said he hopes the United States will advise Nguema not to be a candidate.
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UN Security Council Sanctions 6 Rebel Leaders in Congo
United Nations — The U.N. Security Council designated six individuals for sanctions Tuesday for their destabilizing activities in Congo, where violence has escalated in the east this year, intensifying an already dire humanitarian situation.
Those sanctioned are a general in the Rwandan-backed Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR); two senior leaders in the Ugandan armed group Allied Democratic Forces (ADF); the military spokesman for the Rwandan-backed M23 rebel group; the leader of the National Coalition of the People for the Sovereignty of Congo (CNPSC), a Mai-Mai group; and a commander in the armed group Twirwaneho.
“These individuals are responsible for numerous abuses,” U.S. Deputy U.N. Ambassador Robert Wood said in the council. “But to counter the flow of funds and arms to those who fuel conflict in the DRC [Democratic Republic of Congo], sanctions need to be kept up-to-date and fully implemented.”
Wood urged the international community to take immediate steps to end the fighting in the eastern Congo and de-escalate tensions between Congo and Rwanda. Each country blames the other for the instability.
The United Nations has expressed grave concern about the deterioration in North Kivu province since a cease-fire expired at the end of December between Rwandan-backed M23 rebels and the Congolese army, known as the FARDC.
“Since 28 January, fighting between the M23 and the FARDC has intensified in several areas, and the M23 has expanded further south, leading to further displacement of populations towards Goma and South Kivu,” said Bintu Keita, the head of the U.N. mission in Congo, MONUSCO.
The M23 has its eye on Goma, the capital of North Kivu and a city of 2 million people where the U.N. estimates that 135,000 displaced people have fled this month. The rebels are now reported to be in the hills outside Sake town, 25 kilometers from Goma.
MONUSCO’s Keita says the fighting is complicating the humanitarian situation. Displacement sites are severely overcrowded, cholera and measles are on the rise, and Goma’s isolation is disrupting food production and supply chains and causing prices to rise for basic commodities.
The U.N. appealed Tuesday for $2.6 billion to assist nearly 9 million of the most vulnerable Congolese this year. Overall, there are more than 25 million people in need, including 8.4 million people affected by acute malnutrition – most of them children.
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African Development Bank: High Cost of Living in Africa Could Cause Unrest
Abuja, Nigeria — The African Development Bank is warning that the rising cost of energy, food and other commodities in several African countries, including Angola, Ethiopia and Kenya, could trigger social unrest. Already, people in Africa’s most populous country, Nigeria, have been marching to protest the high cost of living, prompting the government to release grain from the national reserves.
The African Development Bank’s notice was contained in its biannual Africa Macroeconomic Performance outlook publication released last week.
The bank said in its 2024 forecast that energy and food price increases — along with a currency depreciation in Angola, Ethiopia, Kenya and Nigeria — could spark internal conflict, despite Africa showing overall economic growth.
The bank also said conflicts in eastern Europe and the Middle East could trigger supply chain disruptions, exacerbate inflation across the world, and make Africa’s situation more precarious.
This, as protests over hunger and the cost of living grow in Nigeria.
Hundreds protest food prices
On Monday, hundreds of people demonstrated in southwestern Oyo state, asking authorities to take steps to bring down the cost of food or resign from office.
Security analyst Senator Iroegbu agrees with the African Development Bank’s projections.
“It’s obvious for even the blind to see that there will be social unrest because [of] the three basic needs of life, food, shelter and clothing. The most important is feeding,” said Iroegbu. “Nobody can survive without food and that is the level Nigerians are heading to, so people are becoming restless. In fact, if one-tenth of what happens in Nigeria happens in another place, there will be serious unrest but the elasticity of that is being tested.”
The African Development Bank said Africa has several rapidly growing economies, such as Ivory Coast, Libya, Niger, Rwanda and Senegal.
But the bank said performance varies from country to country depending on economic policies.
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu embarked on bold economic reforms including the scrapping of expensive fuel subsidies and floating of the country’s currency, upon taking office last May.
While authorities say the policies are bound to pay off, the immediate shocks are having an impact on the economy.
Last week, Nigeria’s inflation hit 29.9% — its highest mark since mid-1996. In response, authorities ordered the release of 102,00 metric tons of grain, including rice and maize, to lower food prices.
Government ‘not sleeping,’ says official
On Tuesday, Nigeria’s chief of defense staff, Major General Christopher Musa, spoke to journalists in Abuja about the situation.
“The entire world is feeling the heat; it’s not only peculiar to Nigeria,” said Musa. “We’ve had a few riots here and there. Why I’m happy is that the government too is not sleeping, it’s stepping up to ensuring that they address these challenges. You’ve seen that grains have been released, measures are being put in place to bring succor all over the country. The issue of dollar and exchange rate, everything is tied to it and that’s why we’re having these issues.”
The African Development Bank says economic growth in Africa is expected to average 3.8% and 4.2% in 2024 and 2025, respectively — higher than projected global averages in the same period.
But protesters say unless they can afford food and life’s basics, they will continue to march in the streets.
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Senegal Leaves Presidential Election List Mainly Unchanged
Dakar — Senegal’s Constitutional Council on Tuesday published an amended list of candidates for a presidential election delayed from Feb. 25 to a yet undecided date, removing just one candidate from the initial list because she withdrew her application.
The council last week overturned a bill that delayed the vote to December — a move that had plunged the West African country into unchartered constitutional territory and stoked public anger against the government.
President Macky Sall, who said the postponement was needed due to a dispute over the candidate list, later pledged he would abide with the court’s decision and hold consultations to organize the vote as quickly as possible.
The new candidate list was almost unchanged from the original list for the Feb. 25 vote apart from removing opposition contender, Rose Wardini, bringing the number of candidates down to 19 from an initial 20.
The council said Wardini had withdrawn her application without providing further detail.
Prominent opposition figures including the firebrand jailed politician Ousmane Sonko and Karim Wade, the son of former president Abdoulaye Wade, remained excluded.
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Kenyan Companies Embrace AI for Marketing Efficiency, Cost Savings
Kenyan companies, facing economic challenges, are turning to artificial intelligence to reduce production and advertising expenses. That’s causing anxiety among artists and ad agencies, who fear reduced income and job losses if AI can replace the work they’ve always done. Mohammed Yusuf reports from Nairobi.
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Tensions Escalate Between Somalia, Ethiopian Over AU Summit Incident
mogadishu, somalia — Tensions between Somalia and Ethiopia escalated over the weekend following allegations by Somalia’s president that Ethiopian security forces tried to bar him from attending the African Union summit in Addis Ababa.
The incident came amid a dispute between the countries involving the breakaway region of Somaliland.
Speaking to journalists before cutting short his trip, Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said the actions of the Ethiopian forces were part of a grand scheme by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to annex part of Somalia.
“This morning when I prepared myself to attend the closing session of the summit, the Ethiopian security blocked my way,” Mohamud said Saturday, adding that he wasn’t allowed “to come out of the hotel and go on with my cars and entourage.”
Ethiopia, he said, wanted “to annex part of Somalia to Ethiopia and to disrespect the African Union summit participants like me.”
The Somali president eventually gained access to the meeting, entering with the security team of Djibouti President Ismael Omar Guelleh.
The Ethiopian government rejected Mohamud’s claim and said the Somali leader and his delegation declined to be accompanied by a security detail assigned to him.
Hard to place blame
Matt Bryden, co-founder of Sahan Research, a policy and security think tank, said he thought it wasn’t easy to apportion blame, because there could have been a breakdown in security protocol.
“Either the Ethiopians unreasonably denied access to the president and his security detail, or the Somali security personnel escorting the president were trying to bring weapons into a location into which they were not permitted,” Bryden said.
The claims by Mohamud escalated tensions that were already running high because of an agreement signed New Year’s Day between Abiy and Somaliland President Muse Bihi.
The memorandum of understanding would grant landlocked Ethiopia access to the Gulf of Aden to build a naval base. In exchange, according to Somaliland, Ethiopia would recognize it as an independent state. Ethiopia, however, said it would merely consider that possibility.
Somalia, which still considers Somaliland part of its territory, is insisting the agreement be canceled.
The African Union has called for dialogue to resolve the issue, but a former Somali government minister, Abdullahi Godah Barre, said that wasn’t the right move now.
Barre said dialogue is always good, but Ethiopia has to retract the deal so that the dialogue will be without conditions. No one, he said, will accept negotiations based on annexation.
Ethiopia has not explicitly rejected Somalia’s annexation claim, but Abiy said this month that “Ethiopia does not wish to harm Somalia.”
According to Bryden, the issue is complicated by Somalia’s dependence on Ethiopian troops for security in southwestern parts of the country.
“Somalia has still not called for Ethiopian troops to leave southwestern Somalia, which would be disastrous, because presumably, places like Beletweyn, Bulobarde, Baidoa and other towns would fall into the hands of al-Shabab if Ethiopia were to do so,” he said.
Ethiopia and Somalia have a long history of tensions and have even gone to war with each other. However, in recent years, the two countries have enjoyed relatively friendly relations. Ethiopia currently deploys its troops into Somalia within and outside the African Union framework.
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Kenyan Packaging Manufacturer Aims to Cut Plastic Pollution
Packaging is one of the biggest drivers of the world’s plastic pollution problem, according to the United Nations, with more than a third of all plastic produced used for packaging. To address the challenge, a Kenyan company is making toxic chemical-free, compostable food packaging products from agricultural waste. Juma Majanga reports from Thika, Kenya. Camera: Amos Wangwa
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Biden to Welcome Kenyan President to the White House in May
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden plans to welcome Kenyan President William Ruto to the White House in May, hosting a state visit after reneging on his promise to visit Africa last year.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Friday that the visit set for May 23 will mark the 60th anniversary of U.S.-Kenya diplomatic relations and “celebrate a partnership that is delivering for the people” of both countries while affirming “our strategic partnership” with Ruto’s country.
It “will strengthen our shared commitment to advance peace and security, expand our economic ties, and stand together in defense of democratic values,” Jean-Pierre said in a statement. “The leaders will discuss ways to bolster our cooperation in areas including people-to-people ties, trade and investment, technological innovation, climate and clean energy, health, and security.”
Word of Ruto’s visit comes after Haiti announced this week that it is working on an official agreement with Kenyan officials to secure the long-awaited deployment of Kenyan police forces there. High-ranking officials from both countries recently met in the U.S. for three days to draft a memorandum of understanding and set a deadline for the arrival of forces in Haiti from the east African country.
Jean-Pierre added Friday that, beyond Kenya, Ruto’s visit to Washington will “further the vision” that “African leadership is essential to addressing global priorities.”
First lady Jill Biden traveled to Kenya last February during a five-day, two-country tour of the continent. The White House also confirmed that both Ruto and Kenyan first lady Rachel Ruto will be honored with a dinner with the Bidens.
The White House hosted a state dinner celebrating close ally Australia in October, which followed the president’s skipping a stop in that country earlier in 2023 to focus on debt limit talks in Washington. But those festivities last fall were toned down some given Israel’s ongoing war with Hamas.
Biden said in December 2022 that he would visit sub-Saharan Africa the following year, which would have made him the first U.S. president to travel there in a decade. The president pledged at the end of a U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington with 49 leaders, in which he suggested the continent would be a strategic focus as the U.S. made political and financial commitments.
But other priorities interceded in 2023. Biden pulled off last-minute trips to Israel and Vietnam, as well as a secretive journey to Ukraine. He ended last year by skipping a December U.N. climate change conference in Dubai, while sending Vice President Kamala Harris in his place, and never scheduled an Africa trip.
Biden is now seeking reelection in November’s election while juggling a host of pressing foreign security matters, including the Israel-Hamas war and continuing discussion in Congress over proposed foreign aid for Ukraine amid its war with Russia.
On Friday he traveled to East Palestine, Ohio, making good on months of saying he’d visit the site of a Norfolk Southern train derailment that spilled a cocktail of hazardous chemicals and caught fire in February 2023.
Vice President Kamala also spoke Friday at the Munich Security Conference and was asked about Washington’s “growing transitional mindset” toward Africa — a characterization she disputed, countering that “the future has to be about partnership and investment.”
“I believe that we must think differently about the relationship between the United States and the continent of Africa,” the vice president said, adding, “We look at the future of the continent and how it will affect the world: It is indisputable. There will be a direct impact.”
Harris noted that the median age on the African continent is 19 and that population growth means that, in the coming decades, as many as 1 in 4 people in the world will live there.
“In terms of the future, we must see the innovation that is currently happening there and partner with African leaders and nations,” she said. “And change the way we are thinking, in a way that is not about aid, but about partnership. Not what we do for the continent, but what we do with the continent and its leaders.”
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US Condemns Rwanda’s Support of Armed M23 Rebels in Eastern Congo, Calls for Troop Withdrawal
Kampala — The U.S. has condemned Saturday Rwanda’s support of the armed M23 group in eastern Congo, whose rebellion has caused the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people, and called on the rebel group to “cease hostilities.”
The U.S. State Department in a statement strongly criticized “the worsening violence … caused by the actions of the Rwanda-backed, U.S.- and UN-sanctioned M23 armed group.” It called on Rwanda “to immediately withdraw all Rwanda Defense Force personnel from the [Congo] and remove its surface-to-air missile systems,” which it said threatened civilian lives and peacekeepers. It also urged the rebels to retreat from their current positions near two urban areas in Congo’s North Kivu province.
This is likely to put pressure on Rwanda, whose government has repeatedly denied any links to the M23 group.
Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi has accused Rwanda of destabilizing Congo by backing the rebels. U.N. experts previously said they had “solid evidence” that members of Rwanda’s armed forces were conducting operations there in support of the M23 group.
Fighting near Goma, the capital of North Kivu province and the largest city in the region, has intensified in recent days as the rebels threatened to take over the metropolis. Residents of the nearby town of Sake have been fleeing fierce fighting between Congolese government troops and the group.
The armed conflict has so far displaced more than one million people in eastern Congo since November, according to the aid group Mercy Corps.
Many M23 fighters, including Congolese Tutsis, were once members of Congo’s army. The group’s leaders say they are fighting to protect local Tutsis from extremist Hutu groups such as the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, whose members were among the perpetrators of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.
M23 is one of more than 100 armed groups active in eastern Congo, seeking a share of the region’s gold and other resources as they carry out mass killings.
The rebel group rose to prominence just over a decade ago when its fighters seized Goma, which borders Rwanda. It derives its name from a March 23, 2009, peace deal which it accuses the Congo government of not implementing. After being largely dormant for a decade, the M23 resurfaced in late 2021.
The U.S. statement urged all sides to de-escalate and to “participate constructively in reaching a negotiated solution” to the conflict.
“It is essential that all states respect each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and hold accountable all actors for human rights abuses in the conflict in eastern [Congo],” it said.
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Call to Free Senegal Presidential Candidate From Jail
Dakar — Supporters of opposition presidential election candidate Bassirou Diomaye Faye on Sunday demanded his immediate release in the name of “equal treatment” under the constitution.
“All candidates must benefit from the constitutional principles of equal treatment,” said a statement from the Diomaye President coalition.
“That’s why the release without delay of candidate Bassirou Diomaye Diakhar Faye is a popular demand and respectful of the Constitution,” the statement said.
The coalition noted the situation also required the urgent release of jailed opposition Pastef party leader Ousmane Sonko.
The Constitutional Court rejected Sonko’s candidacy but accepted that of Faye, the party’s number two, along with about 20 others.
Sonko has been in prison since July 2023 for calling for an uprising, associating with criminals linked to terrorism and harming state security.
Faye has been under preventive detention since April last year but has yet to face trial.
The European Union last month stressed that candidates approved by the Constitutional Council must all be allowed to campaign for election on equal terms.
Dozens of opposition supporters have been set free in recent days by President Macky Sall who says there are no political prisoners in Senegal.
The Diomaye coalition called for “all political prisoners who have been locked up unjustly to be immediately released.”
Sall plunged traditionally stable Senegal deep into crisis by postponing at the last minute the February 25 election for his successor.
In power since 2012 but not running for a third term, Sall said he called off the vote over disputes about the disqualification of potential candidates and concern about a return to unrest seen in 2021 and 2023.
The Constitutional Council intervened on Thursday and Sall, under strong international and domestic pressure, back-pedaled agreed to its demand to organize the election as soon as possible, but no date was set.
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US ‘Strongly Condemns’ Violence in Eastern DR Congo
Washington — The United States on Saturday deplored growing violence by the Democratic Republic Congo’s M23 rebels, saying the group’s backers in Rwanda must remove sophisticated ground-to-air missiles that are threatening lives in the country’s east.
Fighting has flared in recent days around the town of Sake, 20 kilometers from Goma, between M23 rebels and Congolese government forces.
“The United States strongly condemns the worsening violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) caused by the actions of the Rwanda-backed, U.S.- and U.N.-sanctioned M23 armed group, including its recent incursions into the town of Sake,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement.
“This escalation has increased the risk to millions of people … We call on M23 to immediately cease hostilities and withdraw from its current positions around Sake and Goma,” Miller said.
Washington “condemns” Rwandan support for M23 and calls on Kigali “to immediately withdraw all Rwanda Defense Force personnel from the DRC and remove its surface-to-air missile systems, which threaten the lives of civilians, U.N. and other regional peacekeepers, humanitarian actors, and commercial flights in eastern DRC,” Miller said.
Dozens of soldiers and civilians have reportedly been killed or wounded in the fighting over the last 10 days.
The latest clashes have pushed tens of thousands of civilians to flee towards Goma, which stands between Lake Kivu and the Rwandan border and is practically cut off from the country’s interior.
The DRC, the United Nations and Western countries say Rwanda is supporting the rebels in a bid to control vast mineral resources, an allegation Kigali denies.
U.N. forces have been in the DRC for nearly 25 years but stand accused of failing to protect civilians from armed groups.
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Nigeria Grapples with Soaring Inflation, Plummeting Currency
ABUJA, Nigeria — Nigerians are facing one of the West African nation’s worst economic crises in years triggered by surging inflation, the result of monetary policies that have pushed the currency to an all-time low against the dollar. The situation has provoked anger and protests across the country.
The latest government statistics released Thursday showed the inflation rate in January rose to 29.9%, its highest since 1996, mainly driven by food and non-alcoholic beverages. Nigeria’s currency, the naira, further plummeted to 1,524 to $1 on Friday, reflecting a 230% loss of value in the last year.
“My family is now living one day at a time (and) trusting God,” said trader Idris Ahmed, whose sales at a clothing store in Nigeria’s capital of Abuja have declined from an average of $46 daily to $16.
The plummeting currency worsens an already bad situation, further eroding incomes and savings. It squeezes millions of Nigerians already struggling with hardship due to government reforms including the removal of gas subsidies that resulted in gas prices tripling.
A snapshot of Nigeria’s economy
With a population of more than 210 million people, Nigeria is not just Africa’s most populous country but also the continent’s largest economy. Its gross domestic product is driven mainly by services such as information technology and banking, followed by manufacturing and processing businesses and then agriculture.
The challenge is that the economy is far from sufficient for Nigeria’s booming population, relying heavily on imports to meet the daily needs of its citizens from cars to cutlery. So it is easily affected by external shocks such as the parallel foreign exchange market that determines the price of goods and services.
Nigeria’s economy is heavily dependent on crude oil, its largest foreign exchange earner. When crude prices plunged in 2014, authorities used its scarce foreign reserves to try to stabilize the naira amid multiple exchange rates. The government also shut down the land borders to encourage local production and limited access to the dollar for importers of certain items.
The measures, however, further destabilized the naira by facilitating a booming parallel market for the dollar. Crude oil sales that boost foreign exchange earnings have also dropped because of chronic theft and pipeline vandalism.
Monetary reforms poorly implemented
Shortly after taking the reins of power in May last year, President Bola Tinubu took bold steps to fix the ailing economy and attract investors. He announced the end of costly decadeslong gas subsidies, which the government said were no longer sustainable. Meanwhile, the country’s multiple exchange rates were unified to allow market forces to determine the rate of the local naira against the dollar, which in effect devalued the currency.
Analysts say there were no adequate measures to contain the shocks that were bound to come as a result of reforms including the provision of a subsidized transportation system and an immediate increase in wages.
So the more than 200% increase in gas prices caused by the end of the gas subsidy started to have a knock-on effect on everything else, especially because locals rely heavily on gas-powered generators to light their households and run their businesses.
Why is the naira plummeting in value?
Under the previous leadership of the Central Bank of Nigeria, policymakers tightly controlled the rate of the naira against the dollar, thereby forcing individuals and businesses in need of dollars to head to the black market, where the currency was trading at a much lower rate.
There was also a huge backlog of accumulated foreign exchange demand on the official market — estimated to be $7 billion — due in part to limited dollar flows as foreign investments into Nigeria and the country’s sale of crude oil have declined.
Authorities said a unified exchange rate would mean easier access to the dollar, thereby encouraging foreign investors and stabilizing the naira. But that has yet to happen because inflows have been poor. Instead, the naira has further weakened as it continues to depreciate against the dollar.
What are authorities doing?
Central Bank of Nigeria Gov. Olayemi Cardoso has said the bank has cleared $2.5 billion of the foreign exchange backlog out of the $7 billion that had been outstanding. The bank, however, found that $2.4 billion of that backlog were false claims that it would not clear, Cardoso said, leaving a balance of about $2.2 billion, which he said will be cleared “soon.”
Tinubu, meanwhile, has directed the release of food items such as cereals from government reserves among other palliatives to help cushion the effect of the hardship. The government has also said it plans to set up a commodity board to help regulate the soaring prices of goods and services.
On Thursday, the Nigerian leader met with state governors to deliberate on the economic crisis, part of which he blamed on the large-scale hoarding of food in some warehouses.
“We must ensure that speculators, hoarders and rent seekers are not allowed to sabotage our efforts in ensuring the wide availability of food to all Nigerians,” Tinubu said.
By Friday morning, local media were reporting that stores were being sealed for hoarding and charging unfair prices.
How are Nigerians coping with tough times?
The situation is at its worst in conflict zones in northern Nigeria, where farming communities are no longer able to cultivate what they eat as they are forced to flee violence. Pockets of protests have broken out in past weeks, but security forces have been quick to impede them, even making arrests in some cases.
In the economic hub of Lagos and other major cities, there are fewer cars and more legs on the roads as commuters are forced to trek to work. The prices of everything from food to household items increase daily.
“Even to eat now is a problem,” said Ahmed in Abuja. “But what can we do?”
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Somalia Says Ethiopia Tried to Block Its President From AU Summit
islamabad — Somalia has condemned what it calls “a provocative attempt by the Ethiopian government,” claiming that Ethiopian security forces tried to block Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud from accessing the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, a government statement said Saturday.
“The Federal Republic of Somalia strongly condemns the provocative attempt by the Ethiopian government to obstruct the delegation of the Somali President from attending the 2024 African Union Summit in Addis Ababa,” said the statement released by the Somali National News Agency SONNA.
“This action breaches all diplomatic and international protocols and, most critically, the established traditions of the African Union. This behavior adds to the growing list of erratic actions by the Ethiopian government in recent times,” said the statement.
Ethiopia hosts the African Union headquarters, and Mohamud — leading a delegation from the Somalia government — went there to attend the AU summit at a time when both countries already are at odds over a controversial maritime pact between Ethiopia and Somaliland.
“Given that Ethiopia hosts the African Union headquarters, its leadership and government have an obligation to treat all African leaders equally,” the Somali government statement said.
“Hosting the AU is both an honor and a privilege for Ethiopia; however, if its government fails to uphold this honor and responsibility with the necessary decorum, it may be necessary for the African Union to reevaluate the location of its headquarters,” the statement added.
Mogadishu described the incident as “outrageous conduct” and called for a full investigation by the pan-African body.
“While we denounce Ethiopia’s unwarranted action, we also call upon the AU to urgently conduct a credible and independent investigation to this outrageous conduct in line with the protocols of the union,” the statement said.
“This morning when I prepared myself to come and attend the closed session of the summit, the Ethiopian security blocked my way,” Mohamud told reporters, after later gaining entry to the venue for the meeting.
He said he had tried again with another head of state, Djibouti President Ismail Omar Guelleh, but they were also blocked from the AU headquarters, a claim challenged by Ethiopia.
“A soldier with a gun stood in front of us and denied us access to this facility,” he said.
Agence France-Presse has reported that Ethiopia insisted Mohamud was warmly welcomed and said the Somali delegation was blocked when its security detail tried to enter a venue with weapons.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s spokeswoman, Billene Seyoum, told AFP that Ethiopia had “warmly welcomed” Mohamud and accorded him the full honors of visiting heads of state and governments to the summit.
She said the Somali delegation had declined the security offered by Ethiopia and tried to enter a venue with their weapons.
“As host country, the government of Ethiopia is responsible for the security of all heads of state and government while in the country,” Seyoum said.
“The Somali delegation security attempted to enter the AUC [African Union Commission] premises with weapons, which was blocked off by AUC security.”
Somalia has accused Ethiopia of violating its sovereignty and territorial integrity over the January 1 memorandum of understanding with Somaliland that declared independence in 1991 in a move not recognized by the international community.
Under the maritime deal, Somaliland agreed to lease 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) of its coast for 50 years to Ethiopia, which wants to set up a naval base and a commercial port on the coast.
In return, Somaliland — a former British protectorate — has said Ethiopia would give it formal recognition, assertions not confirmed by Addis Ababa.
Ethiopia, the second most populous country in Africa and one of the largest landlocked nations in the world, was cut off from the coast after Eritrea seceded and declared independence in 1993 following a three-decade-long war.
Addis Ababa had maintained access to a port in Eritrea until the two countries went to war in 1998-2000, and since then, Ethiopia has sent most of its sea trade through Djibouti.
While Somaliland is largely stable, Somalia has witnessed decades of civil war and a bloody Islamist insurgency by the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab militant group.
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Endangered Rhinos Return to Plateau in Central Kenya
LOISABA CONSERVANCY, Kenya — Conservationists in Kenya are celebrating as rhinos were returned to a grassy plateau that hasn’t seen them in decades.
The successful move of 21 eastern black rhinos to a new home will give them space to breed and could help increase the population of the critically endangered animals. It was Kenya’s biggest rhino relocation ever.
The rhinos were taken from three parks that are becoming overcrowded to the private Loisaba Conservancy, where herds were wiped out by poaching decades ago.
“It’s been decades since rhinos roamed here, almost 50 years ago,” said Loisaba security manager Daniel Ole Yiankere. “Their numbers were severely impacted by poaching. Now, our focus is on rejuvenating this landscape and allowing rhinos to breed, aiming to restore their population to its former splendor.”
Moving rhinos safely is a serious challenge. The 18-day exercise involved tracking the rhinos using a helicopter and then shooting them with tranquilizer darts. Then the animals — which weigh about a ton each — have to be loaded into the back of a truck for the move.
Disaster nearly struck early in the relocation effort, when a tranquilized rhino stumbled into a creek. Veterinarians and rangers held the rhino’s head above water with a rope to stop it from drowning while a tranquilizer reversal drug took effect, and the rhino was released.
Some of the rhinos were transferred from Nairobi National Park and made a 300-kilometer trip. Others came from two parks closer to Loisaba.
Rhinos are generally solitary animals and are at their happiest in large territories. As numbers in the three parks where the rhinos were moved from have increased, wildlife officials decided to relocate some in the hope that they will be happier and more likely to breed.
David Ndere, an expert on rhinos at the Kenya Wildlife Service, said their reproduction rates decrease when there are too many in a territory.
“By removing some animals, we expect that the rhino population in those areas will rise up,” Ndere said. “And then we reintroduce that founder population of at least 20 animals into new areas.”
Loisaba Conservancy said it has dedicated around 25,000 hectares to the new arrivals, which are a mix of males and females.
Kenya has had relative success in reviving its black rhino population, which dipped from around 20,000 in the 1970s to below 300 in the mid-1980s because of poaching, according to conservationists, raising fears that the animals might be wiped out completely in the country. Kenya now has around 1,000 black rhinos, the third biggest population behind South Africa and Namibia.
There are just over 6,400 wild black rhinos left in the world, all of them in Africa, according to the Save the Rhino organization.
Tom Silvester, the CEO of Loisaba Conservancy, said Kenya’s plan is to get its black rhino numbers to 2,000 over the next decade.
“Once we have 2,000 individuals, we will have established a population that will give us hope that we have brought them back from extinction,” he said.
Kenyan authorities say they have relocated more than 150 rhinos in the last decade.
An attempt to move 11 rhinos in 2018 ended in disaster when all of the animals died shortly after moving.
Ten of the rhinos died from stress, dehydration and starvation intensified by salt poisoning as they struggled to adjust to saltier water in their new home, investigations found. The other one was attacked by a lion.
Since then, new guidelines have been created for the capture and moving of rhinos in Kenya. Silvester said tests have been conducted on the water quality at Loisaba.
Kenya is also home to the last two remaining northern white rhinos on the planet. Researchers said last month they hope they might be able to save that subspecies after creating an embryo in a lab from an egg and sperm previously collected from white rhinos and transferring it into a surrogate female black rhino. The pregnancy was discovered in a postmortem after the surrogate died of an infection following a flood.
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Algeria’s Black Market for Foreign Currency Underlines Its Economic Woes
ALGIERS, Algeria — In a square near the center of Algiers, currency traders carry wads of euros, pounds and dollars, hoping to exchange them to those worried about the plummeting value of the Algerian dinar.
This black market for foreign currencies is among the signs of the economic woes plaguing Algeria. The state, reluctant to allow the exchange rate to adjust fully, has proven incapable of limiting demand among the population as confidence in the dinar remains low.
The widening parallel exchange rate underscores how everyday Algerians have lost buying power as the government has juggled competing priorities, trying to combat inflation and maintain state spending, subsidies and price controls that keep people afloat.
In the oil-rich North African nation, business owners are rumored to be dumping their assets and scrounging up euros on the black market so their wealth isn’t stuck. Middle-class people also rely on euros and dollars to buy things in short supply like medicine, vehicle parts or certain foods.
Last week, the official exchange rate allowed one euro to be sold for 145 Algerian dinar, while on the same day, currency traders were selling one euro for nearly 241 dinars on the black market — 66% higher than the official exchange rate.
Rabah Belamane, a 72-year-old retired teacher from Algiers, told The Associated Press that the official rate is a fiction and that his pension doesn’t go as far as it used to in either dinar or euro.
“The real value of the dinar is on the informal market, not in the bank, which uses an artificial rate to lie to the public,” Belamane said.
Algeria has long been known for having among the region’s most closed economies. It limits the amount of foreign currency its citizens can access to a modest tourism allowance that amounts to less than needed to carry out one of Islam’s pilgrimages to Mecca or visit family in Europe’s large Algerian diaspora.
The government estimates roughly $7 billion worth of foreign currency trades hands on the country’s black market.
From Lebanon to Nigeria, experts warn that having two parallel exchange rates can distort a country’s economy, discourage investment and encourage corruption. Algeria has historically been reluctant to lower the official value of the dinar, worried that devaluation will spike prices and anger the population.
Traders are intimately aware that the gap between the official and black market exchange rate can narrow or widen by the day. They expect it to swing up as Ramadan approaches.
“In recent days, the supply of euros has been lacking, which explains how it has shot up,” trader Nourdine Sadaoui told the AP as he took a pause from yelling “Change!” at people passing by.
That shortage may make purchasing certain goods difficult for Algerians. But some in government believe it reflects the success of import restrictions and laws limiting how many euros can be brought into the country.
Hicham Safar, the head of a finance committee in the lower house of Algeria’s Parliament, said last week that he “welcomed” such concerns. The growing chasm between the official and black market rates meant fewer euros are getting into the country, he said.
“There’s no more overcharging on imports,” he said on television station Echourouk, citing efforts by customs officials to better regulate imports through the Bank of Algeria and minimize the use of foreign currency.
For decades, steady revenue from oil and gas allowed Algeria to import everything from toothpicks to industrial machinery. The country’s large import market concentrated economic power in the hands of a small group of businessmen known to overbill clients and stash profits abroad, including in European and Emirati banks.
Since President Abdelmajid Tebboune took power, the country has targeted the so-called “oligarchs,” including businesses active in imports. Throughout his tenure, the costs of basic goods in Algerian dinars have swung and imports have been further limited.
Algeria emerged as an unexpected beneficiary of the war in Ukraine, as energy prices rose and Europe sought non-Russian suppliers of oil and gas. But the country has experienced food crises and rising anger as the prices of necessities like chicken, cooking oil and legumes have risen.
Economist Karim Allam said the strength of the euro had worked to Algeria’s detriment, cutting into the purchasing power of those who make money in dinars. He is skeptical of the idea that a shortage of foreign currencies reflects the government’s success, but also doubts that business people are fleeing the country in droves or sending money abroad.
“I don’t think they’ll take the risk of smuggling currency out of the country, which is considered an economic crime punishable by 20 years’ imprisonment,” he said.
Regardless, the falling value of the dinar on the black market is one indicator of how Algerians continue to lose purchasing power despite governmental efforts to stabilize the economy while keeping government spending and subsidies high.
“Inflation has destroyed the buying power of Algerians, who are falling into poverty. The dinar has become worthless,” said Belamane, the retired teacher.
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