South Africa and the other members of the G20 Environment Ministers issued a final communiqué following their meeting in Italy, but they’ve failed to come to terms on a global coal phaseout. The meeting, which in some respects signals what to expect ahead of the COP26 climate meeting in Scotland…
Health officials say a slight overall dip in COVID cases on the African continent is welcome, but it doesn’t reflect the reality in many nations that are seeing a surge. New case numbers were down by 1.8 percent during the week ending July 18, according to numbers cited Friday by…
On July 1st, Togo began systematically enforcing a comprehensive fiscal marking system which will allow authorities to track a wide range of consumer goods, from fruit juices to alcoholic beverages. Distributors and local points of sale who have so far sold their wares under the table in an attempt to…
The government of Botswana issued a travel advisory for South Africa on Tuesday because of violent protests that followed former president Jacob Zuma’s surrender to authorities and subsequent imprisonment. Zuma, long entangled by corruption inquiries and investigations, was sentenced last week to 15 months on contempt of court charges for…
The newly announced agreement to establish a global minimum corporate tax rate is supported by 130 countries, but not all African neighbors are on board. The deal, a decade in the making, was made a priority of last month’s G7 meeting in the United Kingdom. It is advanced by the…
The clock is ticking on former South African president Jacob Zuma, who was given five days to report to police after he was sentenced to 15 months in prison on Tuesday for contempt of court. But he’s filing an appeal of the Constitutional Court decision, and supporters say it’s unlikely…
A group of global development banks announced an $80 billion commitment to invest in African economies on Monday, following on the closely watched weekend G7 Summit in the United Kingdom. The funding will come from the development banks of the G7 nations, along with the private-sector branch of the African…
Namibian opposition leaders rejected a deal negotiated with Germany over the colonial-era deaths of Herero and Nama peoples during a contentious parliamentary session on Tuesday. The agreement, sought for decades and announced in late May, included a concession from Germany that what happened from 1904 to 1908 did in fact…
African nations can expect 5 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine from the United States, according to U.S. President Joe Biden. The commitment was announced Thursday as part of a U.S. plan to send vaccines to low-income nations still waiting for the lifesaving medicine. Biden described an allocation of the…
President Felix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo co-hosted a summit on financial assistance for African economies on Tuesday, joining French President Emmanuel Macron at the Grand Palais Éphémère in Paris to discuss strategies for boosting recovery aid following the COVID-19 health and economic crisis. Tshisekedi, speaking in his…
Egypt plans to expand the southern part of the Suez Canal, where the MV Ever Given captured global attention after getting stuck for nearly a week and shutting down the key marine shipping route. Osama Rabie, head of the Suez Canal Authority, made the announcement Tuesday during events attended by…
Morocco and Kenya are leading the way on Africa’s clean energy transition, but more progress is needed as two-thirds of the continent’s expanding power generation is still supported by fossil fuels. That’s according to a new Global Electricity Review released by campaigners with the British NGO Ember. At 16 percent,…
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa says his country will begin reducing carbon emissions in 2025, 10 years earlier than previously projected. “With regard to our energy resources, we plan to build capacity to generate over 17 gigawatts of renewable energy by 2030,” said Ramaphosa, speaking at the Leaders Summit on…
The British government’s investment in developing liquified natural gas (LNG) projects in Mozambique – projects contributing to the conflict and instability in the country’s north – is headed for judicial review following a successful legal filing from the Friends of the Earth. The London-based NGO says the decision to approve…
There are at least 32 million more people living in extreme poverty across sub-Saharan Africa because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and countries in the region will need about $425 billion in additional external funding over the next five years, the IMF said on Thursday. “The outlook for sub‑Saharan Africa is…