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AFCON 2019 Quarter-finals: Ivory Coast out, Algeria through to semis

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AFCON 2019 Quarter-finals: Ivory Coast out, Algeria through to semis

Eric Jabulani - July 11, 2019

AFRICA The African Cup of Nations, AFCON, the continent’s biggest football showpiece is underway in Egypt. It kicked off on...

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Kenya attack death toll hits 21, Al-Shabaab cites Trump as motivation

Kenya attack death toll hits 21, Al-Shabaab cites Trump as motivation

January 16, 2019

Another Italian Deputy Prime Minister, Matteo Salvini on Tuesday launched a scathing attack on France’s policies in Africa, saying the European country was not interested in a peaceful Libya because its energy interests there clashed with those of Italy. Relations between Italy and France, traditionally close allies, have grown frosty since the far-right League and anti-establishment 5-Star Movement formed a coalition last year and took aim at pro-EU French President Emmanuel Macron. On Monday France summoned Italy’s ambassador after Salvini’s fellow deputy prime minister, Luigi Di Maio, accused Paris of creating poverty in Africa and generating mass migration to Europe. Salvini backed up Di Maio, saying France was looking to extract wealth from Africa rather than helping countries develop their own economies, and pointed particularly to Libya, which has been in turmoil since a NATO-backed uprising in 2011 that overthrew strongman Muammar Gaddafi. “In Libya, France has no interest in stabilizing the situation, probably because it has oil interests that are opposed to those of Italy,” Salvini told Canale 5 TV station. Italy’s Eni and France’s Total have separate joint ventures in Libya, but Eni’s CEO Claudio Descalzi denied in a newspaper interview last year that there was any conflict between the two firms in the north African state. Asked about the latest diplomatic spat, Salvini said on Tuesday: “France has no reason to get upset because it pushed away tens of thousands of migrants (at the French border), abandoning them there as though they were beasts. We won’t take any lessons on humanity from Macron.” France says Italian politicians are targeting EU A French diplomatic source said it was not the first time that Salvini had made such comments and that it was probably because he felt he had been upstaged by Di Maio. The source added that the accusation was baseless and reiterated that French efforts in Libya were aimed at stabilizing the country, preventing the spread of terrorism and curbing the migration flows. SUGGESTED READING: How the current chaos in Libya was birthed Salvini is head of the League, while Di Maio leads 5-Star. Both are campaigning hard for European parliamentary elections in May and are eager to show they have broken with the consensual politics of center-left and center-right parties. The two men have repeatedly targeted neighboring France and accused Macron of doing nothing to help handle the hundreds of thousands of mainly African migrants who have reached Italy from Libya in recent years. A French presidential source said populist forces in Italy and elsewhere were looking to undermine countries like France and Germany which wanted to strengthen the European Union. “The European elections will be the place where we confront those — as you can see again today with the ludicrous comments from the Italian government — who seek to destroy the European project and the Franco-German partnership,” the source said. Italy’s prime minister reassures France Looking to prevent a diplomatic rupture, the Italian prime minister issued a statement praising relations with Paris, saying that Rome merely wanted a debate within Europe on difficult issues such as immigration. “This (row) does not call into question our historic friendship with France, nor with the French people. This relationship remains strong and steady in spite of any political disputes,” Conte said in a statement.

France is not interested in a peaceful Libya: Italian politician

January 23, 2019

sky news africa EU wants to stop flights from southern Africa over variant

EU wants to stop flights from southern Africa over variant

November 26, 2021

Hundreds flee US-backed Syria battle for last IS holdout

Hundreds flee US-backed Syria battle for last IS holdout

February 13, 2019

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sky news africa Global stock markets and oil prices plunged Monday as panicked investors bolted into safer assets such as gold after China warned that the spread of a deadly new coronavirus was accelerating. China extended its traditional Lunar New Year holidays to buy time in the fight against the epidemic, prompting neighbouring Mongolia to close its border after the death toll spiked to 81 despite unprecedented quarantine measures. Fears of a repeat of the 2003 SARS outbreak, which also began in China, spooked investors who only recently pushed markets to record highs -- meaning there was plenty of room for a reverse. All sectors were hit but luxury goods makers and airlines suffered particularly as Chinese tourist spending is a key factor for them. Wall Street opened lower, quickly losing nearly two percent as the global sell-off continued, adding to the pressure on Europe. In mid-afternoon trade in Europe, London was down some 2.2 percent, with Paris and Frankfurt doing even worse with losses of some 2.6 percent each. Oil prices were down around 2.5 percent, coming off early lows hit on concerns over demand from the world's top energy consumer China. - 'Major panic' - "Market participants in Europe have grave concerns about coronavirus," said Ava Trade analyst Naeem Aslam. "The bottom line is that the virus has become deadly and it has caused a major panic in markets." Chinese President Xi Jinping warned over the weekend that China was facing a "grave situation" given the "accelerating spread" of the new SARS-like virus that has infected nearly 3,000 people across the country. Analysts said there were growing fears the crisis could become as bad as the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak that hammered markets and the global economy in 2003. "Coronavirus fears have gripped the markets... as all the major European equity benchmarks are nursing big losses," said analyst David Madden at trading firm CMC Markets UK. "Stocks that are connected to China are feeling the pain... as traders are afraid the health crisis will curtail economic activity." The outbreak has led China to lock down the epicentre of the disease, Wuhan -- a city of 11 million people -- while imposing tight travel restrictions on a number of other cities including Beijing. The move comes during the Lunar New Year holiday when hundreds of millions of people criss-cross the country and spend billions of dollars. The government decided late Sunday it would extend the holiday and related school closures beyond the January 30 end date to "reduce population flows", state media said. Most Asian markets were closed for the Lunar New Year break but Tokyo was open and fell two percent. Bangkok plunged nearly three percent on worries about the Thai travel sector. AFP / Behrouz MEHRI Tokyo stocks fell while other Asian markets were closed The flight to safety saw the yen rally against the dollar, with the unit now up more than one percent from eight-month lows touched earlier this year. Gold, another go-to asset in times of turmoil and uncertainty, is heading back towards $1,600 per ounce and the six-year peaks touched at the start of January. While the main focus is on the spread of the virus, traders will also be keeping an eye on the release of earnings this week from top companies including Apple, Facebook and Samsung. The oil market had already tumbled more than six percent last week owing to concerns about the effects on demand in China, which is the world's number two economy after the United States. - Key figures around 1430 GMT - London - FTSE 100: DOWN 2.17 percent at 7,421.71 points Frankfurt - DAX 30: DOWN 2.52 percent at 13,234.06 Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 2.58 percent at 5,869.95 New York - DOW: DOWN 1.5 percent at 28,543.75 EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 2.41 percent at 3,687.90 Brent Crude: DOWN 2.57 percent at $58.35 per barrel West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 2.40 percent at $52.89 Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 2.0 percent at 23,343.51 (close) Hong Kong - Hang Seng: Closed for a public holiday Shanghai - Composite: Closed for a public holiday Dollar/yen: DOWN at 108.94 yen from 109.28 yen Friday Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1015 from $1.1025 Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3060 from $1.3073 Euro/pound: UP at 84.37 pence from 84.34 pence

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Stocks, oil prices tumble as deadly China virus rattles markets

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