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POLITICS-GABON: Will Bongo’s Death Signal a New Chapter? Analysis by Arsène Séverin BRAZZAVILLE - As Omar Bongo Ondimba, the Gabonese president who died at age 73 in Barcelona on Jun. 8, is buried in Franceville in the south-west of Gabon on Thursday, his 41-year-reign as absolute ruler of this oil-producing country of 1.5 million has received mixed reviews. MORE >>
ENERGY: South African Government Edging Towards Renewable Sources By Stephanie Nieuwoudt CAPE TOWN - South Africa is slowly moving towards exploring renewable energy sources, having set itself a target of three percent of energy being generated from renewable sources by 2013. MORE >>
DEVELOPMENT: The Second Scramble For Africa Starts By Julio Godoy BERLIN - Sub-Saharan African countries have of late become the target of a new form of investment that is strongly reminiscent of colonialism: investors from both industrialised and emerging economies buy or lease large tracts of farm land across the continent, either to guarantee their own food provisions or simply as yet another business. MORE >>
ENERGY: Africa Will Have to Feed EU’s Artificial Biofuels Demand By Hilaire Avril PARIS - Earlier in the decade, biofuels were hailed as the energy panacea, the silver bullet to solve oil shortages and abide by environmental concerns. The European Union recently took the lead in imposing the use of these liquid or gaseous fuels made from plants. MORE >>
AFRICA: New North-South Corridor To Tackle Trade Bottle-Necks By Kelvin Kachingwe LUSAKA - Africa’s contribution to the global economy will continue to be low if there is no investment in infrastructure, delegates heard at the North-South Corridor Conference in Lusaka, where 1.2 billion dollars was raised. MORE >>
TRADE: ‘‘Russia Should Extend More Preferences to Nigeria’’ By Kester Kenn Klomegah MOSCOW - As cooperation between Nigeria and Russia is strengthened, Russia should consider extending preferences to some goods from Nigeria to further boost trade between the two oil producers, according to the deputy director of the Russian Academy of Sciences’s Institute for African Studies, Professor Dmitri Bondarenko. MORE >>
ENVIRONMENT: ‘‘Climate Change Does Not Wait For Recessions’’ By Wambi Michael KAMPALA - Lack of money and technical know-how makes it difficult for poor farmers to participate in the Kyoto Protocol’s carbon trading mechanism aimed at reversing global warming. Meanwhile, the global economic crisis may further undermine investment in carbon trade in African countries. MORE >>
TRADE-CAMEROON: Borders - Where Two Economies Meet By Tamfu Hanson GAROUA, Cameroon - No one pays full price for petrol in northern Cameroon, not when there's cheaper Nigerian contraband available. In Garoua town for example, there are about 4,000 commercial motorcycles which all depend on "zoa zoa" or "federale" as this highly cherished liquid is generally referred to. MORE >>
PORTUGAL: "Angolagate" Bribes in Local Banks By Mario de Queiroz LISBON - Portuguese banks that received transfers of money to Angolan politicians implicated in illegal arms sales have kept mum after the Lisbon paper Público reported their involvement. MORE >>
ECONOMY-MAURITIUS: Textile Manufacturing Goes Green and Clean By Nasseem Ackbarally PORT LOUIS - ‘‘The cost of production is high in Mauritius as we are far away from our main markets. Our island is so small that at times our clients do forget us. We no longer benefit from any trade preferences. We don’t have any natural resources but we have plenty of sunshine and wind and we have decided to use these resources.’’ MORE >>
ECONOMY: Global Crisis Should Spell End of Laissez-Faire Doctrine By Miriam Mannak CAPE TOWN - The real question to ask about the global financial crisis is whether ‘‘it will go deep enough for the big economies to realise that the market should be controlled more. The philosophy of laissez-faire simply does not work’’. MORE >>
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