The sun is rising in East Africa for the port sector. For the past 20 years, this industry has been dominated by the ports of the West African Coast (COA), including the Gulf of Guinea, which have undergone an unprecedented phase of development to modernise their docks and thus be able to accommodate the XXL vessels brought on by shipowners. There's more to this story Get unlimited access to our exclusive journalism and features today. Our award-winning team of correspondents and editors report from over 54 African countries, from Cape Town to Cairo, from Abidjan to Abuja to Addis Ababa. Subscribe Now cancel anytime Already a a subscriber Sign In

Narendra Modi, Hon’ble Prime Minister of India laid the foundation stone for the ambitious project, “Development of Container Terminal on BOT Basis under PPP Mode” situated at Tuna-Tekra at Deendayal Port on Tuesday, 17th October marking a significant milestone for the Deendayal Port Authority and DP World. Maltiben Maheshwari, Hon’ble MLA (Gandhidham), Shri Tejas Sheth, President, Gandhidham Municipality and Shri Suresh Joseph, Director (Projects), DP World, amongst others. This collaboration marks a significant milestone in India’s maritime sector, underscoring the government’s unwavering commitment to revolutionize port infrastructure and bolster trade and commerce. The new greenfield terminal at Tuna-Tekra, with an annual capacity of 2.19 million TEUs, will increase DP World’s combined capacity to 8.19 million TEUs. As part of this concession agreement the berth can be further extended to 1,375 million TEUs.

Nigeria’s SecondSTAX, a tech company that is building solutions to enhance intra-Africa capital and investment flows, has announced a partnership with the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) that will enable institutional investors from across Africa to directly invest into Nigeria’s capital markets. Founded in 2020 by Eugene Tawiah and Duke Lartey, SecondSTAX aims to enhance investment flows into and within African capital markets by making it easier to connect investors with high-growth, high-impact investment opportunities. “Our aim is to integrate all the capital markets across Africa to enable more seamless investment flows and this partnership with the Nigerian Exchange Limited represents a major milestone on our journey. Nigeria’s capital markets are full of lucrative opportunities that have until now been out of reach to institutional investors outside the country,” said Eugene Tawiah, CEO and co-founder of SecondSTAX. “At the same time, Nigeria’s institutional investors have largely found it challenging to invest into other capital markets across the continent.

Algeria's foreign minister Ahmed Attaf on Tuesday called on the international community to support the Palestinians, with whom he said Algeria stood in full solidarity as the Israel-Hamas war intensifies. Speaking at the 20th session of the ministerial meeting of African and Nordic countries in Algiers, Attaf said "Our brothers in the Gaza Strip are living in deplorable humanitarian conditions." The meeting of African and Nordic ministers is taking place from October 16 to 18, under the theme of "strengthening dialogue based on common values". The conflict between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas has triggered a wave of pro-Palestinian solidarity across North African countries, with demonstrations in Algeria, Libya and Morocco. On Monday, Algeria's Supreme Security Council issued a statement stressing "its rejection of the occupation operations against defenceless civilians" and emphasised its solidarity with the Palestinian people.

President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday (17 October) praised Chinese President Xi Jinping for the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and invited global investment in the Northern Sea route which he said could deepen trade between east and west. Putin called Xi his “dear friend” and heaped praise on the Belt and Road Initiative for bringing the world together. Shortly before Putin starting speaking, a handful of European delegates, including former French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin, walked out of the room, a Reuters witness said. “Starting next year, navigation for ice-class cargo ships along the entire length of the Northern Sea Route will become year-round.”Putin, who has attended previous BRI summits, brought a senior delegation from Moscow. Among the senior Russian officials were Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who is due to visit North Korea shortly, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, his top oil and gas point man, and Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko.

STORY: This solar-powered car has just driven 620 miles across Morocco and the Sahara‘Stella Terra' was developed by students from the Eindhoven University of Technologywho believe it to be the world's first off-road solar-powered carThe vehicle navigated through arid riverbeds, dense forests, and steep mountain trails[Britt van Hulst, Solar Team Eindhoven]"Stella Terra is robust enough to navigate not only on paved roads but rough terrains like this. On a sunny day, Stella Terra can drive 630 kilometers, is road legal, has a top speed of 135 kilometers per hour, and only weighs 1200 kilograms." The two-seat Stella Terra harnesses solar energy through rooftop panelsThe team said it used 30 percent less energy than expectedmeaning they were able to drive the entire trip on the sun's energy[Britt van Hulst, Solar Team Eindhoven]"We want to be 5 to 10 years ahead of the market. With Stella Terra we want to demonstrate what's possible towards a sustainable future, we want to inspire companies, students, everyone."

TUNIS - Tunisia expects its economy to grow by 2.1% in 2024, up from 0.9% in 2023, and plans almost the same subsidies for fuel, electricity and food will raising taxes for banks, hotels and liquor firms, a bill on its budget showed on Tuesday. A temporary tax of 4% on the profits of banks and insurance companies will be imposed in 2024 and 2025, raising the rates paid by banks to nearly 40%. President Saied has long criticised private banks, saying that they make huge profits while they should be trying to help the economy in these delicate times. The government's need for external loans is set to rise in 2024 to 16.4 billion dinars ($5.19 billion) from 10.5 billion in 2023. Its foreign loans include an Algerian loan of $300 million, $400 million from the African Export-Import Bank and $500 million from Saudi Arabia.

Insufficient financial resources and regulatory barriers continue to hinder investment in electricity grids in Africa. These are some of the factors highlighted in the International Energy Agency (IEA) Electricity Grids and Secure Energy Transitions report. The report says power outages are caused by the failure or insufficiency of generation or grids. “Additionally, the modest manufacturing hub in the continent has significant room to grow amid expanding and upgrading power grids. See the full IEA Electricity Grids and Secure Energy Transitions report.

“To this end, the two parties agreed to remove entry visa fees on reciprocal bases to facilitate free movement of people”, the document read. The decision to scrap visa requirements between both countries came following a proposal by Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni in December 2022 to establish visa-free travel between the two countries. You pay for a visa when going to America, or Europe, but a visa to DR Congo?! Citizens of both countries have also lambasted the visa requirement between the countries. DR Congo in September 2023 announced the establishment of visa-free travel with Kenya in early September.

We are deeply saddened by the passing of Martti Ahtisaari at age 86. A former president of Finland, Mr. Ahtisaari served as Chairman of the International Crisis Group from 2000 to 2004 and remained associated with Crisis Group as Chairman Emeritus. In recognition of his work as a mediator in various conflicts, Mr. Ahtisaari was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2008. “Martti Ahtisaari was a master of negotiation, skilfully blending his irresistible charm with a no-nonsense, direct approach”, said Comfort Ero, Crisis Group’s President & CEO. The thoughts of all Crisis Group’s staff are with Mr. Ahtisaari's wife, Eeva Ahtisaari, their son, family and friends, and his colleagues at the CMI – Martti Ahtisaari Peace Foundation.

Mussa Hattar/AFP/Getty ImagesSeveral countries in the Middle East saw protesters march after hundreds of people died in an explosion at a hospital in Gaza. There have been almost daily protests near the Israeli embassy over the past week to protest Israeli strikes on Gaza. Protesters clash with Lebanese security forces on early on Wednesday, October 18, 2023, outside the US Embassy in Awkar, Lebanon. Majid Asgaripour/WANA/ReutersIn Iran, protests also took place outside the French and British embassies in Tehran, the country's cemoapital. TAP said "mass protests were held on Tuesday night," in several areas "in solidarity with the Palestinian people" and against the Israeli aggression on Gaza.

Thousands of protesters took to the streets across the Middle East and North Africa on Tuesday to show their outrage in the aftermath of a deadly Israeli air attack on the Al-Ahli al-Arabi Hospital in Gaza. Those demonstrations come in response to the hospital bombing, estimated to be the single deadliest attack since the Israeli-Hamas war began on October 7. The health ministry in Gaza said at least 500 people were killed as bombs fell on the central Gaza hospital, where displaced Palestinians were sheltering. The World Health Organization condemned Tuesday’s hospital attack and demanded the immediate protection of civilians and healthcare workers in the Palestinian enclave. Al Jazeera correspondent Dorsa Jabbari reported that “at least half a dozen” cities in Iran have seen protests break out in the wake of the hospital attack.

Morocco will invite bids by the end of the year for a 250 million cubic meters desalination plant in the north-eastern city of Nador, water and equipment minister Nizar Baraka said. The plant would be the second largest in the country after Casablanca’s which is planned to start supplying fresh water in 2027, Baraka told Reuters. Baraka said Casablanca and Nador plants will be powered by renewable energies as the country hopes to produce 1.3 billion cubic meters of water from desalination. Morocco plans to channel that water to the dam of Al Massira which supplies irrigation water to the key farming areas of Doukala and Tadla. Morocco has announced a 2020-2027 plan to which $14 bln have been allocated in total to build desalination plants and dams while improving supply in rural areas.

Kale Logistics Solutions (Kale) revealed that 30 percent of ports are not prepared to adopt the Maritime Single Window (MSW) mandate of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), which becomes compulsory worldwide from January 1, 2024. High implementation costs, long timelines and varying levels of digital readiness were highlighted as leading factors hindering regulatory compliance. “However, these benefits are subject to 100 percent adoption of the MSW, and our report reveals that ports are encountering a number of barriers that hinder this digitalisation. On average, 12 agencies collaborate on one ship-shore operation, and the MSW simplifies documentary procedures and ensures information only needs to be inputted once. The report was released by Shyam Jagannathan, Director General of Shipping, Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Government of India, at the Global Maritime India Summit in Mumbai, India.

Related rallies were reported in several cities in the region shortly after the reported Oct. 17 incident, including in Amman, Tunis, Ramallah, and Hebron. Additionally, protest activity will likely surge across the region on Fridays, including on Oct. 20 and Oct. 27. Attacks/Violent IncidentsAn elevated threat of violence as well as increased security measures are likely near Jewish, Israeli, and overtly Western sites. Exercise heightened caution near all likely protest sites and on likely protest days. Plan for localized road transport delays near protest sites.