Thousands of supporters of Gambia's longtime dictator, Yahya Jammeh, have protested for his right to return from exile. But accounts differ on whether an agreement is in place for him to do so.

About 20 soldiers were killed and nearly 1,000 people made homeless in a militant attack on a town in northeastern Nigeria, two residents and a military source said on Wednesday.

Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man, became $4.3 billion richer in 2019 as his fortune continued to grow on the back of investments in cement, flour and sugar.

The African Development Bank’s Board of Directors has approved a grant to the government of Sudan to accelerate the adoption of solar-powered irrigation pumps in the country’s West Kordofan and North Kordofan states.

The project will enable farmers’ adoption of renewable energy technology through the installation of 1,170 photovoltaic (PV) irrigation pumps, the establishment of maintenance and repair workshops for the pumps, and the supply of equipment for a pump testing laboratory to provide certification and training.

Agriculture is an important economic sector in Sudan. In 2016, nearly 40% of the country’s GDP came from farming. For the sector, and for the wider economy, the project offers significant and numerous knock-on benefits. As a result of the expected phasing out of diesel-fueled pumps, participating farmers will realise cost savings from no longer needing to purchase diesel, which is scarce in rural areas. Productivity also would increase: diesel generators require time consuming maintenance and repair. Pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture, the country’s largest contributor, would fall.

Mr. Paul Baldeh, the Bank’s Director for Power Systems Development, noted that “by extending farmers a grant covering 75% of installation costs, the government, with Bank support, will overcome the most significant hurdle of adopting clean PV technology: high upfront costs.” The remaining 25% will be payable in installments over three years. He added that the project will conduct a ground water survey and sustainability assessment that will inform the development of subsequent projects in Sudan.

The project meets the Sudanese government’s renewable energy and poverty reduction objectives as well as the Bank’s High Five and Energy Sector Policy. Moreover, the project has strong potential to be replicated and scaled up in other parts of the country.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Development Bank Group (AfDB)

Uganda said it plans to borrow 6.9 trillion shillings ($1.89 billion) from external lenders in the 2020/2021 (July-June) fiscal year to partly finance its budget, which could come under pressure as veteran leader Yoweri Museveni seeks re-election.

Ghana’s government said it is determined to join a West African currency that will replace the France-backed CFA franc as soon as next year in eight regional countries, but it urged members of the currency union to ditch a planned peg to the euro.

Four al Shabaab militants were killed on Sunday in three U.S. air strikes in two locations in Somalia, the U.S. military said on Monday.

A Sudanese court on Saturday convicted former president Omar al-Bashir on corruption charges and sentenced him to two years of detention in a reform facility, the first ruling against the ex-leader ousted by mass unrest.

Sunbathers in the Canary Islands joined forces with emergency workers to give water, food and clothes to migrants who arrived unexpectedly on a beach in the Spanish archipelago on Friday.

Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara said on Saturday he would run for a third term if his predecessors decided to compete in the 2020 election, a vote seen as a major test of stability for the country after two civil wars this century.

Namibia’s incumbent President Hage Geingob has won the 2019 presidential election with 56.3% of the vote, the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) said on Saturday, surviving the country’s biggest corruption scandal, an economic recession and a fractured ruling party.

On the backdrop of the climate change debate, Africa finds itself in an unfortunate position where it is required by the global energy industry to slow down its progress and not explore its hydrocarbons potential to its fullest. This is not right.

A South African court on Friday rejected an appeal by former president Jacob Zuma that sought to prevent his prosecution on corruption charges over a $2 billion arms deal.

 Polls opened Wednesday in Namibia, where the ruling party faces its biggest challenge since independence nearly three decades ago. The resource-rich southern African nation's registered 1.3 million voters were choosing the president and National Assembly members.

The founder and CEO of one of Nigeria’s largest airlines, Air Peace, has been indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice on charges of bank fraud and money laundering for the alleged illegal movement of more than $20 million, the department said.

On 7 November 2019, Trial Chamber VI of the International Criminal Court (“ICC”), unanimously, sentenced Bosco Ntaganda to a total of 30 years of imprisonment. The time Mr Ntaganda has spent in detention at the ICC - from 22 March 2013 to 7 November 2019 - will be deducted from this sentence.

Greenlight Planet, the market leader in the rapidly expanding pay-as-you-go (PAYG) solar industry has successfully partnered with major telecom operators in Africa. Recognizing the natural synergy between the telecom and pay-as-you-go solar industries, the company is pursuing a strong telecom-focused strategy that aims to have a far-reaching impact on more than 600 million unelectrified consumers across the African continent.

Two years ago, U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry attended Africa Oil Week (www.Africa-OilWeek.com) to promote his country’s policies for energy on the continent. This the U.S. Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy, Steven Winberg, attended to highlight the importance the United States places on fostering relationships with the continent.

Starting next Monday, the world’s largest technology conference according to the Financial Times, will begin in Lisbon. This year the event has seen more participation from the African continent than ever before. From top speakers to startups set to compete among some of the world’s most highly sought after companies, here’s what they’ll be doing:

The African Development Bank’s board approved a 125% capital increase to $208 billion on Thursday, the largest in the lender’s history, AfDB President Akinwumi Adesina said.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali has won the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize for his peacemaking efforts with neighboring Eritrea.

Berit Reiss-Andersen, the chairperson of the five-member Norwegian Nobel Committee that awards the Peace Prize, said Abiy was named for his decisive initiatives to end his country's conflict with Eritrea within months of his coming to office in 2018.

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres applauded the committee's choice.

Abiy Ahmed Ali: "I was so humbled and thrilled when I just heard the news."

"I have said often that winds of hope are blowing ever stronger across Africa. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed is one of the main reasons why," he said in a statement Friday.

Internal reforms

The Nobel Committee also took note of Abiy's push for reforms within Ethiopia, largely aimed at easing the government's control of political discourse in the East African country.

"He spent his first 100 days as prime minister lifting the country’s state of emergency, granting amnesty to thousands of political prisoners, discontinuing media censorship, legalizing outlawed opposition groups, dismissing military and civilian leaders who were suspected of corruption, and significantly increasing the influence of women in Ethiopian political and community life," the committee said.

The committee acknowledged that much work remains to strengthen democracy in Ethiopia, but said it hopes the peace agreement with Eritrea will lead to more positive changes for both countries.

The East African neighbors fought a brutal war from 1998 to 2000 and remained at bitter odds thereafter over unresolved land and border issues.

After Abiy came to power in April 2018, he said Ethiopia would comply with a 2002 ruling forcing it to cede territory, including the contested town of Badme. In July, he and Eritrean leader Isaias Afwerki signed a peace agreement officially ending hostilities.

William Davison, Ethiopia analyst for the International crisis Group, said Abiy cannot rest on his laurels.

"[His] bold leadership has helped drive through positive changes in Ethiopia and achieve rapprochement with Eritrea. But there is a lot of work to do to achieve a new domestic political settlement between fractious actors, and there are also major obstacles to advancing the Eritrea peace process, suggesting that Abiy's hardest challenges lie ahead," he said Friday.

Rights group Amnesty International said the Nobel prize "should push and motivate [Abiy] to tackle the outstanding human rights challenges that threaten to reverse the gains made so far. He must urgently ensure that his government addresses the ongoing ethnic tensions [in Ethiopia] that threaten instability and further human rights abuses."

Regional peacemaker

The Nobel Prize committee also recognized Abiy for his role in other peace and reconciliation processes in East and northeast Africa. Last year, Ethiopia contributed to the normalization of diplomatic ties between Djibouti and Eritrea after years of tension. In Sudan, he helped resolve an impasse between the ruling military council and opposition, paving the way for a power-sharing agreement.

Abiy, 43, came to power in April 2018 and began to implement sweeping reforms and changes in Ethiopian policies.

In an interview with VOA's Horn of Africa service in May 2019, Abiy acknowledged that he planned to be an agent of change.

"I don’t believe that it’s proper to stay in power for long periods of time. And as long as I have power, I believe that I should use that to change people’s lives. But within my efforts working to bring change, there may be errors — but all of my intention and action is aimed at elevating Ethiopia," he said.

The prize of about $900,000 will be presented in Oslo on Dec. 10.

The Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences will be awarded on Monday, Oct. 14.

Source: VOA

Hundreds of prisoners, including an opposition party leader, were freed Saturday in Cameroon after Cameroon President Paul Biya ordered a halt to court proceedings against them.

U.N. agencies are appealing for $20 million to contain an outbreak of cholera in Sudan.

President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa has conveyed his and the apologies of the people of South Africa to President Akufo-Addo and the people of Ghana over the recent xenophobic attacks in South Africa, that resulted in the deaths of and injuries to several African nationals, and the looting of their shops belonging to them.