Africa

Russia and Africa Gearing for Inter-Parliamentary Conference

By Kester Kenn Klomegah

MOSCOW, (IDN) – With high optimism, Russian legislators plan to use the forthcoming Russia-Africa inter-parliamentary conference scheduled for July 3 to discuss effective ways of strengthening Russia-African relations with a focus on new mechanisms for exploring business opportunities in Africa.

More than 30 African countries will take part in the conference in Moscow, an indication that African governments have a renewed interest in and looking forward to developing policy ties that could foster greater economic engagement and investment in sustainable development on the continent.

: Kester Kenn Klomegah; THE WORLD; Russia; 21 June 2019

Photo: PGA member Kilamba Kiuyima Van-Dúnem, Member of Parliament from Angola. Credit: www.pgaction.org

Orthodox Church in Ethiopia Blocks Gay Group Planning Tour

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – Pride parades, gay friendly diners, movies, books and fashion.

The gay life style is coming to town but the welcome mat is still far from ubiquitous.

Ethiopia, home to Abiy Ahmed, the “hugging president”, has yet to come to terms with LGBT or Q. In fact, some Ethiopian bloggers have been openly unfriendly to say the least.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 19 June 2019

Photo: Close up of drying cocoa beans. CC BY 2.0

African Cocoa Growers Demand Better Prices or No Sale!

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – Strike! That’s the sound of the world's top two producers of cocoa who say they are suspending their sales for better prices.

The governments of Ivory Coast and Ghana are trying this time-honored strategy to address the imbalance between farmers’ income and money made by foreign commodity markets who scoop up most of the profit.

If the strategy sounds familiar, it’s the same one described in the Greek play Lysistrata where the women withheld affection from their husbands in order to secure peace and end the Peloponnesian War.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 19 June 2019

Photo: Relieved and happy to be released from detention, a refugee hugs UNHCR staff as they meet at the Gathering and Departure Facility in Tripoli, Libya. © UNHCR/Mohamed Alalem.

European Union Lambasted for 'Externalising' Migration Policy

By Reinhard Jacobsen

BRUSSELS (IDN) – More than twenty African and international organizations have signed a letter which slates the European Union and its member states for externalizing migration policy through direct and indirect cooperation with regimes and militia forces that are utterly unaccountable for their actions, and violating its constitutional values and international obligations, including the responsibility to protect.

The letter to the European Council President Donald Tusk, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, European Parliament President Antonio Tajani, and High Representative of the European Union, Federica Mogherini, appeals for "an EU external policy framework based on European values".

: Reinhard Jacobsen; THE WORLD; EU & Europe; 19 June 2019

Photo: Russian Foreign Affairs Minister Sergey Lavrov (right) welcoming Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Republic of Mali, Tiébilé Dramé (let), on June 10 in Moscow.

Russia, Mali to Strengthen Economic and Military Cooperation

By Kester Kenn Klomegah

MOSCOW (IDN) – As Russia and Mali prepare to mark their 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations next year, Moscow has reaffirmed its unreserved preparedness to strengthen economic cooperation and provide support in bringing political stability to Mali and other African countries threatened by or gripped in conflicts.

"Over these decades, we have gained extensive positive experience, which we have agreed to actively use to promote cooperation in various areas on a mutually beneficial basis in the modern era," Foreign Affairs Minister Sergey Lavrov said, welcoming Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Republic of Mali, Tiébilé Dramé, to a diplomatic meeting in Moscow.

: Kester Kenn Klomegah; THE WORLD; Africa; 16 June 2019

Photo: Women taking part in a demonstration to oppose sextortion in Dar es salaam in 2018. Credit: Edwin Mjwahuzi

African Governments Join Activists to Fight Sextortion

By Kizito Makoye

DAR ES SALAAM (ACP-IDN) – A poster bearing a message “Graduate with A’s not with AIDS” at the University of Dar es Salaam, tells a grim story of female students who offer sex to obtain higher grades.

“My teacher wanted to date me. When I refused his sexual advances, he retaliated by giving me poor grades,” says Helena (not her real name).

The 23-year-old law student, who has since experienced dismal performance in her studies, is increasingly worried about her academic future.

: Africa & ME Editor; THE WORLD; Africa; 12 June 2019

Photo: Cameroon opposition leader Maurice Kamto. Credit: journalducameroun.com

Growing Opposition to Cameroon President Paul Biya

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK | YAOUNDE (IDN) – Facing a growing pro-democracy movement, Cameroon is resorting to an old formula – namely unleashing government power in the form of threats, arrests and excessive force.

Hundreds of supporters of Maurice Kamto, leader of the opposition Cameroon Resistance Movement, have been filling the streets, demanding his release from detention but were detained themselves by security forces on June 8, 2019. According to his lawyer, Kamto could be charged with: insurrection, hostility against the homeland, criminal association, threats to public order, rebellion, group rebellion, and inciting insurrection.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 12 June 2019

Photo credit: Women Deliver 2019 Conference

Ghana’s President Stuns Women with Demeaning Remarks

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – In this day and age of “Me Too” shaking up outdated gender relationships around the world, it was somewhat unsettling to hear Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo demean his country’s working women as insufficiently activist and dynamic enough to obtain better leadership jobs.

Did he really say this at the Women Deliver 2019 Conference from June 3-6 at Vancouver attended by gender activists from around the world? Really?

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 11 June 2019

Photo: Sub-Saharan Africa: undemocratic regimes undermine anti-corruption efforts. Source: Transparency International

New President Feels the Heat of Trouble Brewing in Liberia

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK | MONROVIA (IDN) – Liberian President George Weah is having a few bad days. And more may be on their way. A citizen action group – the Council of Patriots (COP) – has a long list of demands covering governance, human rights and the rule of law, national peace and reconciliation, integrity and accountability, among others. The group has called on President Weah to part ways with some of his closed lieutenants they believe are not up to the task and may cause him more harm politically.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 11 June 2019

Photo: Russian President Vladimir Putin addressing the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF-19). Credit: Russian President's Website.

SDGs Offer Russia New Opportunities in Africa

By Kester Kenn Klomegah

MOSCOW (IDN) – The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF-19) that brought together thousands of foreign delegates, including those from Africa, prioritized "sustainable development" as the key theme. It offered an opportunity to discuss in-depth the significance, challenges and prospects of sustainable development, and cooperation among state institutions and businesses as well as between countries in achieving the global development goals endorsed by world leaders in September 2015 at the UN Headquarters in New York.