🔅Go Back to Africa!
In today’s issue: Paul Biya celebrates 40 years in power, the Dutch apologise for its role in slavery, and a French legislator is banned from parliament for shouting ‘Go back to Africa!’… ☕
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Markets — Year to Date
🔺 Nigerian SE: 44,269.18 (+3.63%)
🔻 Johannesburg SE: 69,305.19 (-5.98%)
🔺 Ghana SE: 2,460.31 (+0.20%)
🔻 Nairobi SE: 127.55 (-23.37%)
🔺 US S&P 500: 3,770.55 (+1.36%)
🔺 Shanghai Composite: 3,070.80 (+2.42%)
*Data accurate as of close of markets across the continent
The African Development Bank's president announced that the bank had secured $31 billion in project investment commitments. This brings the total investment for the year to about $64 billion. The projects the bank focused on earlier in the year are from sectors including agriculture and agro-processing, education, energy and climate, healthcare, minerals and mining, and information and communications technology.
SECURITY
Somalia army kills 100 al-Shabaab
What is happening:
The Somali army and its allies have killed at least 100 al-Shabaab fighters in heavy fighting in the central Hiran region.
Al Shabaab has been under pressure since August when President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud began a concerted offensive against them supported by the United States and clan militias known locally as macawisley, or "men with sarongs".
The fighting in Hiran is happening near the strategic town of Adan-yabal, which security forces captured earlier this week. Al-Shabaab has claimed to have killed dozens of army soldiers and macawisley fighters in the fighting, but the Somali army says the death toll is much higher on the terrorist group's side.
The Bigger Picture:
Al-Shabaab has been waging an insurgency against the Somali government for years in an attempt to overthrow the Western-backed government and impose their interpretation of Islamic law.
The government's offensive comes days after the twin bombings that killed 120 people in Mogadishu. That last attack by al Shabaab was just the latest in a series that the group has carried out against Somalia's government.
Its most notorious attack occurred on October 14, 2017, when a truck bomb ripped through a highly populated section of Mogadishu, killing 512 people.
ACROSS THE CONTINENT
Other Headlines
🇨🇲 Africa's oldest president, Paul Biya, is celebrating 40 years in power this weekend. His supporters celebrate his achievements, but his opponents are lukewarm, calling on him to step down and hand over power to a younger generation. Mr Biya’s long rule has been characterised by great ambition but also with significant failures, such as corruption and the ongoing battle against Anglophone separatists. Just this weekend, nine health workers were kidnapped from a government-run hospital northwest of the country, where armed separatists have been fighting to create a breakaway state. Paul Biya is 89 years old, and his health is heavily debated, as he is rarely seen in public these days.
🌍 The Dutch government will formally apologise in December for its role in slavery during the nation's colonial past. The government plans to spend 200 million euros on a fund promoting awareness about the colonial power's role in slavery and 27 million euros to open a slavery museum. The decision follows the recommendation last year by an advisory panel that the government acknowledge that the 17th-19th century transatlantic slave trade amounted to crimes against humanity and that the Dutch government apologise.
AROUND THE WORLD
Go back to Africa!
What happened:
Assembly president Yael Braun-Pivet cut off far-right lawmaker Gregoire de Fournas for shouting, "Go back to Africa!" at left-wing MP Carlos Martens Bilongo, who is Black.
The remark triggered an uproar, with many lawmakers condemning de Fournas for his racism. Marine Le Pen's opposition National Rally (RN) party denied that de Fournas was aiming his words at Martens Bilongo, saying he was referring to migrants from Africa currently stranded on an NGO boat in the Mediterranean.
France's centrist government, the left and the mainstream right, said the remark was an unacceptable racist slur. De Fournas will lose half his salary for two months and be banned from entering the assembly for 15 days.
The bigger picture:
Although Le Pen has toned down her party’s rhetoric and refocused on parliament in recent years to broaden her appeal, de Fournas’ comment was a regression for the party.
Many in the centrist government and on the left said his comments and the party's reaction showed its true racist colours and that it had not changed. Racism is a serious problem in France, and this incident is just one example of the racism that exists in the country.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Proverb of the Day
“Do not blame God for creating the tiger, just thank Him for not giving it wings."
— Ethiopian Proverb.