Africa African Games 2024: is it really worth it for Ghana to host the mega sport event? By Kamilla Swart, Hamad Bin Khalifa University The African Games, formerly the All-African Games, is taking place from 8-23 March in Ghana. Scheduled for 2023, they were postponed due to a regional impasse over marketing rights, delays in getting facilities ready and Ghana’s growing economic crisis. Kamilla Swart researches and teaches sport mega-events. We asked her about the African Games’ potential for sport tourism and about the […] todayMarch 7, 2024 13
insert_link Africa US Christian right has taken aim at LGBTIQ+ rights, sex education and abortion in Africa – new book By Haley McEwen, University of Gothenburg A new book – The US Christian Right and Pro-Family Politics in 21st Century Africa – reveals the role played by some right wing US Christian groups in trying to spread their social and moral influence in African countries. Sociologist Haley McEwen, who specialises in the subject, answers five questions about her book. What do you want readers to take […] todayMarch 7, 2024 19
insert_link Africa Central Banks of Namibia and Angola Advance Payment Mechanisms to Boost Trade Governor Johannes !Gawaxab of the Bank of Namibia and Governor Manuel Dias of the Banco Nacional de Angola have jointly announced progress in developing payment mechanisms to enhance trade transactions between the two countries. Naufiku Hamunime, the Acting Director of Strategic Communications and International Relations at the Bank of Namibia. todayMarch 7, 2024 45
insert_link Africa Sudan war may spark world’s largest hunger crisis The war in Sudan could trigger the world’s largest hunger crisis unless fighting stops, The World Food Programme has warned. The BBC reports that more than 10 months of fighting between rival forces has left nearly 14,000 people dead, over eight million displaced, and much of the country’s population cut off and facing rising hunger. todayMarch 6, 2024 15
insert_link Africa Binance to stop transactions in Nigeria Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, is ending all transactions and trading in Nigeria's local currency after 8 March 2024. This after Nigeria clamped down on the global crypto exchange, blaming it for feeding a black market for foreign exchange. Ajeck Mangut reports from Abuja. todayMarch 6, 2024 6
Africa Wet weather and disease hit African cocoa farmers, push up prices Cocoa farmers across West Africa are monitoring the progress of several plant diseases that are ruining crops on a vast scale and pushing up the global price of cacao, the raw material for making chocolate, to record levels. Ivory Coast and its neighbour Ghana, together supply more than half of the world’s demand for cocoa. On his farm, 250 km northwest of Ivory Coast's commercial capital Abidjan, Olivier Gnakomene realised […] todayMarch 6, 2024 15
insert_link Africa Sanef calls for big tech companies to be held accountable, Namibia’s Competition Commission agrees The South African National Editors’ Forum has asked the Media and Digital Platforms Market Inquiry, initiated by the Competition Commission of South Africa to consider getting Big Tech to look at fair compensation for using South African media content. Presentations were made by Chris Mcinga and Izak Minnaar, largely speaking on behalf of community media and the Press Council of SA. The Commission told SANEF that “X” (formerly Twitter) has […] todayMarch 5, 2024 32
insert_link Africa Ghana’s finance ministry asks President not to sign anti-LGBTQ+ bill Ghana's finance ministry has advised against the President's approval of a recent anti-LGBT bill passed by parliament, cautioning potential repercussions including the loss of $3.8bn in World Bank funding over five to six years. The bill, if signed, imposes jail terms for identifying as or promoting LGBT+ activities, sparking opposition from rights activist Linda Baumann. In a highly unusual move, the warning from the finance ministry was leaked to several […] todayMarch 5, 2024 20
insert_link Africa US imposes new sanctions on Zimbabwe The US has imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe's President Emmerson Mnangagwa for corruption and human rights abuses. The order, according to the BBC, also affects other senior leaders in the country - blocking their assets in the US and barring them from unofficial travel there. The new sanctions replace a broader programme that was introduced two decades ago. The White House said, “We continue to witness gross abuses of political, economic, […] todayMarch 5, 2024 34
