Africa Matters

Alabuga Start: Russian Labor Program Sparks Outrage as African Governments Remain Silent

Our Correspondent | Africa Guardian A disturbing series of investigative reports has uncovered a Russian labor recruitment scheme allegedly luring young African women with promises of education, work experience, and financial opportunities—only to find them assembling military drones in Russia, and in some cases, even being caught in a Ukrainian drone strike. The program, named Alabuga Start, reportedly targets…

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Wagner’s Influence in Africa Endures Under Prigozhin’s Son

Our Correspondent | Africa Guardian Despite the death of Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Wagner Group continues to maintain its presence and operations in the Central African Republic (CAR) and Mali, where the mercenaries remain favored by local leaders. In an effort to centralize and reorganize its operations, Moscow has sought to merge Wagner’s African interests into a new entity, the…

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Putin Pledges ‘Total Support’ for Africa, Strengthening Ties with Continent

Our Correspondent | Africa Guardian At a summit in Sochi, Russian President Vladimir Putin extended what he described as “total support” to Africa, offering assistance in the fight against terrorism and extremism. His message was delivered by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to African officials attending the conference. The speech comes at a time when several African nations are…

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Russia-Africa Foreign Ministers Advocate for Equitable Cybersecurity System at Sochi Conference

Our Correspondent | Africa Guardian At the inaugural ministerial conference in Sochi, Russia, foreign ministers from Russia and African nations have jointly advocated for a fair and equitable cybersecurity system, focusing on the responsible use of information and communications technologies (ICTs). The ministers emphasized the importance of preventing conflicts in the digital realm, safeguarding international peace, and ensuring the…

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Russia to Begin Direct Cocoa Bean Imports from Nigeria

By Edson Baraukwa | Africa Guardian Russia is set to start importing cocoa beans directly from Nigeria, with initial deliveries expected between September and October, according to Maksim Petrov, Moscow’s trade representative in Nigeria, as reported by TASS. Russian trading houses, which already export products like frozen fish, alcohol, chocolate, and meat to Nigeria, will handle these new cocoa…

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US, Russia compete for Africa’s nuclear power deals

• The two global powers are aggressively entering the emerging African nuclear energy market with custom solutions • They’re offering knowledge transfer skills and educational partnerships to countries with nuclear power ambitions The United States and Russia are looking to increase their influence in the nascent African nuclear energy market as more African countries seek to pursue power generation from…

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Why Key Global Players Are Turning Their Focus On Africa

With geopolitical confrontation and tensions deepening, the key global players are swiftly turning their focus on Africa. In practical terms, African leaders are also making strategic choices based on their development paradigms. These leaders are forced to work on their election campaign promises, especially those relating to economic development and set comprehensive targets for improving performance. After the presidential…

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Inside the hidden war between Russia and France as they jostle for control in Africa

Wagner Group mercenaries have launched an “informational war” in Africa, fighting against democracy by stoking anti-Western sentiment sweeping across some of the poorest nations in the world, experts have warned. The result could be catastrophic, both domestically and abroad, with a seismic uptick in violence causing the death of thousands and a potential mass migration to Europe, including, eventually,…

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Russia’s fertiliser supply to Africa set to increase

TANZANIA, Dar es Salaam : TANZANIA’S plans to increase agricultural production are set for a massive boost on the back of expected increased fertiliser supply from Russia. Russian producers of mineral fertilisers announced to be ready to double their shipments to African countries in the next five years to bridge a supply shortage that threatens to exacerbate food insecurity….

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Russia-Africa summit 2023, an overview

ST Petersburg, Russia’s Imperial capital, hosted the second summit and Russia–Africa Economic and Humanitarian Forum last week attracting heads of state and government from many African countries. That marked the second time that events of such a magnitude with a focus on a wide range of relations between Russia and African countries have been held. The Forum and Summit…

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What Tanzania-Russia aviation pact means

The Bilateral Air Services Agreement aims to expand air transport links between the two nations and boost tourism and trade. Dar es Salaam. Tanzania and Russia have made three improvements on the current Bilateral Air Services Agreement (Basa) to expand the air transport network and boost tourism and trade between the two nations, the Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority (TCAA)…

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Russia respects Africa’s peace initiatives on Ukraine, says Putin

“Africa is ready to help solve problems that seem to be outside the zone of its primary interests,” the Russian leader pointed out Russia respects and carefully considers the peace initiatives of African countries on the settlement of the Ukrainian crisis, Russian President Vladimir Putin said. “We respect your (African leaders’ – TASS) initiatives and carefully consider them,” he…

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Uganda signs agreement with Russia on NPP construction

Uganda and Russia have agreed to build a nuclear power plant, Ugandan President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni said at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the Russia-Africa summit. He also noted great potential in phosphates and ammonia production, and invited Russian companies to participate in this. The president said his country would also like to…

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Soviet spies in Africa: How the KGB expanded Russian influence during the Cold War

Russian influence in Africa has deep historical roots, from supporting an attempted coup in Ghana to spreading fake political news in Algeria and training African fighters in Crimea. FRANCE 24 looks back on four little-known Soviet operations aimed at furthering Russian interests in Africa during the Cold War The full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 reignited an old…

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Why Russia, China and the US are all turning to Africa

Click here to listen Right now, countries in Africa are being wooed by the world’s biggest powers.  As China continues pouring billions into the continent and Russia escalates its military engagement, now the United States is stepping on the diplomatic gas, with Air force two landing in Ghana this week.  Source www.abc.net.au

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China is Uniting Middle East—That’s Bad News for U.S.

A diplomatic deal in the Middle East was notable as much for a breakthrough between Saudi Arabia and Iran as it was for the absence of American input. Story by Brendan Cole The March 10 agreement between the regional rivals to imminently reopen embassies after a seven-year hiatus was brokered in secret by China. It raised questions over whether…

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Nine Chinese nationals killed in Central African Republic

Summary The attack by “armed men” happened at about 5:00 am near Bambari, said the central town’s mayor Abel Matchipata Bambari. Nine Chinese mine workers were killed in an attack in the Central African Republic, sparking a rare call on Monday from China’s President Xi Jinping for the perpetrators to be “severely” punished. The attack by “armed men” happened…

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Macron’s mission to counter Russia in Africa

Summary Libreville, Luanda, Brazzaville, Kinshasa – France’s President Emmanuel Macron is on a whirlwind tour of African capitals as he tries to shift French policy on the continent away from military involvement. He can hardly be accused of ignoring Africa – this is his 18th presidential trip – but this comes at a time of ever-increasing competition from China…

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Russian oil heads to West Africa for the first time since 2018 as Western sanctions leave Moscow scrambling to find buyers

Russian oil is heading to West Africa for the first time since 2018 as Western sanctions force Moscow to look for new buyers, according to Bloomberg.  On Friday, a tanker named Theseus arrived in Ghana, carrying about 600,000 barrels of Russian crude. The oil was supposed to be pumped into storage tanks at the Tema Oil Refinery, people familiar…

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Stats shows 60% Wheat price escalation: AfDB

The Russia-Ukraine war has disrupted wheat exports, driving wheat prices up by 60% in Africa, the president of the African Development Bank (AfDB) said Tuesday, warning that the continent will lose up to $11 billion worth of food due to the conflict. “Already, the price of wheat has gone up about 60%. Maize and other grains will also be…

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