🔅 Ramaphosa meets Biden.
Biden has increased interaction with African governments.
Good morning,
Sierra Leone’s financial crisis has led to deadly protests. Read on…
Markets Today
📉 Johannesburg Stock Exchange: 12,915.14 (-1.11%)
📉 Nigerian Stock Exchange: 3,115.60 -10.80(-0.35%)
📉 Nairobi Securities Exchange: 132.34 (-1.37%)
📉 S&P 500: 3,873.33 (-0.72%)
📉 Shanghai Composite: 3,115.60 (-0.35%)
🇸🇱 Markets continue their fall. In Sierra Leone, the high debt burden is limiting the government's ability to alleviate the country's cost-of-living crisis, which has resulted in deadly protests. Over a dozen people were killed in protests against rising prices in the West African country last month.
Energy
Ramaphosa meets Biden
In a White House meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Friday, US President Joe Biden discussed relations with Russia.
The two leaders agreed to address several of "the world's most pressing concerns, including the Russia-Ukraine crisis and its severe effects for food security in Africa," according to the White House.
Biden also pledged $45 million in support to accelerate the phase-out of coal-fired power generating in South Africa. It comes at a time when diminishing Russian and Ukrainian natural gas and oil exports have boosted South African coal and pushed back decarbonisation targets for one of the world's most carbon-intensive economies.
In recent weeks, Biden and his advisers have increased interaction with African governments as they monitor rivals Russia and China's investments and diplomacy on the region.
Ramaphosa has resisted requests to explicitly criticise Russia, and South Africa was one of 17 African countries to vote against Russia's attack at the United Nations.
Ramaphosa's African National Congress (ANC) party had close relations to the former Soviet Union, which trained and financed anti-apartheid militants.
Across the Continent
Other Headlines
🇸🇳 On Saturday, Senegalese President Macky Sall reestablished the role of prime minister, naming a former economy minister to the position two months after a tumultuous legislative election in which Sall's ruling coalition lost its comfortable majority. The nomination of Amadou Ba restores the role of prime minister in the West African country, which was abolished in 2019. Last year, Senegal saw violent protests after Ousmane Sonko, Sall's primary opponent who finished third in the 2019 presidential race, was detained on rape accusations that he denied.
🍾 Thousands of revellers congregated in Uganda for the Nyege Nyege festival, which was allowed to go place despite a threat to prohibit it due to "immorality." Tickets for the four-day event were sold out, with over 150 musicians from Africa and Europe performing across four stages. Up to 12,000 people, including 5,000 foreign tourists, gathered. Nyege nyege means "dance" in Luganda language but has sexual implications in Swahili.
🇸🇩 Sudan's military chiefs agreed on Friday to a prime minister and head of state chosen by civilian forces, according to General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo. The generals reiterated assertions that the military would leave the political scene when a civilian government was appointed. Some political groups, as well as General Dagalo, have praised a draft constitution distributed by the Sudanese Bar Association in recent weeks.
Around the World
The UK bids farewell to the Queen
The royal family and the United Kingdom will bid farewell to Queen Elizabeth II during a state funeral at Westminster Abbey on Monday. Eighteen members of the Queen's family, led by the King and including the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, will be present.
The US president, Joe Biden, paid his respects to the late Queen, attending the lying in state with the first lady, Jill Biden, before an official state reception hosted by the King at Buckingham Palace on Sunday evening for about 500 presidents, prime ministers, royalty, and other dignitaries from around the world who have been invited to attend the state funeral.
The Queen's casket will be placed in front of the altar where she married Prince Philip and took her coronation oath. In a private ceremony attended by her family, she will be buried next to the Duke of Edinburgh in the King George VI Memorial Chapel.