Africa Up Close

The fear of sickness has reduced participation in the workforce, interrupted transport and caused some governors to close their seaports and airports

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations communicated that the outbreak of Ebola has negatively impacted the economy of the affected countries through the disease of West Africa, according to the American TV program CNN.

This article was originally translated from Portuguese.  Click here to read more from RFI.

Élu il y a un an avec une majorité confortable et fort d’une sympathie internationale sans précédent, le président Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta avait toutes les cartes en main pour résoudre la crise au Nord et conduire le Mali hors du gouffre où l’avaient plongé la rébellion déclenchée par le MNLA, le coup d’État du capitaine Sanogo et l’occupation jihadiste. Douze mois plus tard, ces cartes ont été perdues les unes après les autres.

President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita of Mali was elected by a large popular majority and enjoyed strong backing by the international community that was without precedent right after he came to power.  After being elected he had all the trump cards he needed to resolve the crisis in the North and to help Mali rise out of the ditch that the MNLA rebellion, Captain Sanogo coup, and jihadist occupation had plunged the country into.  Twelve months later, President Keita has managed to forfeit his advantages, one after the other.

This article was originally translated from French.  Click here to read more from Jeune Afrique.

Un sommet régional de chefs d’Etat africains pour lutter contre Boko Haram s’est achevé, ce mardi 7 octobre, à Niamey. Il réunissait, autour du président nigérien Mahamadou Issoufou, les présidents du Nigeria, du Tchad et du Bénin. Le Cameroun était représenté par son ministre de la Défense. Les participants se sont mis d’accord sur un certain nombre de mesures pour renforcer la sécurité dans la région du lac Tchad et pour une meilleure coordination des efforts.

A regional African Heads of State Summit to fight against Boko Haram was completed this past Tuesday, October 7^th in Niamey. It brought together, around the Nigerien president Mahamadou Issoufou, the presidents of Nigeria, Chad and Benin.  Cameroon was represented by its Defense minister.  The participants agreed on a certain number of measures to strengthen security in the Lake Chad region and a better coordination of efforts.

This article was originally translated from French.  Click here to read more from RFI.

Villagers of Mozambique, Zambia, Malawi and Kenya are some of the “most radical and suspicious” of all the Sub-Saharan African countries concerning the ongoing reforms in the agricultural sector that permit greater involvement of the private sector in the production of staple foods in the region.

Aldeões de Moçambique, Zâmbia, Malawi e Quénia são tidos como os “mais radicais e desconfiados” a nível dos países da África subsaaariana, no que respeita às reformas em curso do sector agrário para permitir maior envolvimento do sector privado na produção de alimentos básicos na região.

This article is originally translated from Portuguese. Click here to read the original from Verdade.

In Africa, the investment opportunity for Chinese firms has arrived.

On 4^th August, Les Échos published an article titled “China leading the race for investment in Africa”, claiming that China’s first-mover advantage in investing in Africa stretches from Morocco’s Tangier to South Africa’s Cape Town. This, according to the article, resulted in a record $57 billion of foreign direct investment in Africa for the year 2013 alone.

在非洲，中国企业的投资机会来了。

法国《回声报》网站8月4日以《中国在对非投资中领跑》为题报道称：2013年，非洲所吸纳的外国直接投资总额达570亿美元，创下历史新高。从摩洛哥的丹吉尔到南非的开普敦，非洲大陆正成为新的投资天堂，而中国在其中占尽了先机。

This article is originally translated from Mandarin, click here to read the original from Sino Trade and Finance .

The United Nations ‘s mission in Congo (Monusco), as well as the Burundese and Congolese governments still officially deny the presence of armed Burundese individuals in military uniforms in the eastern region of Congo.  Nevertheless, as noted by RFI, they are in fact, in the Ruzizi plains (south-Kivu)”.

La Mission des Nations unies pour le Congo (Monusco) ainsi que les gouvernements burundais et congolais démentent toujours officiellement la présence d’hommes en armes et en uniformes militaires burundais dans l’est du Congo. Et pourtant, ils sont bien là, dans la plaine de la Ruzizi (Sud-Kivu), comme RFI a pu le constater. Selon plusieurs sources, il existerait un accord secret entre Kinshasa et Bujumbura pour permettre à l’armée burundaise de mener des opérations contre des rebelles. Une explication qui ne correspond pas vraiment à la réalité du terrain.

This article is originally translated from French. Click here to read the original from RFI

After a series of meetings with Pope Francis in Rome, the Episcopal Conference of the Congo (CENCO) published a letter on Sunday that reaffirms its opposition to any form of constitutional modification that would allow Joseph Kabila to run for president in 2016.

Après différentes rencontres à Rome avec le pape François, la conférence épiscopale de RDC a publié dimanche une lettre dans laquelle elle réaffirme son opposition à toute modification de la Constitution de la RDC pour une nouvelle candidature de Joseph Kabila en 2016.

This article was translated from French. Click here to read the original from Jeune Afrique.

One of the symbols of Africa, elephants may disappear from the continent in one hundred years if nothing is done to stop the slaughter of these animals, affirmed American scientists.

Um dos símbolos da África, os elefantes podem desaparecer do continente em cem anos se nada for feito para frear a matança desses animais, afirmaram cientistas americanos.

This article was translated from Portuguese. Click here to read the original from BBC Brasil.

By appealing for a national for dialogue with all of the country’s political parties on August 29^th, President Teodoro Obiang Nguema has taken a step towards democracy.  But exiled opposition leaders remain unconvinced of the sincerity of his approach.  Why is this the case?

En lançant le 29 août un appel au dialogue national de tous les partis politiques équato-guinéens, le président Teodoro Obiang Nguema a fait un pas vers la démocratie. Mais il reste à convaincre l’opposition en exil de la sincerité de sa démarche. Explications.

This article was translated from French. Click here to read the original from Jeune Afrique.

São Paulo – The government and Brazilian businesses believe that the recent model of mass consumption, social mobility and economic inclusion of the country will be reproduced in Afirca in the next decade and hope to increase their investments and exports to the continent.

São Paulo – O governo e os empresários brasileiros acreditam que o recente modelo de consumo em massa, ascensão social e inclusão econômica do país será reproduzido na África na próxima década e esperam aumentar seus investimentos e exportações para o continente.

This article was translated from Portuguese. Click here to read the original from Exame.