AfricaVerge News

At least 4.1 million people in north-east Nigeria are on the verge of starvation this lean season, UN warns in a report. According to the UN, people in this part of Nigeria are already extremely vulnerable after struggling through 12 years of conflict. In 2022, 8.4 million people need humanitarian assistance across Borno, Adamawa and Yobe (BAY) states. Today Mr. Matthias Schmale, United Nations (UN) Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator a.i. for Nigeria, briefed Member States in Geneva, Switzerland on the needs, challenges and windows of opportunity in the north-east. He described the deteriorating food security and nutrition situation as an issue that requires immediate support. “This food insecurity is felt painfully across the region, especially as operations are so desperately in need of funding. In Yobe State, families have not received food assistance for up to eight months. Some people are left without food for days not knowing where their next meal will come from,” said Mr. Sch...

The national airline of the State of Qatar will resume flights to Windhoek on Saturday, the airline said Tuesday in a statement. Qatar Airways suspended its flights to Namibia and a number of African countries at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic two years ago. According to the statement, the resumption of the Windhoek route is part of the airline's expanding African schedule to offer seamless connection. With more than 200 weekly flights to 31 gateways across Africa following the launch, the Windhoek route will offer seamless connectivity for passengers to almost 159 destinations in the airline's extensive global network including Europe. The national carrier of Qatar will operate three non-stop flights a week to and from Windhoek via Hamad International airport, the statement said. XINHUA/CO

Commonwealth leaders will be meeting in Kigali, Rwanda after four years to reaffirm their common values and agree actions and policies to improve the lives of all their citizens. The 2022 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) takes place from June 20, 2022, to June 25, 2022.  This year’s theme will be: ‘Delivering a Common Future: Connecting, Innovating, Transforming.' The biennial Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) brings together delegations from 54 nations from Africa, the Caribbean and Americas, Europe, Asia, and the Pacific. The meeting was scheduled in June 2020 but was postponed twice due to the to the COVID-19 pandemic. The official opening of CHOGM takes place on Friday 24 June and is followed by the main high-level meetings of Heads on Friday 24 to Saturday 25 June. They are proceeded by four Forums, ministerial meetings, side events and other activities. Rwandan president Paul Kagame, and Commonwealth Secretary-General, Patricia Scotland, announc...

A legal expert charged with writing a new constitution presented a draft to Tunisian President Kais Saied Monday, less than a month before a referendum on the document. The head of Tunisia's constitution committee charged with writing a new constitution has delivered a draft of new constitution to President Kais Saied on Monday, with expectations that the document will grant more powers to the president. The president intends to put the new constitution to a referendum on July 25, the one year anniversary of a power grab by Saied that saw him sack the government and suspend an elected parliament, though the opposition has said it would boycott the plebiscite. The coordinator of the National Consultative Commission for a New Republic Mr. Sadok Belaïd who handed the draft to the president at his palace in the coastal Tunis district of Carthage, said “The conditions for drafting the Constitution, were difficult because of the short time we had at our disposal. But we managed, thanks t...

The UN’s top official advocating for children caught up in armed conflict issued  new guidance  on Monday designed to help expert staff on the ground protect children who are abducted, or who suffer other grave violations. Special Representative Virginia Gamba , said the guidelines would aid monitoring and reporting on the abduction of children in armed conflict, and help “address this complex grave violation of children’s rights in times of war.” There are six grave violations identified by the UN which serve as the basis for gathering data and reporting, namely the killing and maiming of children; recruitment or use of child soldiers; sexual violence against children; abduction; attacks against schools or hospitals, and finally, denial of humanitarian access. Violations linked “With the six grave violations against children in armed conflict being intrinsically interlinked, children often endure other grave violations during the time of their abduction and are recruited and ...

In a bid to drive economic integration in Africa, Equity Group Holding have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfTCTA). This agreement is expected to expedite the KSh678 billion ($6 billion) Regional Private Sector Economic Recovery and Resilience Stimulus Plan. Equity Group will as part of the partnership concentrate on key strategic pillars like manufacturing, trade, investment, MSMEs, social and environmental transformation, and fostering technology-enabled economies. These pillars include agriculture and the extractive industries, manufacturing and logistics, and trade and investment. Speaking at the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) ceremony held in Lusaka, Zambia, James Mwangi, MD and CEO of Equity Group Holdings, stated the value of regional integration. In his words: “The coming together of AfCFTA and Equity Group gives us an opportunity to serve our motherland through integrating trade in the region through ou...