AFRICA

Lusaka, Zambia | Xinhua | Zambia has started the mass export of avocados to Europe with the first consignment of over 37 tons, a senior government official said Friday. The commencement of export came after the southern African country met the phytosanitary requirements to export the fruit into Europe, said …

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | Xinhua | An additional aid convoy has entered Ethiopia’s conflict-hit northernmost Tigray region, aiming to reach 43,000 people with emergency relief food and 24,000 vulnerable mothers and children with nutritionally fortified food, the United Nations World Food Program said Friday evening. A convoy of 50 trucks …

As the conflict drags on, African countries with trade ties with Russia and Ukraine face wheat and fertilizer supply shortages Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | Xinhua | The Russia-Ukraine conflict has rocked several countries in Africa, particularly net importers of commodities, a senior economist has said. Tewodros Mekonnen, an economist at the …

Harare, Zimbabwe | Xinhua | A Harare magistrate on Thursday spared Mary Mubaiwa, the estranged wife of Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, a one-year jail term and instead fined her for marital fraud. Mubaiwa was charged and convicted on Wednesday for violating the Marriages Act after fraudulently trying to solemnize her marriage …

Nairobi, Kenya | Xinhua | The World Bank on Wednesday projected the economy in Sub-Saharan Africa to slow down to 3.6 percent in 2022 from 4 percent in 2021. The World Bank said the region’s economy is struggling to pick up momentum amid a slowdown in global economic activity, continued supply …

Nairobi, Kenya | Xinhua | The World Food Programme (WFP) said Wednesday it requires 226.5 million U.S. dollars to provide full rations for refugees across Eastern Africa for the April to September period. WFP said in a joint statement with the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, that the spiraling costs, surging conflict, …

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania | Xinhua | The government of Tanzania has embarked on a 10-year (2020-2030) research aimed at identifying improved cassava seeds, a cabinet minister told parliament on Wednesday. Hussein Bashe, the Minister for Agriculture, said the research is intended to increase cassava production from the current 8.2 million …

Cape Town, S.A. | Xinhua | The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) has appointed Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, speaker of the National Assembly of South Africa, to its task force to mediate in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, South Africa’s parliament said on Wednesday. The appointment was made after the global organization of national parliaments adopted a …

Khartoum, South Sudan | Xinhua | South Sudan’s parties have formed the much-awaited unified armed forces command following several months of delay. President Salva Kiir issued a decree on Tuesday on state television (SSBC) in which he announced several appointees to head the unified South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF), prisons, …

Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire | Xinhua | The Prime Minister of Cote d’Ivoire, Patrick Achi, presented to the President his resignation and that of his government at the start of a cabinet meeting on Wednesday in Abidjan. “You have clearly expressed your desire to carry out a reorganization of the government, so I …