Author: Nemiah Morton

Washington should deepen cooperation with Ghana to promote and sustain democracy as a governance model Ghanian President Nana Akufo-Addo is in Washington this week as the United States re-examines its strategy and engagement in West Africa and the Sahel, which have seen eight coups since 2020. Ghana stands out as a bastion of democracy in this region, where nearly 150 million people are today under the rule of armed forces. Violent extremism is also a major challenge facing the region, with affiliates of the Islamic State, among other terrorist groups, taking root. But Ghana stands in stark contrast to these dire…

The war has displaced more than 4.5 million people were displaced inside Sudan, while over 1.2 million others sought refuge in neighboring countries Six months of war between Sudan’s military and a powerful paramilitary group has killed up to 9,000 people and created “one of the worst humanitarian nightmares in recent history,” the United Nations humanitarian chief said Sunday. Sudan has been engulfed in chaos since mid-April, when simmering tensions between military chief Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan and the commander of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, exploded into open warfare. “For six months, civilians … have known…

Cape Town, Wellington, London (9/11 – 27) South Africa has become the unequalled rugby world champion after winning the World Cup for a record fourth time on 28 October 2023. Before the 2023 edition, The Springboks won the Rugby World Cup in 1995, 2007, and 2019. Their closest rival is New Zealand, who has won the title on three occasions (1987, 2011, and 2015). Australia has two titles (1991 and 1999) and England has one (2003). There are some interesting statistics about The Springboks’ success as the only team to have won the Rugby World Cup four times. South Africa…

The six seaports of Africa’s largest economy and most populous nation, Nigeria, handles 4000 vessels annually, with 72 000 personnel who must all be accommodated and entertained for the duration of the ship’s visit. That’s according to the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) managing director, Mohammed Bello-Koko, speaking at the weekend. The ports are Apapa and Tin Can ports in Lagos, the Omne and Port-Harcourt ports in River State, including the Warri and Calabar ports. Bello-Koko spoke at the commissioning of the Mission To Seafarers (MTS) centre in Lagos. He said it has become necessary for the NPA to intensify collaboration…

Buildings have caught fire in Sudan’s capital after heavy fighting between the army and rival forces. Videos posted online on Sunday showed the iconic Greater Nile Petroleum Oil Company Tower engulfed in flames. “This is truly painful,” said Tagreed Abdin, an architect of the building, in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. Air strikes and ground battles have continued in Khartoum and other towns and cities since fighting broke out in April. Over one million people have been forced to flee the country, the UN has said. Located near the River Nile, the 18-storey oil firm skyscraper is…

Crowd marches through capital Rabat in solidarity with Gazans, hold placards reading ‘Down with Zionism’ and ‘Hamas is Palestine’ Tens of thousands protested in Morocco Sunday in support of Palestinians amid the Israel-Gaza war, the biggest demonstration in the North African kingdom since it normalized ties with Israel in 2020. Crowds stretching for two kilometers (more than a mile) marched through the capital Rabat in the mass rally called by an alliance of Islamist parties and a left-wing coalition. “The people will liberate Palestine,” demonstrators chanted while others waved huge Palestinian flags, donned keffiyehs and voiced “unconditional support for resistance…

London (04/11 – 50) US government last week intervened in a lawsuit triggered by Hamilton Reserve Bank in St Kitts & Nevis. Somehow, a small bank based in a county with 50,000 inhabitants and GDP of under $1billion has amassed a $250million face-value stake in a Sri Lankan bond. The mysterious ‘global financier’ aka cunning vulture investor, Benjamin Wey is suing Sri Lanka. This specific bond was issued in happier times in 2012 and lacks some now-common clauses that make bonds easier to restructure. HRB’s $250million is enough in theory to veto any restructuring proposal Sri Lanka makes to that…

Berlin (3/11 – 40) Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe will visit China in the upcoming week as the crisis-hit country makes progress on debt restructuring talks with its biggest lender. Wickremesinghe took office in July last year, after a popular uprising, brought on by an economic meltdown, had forced his predecessor out of power. His Oct. 15-19 visit to Beijing will be his first to China since then. Wickremesinghe, who is also finance minister, has been leading Sri Lanka’s push to manage its heavy debt and keep funds flowing from a $2.9 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme. He will…

Yara Ghana Limited (www.Yara.com), a leading fertilizer company has appointed Ms.Theresa Randolph as the new Country Manager to lead the vision and mission of the company. She is the first female to lead the Yara Ghana business and brings with her a diverse outlook. With an extensive background in innovation, marketing, sales, and manufacturing, Theresa Randolph is passionate and enthusiastic about driving change. Prior to joining Yara she was the Chief Executive Officer of Phyto-Riker (GIHOC) Pharmaceuticals Ltd. In her new role, she is responsible for delivering disruptive growth in Ghana in accordance with the Yara Africa and Asia Strategy,…

3,684 candidacies have been filed for the local elections by October 29, three days before the deadline. The highest number of candidates was registered in the governorates of Sidi Bouzid and Kasserine. A total of 3,242 candidacies were submitted directly and the remaining 442 were submitted by people with disabilities, from which one candidate will be chosen by lot for each local council, according to data published on Monday by the Independent High Authority for the Elections (ISIE). The largest number of candidacies, 258 (221 direct candidates and 37 candidates chosen by lot), was registered in the governorate of Sidi…