<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="509" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/P3TLEOJ3K5MEHLTXC7NP4E5JO4-820x509.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-424410" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/P3TLEOJ3K5MEHLTXC7NP4E5JO4-820x509.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/P3TLEOJ3K5MEHLTXC7NP4E5JO4-300x186.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/P3TLEOJ3K5MEHLTXC7NP4E5JO4-145x90.jpg 145w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/P3TLEOJ3K5MEHLTXC7NP4E5JO4-768x477.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/P3TLEOJ3K5MEHLTXC7NP4E5JO4-1536x953.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/P3TLEOJ3K5MEHLTXC7NP4E5JO4-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Kenya&#8217;s opposition leader Raila Odinga, of the Azimio La Umoja (Declaration of Unity) One Kenya Alliance, waves to supporters as he arrives at a rally ahead of talks with President William Ruto&#8217;s government on high cost of living and electoral reforms at the Kamukunji grounds of Nairobi, Kenya April 16, 2023. REUTERS/Monicah Mwangi</figcaption></figure>



NAIROBI, April 24 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Kenya&#8217;s main opposition party said on Monday it will resume protests over high living costs and alleged election fraud because of what it called the government&#8217;s lack of commitment to talks.



Opposition leader Raila Odinga halted nationwide demonstrations in early&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N3650JR&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">April</a>&nbsp;after an appeal from President William Ruto, who agreed to talks and to reform the election commission &#8211; one of the opposition&#8217;s main demands.



Thousands had taken to the streets in three marches which were marred by clashes between protesters and police. Rights groups called for calm, fearing an eruption of ethnically charged violence.



Last week, Odinga&#8217;s Azimio La Umoja (Declaration of Unity) party&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N36G1VV&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a>&nbsp;protests would resume after Islam&#8217;s holy month of Ramadan, which concluded on Friday, if no progress had been made in talks.



&#8220;Today we have come to the conclusion that as we had feared, the commitment is lacking on the part of Kenya Kwanza,&#8221; Azimio said in a statement on Monday, referring to Ruto&#8217;s ruling Kenya Kwanza (Kenya First) party.



There was no immediate comment from Ruto or his party. On Sunday, Ruto condemned Odinga&#8217;s threats to resume protests and asked Azimio to give him time to turn around the economy.



The protesters have accused Ruto of mismanagement, while his supporters have accused Odinga of using anger over rising prices, a global phenomenon, to press for political concessions and a possible role in government.



The government has also insisted last year&#8217;s national elections were fair.



Azimio said it remained committed to dialogue, but it accused the government of failing to bring down the cost of flour, fuel, electricity and school fees and objected to the make-up of Kenya Kwanza&#8217;s negotiating team.



The next protest on May 2 would be confined to the capital Nairobi, Azimio said.



(Reporting by Humphrey Malalo; Writing by Hereward Holland; Editing by Anait Miridzhanian and Andrew Heavens)

Kenyan opposition alliance holds rally ahead of talks with government in Nairobi

Kenya opposition says it will resume protests on May 2

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="515" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/FRFCGRTZC5LX3E4PBNUNXPM62Y-820x515.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-424362" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/FRFCGRTZC5LX3E4PBNUNXPM62Y-820x515.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/FRFCGRTZC5LX3E4PBNUNXPM62Y-300x188.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/FRFCGRTZC5LX3E4PBNUNXPM62Y-143x90.jpg 143w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/FRFCGRTZC5LX3E4PBNUNXPM62Y-768x482.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/FRFCGRTZC5LX3E4PBNUNXPM62Y-1536x965.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/FRFCGRTZC5LX3E4PBNUNXPM62Y-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: FILE PHOTO: Meta Platforms Inc&#8217;s logo is seen on a smartphone in this illustration picture taken October 28, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



NAIROBI, April 20 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;A Kenyan judge ruled on Thursday that Facebook&#8217;s parent company Meta&nbsp;META.O&nbsp;could be sued in Kenya, after 43 moderators at its Nairobi hub last month filed a lawsuit against the group and its local partner Sama for unfair termination.



In response, Judge Matthews Nduma&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL4N35T37P&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">issued</a>&nbsp;an interim injunction against Meta and Sama preventing them from terminating the moderators&#8217; contracts, pending a judgment on the legality of their redundancy.



&#8220;The court finds that this court has jurisdiction to determine the matter of alleged unlawful and unfair termination of employment on grounds of redundancy,&#8221; Nduma said on Thursday.



The moderators in the petition &#8211; who are now 184 in number &#8211; say they were fired in retaliation for complaints about working conditions and attempts to form a union.



&#8220;I do this work because I believe in protecting people,&#8221; said Juanita Jones, a moderator in the petition.



&#8220;Moderation is the frontline defence of the internet – and it is time to value the work like it, not treat it as some disposable, dead-end job,&#8221; Jones said.



The moderators say they were blacklisted from applying for the same roles at another outsourcing firm, Luxembourg-based Majorel, after Facebook switched contractors.



Meta, Sama and Majorel did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Thursday.



A Kenyan labour court in February&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N34M1ZK&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ruled</a>&nbsp;that Meta could be sued in the East African country after one former moderator at the Nairobi hub filed a lawsuit against it, alleging poor working conditions.



The cases could have implications for how Meta works with content moderators globally. The U.S. giant works with thousands of moderators around the world, tasked with reviewing graphic content posted on its platform.



(Reporting by Ayenat Mersie; Editing by Hereward Holland and Jan Harvey)

FILE PHOTO: Meta Platforms Inc’s logo is seen on a smartphone in this illustration picture

Court rules Meta can be sued in Kenya over alleged unlawful redundancies

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="557" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/IE5RXBPEUFLLNJUQF7XZT4FQLE-820x557.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-424137" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/IE5RXBPEUFLLNJUQF7XZT4FQLE-820x557.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/IE5RXBPEUFLLNJUQF7XZT4FQLE-300x204.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/IE5RXBPEUFLLNJUQF7XZT4FQLE-133x90.jpg 133w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/IE5RXBPEUFLLNJUQF7XZT4FQLE-768x522.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/IE5RXBPEUFLLNJUQF7XZT4FQLE-1536x1043.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/IE5RXBPEUFLLNJUQF7XZT4FQLE-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen delivers remarks at the National Association for Business Economics 39th Annual Economic Policy Conference in Washington, U.S., March 30, 2023. REUTERS/Leah Millis</figcaption></figure>



U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will push this week for urgent resolution of requests by Zambia and Ghana for restructuring of their sovereign debts, and moves to conclude a debt treatment for Sri Lanka, Treasury said on Monday.



Yellen, who is slated to meet counterparts from around the world during this week&#8217;s meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF), is also pushing for concrete steps to speed up the overall debt relief process and make it more predictable, Treasury Undersecretary Jay Shambaugh said.



&#8220;During the week, Secretary Yellen will &#8230; maintain urgency for the speedy resolution of Common Framework cases like Zambia and Ghana to remove debt overhangs and foster growth in developing countries,&#8221; Treasury said in a statement.



<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N3691LY&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Sri Lanka, Zambia and Ghana</a>&nbsp;have already defaulted on their overseas debt and are working towards debt reworks with creditors. Some 60% of low-income countries are in or near debt distress, but the Group of 20 (G20) common framework set up to help low income countries has failed to deliver quick debt relief.



&#8220;At a broad level, we&#8217;re really just pushing to improve the speed and predictability of this framework,&#8221; Shambaugh said at an event hosted by the Brookings Institution think tank. &#8220;This is going to require constructive and timely participation of all creditors in international debt restructuring discussions.&#8221;



Shambaugh said Treasury&#8217;s immediate priority was resolving outstanding requests from Zambia, Ghana and Ethiopia under the G20 framework, and from Sri Lanka, which is working on a separate debt plan since it is a middle income country.



He said Washington was pressing for &#8220;concerted action&#8221; on Zambia&#8217;s debt treatment and the formation of a creditor committee for Ghana in the next month, adding that the two largest economies in the world &#8211; the United States and China &#8211; needed to collaborate on these challenges.



&#8220;At these meetings, we&#8217;re going to be working very hard to speed up this process, make it more transparent and make it function better,&#8221; he said, adding that progress had been &#8220;slower than we would like.&#8221;



A senior Treasury official said it was up to China whether Zambia&#8217;s case could be resolved this week.



Yellen and other G7 officials have long criticized China&#8217;s slow movement on specific debt treatment cases under the G20 framework, although they have welcomed China&#8217;s agreement to provide financing assurances for Sri Lanka, which paved the way for an IMF lending package.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-debt-roundtable">DEBT ROUNDTABLE</h2>



Yellen will discuss the debt issue in separate meetings on Wednesday with officials from the G20 and the Global Sovereign Debt Roundtable, which includes debtor countries, Treasury said.



The official expressed hope that the debt roundtable meeting would yield &#8220;actual accomplishments,&#8221; the official said. &#8220;What we&#8217;re looking for is concrete steps that will make the process operate faster, and in a more transparent way.&#8221;



Sources familiar with the matter said the co-chairs of the roundtable &#8211; the IMF, the World Bank and India as current president of the G20 &#8211; planned to issue a statement after Wednesday&#8217;s meeting.



A&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N3681OT&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">record number of developing nations</a>&nbsp;are at risk of a debt crisis, with ballooning inflation, escalating borrowing costs and a strong dollar jacking up the cost for borrowing countries to repay loans and raise fresh money.



IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva last week also took aim at China, saying she had told the country&#8217;s new top economic leader that Beijing needed to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N3691QH&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">&#8220;speed up&#8221; its work</a>&nbsp;on debt restructuring requests.



<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N36D0QC&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">World Bank chief David Malpass</a>&nbsp;said on Monday he hoped meetings this week with Chinese officials could help &#8220;break the ice&#8221; on badly needed debt relief for poor countries.



Yellen has no formal meetings with Chinese counterparts on her schedule, but the U.S. official said officials from the Biden administration and China will continue dialogue &#8220;where we&#8217;re able to.&#8221;



(Reporting by Andrea Shalal and David Lawder; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Jamie Freed)

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen speaks at a NABE conference in Washington, U.S.

Yellen to push for ‘speedy’ action on debt relief for Zambia, Ghana

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="800" height="533" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/download-60.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-423083" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/download-60.jpg 800w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/download-60-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/download-60-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/download-60-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: Zambia&#8217;s Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane attends the Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in Washington, U.S., October 15, 2022. REUTERS/James Lawler Duggan</figcaption></figure>



LUSAKA, April 6 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Zambia is being &#8220;punished&#8221; for a failure to complete debt restructuring that is not its fault, but its two main creditors, China and international bondholders, both want a resolution, the country&#8217;s finance minister told Reuters.



Zambia was the first African country to default in 2020 after the COVID-19 pandemic battered the global economy. Many Western officials have blamed delays in agreeing the debt relief on the largest bilateral creditor, China, something it denies.



&#8220;This is no fault of ours, it is the fault of those we engaged with,&#8221; Situmbeko Musokotwane said in an interview in his office in Lusaka, when asked when news could be expected about the completion of the debt relief process.



&#8220;I don&#8217;t want to give a date, but all I can say is that there is very serious discussion that is going on. Everybody appreciates that Zambia is being punished for no fault of hers.&#8221;



The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Thursday that the next payout to Zambia from a $1.3 billion rescue loan was contingent on the country&#8217;s bilateral creditors&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N3685GG&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reaching a debt restructuring agreement</a>.



&#8220;The Chinese are asking questions, the bondholders are also asking questions &#8230; but constructive questions, so that&#8217;s no problem,&#8221; Musokotwane said.



&#8220;The good thing is that everyone is committed. Bondholders say they want a resolution to this, the Chinese say they want a resolution to this.&#8221;



Zambia&#8217;s external debt was $18.6 billion at the end of 2022, of which about $5.7 billion was owed to Chinese creditors and $3.5 billion to bondholders, according to government data.



The governor of Zambia&#8217;s central bank and the secretary to the treasury travelled to China about two weeks ago to meet with &#8220;negotiating parties&#8221;, while there are also ongoing negotiations with bondholders, Musokotwane said.



The government said in October 2022 that it needed&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AJ8N30D029&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">a 49% present value reduction</a>&nbsp;on $12.8 billion of external debt that it had earmarked for restructuring.



&#8220;Those who are owed the money&#8230; understandably they want to minimise the amount of help,&#8221; said Musokotwane.



&#8220;But on the core objective of delivering debt sustainability, there is no compromise.&#8221;



(Reporting by Rachel Savage and Chris Mfula; Editing by Joe Bavier and Sandra Maler)

download-60

Zambia ‘punished’ as debt rework not finished, says finance minister

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="556" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/GAB662QZ45NPDCPXDTZLQHHBVU-820x556.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-424089" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/GAB662QZ45NPDCPXDTZLQHHBVU-820x556.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/GAB662QZ45NPDCPXDTZLQHHBVU-300x203.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/GAB662QZ45NPDCPXDTZLQHHBVU-133x90.jpg 133w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/GAB662QZ45NPDCPXDTZLQHHBVU-768x521.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/GAB662QZ45NPDCPXDTZLQHHBVU-1536x1041.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/GAB662QZ45NPDCPXDTZLQHHBVU-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: Kenya&#8217;s opposition leader Raila Odinga of the Azimio La Umoja (Declaration of Unity) One Kenya Alliance, waves to his supporters as he participates in a nationwide protest over cost of living and President William Ruto&#8217;s government in downtown Nairobi, Kenya March 20, 2023. REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



Kenya opposition leader Raila Odinga on Tuesday called for parties outside parliament to be involved in talks on electoral reform and the high cost of living, at odds with President William Ruto&#8217;s plan for negotiations to be held only within parliament.



Odinga warned of fresh protests if the government did not take demands of the opposition seriously.



On Sunday, Odinga agreed to the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N3650JR&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">talks</a>&nbsp;proposed by Ruto after the president asked him to halt the protests, which also included claims of fraud in last August&#8217;s presidential elections. Thousands took part in three opposition marches over the past two weeks, all of which turned violent.



Foreign observers, including the U.S. Embassy in Kenya, joined local leaders in welcoming the talks to prevent further disruption in East Africa&#8217;s largest economy.



Odinga wants talks similar to those that ended post-election violence in 2008, and ushered in a national unity government.



&#8220;To this end, the coalition proposes a team drawn from its ranks both in Parliament and outside (parliament),&#8221; he said.



On Monday, Ruto had asked senior lawmakers from his coalition to give top priority to the opposition&#8217;s grievances.



During a visit to Kigali on Tuesday, Ruto reiterated his position for the talks to be held within parliament &#8220;in a bipartisan manner, and that is the offer made to the opposition.&#8221; Ruto spoke at a news conference, alongside Rwandan President Paul Kagame.



At his news conference, Odinga said that demonstrations could resume if there was no progress to the opposition&#8217;s demands, which also include an audit of the elections.



&#8220;We shall go back to the people at the earliest sign of lack of seriousness by the other side,&#8221; he said.



(Reporting by George Obulutsa; Additional reporting by Philbert Girinema in Kigali; Editing by Anait Miridzhanian and Leslie Adler)

Nationwide protest over cost of living and President William Ruto’s government in Nairobi

Kenyan opposition leader presents new demand for electoral reform talks

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/GettyImages-1475929182-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-423952" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/GettyImages-1475929182-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/GettyImages-1475929182-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/GettyImages-1475929182-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/GettyImages-1475929182-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/GettyImages-1475929182-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/GettyImages-1475929182-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">WASHINGTON, DC &#8211; MARCH 24: U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks to reporters after participating in a swearing in ceremony for Eric Garcetti as Ambassador to India at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on March 24, 2023 in Washington, DC. This weekend Harris starts a weeklong trip to the continent of Africa where she will visit cities in Ghana, Tanzania and Zambia. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>



DAR ES SALAAM, March 30 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris announced plans&nbsp;to boost&nbsp;trade with and investment in Tanzania during a visit there on Thursday,&nbsp;part of an&nbsp;African tour aimed at strengthening ties&nbsp;with a continent where China and Russia increasingly hold sway.



Harris&nbsp;started her trip on&nbsp;Sunday in Ghana before flying late on Wednesday to Tanzania&#8217;s commercial capital Dar es Salaam, where she&nbsp;met President&nbsp;Samia Suluhu Hassan on Thursday.



The two women gave short statements to the media before going into a longer session of private talks.



&#8220;Working together, it is our shared goal to increase economic investment in Tanzania and strengthen our economic ties,&#8221; Harris said, listing a number of initiatives.



They included a new memorandum of understanding between the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) and the government of Tanzania.



That will facilitate&nbsp;up to $500 million in financing to&nbsp;help U.S. companies export goods&nbsp;and services&nbsp;to Tanzania in&nbsp;sectors including infrastructure, transportation, digital technology, climate and energy security and power generation.



Harris also mentioned a new partnership in 5G technology and cybersecurity, as well as a U.S.-supported plan by&nbsp;LifeZone Metals to open a new processing plant in Tanzania&nbsp;for minerals that go into electric vehicle batteries.



&#8220;This project is an important and pioneering model, using innovative and low-emission standards. Importantly, raw minerals will soon be processed in Tanzania, by Tanzanians,&#8221; she said, adding that the plant would deliver battery-grade nickel to the United States and the global market from 2026.



China has invested heavily in Africa in the last two decades, and last November the Tanzanian president met China&#8217;s President Xi Jinping during a state visit to Beijing.



Trade and investment featured heavily on their agenda, with the leaders agreeing to &#8220;elevate two-way trade and further expand the trade volume&#8221; and China saying it would explore providing market access to more Tanzanian goods.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-political-rights">POLITICAL RIGHTS</h2>



On Thursday, President Hassan said her &#8220;most important request&#8221; was to improve the visa process between the U.S. and Tanzania, as both countries would benefit from a &#8220;long duration visa&#8221; that would increase trade and tourism.



Under Hassan,&nbsp;Tanzania has returned to international engagement after&nbsp;a period of isolationism&nbsp;enforced by her&nbsp;predecessor John Magufuli, who cancelled all his ministers&#8217; foreign trips and discouraged travel.



She has&nbsp;won praise internationally for restoring political rights suspended by Magufuli, who died in office in 2021.



&#8220;Madam President, under your leadership Tanzania has taken important and meaningful steps and President Joe Biden and I applaud you,&#8221; Harris said, standing alongside Hassan.



Magufuli had&nbsp;banned political rallies by anyone other than elected officials, cracked down on Tanzania&#8217;s LGBT community and arrested scores of opposition supporters. He had also rejected COVID-19 vaccines and urged Tanzanians to put faith in prayer and treatments&nbsp;such as steam inhalation.



Hassan reversed the policies upon coming to power and earlier this month, Tanzania passed the milestone of fully vaccinating 50% of its population&nbsp;against the coronavirus.



But human groups say violations continue, including government targeting of online media outlets. Hassan&#8217;s education minister also banned a series of children&#8217;s books from schools last month for allegedly promoting homosexuality.



Harris, the latest of several high-profile figures from the U.S. administration to visit African countries in recent months, is due to stay in Tanzania until Friday, when she will depart for Zambia, the final stop on her tour.



(Additional reporting by Aaron Ross in Nairobi; Writing by Estelle Shirbon; Editing by Alexander Smith and Andrew Heavens)

Vice President Harris Ceremonially Swears In Eric Garcetti As Ambassador To India

US plans Tanzania trade boost as Kamala Harris tours Africa

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/AJ7F43WG35NOFMXO24EQCHAGDQ-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-423923"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris addresses youth gathered on Black Star square in Accra, Ghana, Tuesday March 28, 2023. Misper Apawu/Pool via REUTERS</figcaption></figure>



ACCRA, March 29 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris will meet Ghanaian women entrepreneurs on Wednesday to discuss economic empowerment and leadership, her last engagement in Accra before heading to Tanzania to continue her week-long African tour.



Harris is the latest U.S. government figure to visit African countries, after Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, as Washington strives to counter-balance growing Chinese and Russian influence on the continent.



Since landing in Ghana on Sunday, Harris has&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N35Z11D&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">met President Nana Akufo-Addo</a>, participated in a state banquet, given a speech to young people about innovation and women&#8217;s empowerment, and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N360235&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">visited a &#8216;slave castle&#8217;</a>&nbsp;that was the last stop for thousands of Africans sold into the transatlantic slave trade.



She is scheduled to leave Ghana after her roundtable with women entrepreneurs and fly to the Tanzanian commercial capital Dar es Salaam, where she will meet President Samia Suluhu Hassan on Thursday and fulfil other engagements.



On Friday, she will fly to Zambia, where she will meet President Hakainde Hichilema and participate in other events. She is due to leave Zambia on Saturday and arrive back in the United States on Sunday.



(Reporting by Francis Kokoroko; Writing by Estelle Shirbon; Editing by William Maclean)

Kamala Harris wraps up Ghana visit, heads to Tanzania

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/BE2FA7DW6VJP3AYQ5S5CUCMQO4-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-414305" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/BE2FA7DW6VJP3AYQ5S5CUCMQO4-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/BE2FA7DW6VJP3AYQ5S5CUCMQO4-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/BE2FA7DW6VJP3AYQ5S5CUCMQO4-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/BE2FA7DW6VJP3AYQ5S5CUCMQO4-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/BE2FA7DW6VJP3AYQ5S5CUCMQO4.jpg 960w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The International Monetary Fund (IMF) logo is seen outside the headquarters building in Washington, U.S., September 4, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



International Monetary Fund officials are in Ethiopia this week doing technical work to prepare for a potential IMF-supported program for the East African country, an IMF spokesperson said on Monday.



The IMF has received a request for financial assistance from Ethiopian authorities to support its economic reforms, the spokesperson said, noting the country had been hit by multiple shocks including drought, the COVID-19 pandemic, domestic conflicts, and the impact of Russia’s war in Ukraine.



&#8220;A potential program would support the authorities’ Homegrown Economic Reform program and help Ethiopia stabilize its economy so that it can meet its economic, humanitarian, and social challenges, create jobs, and reduce poverty,&#8221; the spokesperson said.



This week&#8217;s technical discussions follow ongoing discussions between the IMF and Ethiopian authorities on how to best address humanitarian and economic challenges, the spokesperson added.



Bloomberg, which first reported the IMF visit, said officials from the global lender were expected to stay 10 days.



The IMF said it welcomed Ethiopia&#8217;s strong progress towards restoring lasting peace and stability through the “cessation of hostilities agreement” and said implementation had progressed well, including through restoration of humanitarian assistance and basic services to Tigray.



Progress on the IMF program and Ethiopia&#8217;s request for debt relief under the Group of 20 Common Framework had been stalled due in part to the conflict in Tigray.



The United States, the biggest shareholder in the IMF, is working to repair ties after outspoken criticism of alleged atrocities by Ethiopian forces and their allies during the Tigray war, which killed tens of thousands of people before a peace accord was reached last November.



(Reporting by Akanksha Khushi in Bengaluru and Andrea Shalal in Washington; Editing by Stephen Coates)

BE2FA7DW6VJP3AYQ5S5CUCMQO4

IMF team in Ethiopia for talks on new funding programme 

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/GettyImages-1248856891-1-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-423786" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/GettyImages-1248856891-1-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/GettyImages-1248856891-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/GettyImages-1248856891-1-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/GettyImages-1248856891-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/GettyImages-1248856891-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/GettyImages-1248856891-1-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">NAIROBI, KENYA &#8211; MARCH 20: Kenyan demonstrators gather at the invitation of the opposition Azimio coalition to protest, justifying Coalition leader Raila Odinga&#8217;s objection to the election results and the cost of living in Nairobi, Kenya on March 20, 2023. (Photo by Gerald Anderson/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>



NAIROBI, March 20 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Kenyan police tear gassed the leader of the opposition on Monday and arrested senior lawmakers in his parliamentary faction, as protesters took to the streets to march against President William Ruto and the high cost of living.



The convoy of Raila Odinga, who was defeated by Ruto last year in his fifth straight election as the runner up, was repeatedly sprayed with tear gas as he addressed supporters from the sunroof of his car.



Odinga has called for&nbsp;nationwide protests as he attempts to harness dissatisfaction with the president.&nbsp;At least four members of parliament were arrested during protests in Nairobi, including the minority leaders of the National Assembly and Senate, Odinga&#8217;s spokesman, Dennis Onyango, said.



Police officers in riot gear fired tear gas at hundreds of rock-throwing protesters in the capital Nairobi&#8217;s vast Kibera slum, who chanted: &#8220;Ruto must go.&#8221;



&#8220;We are suffering and tired of this Ruto regime. We&#8217;ve had enough,&#8221; said one protester, who asked not to be identified, as tear gas swirled around her.



The discontented include some of those who voted for Ruto and feel he has not delivered on pledges to help the country&#8217;s forgotten &#8220;hustlers&#8221;, or working-class Kenyans.



Police used tear gas and a water cannon to prevent Odinga&#8217;s convoy from driving towards the president&#8217;s State House residence to deliver a petition.



The convoy then sped through the streets of the capital attempting to dodge police roadblocks, before Odinga emerged from the sunroof to address a crowd of supporters. Tear gas engulfed the vehicle as he spoke, calling for protests every Monday until the cost of living comes down.



In the western city of Kisumu, an Odinga stronghold, police&nbsp;also fired&nbsp;barrages of tear gas in the direction of protesters who had started fires in the road, footage on Citizen TV showed.



Nairobi police chief Adamson Bungei said he would have details about arrests&nbsp;in the capital later&nbsp;in the day.



Despite Ruto&#8217;s promises to bring down living costs since taking power in September, inflation has remained high in East Africa&#8217;s economic powerhouse,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AN6N31X00R&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">rising</a>&nbsp;to 9.2% in February.



Ruto has said his government is laying the foundations of a healthier economy, including by cutting reliance on borrowing.



Odinga has cast the demonstration as an opportunity to protest&nbsp;against the&nbsp;August vote, which he says was tainted by fraud.



He challenged the results in the Supreme Court last year, but the court&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N3091ZE&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">affirmed</a>&nbsp;Ruto&#8217;s win, and there was little of the violence that marred elections Odinga also disputed in&nbsp;2007 and 2017.



(Reporting by Ayenat Mersie, Humphrey Malalo and Thomas Mukoya; Writing by Elias Biryabarema; Editing by Hereward Holland and Peter Graff)

GettyImages-1248856891-1

Kenyan opposition politicians arrested, tear gassed during protests

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="461" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/CUQ5A72TE5NXVMXYQO6KLKAHLY-820x461.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-423722" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/CUQ5A72TE5NXVMXYQO6KLKAHLY-820x461.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/CUQ5A72TE5NXVMXYQO6KLKAHLY-300x168.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/CUQ5A72TE5NXVMXYQO6KLKAHLY-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/CUQ5A72TE5NXVMXYQO6KLKAHLY-768x431.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/CUQ5A72TE5NXVMXYQO6KLKAHLY-1536x863.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/CUQ5A72TE5NXVMXYQO6KLKAHLY-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Branches of trees sway as cyclone Freddy hits, in Quelimane, Zambezia, Mozambique, March 12, 2023, in this screen grab taken from a handout video. UNICEF Mozambique/2023/Alfredo Zuniga/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS &#8211; THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES</figcaption></figure>



MAPUTO, March 16 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;The death toll from Tropical Cyclone Freddy has passed 300 people, with authorities in Mozambique taking several days to assess the extent of the damage and loss of life.



The storm tore through southern Africa over the weekend for a second time after first making landfall in late February. It is one of the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N35M4R7&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">longest-lasting</a>&nbsp;tropical cyclones ever recorded and one of the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N35N1YS&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">deadliest in Africa</a>&nbsp;in recent years.



At least 53 people have died in Mozambique&#8217;s Zambezia province, authorities said late on Wednesday, more than doubling their previous count. The toll is expected to continue to rise, said U.N. children&#8217;s agency UNICEF.



Malawi has reported&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N35N2ZA&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">225 dead</a>&nbsp;so far, with hundreds more injured and some still missing. The storm killed about 27 people in Madagascar and Mozambique before lashing Mozambique a second time.



Continued rain and power outages have hampered search and rescue efforts this week as the storm caused severe flooding, swept away roads and left bodies and houses buried in mud.



In the southern Malawi village of Mtauchira, six men carried a coffin down a dirt road that had turned into a river, slipping in mud as rain continued to fall.



Others stood in newly dug graves that had filled up like pools, scooping the water out with buckets so they could lower in the caskets. Nearby, relatives of the dead cried and held each other, some holding umbrellas while others were drenched.



Malawi President Lazarus Chakwera has declared 14 days of national mourning and called for international support for relief efforts. He said more than 80,000 people were displaced.



While electricity was starting to come back in Malawi on Thursday, many places affected by the storm had not had running water for a week, including in the second-biggest city, Blantyre.



(Reporting by Manuel Mucari in Maputo and Frank Phiri in Blantyre; Additional reporting by Carien du Plessis in Johannesburg; Writing by Nellie Peyton; Editing by Alexander Winning and Bradley Perrett)

Branches of trees sway as cyclone Freddy hits, in Quelimane

Cyclone Freddy toll surpasses 300 as Mozambique counts bodies

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="460" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/BLCEVI2QN5NQVIL562OU5D7BDY-820x460.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-423637" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/BLCEVI2QN5NQVIL562OU5D7BDY-820x460.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/BLCEVI2QN5NQVIL562OU5D7BDY-300x168.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/BLCEVI2QN5NQVIL562OU5D7BDY-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/BLCEVI2QN5NQVIL562OU5D7BDY-768x431.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/BLCEVI2QN5NQVIL562OU5D7BDY-1536x861.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/BLCEVI2QN5NQVIL562OU5D7BDY-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Winds and rain continue to increase in strength as Cyclone Freddy makes landfall over Vilankulos, Mozambique, February 24, 2023, in this screen grab obtained from a social media video. UNICEF Mozambique/2023/Guy Taylor/via REUTERS</figcaption></figure>



BLANTYRE/MAPUTO, March 15 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Malawi and Mozambique were racing to rescue survivors from Tropical Cyclone Freddy on Wednesday as the death toll rose above 270 from one of the most powerful storms recorded in the southern hemisphere.



Freddy tore through southern Africa for the second time in a month over the weekend and was still causing heavy rain on Wednesday, hampering relief efforts.



Malawi&#8217;s disaster management department said in a statement that the death toll from the second hit stood at 225, up from 190 on Tuesday, with 707 people injured and 41 missing.



In neighbouring Mozambique at least 21 people had died as of Tuesday, according to the disaster agency.



The overall death toll since Freddy first made landfall in February is now estimated at more than 270 in Malawi, Mozambique and Madagascar.



Malawi&#8217;s army, police, the local Red Cross and other aid agencies were conducting search and rescue operations, with commercial hub Blantyre one of the areas hardest-hit.



Severe flooding and mudslides have swept away homes, broken bridges and destroyed roads. Heavy rain has continued to batter the Mozambican port of Quelimane and surrounding areas.



&#8220;Our priority now, as we take stock to what really occurred, is to search and rescue people in most devastated areas. We&#8217;ve rescued thousands but thousands more are still unreachable,&#8221; said disaster agency spokesperson Paulo Tomas by telephone from Quelimane.



Power supplies in Malawi have been severely disrupted by the storm after the national electricity generation company had to shut down major hydroelectric power stations.



FACTBOX-Why is Cyclone Freddy a record-breaking storm?<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N35M4R7&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



Despair in Malawi as cyclone Freddy destroys homes and lives<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL4N35M368&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



(Reporting by Frank Phiri in Blantyre and Manuel Mucari in Maputo; Additional reporting by Nellie Peyton in Johannesburg; Writing by Bhargav Acharya; Editing by Alexander Winning and Nick Macfie)

Cyclone Freddy makes landfall over Vilankulos

Malawi, Mozambique race to rescue survivors as cyclone toll rises above 270

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/GettyImages-1247252714-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-423704" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/GettyImages-1247252714-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/GettyImages-1247252714-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/GettyImages-1247252714-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/GettyImages-1247252714-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/GettyImages-1247252714-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/GettyImages-1247252714-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">MUNICH, GERMANY &#8211; FEBRUARY 18: United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks at the 2023 Munich Security Conference (MSC) on February 18, 2023 in Munich, Germany. The Munich Security Conference brings together defence leaders and stakeholders from around the world and is taking place February 17-19. Russia&#8217;s ongoing war in Ukraine is dominating the agenda. (Photo by Johannes Simon/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>



ADDIS ABABA, March 15 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Ethiopia&#8217;s foreign minister in Addis Ababa on Wednesday, as their two governments look to repair relations following friction over the two-year civil war in the Tigray region.



Blinken, who began his talks with Foreign Minister Demeke Mekonnen with a coffee ceremony, was also due to meet Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and leaders of the Tigrayan forces that battled the federal government in the war in the northern region.



He will then head to the West African nation of Niger on Thursday, which has been confronting a growing Islamist insurgency.



&#8220;There is a lot to be done. Probably the most important thing is to deepen the peace that has taken hold in the north,&#8221; Blinken told reporters.



&#8220;We have longstanding relations and it is time to revitalize them and move forward,&#8221; Demeke said.



Blinken&#8217;s trip is the latest in a series of visits to Africa by senior U.S. officials as the Biden administration looks to reinforce ties with a continent in which China has been building diplomatic and economic relations.



The United States was outspoken in its criticism of alleged atrocities by Ethiopian forces and allied fighters from Eritrea and the Amhara region during the Tigray war, in which tens of thousands of people were killed before a peace accord was reached last November.



The U.S. government imposed wide-ranging restrictions on economic and security assistance to Ethiopia and cut access to the U.S. African Growth and Opportunity Act, a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N2TH0AK&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">duty-free trade program</a>&nbsp;that has been a boon for the country&#8217;s textile sector.



Ethiopia, Africa&#8217;s second most populous nation and a traditional U.S. ally in East Africa, accused Washington of meddling in its internal affairs and threatened to reassess the bilateral relationship.



It has denied the most serious allegations of human rights violations during in the war.



In a press briefing this week, Assistant Secretary for African Affairs Molly Phee said getting U.S. relations with Ethiopia back to normal would require additional steps by the government to &#8220;break the cycle of ethnic political violence&#8221;.



Ethiopia is also looking to restructure its debt and secure an International Monetary Fund loan, which the state finance minister said last year was being delayed in part by the Tigray war.



While the peace deal has allowed humanitarian aid to flow into Tigray, needs remain immense after the conflict left hundreds of thousands facing starvation.



Allegation of abuses, especially sexual violence, have persisted after the deal was signed, according to rights groups and humanitarian workers in the region.



Eritrean troops remain in several border areas while militia from the neighbouring Amhara region occupy large areas of territory in contested parts of western and southern Tigray, humanitarian workers said.



Eritrea&#8217;s government spokesperson has not responded to requests for comment about the matter. A spokesperson for the Amhara regional government said it and the people of Amhara were &#8220;always ready to co-operate with peace deal process and activities&#8221;.



(Writing by Hereward Holland; Editing by Robert Birsel)

2023 Munich Security Conference

Blinken meets Ethiopian government leaders to repair ties

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="460" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/BLCEVI2QN5NQVIL562OU5D7BDY-820x460.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-423637" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/BLCEVI2QN5NQVIL562OU5D7BDY-820x460.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/BLCEVI2QN5NQVIL562OU5D7BDY-300x168.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/BLCEVI2QN5NQVIL562OU5D7BDY-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/BLCEVI2QN5NQVIL562OU5D7BDY-768x431.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/BLCEVI2QN5NQVIL562OU5D7BDY-1536x861.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/BLCEVI2QN5NQVIL562OU5D7BDY-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Winds and rain continue to increase in strength as Cyclone Freddy makes landfall over Vilankulos, Mozambique, February 24, 2023, in this screen grab obtained from a social media video. UNICEF Mozambique/2023/Guy Taylor/via REUTERS</figcaption></figure>



BLANTYRE, March 14 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Tropical Storm Freddy, one of the most powerful storms ever to hit the southern hemisphere, has killed 190 people in Malawi after ripping through southern Africa for the second time in a month, Malawi&#8217;s disaster management agency said on Tuesday.



The commercial hub of Blantyre was the hardest hit district and severe flooding and rains have broken roads and bridges, hampering relief operations.



Freddy has also left a trail of destruction&nbsp;in Mozambique&nbsp;after it made landfall for the second time over the weekend.



The death toll in Malawi has jumped to 190 from 99 reported on Monday, the Department of Disaster Management Affairs said.



As heavy rains continued to pummel the country, 584 people have been injured and 37 are still missing, it said in a statement.



Families in Blantyre were counting the cost of the storm as they waited to collect the dead bodies of relatives from the Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital mortuary.



The flooding and rains have hit rescue operations and made it difficult&nbsp;to get&nbsp;relief to those affected, aid agencies said.



&#8220;It&#8217;s a challenging operation in the sense that there’s been incidents of mudslides and so people are getting stuck in those mud accumulations,&#8221; said Estere Tsoka, emergency specialist at U.N. children&#8217;s agency UNICEF in Malawi.



&#8220;People are trying to find a place to hang in there for some time.&#8221;



Freddy pummelled central Mozambique on Saturday, ripping roofs off buildings and bringing widespread flooding around the port of Quelimane, before moving inland towards Malawi with torrential rains that caused landslides.



The full extent of the damage and loss of life in Mozambique is not yet clear.



(Reporting by Frank Phiri in Blantyre; Additional reporting by Carien du Plessis in Johannesburg; Writing by Bhargav Acharya; Editing by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo and Angus MacSwan)

Malawi’s storm Freddy death toll jumps to 190

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="460" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/BLCEVI2QN5NQVIL562OU5D7BDY-820x460.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-423637" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/BLCEVI2QN5NQVIL562OU5D7BDY-820x460.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/BLCEVI2QN5NQVIL562OU5D7BDY-300x168.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/BLCEVI2QN5NQVIL562OU5D7BDY-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/BLCEVI2QN5NQVIL562OU5D7BDY-768x431.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/BLCEVI2QN5NQVIL562OU5D7BDY-1536x861.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/BLCEVI2QN5NQVIL562OU5D7BDY-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Winds and rain continue to increase in strength as Cyclone Freddy makes landfall over Vilankulos, Mozambique, February 24, 2023, in this screen grab obtained from a social media video. UNICEF Mozambique/2023/Guy Taylor/via REUTERS</figcaption></figure>



BLANTYRE, Malawi/MAPUTO, March 13 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Mozambique and Malawi&nbsp;on Monday&nbsp;were counting the cost of Tropical Storm Freddy, which&nbsp;killed more than 60 people, injured scores and left a trail of destruction as it&nbsp;ripped through southern Africa for the second time in a month over the weekend.



Freddy is one of the strongest storms ever recorded in the southern hemisphere and could be&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N35J0BO&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">the longest-lasting tropical cyclone</a>, according to the World Meteorological Organization.



It pummelled central Mozambique on Saturday, ripping roofs off buildings and bringing widespread flooding around the port of Quelimane, before moving inland towards Malawi with torrential rains that caused landslides.



The full extent of the damage and loss of life in Mozambique in particular is not yet clear, as the power supply and phone signals were cut off in some parts of the affected area.



In Malawi&#8217;s main commercial hub of Blantyre, the central hospital had received at least 60 bodies by early afternoon, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) country director Marion Pechayre told Reuters by telephone, adding that some 200 injured were being treated in the hospital.



The injuries were from falling trees, landslides and flash floods, she said. &#8220;A lot of (houses) are mud houses with tin roofs, so the roofs fall on people&#8217;s heads.&#8221;



Casualties were still arriving from affected areas, said Chipiliro Khamula, spokesperson for the department of disaster management.



Police spokesperson Peter Kalaya told Reuters that&nbsp;rescue teams&nbsp;had been&nbsp;looking for people in Chilobwe and Ndirande, two of the worst-affected townships in&nbsp;the country&#8217;s second-largest city Blantyre, where it was still raining on Monday and many residents were without power.



&#8220;Some missing people are feared buried in rubble,&#8221; Kalaya said.



At least six people died in&nbsp;Mozambique&#8217;s&nbsp;Quelimane, which&nbsp;was struck hard by the&nbsp;storm, authorities&nbsp;told the&nbsp;public broadcaster on Monday.



Scores more people were injured, Health Minister Armindo Tiago said on Radio Mozambique.



&#8220;The situation is critical in Zambezia province. We can&#8217;t advance with an accurate picture of the scale of damage because there&#8217;s no communications with all the regions,&#8221; he said from a hospital in Quelimane.



The total number killed by storm Freddy in Mozambique, Malawi and Madagascar since it first made landfall last month is now nearing 100.



Guy Taylor, chief of advocacy, communications and partnerships for&nbsp;U.N.&nbsp;children&#8217;s agency UNICEF in Mozambique, told Reuters from Quelimane that humanitarian agencies&nbsp;there&nbsp;did not have the capacity to deal with a disaster of this size.



&#8220;We saw a lot of destroyed buildings and clinics. People&#8217;s homes had their roofs torn off by the wind. Even before the cyclone hit we saw localised flooding,&#8221; he said.



The wind had died down on Monday but there was still a lot of flooding that had destroyed crops and created a risk of waterborne diseases, he said.



Mozambique has seen more than a year&#8217;s worth of rainfall in the past four weeks.



Malawi has been battling&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL4N34P2QU&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">the deadliest cholera outbreak in its history</a>, and U.N. agencies have warned the situation could&nbsp;now get&nbsp;worse.



Scientists say climate change is making tropical storms stronger, as oceans absorb heat from greenhouse gas emissions and when warm seawater evaporates heat energy is transferred to the atmosphere.



(Additional reporting by Carien du Plessis and Tim Cocks in Johannesburg; Writing by Alexander Winning and Nellie Peyton;Editing by Tim Cocks, Sharon Singleton and Nick Macfie)

Storm Freddy kills more than 60 on return to Mozambique, Malawi

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="460" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/BLCEVI2QN5NQVIL562OU5D7BDY-820x460.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-423637" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/BLCEVI2QN5NQVIL562OU5D7BDY-820x460.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/BLCEVI2QN5NQVIL562OU5D7BDY-300x168.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/BLCEVI2QN5NQVIL562OU5D7BDY-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/BLCEVI2QN5NQVIL562OU5D7BDY-768x431.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/BLCEVI2QN5NQVIL562OU5D7BDY-1536x861.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/BLCEVI2QN5NQVIL562OU5D7BDY-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Winds and rain continue to increase in strength as Cyclone Freddy makes landfall over Vilankulos, Mozambique, February 24, 2023, in this screen grab obtained from a social media video. UNICEF Mozambique/2023/Guy Taylor/via REUTERS</figcaption></figure>



MAPUTO, March 10 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Tropical storm Freddy is due to hit the coast of Southern Africa again late Friday or early Saturday, after killing at least 27 people in Mozambique and Madagascar since it first made landfall last month.



One of the strongest storms ever recorded in the southern hemisphere, Freddy may also have broken the record for the longest-lasting tropical cyclone, according to the World Meteorological Organization, which said the current record is held by a 31-day hurricane in 1994.



Freddy was first named on Feb. 6, 33 days ago.



More than 171,000 people were affected after the cyclone swept through southern Mozambique&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N3540MU&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">two weeks ago</a>, bringing heavy rains and floods that damaged crops and destroyed houses, according to United Nations humanitarian agency OCHA.



OCHA on Friday put Freddy&#8217;s latest death toll at 27, 10 in Mozambique and 17 in Madagascar.



As many as 565,000 people could be at risk in Mozambique this time around in Zambezia, Tete, Sofala and Nampula provinces, with Zambezia expected to be the hardest hit, according to the country&#8217;s national disaster management agency.



&#8220;It&#8217;s a slow-moving cyclone. This is bad news in terms of rainfall because it means it&#8217;s hovering quite close to the coast and it&#8217;s picking up more moisture, so the rainfall will be heavier,&#8221; Clare Nullis, spokesperson for the World Meteorological Organization, told reporters in Geneva.



The storm is likely to cause extreme rainfall over large parts of Mozambique as well as northeastern Zimbabwe, southeast Zambia and Malawi, she said.



Around the world, climate change is making hurricanes wetter, windier and more intense, scientists say. Oceans absorb much of the heat from greenhouse gas emissions, and when warm seawater evaporates its heat energy is transferred to the atmosphere,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N30N15L&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">fuelling stronger storms.</a>



Freddy has set a record for the highest accumulated cyclone energy, a measure of the storm&#8217;s strength over time, of any southern hemisphere storm in history, according to the U.S. National Oceanic &amp; Atmospheric Administration.



The storm has generated about as much accumulated cyclone energy on its own as an average North Atlantic hurricane season, said Nullis.



The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is setting up an expert committee to determine whether it also broke the record for longest duration, which will take some time, she added.



&#8220;World record or not, Freddy will remain in any case an exceptional phenomenon for the history of the South-West Indian Ocean on many aspects: longevity, distance covered, remarkable maximum intensity, accumulated cyclone energy amount, (and) impact on inhabited lands,&#8221; said Sebastien Langlade, a cyclone forecaster at the Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre in La Reunion, in a statement from the WMO.



(Reporting by Nellie Peyton; Additional reporting by Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber in Geneva, Manuel Mucari in Maputo and Bhargav Acharya in Johannesburg; Editing by Alexander Winning, Angus MacSwan and Christina Fincher)

Record-breaking storm Freddy due to hit Mozambique again

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="532" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/HCHHLCWC75NNPMNDQ7PFQZ5WFU-820x532.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-423408" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/HCHHLCWC75NNPMNDQ7PFQZ5WFU-820x532.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/HCHHLCWC75NNPMNDQ7PFQZ5WFU-300x195.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/HCHHLCWC75NNPMNDQ7PFQZ5WFU-139x90.jpg 139w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/HCHHLCWC75NNPMNDQ7PFQZ5WFU-768x499.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/HCHHLCWC75NNPMNDQ7PFQZ5WFU-1536x997.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/HCHHLCWC75NNPMNDQ7PFQZ5WFU-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Kenyan small-scale traders protest against what they say is the invasion by a foreign retail shop called China Square in downtown Nairobi, Kenya February 28, 2023. REUTERS/Monicah Mwangi</figcaption></figure>





NAIROBI, Feb 28 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;More than a thousand Kenyan traders protested in the capital Nairobi on Tuesday against a new Chinese-owned retail shop they accuse of undercutting them with ultra-low prices.



Traders in Kenya and other rapidly growing economies in Africa have protested periodically against their Chinese competitors. China is Africa&#8217;s top trading partner and more than 1 million Chinese are estimated to reside on the continent.



Kenya&#8217;s relationship with China was in focus during last year&#8217;s presidential election, won by William Ruto. Ruto promised to publish government contracts with China agreed under his predecessor and to deport Chinese nationals working illegally.



The Kenyan traders have been angered by a newly opened China Square retail shop on the outskirts of Nairobi, whose prices for everyday goods like curtains imported from China are on average 50% cheaper than those brought in by local traders.



Clad in dust coats used in their retail outlets, the traders marched to the office of the deputy president and to parliament to submit a petition against the Chinese retailers.



&#8220;The Chinese cannot be importers, retailers, wholesalers and hawkers,&#8221; read one placard held aloft during the protest. Some chanted &#8220;Chinese must go!&#8221;



Trade Minister Moses Kuria has offered to take over China Square&#8217;s lease from its Chinese owner and hand it to local traders, but Korir Sing&#8217;oei, the principal secretary at Kenya&#8217;s ministry of foreign affairs, stressed on Twitter that all investors are welcome, irrespective of their nationality.



Wu Peng, the top Africa official at China&#8217;s ministry of foreign affairs welcomed Sing&#8217;oei&#8217;s assurance on Twitter.



China Square&#8217;s owner Lei Cheng told a local newspaper he was inspired to open the shop after finding the prices at a Nairobi supermarket to be exorbitant.



Ruto&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N3234AQ&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">followed through</a>&nbsp;in November on his campaign promise to publish documents related to $3 billion in loans for a controversial Chinese railway built under his predecessor.



Analysts said the move could strain relations with China, Kenya&#8217;s biggest bilateral creditor, since such deals are generally kept confidential. Chinese officials did not comment on Ruto&#8217;s action.



(Reporting by Duncan Miriri and Monica Mwangi; Editing by Aaron Ross, William Maclean)

Kenyan small-scale traders protest against a foreign retail shop called China Square in downtown Nairobi

Kenyan traders protest against Chinese competitor’s cheap prices

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="460" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/FP5234I4BBKT5MLLIWPUOF3QUE-820x460.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-423246" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/FP5234I4BBKT5MLLIWPUOF3QUE-820x460.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/FP5234I4BBKT5MLLIWPUOF3QUE-300x168.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/FP5234I4BBKT5MLLIWPUOF3QUE-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/FP5234I4BBKT5MLLIWPUOF3QUE-768x431.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/FP5234I4BBKT5MLLIWPUOF3QUE-1536x862.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/FP5234I4BBKT5MLLIWPUOF3QUE-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A view of cyclone Freddy in Belle Mare, Mauritius, February 20, 2023 in this screengrab obtained from a social media video. Laura Edwards/via REUTERS</figcaption></figure>



ANTANANARIVO, Feb 21 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Madagascar&#8217;s government on Tuesday suspended schools and transport in the path of tropical cyclone Freddy, which was likely to make landfall in the southeast of the country by evening.



The cyclone is expected to hit Mananjary district, about 270 km from the capital Antananarivo, with winds of nearly 155 km per hour, Madagascar&#8217;s meteorological services said.



Heavy rains and waves of over 26 feet are expected near the impact zone, the International Federation of Red Cross said on Twitter, issuing a red alert for the area.



All traffic in cyclone Freddy&#8217;s projected path was suspended overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday, the country&#8217;s ministry of transport and meteorology said.



The ministry of education said it had suspended classes in at least 10 regions.



Cyclone Freddy is expected to make landfall nearly&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL4N34G2AY&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">a month after storm Cheneso</a>&nbsp;battered the island nation of 29 million, killing 33 people and forcing thousands from their homes.



Madagascar is hit by an average of 1.5 cyclones every year, the highest in Africa, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA).



&#8220;It is expected to cause locally devastating winds and a very dangerous sea state near the impact zone in Madagascar,&#8221; UNOCHA said on Monday.



After crossing Madagascar, Freddy could emerge in the Mozambican Channel and strengthen again, before making landfall in Mozambique and potentially moving on to Zimbabwe, affecting more than 3.3 million in total, UNOCHA said, citing a World Food Programme assessment.



The cyclone passed 120 km northwest of Mauritius on Monday afternoon, forcing some 500 people into shelters, while damaged power lines left another 500 families without electricity, the national broadcaster reported.



Flights which had been grounded late on Sunday had resumed on Tuesday morning, according to Mauritius&#8217; airports operator.



(Reporting by Lovasoa Rabary; Additional reporting by Villen Anganan in Port Louis; Writing by Hereward Holland and George Obulutsa; Editing by Bhargav Acharya and Shounak Dasgupta

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East Africa

Kenya opposition says it will resume protests on May 2

Court rules Meta can be sued in Kenya over alleged unlawful redundancies

Yellen to push for ‘speedy’ action on debt relief for Zambia, Ghana

Zambia ‘punished’ as debt rework not finished, says finance minister

Kenyan opposition leader presents new demand for electoral reform talks

US plans Tanzania trade boost as Kamala Harris tours Africa

Kamala Harris wraps up Ghana visit, heads to Tanzania

IMF team in Ethiopia for talks on new funding programme

Kenyan opposition politicians arrested, tear gassed during protests

Cyclone Freddy toll surpasses 300 as Mozambique counts bodies

Malawi, Mozambique race to rescue survivors as cyclone toll rises above 270

Blinken meets Ethiopian government leaders to repair ties

Malawi’s storm Freddy death toll jumps to 190

Storm Freddy kills more than 60 on return to Mozambique, Malawi

Record-breaking storm Freddy due to hit Mozambique again

Kenyan traders protest against Chinese competitor’s cheap prices

Madagascar suspends schools as cyclone Freddy approaches

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