Tag: Africa

Ghana Court Jails Chinese National Over Illegal Gold Mining 

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accra, ghana —  A Ghanaian court has sentenced a Chinese national to prison for illegal gold mining in the West African nation, her attorney said Monday, ending a case that started in 2017 and shed light on Chinese involvement in the activity. The court in Accra sentenced Aisha Huang to 4-1/2 years in prison and a fine of 48,000 Ghanaian cedis ($4,000) for running an illegal mining operation, the attorney, Hope Agboado, told Reuters. Huang, who could not be reached for comment, initially pleaded not guilty but changed her plea…

China’s Past and Present Ties with African Ruling Parties

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johannesburg, south africa —  Political analysts and opposition politicians in Africa accuse China of undermining the spread of democracy in the region by propping up entrenched ruling parties and promoting what Beijing sees as the advantages of one-party rule. The beneficiaries in many cases are former liberation movements that won struggles against colonial and white-minority rule decades ago, often with Chinese support. Now organized as governing political parties, they have stayed in power ever since, often while accused of stifling any opposition. A major instrument of Chinese influence is a…

At BRICS Summit, Countries Diverge Slightly on Israel and War in Gaza

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The BRICS group of developing countries — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — held a virtual summit on the war in Gaza on Tuesday, articulating divergent positions on the conflict that together reflected the reluctance of some nations outside the world’s largest industrialized democracies to fall in behind Washington’s support for Israel. Several other nations that have been invited to join the BRICS group next year also attended the conference — Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Argentina and the United Arab Emirates. A joint statement released by the…

Kenya Asks for a Billion-Dollar Loan from China

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Kenya is struggling to repay a massive debt owed to China for the construction of the Standard Gauge Railroad that links the Kenyan cities of Mombasa and the capital, Nairobi. But President William Ruto is asking for an additional billion-dollar loan from China to complete some other stalled development projects in the country. Kennedy Wandera has more from Nairobi. Camera: Jimmy Makhulo Voice of America

Chinese Man Extradited From Morocco Faces Embezzlement Charges in Shanghai

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BEIJING —  A Chinese man wanted for allegedly embezzling millions of yuan (hundreds of thousands of dollars) from his company and then fleeing to Morocco was extradited back to China on Saturday, the Ministry of Public Security said. The man, a financial executive at the company, used passwords for its bank accounts to transfer money to his personal account, the ministry said in a statement. It didn’t name the company but said that Shanghai police filed a case against the man in February 2020. Moroccan police arrested him in April…

12 African Artists Leading a Culture Renaissance Around the World

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In one of his famed self-portraits, Omar Victor Diop, a Senegalese photographer and artist, wears a three-piece suit and an extravagant paisley bow tie, preparing to blow a yellow, plastic whistle. The elaborately staged photograph evokes the memory of Frederick Douglass, the one-time fugitive slave who in the 19th century rose to become a leading abolitionist, activist, writer and orator, as well as the first African American to be nominated for vice president of the United States. Diop is no stranger to portraying the aches and hopes of Black people…

African Businesses Navigate Trade With US and China

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African leaders are pushing for renewal of a preferential U.S. trade policy, set to expire in 2025, that allows them duty-free access to the U.S. market. Kate Bartlett spoke with U.S. trade representative Katherine Tai about U.S.-China competition at the annual summit of the African Growth and Opportunity Act in Johannesburg and visited a factory that does business with both countries. Camera — Zaheer Cassim. Voice of America

China ‘world’s biggest debt collector’ as poorer nations struggle with its loans

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China has become the world’s biggest debt collector, as the money it is owed from developing countries has surged to between $1.1tn (£889bn) and $1.5tn, according to a new report. An estimated 80% of China’s overseas lending portfolio in the global south is now supporting countries in financial distress. Since 2017, China has been the world’s biggest bilateral lender; its main development banks issued nearly $500bn between 2008 and 2021. While some of this predates the belt and road initiative (BRI), Beijing’s flagship development programme has mobilised much of the…

U.S. Faces Tricky Questions With African Trade Group

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As the United States seeks to deepen its relationships with African nations and counter the influence of rivals like Russia and China, it confronts a tricky question: How does it respond when countries do things that run afoul of Washington’s stated commitment to democracy and human rights? That tension hung over a major trade conference between the U.S. and African countries that started in Johannesburg this week, after President Biden announced that he was suspending four nations from a critical trade program that aims to promote economic development in Africa.…

US Takes Up China’s Infrastructure Mantel in Africa

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JOHANNESBURG —  This week, the U.S. State Department confirmed that Washington’s plan to refurbish and extend the Lobito Corridor — a railway that will run through mineral-rich Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo to an Atlantic port in Angola — is moving full steam ahead. Such ambitious infrastructure investments by other powers in Africa have been derailed in the past. For years, China has tried with mixed results to increase its influence in Africa and boost trade connectivity by investing in ports and railways. Debt-incurring or unfinished projects undertaken…