Geopolitical Tensions

Uganda and the DRC conflict: the interests driving Kampala’s involvement

By Kristof Titeca, University of Antwerp The ambiguous and often tumultuous relations between Uganda and neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have made headlines in recent months. In a July 2024 report, the UN Group of Experts on the DRC stated that Ugandan army and intelligence officials were providing active support to the M23 rebel group. The group, which is active in eastern DRC, was first defeated in […]

20 August, 2024 61

Business / Economics

Bank of Namibia holds repo rate at 7.75%

The Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of Namibia has decided to keep the repo rate unchanged at 7.75 percent, with the prime lending rate holding steady at 11.50 percent. This is the second monetary policy announcement by BoN this year. Governor of the Bank Johannes !Gawaxab. Governor !Gawaxab highlighted that risks to the domestic economic outlook have remained broadly unchanged since the previous MPC meeting, although the conflict in […]

17 April, 2024 49

Business / Economics

WTO urges reform amid global economic challenges

The World Trade Organization pushed for reform at a high-level ministerial meeting in Abu Dhabi on Monday, warning that economic headwinds and geopolitical tensions are threatening global commerce and multilateral trading systems. The WTO's 13th ministerial conference, scheduled to run until Thursday in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, is the first in two years. The AFP news agency reports that the WTO is hoping for progress, […]

27 February, 2024 34

Africa

‘We miners die a lot.’ Appalling conditions and poverty wages: the lives of cobalt miners in the DRC

Labourers load sacks of cobalt onto bicycles at Mutoshi mine in July 2021. Roy Maconachie Roy Maconachie, University of Bath It was a cool, dusty morning in July 2021, when I first visited the Kamilombe cobalt mine in Lualaba Province in south-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Situated just outside Kapata on the south-west outskirts of Kolwezi, a mining town that has historically served as an important centre for copper and […]

31 January, 2024 22

Business / Economics

Ripples of 2023: FBS’s insight on the 2024 global financial outlook

With 2023 coming to an end, leading global broker FBS looks back at the significant economic events and delves into the perspective of the financial landscape in 2024. FBS financial market analysts point out that next year, financial markets will stand at the cusp of transformation under the influence of the US economy, global and local military conflicts, and the sprawl of AI. As FBS experts further stress, the cautious stance […]

19 December, 2023 12