The 553rd meeting of the Peace and Security Council of the African Union (AU) convened Oct. 21 for an update on the recent Ebola virus disease (EVD) and the recovery efforts that have taken place in the affected countries of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. A council of healthcare workers and officials spoke on the progress that had been made in the fight against EVD. Read More »

Pierre Buyoya, the high representative of the African Union (AU) for Mali and the Sahel and head of the AU Mission for Mali and the Sahel (MISAHEL), introduced a project that will boost education in northern Mali's Gao region Oct. 15. With the project, which is under the direction of the non-governmental organization CRADE, school kits will be donated to children in the Bourem area. Read More »

Bintou Keita of Guinea was appointed the deputy joint special representative for the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation (UNAMID) in Darfur Tuesday. The appointment was announced by the United Nations secretary-general and African Union Commission chairperson. Keita succeeds Abdul Kamara of Sierra Leone. Keita served as Ebola crisis manager in Sierra Leone. Read More »

Kfw and the African Development Bank (AfDB) unveiled a program Oct. 22 to advance agriculture throughout Africa at the Feeding Africa conference. The goal of the program is to develop solutions to spur the growth of agriculture in Africa by increasing access to financing options in the agricultural sector. AfDB promotes sustainable economic growth and poverty reduction in Africa. Read More »

Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission, lauded the governments and citizens of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire and the United Republic of Tanzania Tuesday on the nations' recent peaceful general elections. Zuma said that the high participation of the nations' citizens in the Oct. 25 elections underscored their commitment to democracy. Read More »

Foxtrot International LDC recently began production from a second platform on Block CI-27 offshore at Côte d'Ivoire. The first well, a Marlin-B1ST well, is the first in a five-well drilling campaign that will be developed on two previously discovered fields on the block. Presently, about 1,100 barrels a day are flowing from the site. The Marlin was installed in April. Read More »

Vegetable oil and fats provider AAK released its 2014-15 sustainability report, giving an overview of the firm's sustainability commitments, activities and achievements. The report also indicated major progress on AAK's palm oil commitments and a successful women's group program that is taking place in Burkina Faso. AAK operates 18 production facilities and sales offices. Read More »

The results of the sale will be published in the next 10Q to be filed with the Securities Exchange Commission. With the close of the sale, Sunergy's Q3 revenue exceeded revenue for the prior quarter. The company is currently pursuing the purchase of a major gold and diamond concession through the National Minerals Association in Sierra Leone and mining development is ongoing. Read More »

Medical device development company iNeedMD Holdings of New York City has entered into a distribution arrangement with Clifton Africa Ltd., a United Kingdom- and- Nigeria-based medical supply company, for the sale and marketing of the EKG Glove™ and related products in several West African countries, where cardiovascular disease is the No. 1 cause of death in adults older than 30. Read More »

Ghana will host the West African Clean Energy & Environment Exhibition Conference 2015 from Nov. 3 through 5. Sponsored by AHK Ghana and fair-trade, the conference will include a German Pavilion featuring 12 companies displaying their products. Leaders in policy and economics will attend the conference, during which speakers will discuss issues facing Ghana's energy supply. Read More »

Nigerian President Muhammad Buhari thanked Akintola Williams for his contributions to the nation’s development. The praise came as the 2015 Akintola Williams Distinguished Lecture Series kicked off. The series is held in honor of the 96-year-old Nigerian, who was the first African to qualify as a chartered accountant and who was instrumental in founding the Nigerian Stock Exchange. Read More »

While the European Court of Auditors chided the European Union for not adopting an initiative to combat illegal logging, Ghana was praised for almost fully embracing the plan since it was introduced 12 years ago. Along with Indonesia, Ghana has made the greatest strides toward achieving full licensing under the EU Action Plan on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade. Read More »

European Union representative Federica Mogherini recently made a presentation to African Union promoting further partnership between Africa and Europe. Read More »

Leadings experts of British ingenuity will soon use their knowledge to solve the low levels of electricity access throughout Africa by campaigning for further progress in the household solar market. According to Grant Shapps, International Development Minister, the Energy Africa campaign will create a fundamental change in sub-Saharan Africa’s household solar market. As of today, approximately 2 out of 3 people who live in sub-Saharan Africa are denied access to electricity. Read More »

Britain's Minister of State for Africa Grant Shapps said some of the continent's poorest residents can be helped by reliable solar power systems to cope with chronic power shortages. The United Nation's new Global Goals aim to provide universal energy access in Africa by 2030. On the current trajectory, however, Shapps pointed out that the goal won't be met until 2080. Read More »

The U.S. Agency for International Development's U.S. Global Development Lab awarded $14.1 million in new grants to 32 organizations from around the globe as part of its Development Innovation Ventures program. A year-round open competition, the DIV program is aimed at finding breakthrough development solutions with strong potential to change millions of peoples' lives. Read More »

Oil and gas company ERHC Energy Inc. entered into an agreement Tuesday with Kosmos Energy to transfer ERHC's rights to Block 11 of the São Tomé and Principe Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) to Kosmos. ERHC keeps 100 percent of the rights to EEZ Block 4 and will also retain the option to take up to a 15 percent working interest in each of two other unlicensed EEZ blocks of its choice. Read More »

During the Seatrade and Investment Convention 2015, Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) Mallam Habib Abdulahi stressed the need for government to invest in port infrastructure for increased exports. Abdulahi also underscored that 80 percent of trade and commerce around the globe is done through seaports and a robust infrastructure is essential to become competitive. Read More »

Mondelez International opened a new production facility in Lagos, Nigeria, Tuesday. The new plant represents a $50 million investment and is part of Modelez's plan to expand regional brands, such as Cadbury Bournvita, in key markets while developing a more efficient supply chain. Supplanting the older facility, which failed to keep up with demand, the new plant is fully automated. Read More »

The Ocean Rig Athena drill ship left Luanda, Angola, Monday and is now on its way to being a part of the drilling program in FAR Limited's highly prospective blocks in offshore Senegal. Discovered in 2014 and recognized as the world's largest oil discovery for the year, the prospective Senegal drilling site's first two wells in the three-drill program will be appraised this month. Read More »