HARARE, Aug 19 (Reuters) – Australian-listed Invictus Energy Ltd IVZ.AX expects to start drilling its first exploration well for oil and gas in the northern part of Zimbabwe in the coming weeks, an official with the company’s Zimbabwean subsidiary said on Friday. The first well, Mukuyu-1, situated in the Muzarabani-Mbire area, will be 3.5 kilometres (km) deep at a…
ABUJA, Aug 19 (Reuters) – Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari expressed concern on Friday over large-scale crude oil theft, saying it was affecting the country’s revenues “enormously”. Nigeria lost $1 billion in revenue during the first quarter of this year due to crude theft, the oil regulator has said. Nigeria is unable to meet some of its financial obligations to its citizens due to the oil…
Once a thriving city in Cameroon, Bamenda has been ripped of its soul by the five-year war between English-speaking secessionists and the mainly French-speaking government. Bamenda is all but dead. Only the coffin trade is booming. Bodies are dumped regularly all over the city – in mortuaries, on streets and in rivers. Council workers pick…
As Egypt prepares to expand to serve a population over 20 million, the Cairo metro has recruited Egypt’s first female train drivers, a novelty in a country where few women have formal jobs. Since April, commuters on the network’s newest line have seen women take the controls in the driver’s cab, with reactions ranging from…
Emergency units and police officers were securing the Hayat hotel and its surroundings in Mogadishu on Sunday following Al-Shabaab’s violent attack. Health Minister Dr. Ali Haji Adam reported on Sunday afternoon, 21 deaths and 117 people wounded between Friday evening and Saturday night. Several civilians trapped in the hotel were rescued during and after the 30-hour-long siege…
Zimbabwean stocks have fallen 50% since the end of April after authorities increased taxes on equity transactions and took other steps to support a collapsing local currency and tame triple-figure inflation. Stocks have long been favoured by local investors seeking a refuge from the sliding domestic currency and consumer prices that rose 257% last month…
Prince Harry is on a solo engagement in Mozambique. The Duke of Sussex, in his role as president of African Parks, is hosting US officials who are learning about conservation efforts in Africa. Harry’s next big visit with be in September when he returns to the UK with Meghan Markle. Prince Harry is currently in…
JOHANNESBURG, Aug 18 (Reuters) – The South African rand fell on Thursday, extending the previous day’s losses, as the dollar bounced on investor uncertainty surrounding the pace of interest rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve to tame inflation. Federal Reserve minutes on Wednesday pointed to U.S. interest rates staying higher for longer, boosting the dollar and…
LUANDA, Aug 19 (Reuters) – Angolans head to the polls next week in what is likely to be a tense standoff between a ruling party in power for nearly five decades and an opposition with growing appeal to a frustrated, impoverished youth. The MPLA, led by João Lourenço since 2017, has governed Africa’s second-biggest oil producer since…
The UK’s Minister for Africa has issued a damning warning that the Horn of Africa is suffering it’s worst drought in decades with millions suffering its impact. “It’s beyond imagination,” says the minister, Vicky Ford. More than seven million people are in dire need of humanitarian assistance. This has led to mass displacements as people…