By Rédaction Africanews and Agencies Denis Sassou Nguesso, one of Africa’s longest serving leaders, has ruled oil-rich Congo-Brazzaville with a tight grip for more than 40 years, earning him a nickname associated with tough invincibility. The former paratrooper colonel, who is now aged 82, used the army as a springboard to power and has allegedly amassed a fortune over the decades as a strongman who detractors accuse of corruption and rights abuses. Sassou Nguesso’s first stint as president began in 1979, at the helm of a single-party system run by the Soviet-aligned Congolese Labour Party (PCT). He was voted out…
Author: Montage Africa
The arrest in South Africa of the youngest son of Zimbabwe’s former President, Robert Mugabe, has brought renewed attention to the former first family and their controversies over the years. Bellarmine Mugabe, who appeared in court on Wednesday for a bail hearing, is accused of attempted murder, among other charges, after a 23-year-old man was shot and injured at a property in an upmarket suburb of Johannesburg. He has not commented on the charges but in an unexpected move, he abandoned his request for bail and agreed to plea negotiations with South African prosecutors. He is charged alongside his bodyguard.…
Mauritania has taken a significant step toward strengthening its economy after signing a $1 billion five-year framework agreement with the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC). The agreement, covering 2026–2030, aims to expand trade capacity, strengthen key sectors, and support long-term economic development. The deal was signed during an official visit by Mauritania’s Minister of Economic Affairs and Development, Abdallah O. Souleymane O. Cheikh-Sidia, to the headquarters of the Islamic Development Bank Group in Jeddah. The agreement was finalized with ITFC Chief Executive Officer Adeeb Yousuf Al Aama, alongside senior representatives from both institutions. Under the framework, ITFC will mobilize financing and technical support for priority…
By Rédaction Africanews with AP Soldiers were deployed on the streets of South Africa’s biggest city on Wednesday after the president announced plans last month to use the army to help police fight gang violence and illegal mining. The soldiers were seen in the Johannesburg suburb of Riverlea in the first major deployment since President Cyril Ramaphosa said in his annual speech to the nation that organised crime was the greatest threat to South Africa’s democracy and economic development. South Africa’s police and the Department of Defense, which oversees the military, did not immediately provide details on the deployment. Ramaphosa…
By Africanews with AFP Nigeria’s Dangote mega-refinery pledged on Monday to prioritise the domestic market to help prevent fuel shortages and limit the impact on prices of the war in the Middle East. It warned, however, that this hinged on government support and Dangote could not rule out further price hikes. Fuel prices in the west African country have already risen by around 20 percent in the space of a week, following US and Israeli strikes on Iran and the latter’s subsequent retaliation. Supply disruptions from the Middle East war sent benchmark crude prices above $100 a barrel on Monday,…
By Africanews Proceedings in the case where Swiftair, a Spanish company accused of manslaughter in an Air Algerie crash twelve years ago kicked in Paris on Monday. Several dozen relatives of victims were present to observe the proceedings. The aircraft involved in the crash, a McDonnell Douglas MD-83, had been leased to Air Algerie, Algeria’s national carrier, by Swiftair along with its crew. On July 24, 2014, while operating a flight from Burkina Faso’s capital Ouagadougou to Algiers, the plane crashed in the Sahel region of northern Mali. All 110 passengers including 54 French, 23 Burkinabe, Lebanese, Algerians and six…
Delta Air Lines, in partnership with Junior Achievement (JA) Africa (https://JA-Africa.org), has successfully graduated 61 high-potential African girls from the 2026 LEAD Camp, formally inducting them into the 10 Million African Girls (10MAG) community, a long-term leadership and opportunity platform advancing young women across Africa. Held in Accra from March 2–8 in recognition of this year’s International Women’s Day (IWD) theme “Give to Gain,” the 2026 camp convened 61 participants from Eswatini, Ghana, Nigeria, Mauritius, Rwanda, South Africa, Uganda, and Zambia. The initiative reflects Delta and JA Africa’s longstanding commitment to expanding access to leadership development, economic participation, and cross-border exposure for…
The SEED Project, together with implementation partners the Pan African Council, Champs for Change, and the Global Africa Business Accelerator (GABA) Center, has taken a major step toward launching the U.S.–Africa Youth Talent Combine and Sports Careers Summit following a high-level Stakeholder Roundtable held during NBA All-Star Week in Los Angeles. Convened by SEED Project and supported by SEED founder Amadou Gallo Fall, the roundtable brought together HBCU leaders, African and Caribbean diaspora representatives, city officials, impact investors, sports executives, and youth development organizations. The group aligned around the shared goal of using sport as a platform for education, careers,…
By Abdul Yassim,Head: Trade and Working Capital South Africa and Mosa Tshabalala, Head: Institutional Trade and DSI Sales, Absa CIB If one were to speak to African suppliers who trade across borders, many would say that doing business within the continent can feel riskier than exporting beyond it. Especially for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), information on counterparties is not always easy to obtain, regional currencies can be volatile and difficult to hedge, forward markets offer little depth, and access to affordable finance is often limited at precisely the moment it is needed most. Financial institutions also sometimes price regional…
By Kwabena Adu Gyamfi The United States Embassy in Nigeria has issued a security alert warning of a possible terrorist threat targeting US government facilities and American-affiliated schools in the country. In the advisory, released on Tuesday, the embassy urged US citizens in Nigeria to remain vigilant and take precautionary measures. These include keeping mobile phones charged in case of emergencies and familiarising themselves with emergency exits when entering public buildings. Despite the warning, the embassy said consular services will continue as normal at its mission in Abuja and at the US consulate in Lagos. The embassy also advised Americans…