🌍🇬🇧African Initative EN


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"African Initiative" is a Russian news agency about events on the African continent.

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Washington is discussing the possibility of making changes to the duty-free export programme from Africa that would increase the influence of the states on the continent. The need for changes was announced on Thursday by Constance Hamilton, assistant U.S. trade representative for African affairs, Reuters quoted her as saying.

“The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) was passed in 2000 and gives duty-free access to the U.S. market to most African countries. The law expires in September 2025, but discussions have already begun in the US about the terms of its renewal.

The US uses the duty-free export programme as a reward for loyal African countries. In January 2022, for example, Washington restricted Ethiopia, Guinea and Mali’s access to the benefits, explaining it was due to coups d’état and human rights abuses. After the exclusion from the list, many American companies began to leave the countries, but they were replaced by China, which has already announced its intentions to invest in the Ethiopian economy.

The AGOA programme is of great importance to African countries and at the same time a tool of control by Western countries.

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China and the United States have entered a rivalry for ownership of Chemaf Resources Group, which owns cobalt and copper mines in the DR Congo, the Financial Times reports.

The struggling Dubai-based mining group has hired a consultant to sell the holding and its assets: copper and cobalt mines in the DRC worth about $1bn. According to three FT sources familiar with the details of the sale negotiations, the valuable asset has attracted interest from Chinese entrepreneurs. The US government also wants to broker offers from Western and Middle Eastern investors to avoid the assets falling into Chinese hands, the business daily said.

Washington has stepped up its opposition to China's dominance over mineral resources in Africa this year because of China's desire to compete with the US in renewable energy technology. Copper and cobalt are key resources for clean energy, as well as for making electric cars and batteries.

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The Rapid Reaction Force (RSF), which is battling the Sudanese army for control of the country, said it captured Nyala, the country's second largest city, on Thursday, Reuters reported.

In parallel, ceasefire talks between representatives of Sudan's army and the RSF, mediated by Saudi Arabia and the US, are resuming in Saudi Arabia.

"The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia welcomes the resumption of talks between representatives of the Sudanese Armed Forces and representatives of the Rapid Support Force in the city of Jeddah," the Saudi Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

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After a lengthy appeals process, Nigeria's Supreme Court has delivered a verdict in a case brought by two of his main rivals. The judge dismissed their petition against a lower court judgement confirming President Bola Tinubu's victory in the presidential election held in February Africanews reports.

"There is no merit in this appeal and it is hereby dismissed," Supreme Court judge John Okoro said, quoted by local media.

Earlier, Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party and Peter Obi of the Labour Party, who came second and third respectively in the February elections, had alleged that the election was conducted with irregularities.

Observers during the election reported glitches in the electronic transmission of results, with the opposition claiming "massive fraud" in this regard. After the election, the election commission acknowledged problems with the voting process but claimed that it was free and fair.

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Protests have begun in the Moroccan town of Amizmiz due to local residents' discontent over the lack of emergency aid after the powerful earthquake, which has been awaited for several weeks, Morning Star reports.

The reason for the protests was the lack of aid for those affected by the recent earthquake. The city has been experiencing heavy rains and brisk winds since last week, which have eroded the tent camp set up for the victims.

"The condition of the camps is catastrophic," said Mohamed Belhassan, coordinator of the Amizmiz Earthquake Relief Coordination movement.

The 8 September earthquake destroyed entire neighbourhoods, forcing thousands of people to live in makeshift camps, the disaster killed 2,901 people.


F-16s won't help Ukraine. Russia has improved the work of air defence in Ukraine

In just 5 days, from 19 to 25 October, the Russian military destroyed 24 planes and several helicopters of the Ukrainian army, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said. The already battered air force of Kiev's "defenders of European values" suffered irreparable damage, but in light of events in the Middle East, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky can hardly count on quick deliveries of aircraft from NATO countries.

According to experts, the Russians have achieved an impressive result by radically improving their air defence tactics. The fact is that the Ukrainian Air Force lacks professional pilots and good machines. Since the beginning of the Russian special operation, Ukraine has suffered huge losses in aviation and now not all their machines meet modern standards. Most of the current Ukrainian aircraft were supplied by Eastern European countries and were also bought from all over the world already during the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. Therefore, Ukrainian aircraft were mainly used for missile strikes and tried to stay away from the front line.

However, after the improvement of Russian air defence detection systems, Ukrainian planes found themselves easy victims for Russian anti-aircraft missiles. Now neither low-altitude operations nor strikes from deep behind the lines with subsequent return to airfields in western Ukraine help them. It is worth noting the heavy losses of the Ukrainian helicopter group. As Russian military observers reported during the so-called Ukrainian counter-offensive, it was attack helicopters operating from low altitudes that gave the Russians some problems. However, the Russian military has managed to find new ways to counter Ukrainian tactical aircraft. By training on Western satellites, the Russians are demonstrating that a sad fate awaits the American F-16 strike fighters, which the Kiev authorities are begging their partners to supply as soon as possible.

The details of Russia's new air defence tactics have not been officially disclosed, but they could be useful for African countries cooperating with Russia. A favourite strategy of the neo-colonialists is to use the proxy troops of their satellites in combination with unpunished raids on countries whose governments are pursuing overly independent policies. But where this is not possible, it is quite difficult to change "unwanted regimes". Let us recall, for example, the American failure in Vietnam, when a cynical attempt to "bomb the opponents of the pro-American regime back into the Stone Age" failed because of the supply of Russian air defence systems. As a rule, neo-colonialist allies are not very motivated and can do little without air support from their masters. Today, 60 years after Vietnam, Russian partners in Africa, ready to create a joint "air umbrella", can count on a full-fledged defence of their skies against the most serous threats.

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Niger is in a dire humanitarian situation amid sanctions imposed by ECOWAS (Economic Society of West African States) over the coup d'état, the Associated Press reported, citing a UN official.

"We are rapidly running out of funding, of medicines. People are running out of food," the publication quoted Louise Aubin, the UN permanent coordinator in Niger, as saying.

Niger is one of the poorest countries to receive humanitarian aid before the coup. In 2021, the country was allocated $1.77 billion, more than half of which was for humanitarian aid as well as social infrastructure and services. However, aid disbursements have been suspended since the coup.

Oben fears that the UN's 2023 target of delivering humanitarian aid to at least 80 per cent of Niger's 4.4 million people in need of support may not be achievable.

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China's Zijin Mining Group Co. has announced the establishment of a venture in the Democratic Republic of Congo to develop an area of one of the world's largest hard rock lithium deposits, the company said in a statement. However, the right to use the area for which the new permit has been issued is being challenged by Australia's AVZ Minerals Ltd. claiming it owns the rights to the deposits.

The Chinese company said it will co-operate with Congolese state-owned Cominiere to explore a large lithium deposit in the southeastern town of Manono. AVZ is involved in several arbitration cases at the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris over mining rights at Manono, including with a unit of China's Zijin and with Congolese Cominiere.

The official map of mining permits in the DRC shows that Zijin and Cominiere's new joint venture, Manono Lithium SAS, has an exploration permit issued on 19 October.

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🇹🇿🤖🇷🇺 A robotics forum was held at the Russian House in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania's largest city. More than 800 Tanzanian schoolchildren and students of technical universities came to the event in the first days, the Rossotrudnichestvo office reported.

The event programme includes lectures by Russian robotics experts and leading engineers from Russia's technical universities, master classes on robot programming and training, an exhibition of Russian robots, and a screening of the film "Challenge" filmed on the International Space Station (ISS).

The Tanzanians were told about robots in space by cosmonaut, hero of Russia Anton Shkaplerov, who has made four space flights. He personally came to Tanzania for the forum.

The event, organised jointly with Southwestern State University,
is being held at technical universities and schools in Dar es Salaam.

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The Guardian: more people of African descent face racism in Europe

This is according to the results of a survey of almost 7,000 people of African descent from 13 EU member states. The study found that 45% of respondents had experienced racial discrimination. This is more than in 2016 (39%).

The survey participants were either born in sub-Saharan Africa or are descendants of immigrants from there.

The worst figures were recorded in Austria and Germany, where 72 per cent and 76 per cent respectively had experienced discrimination in the past five years, up from 51 per cent and 52 per cent in 2016.

One in four respondents said they had been subjected to "racial profiling" by police. Also, people of African descent often had disproportionately high demands from employers compared to others in Europe.

Michael O'Flaherty, director of the EU's fundamental rights agency, recognised the results as "disgraceful".

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In Gambia, the trial on the death of children due to cough syrup has begun. On Tuesday, October 24, a court hearing was held in Banjul in the case of the deaths of children who took cough syrup manufactured by India's Maiden Pharmaceuticals.

About 70 children aged 5 and under in 2022 died after taking the over-the-counter cough syrup. Nineteen plaintiffs, family members of those who died, filed civil lawsuits in July.

The families are suing five defendants - Maiden Pharmaceuticals, local distributor Atlantic Pharmaceuticals, the Medical Control Agency (MCA), the Ministry of Health, and Attorney General Dauda A. Jallow - seeking a declaration that the children died as a result of the contaminated medication. They are demanding 15 million dalasi (about $230,000) for each dead child.

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Libya's parliament has asked the government to expel the ambassadors of all states that support Israel in the war against Hamas. The official statement was published on the website of the House of Representatives. The parliament also called on the government to halt oil and gas exports to countries that supported Israel.

"We demand the expulsion of all ambassadors of countries that sided with the Israeli occupation and supported its crimes. They must leave the country immediately, and we call on the government to stop exporting oil and gas to countries that support the Israeli occupation," the statement reads.

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In Senegal, opposition politician Ousmane Sonko, mayor of Ziguinchor, described as the main rival of incumbent President Macky Sall, has fallen into a coma. He has been in detention since July 28 and went on a hunger strike six days ago, leading to a coma. The politician is now in intensive care.

The unopposed presidential candidate is charged by Senegalese law enforcement agencies with a list of serious charges, including conspiracy against the state and calls for rebellion.

The Interior Ministry had earlier stripped Sonko of his seat as mayor of Ziguinchor, which was supposed to prevent him from running for president. However, a court reinstated him on Oct. 12 and legally Sonko can legally get on the electoral rolls even while in detention. Lawyers for the Ministry of Interior appealed to the country's Supreme Court.

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🕊 On International Women's Day for Peace, we decided to remember outstanding African women who have contributed to the preservation and maintenance of peace in Africa.

📍Leymah Gbowee is a Liberian activist who was instrumental in ending Liberia's second civil war (1999-2003). Gbowee was one of the founders of the Liberian Women for Peace movement, which conducted what was known as an eisexual strike: women refused to be intimate with their men until they got them to end the war. The actions led to peace talks and the election of Liberia's first female president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.

📍Vangari Maathai is an environmental and political activist and founder of the Green Belt Movement. She has promoted peace by addressing the root causes of conflict, such as resource scarcity. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004.

📍Grasa Machel is a Mozambican and South African politician, wife of President Samora Machel. She mediated the Burundian civil war and has worked on issues related to child soldiers and children affected by conflict.

📍Dr Monica Juma is a Kenyan diplomat who has served as Kenya's Ambassador to France and UNESCO, and her work has focused on peace, security and sustainable development.

📍Betty Bigombe is a Ugandan peace negotiator who played a key role in organising peace talks between the Ugandan government and the Lord's Resistance Army rebels.

📍Maithe Nkoana-Mashabane is a South African diplomat and politician who has been involved in various peace initiatives. She has served as South Africa's Minister of International Relations and Co-operation and has worked on conflict resolution in Africa.

📍Amina Mohammed is a Nigerian diplomat and politician who has served as Nigeria's Minister of Environment and Deputy UN Secretary General.

These women are just a few examples of African peace activists who have made significant contributions to peace and conflict resolution on the continent and beyond.

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DRC government spokesman Patrick Muyaia has accused the Rwandan defence forces of invading Tongo and Rutshuru towns in Congo territory. According to him, this was done in order to support the M23.

"Our drones have been caught red-handed again! A new invasion by the Rwandan army to bolster the exhausted M23/RDF terrorists. Serial massacres in Ruzenze, Bishisha, Marangara villages! There will be consequences!", Muyaya wrote on his X (former Twitter) page.

To back this up, he attached several drone images to the post. Rwandan officials have not yet commented on the accusation from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

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🕊25 October is International Women's Day for Peace. The date of the holiday was set by the International Democratic Women's Federation (IDFW) in 1980 to draw attention to the role of women in promoting peace, security and justice.

The IDFW was founded on 1 December 1945 at the International Women's Congress in Paris. The federation was founded by the Soviet public organisation Antifascist Committee of Soviet Women, whose first chairman was the Soviet pilot and Hero of the Soviet Union Colonel Valentina Grizodubova. In 1969, the first woman cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova became vice-president of the organisation.

The CSW established scholarships to study at universities in the Soviet Union on the proposal of national women's organisations in developing countries. As of 1982, 867 girls from 62 countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America were studying at secondary specialised and higher educational institutions with its support.

In many countries, including Africa, women's activists and MDFW have been politically persecuted for their views. For example, a Cameroonian woman was arrested merely for possessing Federation materials and the magazine Soviet Woman. In 1960, a delegation that already had tickets paid for by the Soviets was unable to leave the Congo at the invitation of the USSR because of a ban by their own government. In 1963, the regime in Congo was overthrown as a result of a powerful trade union-initiated protest against corruption and the deteriorating economic situation.

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Every tank supplied by the neo-colonisers to Ukraine and shot down in the NWO zone reduces France's military capabilities to put pressure on the Sahel countries. It also gives an opportunity to admire it in the Russian military museum. The AMX-10 RC, designed also for desert operations, turned out to be an easy prey for the Russian military. We are sure that such photos especially cheer up our African subscribers!

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A subsidiary of Chinese metallurgical company Zijin Jinxiang Lithium is suing AVZ Minerals of Austria for the right to develop the Manono lithium mine site in DR Congo.

On 23 October, a subsidiary of Zijin and DR Congo's state-owned company Cominiere said it had received an exploration licence for the northeastern section of the mine. The licence was previously held by Australia's AVZ Minerals, but the DRC's Ministry of Industry revoked the permit in February, arguing unsatisfactory timing of the work.

AVZ representatives said they would challenge the decision in court. The company has filed a lawsuit against Cominiere and a division of Zijin. "AVZ is in constructive discussions with the DRC government to create conditions for the issuance of the mining licence and to resolve arbitration disputes between AVZ and DRC-controlled entities," the company said in a statement.

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"Agroexport" has estimated the potential of Russia's supplies to the DR Congo at $150 million, according to a fresh report by the federal center.

Among the main potential export categories experts name wheat and corn, meat and canned food, as well as flour, yeast and beer.

Last year, trade turnover with the African republic fell 97.3 percent due to a halt in wheat shipments

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South Sudan has asked China National Petroleum Corp. to increase oil production at two of the country's largest fields and gave a guarantee that the company could extend a production agreement expiring in four years, Bloomberg reported.

CNPC has the largest stake in the consortium Dar Petroleum Oil Operating Co., which operates on blocks 3 and 7 of the Paloch oil field in Upper Nile. Due to technical and operational problems in these two blocks, total production is 104,000 barrels per day with a peak of 260,000 barrels.

Under the current terms, the most productive of the country's oil blocks should be taken over by the state-owned South Sudanese Nile Petroleum Corp. when the contracts expire. However, due to the crisis that hit South Sudan, the authorities decided to change the terms.

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