News from Africa

Kampala, Uganda  - Noah Musiba sat by the door all night listening out for a noise that would signal the return of his wife. His nine-year-old daughter, Sheerat, lay on a mattress on the floor by his feet, wide awake. It was the early hours of Thursday, September 14, and Harriet Nantongo, Noah's wife of 10 years and Sheerat's mother, had not returned from work. "I hoped that maybe she had slept at her sister's place, but when we went to look, she wasn't there," said Noah, "so we started searching all the hospitals". By the afternoon, Musiba reported his wife missing, fearing the worst. For the past year, she had been working at a local rubbish dump, sifting through the garbage in search of polythene bags to wash in a nearby stream. On a good day, she could sell two 15kg bunches of bags and return home with $3 in her pocket on the three-hour walk back to her family. But on Wednesday night, she hadn't come back. In the preceding months, seve...

Some protesters on Wednesday invaded the Senate Chambers of Nigeria, disrupted the ongoing proceedings and made away with the mace. The men are reportedly supporters of Senator Ovie Omo-Agege who was suspended last week. They came to the venue with the senator. The mace is the symbol of authority of the parliament. Below is Senate spokesperson Sabi Abdullahi’s statement in reaction to the incident on Wednesday: *RESPONSE TO TODAY’S INCIDENT IN THE SENATE CHAMBER* Today, some armed hoodlums led by suspended Senator, Ovie Omo-Agege, walked into the Senate plenary and seized the symbol of authority of the Upper Legislative Chamber, the mace. This action is an act of treason, as it is an attempt to overthrow a branch of the Federal Government of Nigeria by force, and it must be treated as such. All security agencies must stand on the side of due process and immediately mobilise their personnel to retrieve the mace and apprehend the mastermind and the perpetrators of this act. This...

The union representing nurses in Zimbabwe has told its members to continue their strike despite being sacked following a government directive. Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga sacked more than 15,000 nurses, saying the decision had been taken in the interest of saving patients' lives . A statement from Zimbabwe Nurses Association has been shared on Twitter by a local journalist. It says, in part, that "nothing has changed thus far with regards to the industrial action". Link :http://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-africa-43781532

Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) has officially unveiled the 4th World Customs Organisation (WCO) Authorised Economic Operators (AEO) Global Conference. Scheduled for March 14th-16, 2018, it will be held at Kampala Serena Conference Center Themed ‘ Promotion of Mutual Recognition of AEOs to strengthen and Secure Global Trade ’ the conference is expected draw over 1000 delegates from over 169 countries. The trade facilitation meeting follows similar conferences held in 2012, 2014 and 2016 in Seoul, Korea, Madrid-Spain and Cancun, Mexico respectively. It will put emphasis on AEO, a trade facilitation initiative that offers compliant importers preferential treatment. Also on the line-up will be mutual recognition agreements. At a press launch in Kampala recently, Acting Commissioner General, Patrick Mukiibi said hosting such a big delegation would be a privilege and an honour.      Stressing the importance of accreditation to AEO, he stated, “…many benefits that accr...

Former football star George Weah has been elected as Liberia's president. With nearly all ballots from Tuesday's run-off vote counted, Mr Weah is well ahead of opponent Joseph Boakai with more than 60% of the vote. As news of Mr Weah's victory emerged, his supporters began celebrating in the capital Monrovia. He will succeed Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Africa's first elected female president, in Liberia's first democratic handover in decades. "My fellow Liberians, I deeply feel the emotion of all the nation," Mr Weah wrote on Twitter after the results were announced. "I measure the importance and the responsibility of the immense task which I embrace today. Change is on." Who is George Weah? Mr Weah, who was raised in a slum in Liberia's capital Monrovia, starred at top-flight European football clubs Paris St-Germain (PSG) and AC Milan, before ending his career in England with brief stays at Chelsea and Manchester City. He is ...

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu oversaw a signed agreement on Monday with the US Agency for International Development (USAID), opening the way for Israeli companies to access lucrative contracts in its Power Africa program. Meeting at the posh King David Hotel in Jerusalem, Netanyahu sat down with Power Africa Coordinator, Andrew Herscowitz, along with the US Ambassador David Friedman and multiple African ambassadors, to join the multi-billion-dollar electrification aid project. I believe in Africa,” Netanyahu said at the press conference. “I believe in the partnership with Africa. And what better partnership we have, than having USAID, the US government, Israel, and African countries working together to secure a better future.” The agreement opens the door to dozens of Israeli clean-energy firms and seeking contracts facilitated by Power Africa. The aid program seeks to provide electricity – via private companies – to some 60 million Africans by 2030. For Netanyahu, the...

Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital   The move makes the United States the first country to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Palestinians called a general strike as world leaders from across the Arab world and some from Europe denounced the move. US President Donald Trump called for 'new approach' to Israel-Palestinian conflict. December 6, 2017 ( AFP ) President Donald Trump recognised the disputed city of Jerusalem as Israel's capital on Wednesday, an historic decision that overturns decades of US policy and risks triggering a fresh spasm of violence in the Middle East. "I have determined that it is time to officially recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel," the US leader said in a speech from ...