December 20, 2023 09:29 am | Updated 09:50 am ISTUnique, prehistoric rock art drawings have been discovered in the Andriamamelo Cave in western Madagascar. Until recently, rock art in Madagascar had only yielded a few sites with basic symbols. Finally, prevalent symbology and motifs evoked a two-millennia-old cave art style from Borneo. Surprisingly, though, we also found this symbol in cave art from Borneo thought to be about 2,000 years old, and in no other cave or rock art throughout the Indo-Pacific region. Until more art or relevant archaeological evidence turns up for ancient African and Asian influences in Madagascar, we can only speculate.

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Share Comment on this story Comment Add to your saved stories SaveCAPE TOWN, South Africa — More than 2,000 workers remained underground for a second day Tuesday in a protest over pay and benefits at a platinum mine in South Africa. The firm has suspended work at the Bafokeng Rasimone Platinum Mine near the city of Rustenburg, and it calls the protest illegal. Representatives from the National Union of Mineworkers went underground to meet with the workers but the protest “remains unresolved,” Implats said. More than 2,200 workers began the protest, but 167 had returned to the surface by Tuesday night, Implats said. On both occasions, hundreds of workers remained underground for days amid allegations some were holding others hostage in a dispute over which union should represent them.

According to Canalys, in the third quarter of 2023, Xiaomi’s relevant market share in Africa increased by 100%, reflecting the company’s growing influence in the region. The company’s efforts to expand its footprint strategically in emerging markets have contributed to its significant market share growth in Africa. Xiaomi’s shipments in the African market grew by 33% year-on-year, and in South Africa, there was a surge of 537% year-on-year. Transsion Holdings, a China-based smartphone manufacturer, topped the African smartphone market in the fourth quarter of 2021. Final WordsIn conclusion, Xiaomi’s success in Africa’s smartphone market is evident from its substantial growth and increasing market share.

As Christmas is nearing, the Moroccan citrus season is gradually getting underway. The decline in volumes is also having an impact on clementine prices, Röben continues. In addition to clementines, edible and juice oranges of Moroccan origin form the basis of his citrus range. Difficult procurement situationIn recent years, Moroccan citrus fruits have lost a lot of their importance in Germany, Röben observes. Oranges in particular, especially Navel oranges, have been very difficult to procure for several years.

The Board of Directors of the African Development Fund, the concessional window of the African Development Bank Group (https://apo-opa.co/3trS2Yo) (http://www.AfDB.org), has approved a $302.9 million loan co-financing for a multinational power project that will connect 100,000 households across Mauritania and Mali. The Mauritania-Mali 225kV Electricity Interconnection and Solar Power Plant Development Project form part of the Desert to Power (https://apo-opa.co/3ROS5H3) Initiative. The Mauritania-Mali 225kV electricity interconnection project, combined with the development of solar power plants, represents a strategic investment to support rapid solar energy production and guarantee universal access to electricity in the two Sahel countries. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Development Bank Group (AfDB). Media contact:Romaric Ollo Hien,Communication and External Relations Department,media@afdb.orgAbout the Desert to Power Initiative:Launched in 2019, Desert to Power is an initiative designed and implemented by the African Development Bank.

MCB was led by senior relationship manager NK Naginlal Modi while the Absa team was led by senior banker for resource and project finance Colin King. The project will be developed by project company Enersok, in which EDF and Nebras hold 33% each, with Sojitz and Kyuden International sharing the other 33%. The hard mini-perm project finance tenor is 6-1/2 years, with ADNOC standing behind the refinancing risk, and pricing is said to be around 125bp. Together with Masdar, Abu Dhabi’s green development arm, it is an active player in the project finance market. Bank finance was provided by Alinma Bank, Riyad Bank, HSBC Saudi Arabia and Saudi Fransi.

Photo: Mati Milstein/NurPhoto via Getty ImagesThe Red Sea is one of the most economically crucial bodies of water on the planet. It controls much of the western part of the country, which borders the Red Sea. This followed similar announcements from Maersk and MSC, two of the largest shipping companies in the world. While the U.S. has directed the destroyer USS Lebanon into the Red Sea, it’s still not providing that level of protection. The backup plan would be to send them through the Red Sea.

It is inevitable that supply chains will be affected due to ships being diverted away from the Red Sea, but consumer goods "will face the largest impact", according to Chris Rogers, head of supply chain research at S&P Global Market Intelligence, though he does note the current disruption has occurred "during the off-peak shipping season".

Anxious families wait outside the Bafokeng Rasimone platinum mine near Rustenberg as an underground protest by more than 2,200 miners enters its second day. Desperate families waited on the surface on Tuesday for news of the platinum miners occupying two shafts in one of South Africa's biggest mining protests in years. The protest started on Monday about 500 meters below the surface, but Impala Platinum Holdings (Implats) said 63 miners came up during the night in the difficult conditions. The company has suspended all work at the mine because of what it said was an illegal underground protest. The miners are demanding promised bonuses and pension payments, and some said they had already been suspended before the protests began for holding unauthorized work meetings.

African states are paving the way to combat the adverse effects of climate changeA perfect template for climate change disputesClimate change poses significant challenges to Africa. That said, so far, only 15 climate change disputes related to Africa have been registered by the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, Columbia Law School, Columbia University in the City of New York, which tracks climate change disputes worldwide. Three categories of climate change-related disputes involving Africa are most likely to arise: liability and compensation disputes; environmental regulations disputes; and investment disputes. Environmental regulations: Legal disputes may arise over the implementation and enforcement of environmental regulations aimed at mitigating climate change. Investment disputes: As anticipated above, investment arbitration disputes related to climate change involving African countries have not occurred so far, but are very likely to be launched.

Today, only two African countries have nuclear power programs: South Africa and Egypt. South Africa has two 970 MWe nuclear reactors, which started commercial operation in the 1980s and which output accounted for 4.9 percent of the electricity production in 2022. Each time, the international legal framework and guidelines have been reviewed to prevent such situations from recurring. A country will need to ratify the conventions that form part of the international nuclear legal framework if it intends to develop a nuclear power program. Small and micro-modular reactors may be an alternative for countries to start building nuclear capacity, as their cost should be more accessible.

On Oct. 28, the British Library went dark. With over 170 million items, the British Library currently holds Europe’s largest collection of written material and is the second-largest library in the world. On Oct. 31, the British Library acknowledged that it was experiencing “a major technology outage” as the result of a cybersecurity incident. Two weeks later, on Nov. 20, the library confirmed that it had been the victim of a ransomware attack. Exploiting a weakness in the library’s cybersecurity, hackers from the cybercrime group Rhysida installed software that encrypted library data and prevented users from accessing digital services.

But Simon Williams, the RAC motoring group's fuel spokesman, said while tankers avoiding the Red Sea had the "potential to push up the oil price, the barrel is still below $80, $15 lower than it was at the end of September". "Talk of this immediately affecting fuel prices is unhelpful as we are still waiting for retailers to fully pass on the savings from much lower wholesale costs. We don't want to give them a reason not to continuing cutting their prices, especially at the most expensive time of the year," he added.

With repeated attacks on container ships and tankers on the Red Sea, the U.S. Navy has announced Operation Prosperity Guardian, a new multinational security initiative "under the umbrella of the Combined Maritime Forces and the leadership of Task Force 153, which focuses on security in the Red Sea." The Red Sea is a critical waterway that has been essential to freedom of navigation and a major commercial corridor that facilitates international trade. "In light of the deteriorating security situation for shipping in the Red Sea, bp has decided to temporarily pause all transits through the Red Sea. "ZIM will increase rates for its Asia - Mediterranean service that will avoid the Red Sea in favour of the longer route around Africa, up to the $3,300-$3,400/FEU range. BIMCO, the world's largest international shipping association, has called for an immediate end to attacks on international shipping.