The Zimbabwean government is struggling to deal with a worsening unemployment crisis as companies collapse or are forced to make redundancies. Officials in the country have tried to stop the trend by passing laws preventing organisations from laying off workers and forcing them to give workers severance pay, but economists warn the number of jobless will continue going up as the economy worsens. The current rate of unemployment in the country stands at 80 percent and worsening environmental conditions, such as an anticipated drought, will hit the country’s finances harder. “We are anticipating a serious drought which might affect electricity…
Author: AMA
Guinea’s President Alpha Conde easily won re-election and will serve a second five-year term after avoiding a run off against his closest rival in last week’s presidential election. Guinea’s electoral commission declared Conde with winner of the October 11 poll late on Saturday, gaining nearly 58 percent of the vote, compared to opposition leader Cellou Dalein Diallo, who won a tick over 31 percent. “The Constitutional Court still needs to render its verdict, but the National Electoral Commission proclaims President Alpha Conde winner in the first round,” commission head Bakary Fofana told a news conference. Candidates have eight days to lodge…
Burkina Faso’s army said that a general accused of leading a failed coup last month would be prosecuted on an array of charges, including “crime against humanity”. “Eleven charges have been filed” against General Gilbert Diendere, “notably crime against humanity”, Sita Sangare, the colonel in charge of military justice, told a press conference on Friday. Related: Why are coups common in Africa? Diendere is accused of leading a power grab by presidential guards loyal to ousted head of state Blaise Compaore on September 17. The Sahel country was brought to the brink of chaos for six days before the putsch collapsed,…
The Union for the Democratic Forces of Guinea, the country’s main opposition party, has already said that fraud was widespread in the presidential vote that saw millions head to the polls on Sunday. That’s the second democratic vote in Guinea since gaining independence from France in 1958. Years of coups and military rule followed until 2010, when Alpha Conde became the first president elected through a free vote. So, will this election cement or undermine Guinea’s young democracy? Presenter: Folly Bah Thibault Guests: Adrian Fielding – consultant at Africa Practice, a strategy and communications consultancy Adama Gaye – Africa affairs…
A court has ordered the release of the two sons of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, taking into account they have completed their three-year sentences on corruption convictions. The brothers are expected to walk free later today or tomorrow after the Cairo Criminal Court announced its verdict in the multi-million dollar embezzlement case on Monday. Alaa and Gamal Mubarak were convicted of embezzling state funds allocated for the renovation of Egypt’s presidential palaces. The brothers still face trial on insider trading charges, however, with the next hearing due October 17. Their release is likely to present a dilemma for President…
A six-month investigation by Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit has cast light on the shadowy world of hostage negotiations, revealing how some governments negotiate with armed groups and pay cash ransoms. In one case, Italy paid millions of dollars for the release of one Italian and one Belgian journalist, according to Syrian fighters. In another, Al Jazeera obtained photographs of an $11m cash ransom paid by Italy to the armed Syrian group, al-Nusra Front, in return for the release of two aid workers. Intelligence files obtained by Al Jazeera also reveal how Italy intervened in negotiations with Somali pirates and brokered…
Durduri, Somalia – A hundred years ago, it was a bustling port that served the vibrant fishing community living along Somalia’s coastline, the longest on mainland Africa. Now, Durduri is a sun-bleached, wind-swept, white-sand graveyard of stone structures. There is no harbour, no jetty. The drying and smoking house is just a tumble of bricks. This is one of many historical coastal trading towns that have risen and fallen with empires. When the busy trade routes moved away, fishing was one of the few lifelines left. Talk to locals now and you will find this too has dried up –…
This year’s Nobel prize for medicine has been awarded to three researchers who have made important contributions towards tackling human diseases in developing parts of the world. William Campbell and Satoshi Omura were awarded the prize for their work on a therapy against roundworm and combating parasites in humans. Satoshi Omura isolated bacteria from soil samples in Japan, looking for those that appeared most promising in combating microorganisms. The efficacy of the bacteria were then tested by William Campbell . He discovered one of them was remarkably efficient against parasites in domestic and farm animals. The result was the drug,…
At least eight people have died in shootings in Burundi’s capital Bujumbura, an administrator has said, the latest in a series of attacks to hit the city since a disputed presidential election. Local residents told the news agency Reuters that the police were behind the killings and had been accompanied by unarmed members of the ruling CNDD-FDD party’s youth wing – Imbonerakure – who stole items such as mobile phones from houses. Residents also said most of the dead were civilians and that some had been found with their hands tied behind their backs. Deputy Police Spokesman Pierre Nkurikiye denied…
Extreme poverty will this year fall to less than 10 percent of the global population for the first time, according to a report by the World Bank. The organisation said in Sunday’s publication that despite the drop in poverty there is still “great concern” for millions in Africa. “This is the best story in the world today, these projections show us that we are the first generation in human history that can end extreme poverty,” said Jim Yong Kim, president of the World Bank, which holds its annual meetings next week in Lima, Peru, along with the IMF. According to…