In Nigeria, today is the day of mourning for those killed during the EndBadGovernance protests around the country. Nigerians are asked to wear black to honor the dead. This comes as President Bola Tinubu appealed to Nigerians for the second day this week to abandon protests and give his administration’s reform policies time to work. Peluola Adewale, National Mobilization Officer of what he calls the Joint Action Front, tells VOA’s James Butty, the 10 days of rage will continue until Saturday, and thereafter, the organizers will decide what happens next

— Just days after unveiling a joint venture in Spain, Krispy Kreme Inc. has announced its first location in Morocco through a partnership with franchisee Americana Restaurants International PLC. Plans call for Krispy Kreme and Americana to open a shop on Aug. 9 in the Arribat Centre shopping center in the Moroccan capital of Rabat. Americana, whose restaurants are located in the Middle East, North Africa and Kazakhstan, had partnered with Krispy Kreme to open its first location in Jordan, in the capital of Amman, in October 2022. Krispy Kreme said it is collaborating with Moroccan suppliers for a “significant portion” of its ingredients and materials, including sustainable and “mutually beneficial” relationships with local communities and producers. Globally, Krispy Kreme also recently announced planned expansions in Germany, Brazil and France.

Manuel Navarrete, the director of Spain’s Center for Intelligence against Terrorism and Organized Crime (CITCO), has praised the ongoing security collaboration between Spain and Morocco. He further underscored that this collaboration is crucial in addressing a range of security threats, including organized crime, terrorism, and irregular immigration. Navarrete highlighted the particular importance of joint efforts in combating irregular immigration. “The fight against irregular immigration is a key area of this sustained bilateral cooperation,” he noted. The Spanish official also pointed out that the model of cooperation established with Morocco is significant and should be replicated with other nations.

West Indies went into the series after losing 3-0 in England with two of those Tests ending within three days. The two-test series will be followed by three T20 games.

Ukraine is seeking support from the Global South, but several West African states are ditching Western ties to turn to Russia. The claim by Moscow followed an announcement from Niger’s military government on Tuesday that it has cut ties with Ukraine. Several states in West Africa have recently ditched longstanding ties with the West to turn to Russia. Andriy Yusov, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s military spy agency, said that the Malian rebels had received the “necessary” information to conduct the operation. Both have since ripped up defence agreements with France and turned to Russia for military support.

A consortium comprising Sacyr Concesiones (70%) and Cointer (30%) has preliminarily won the Northern Airport Network of Chile public-private partnership project bundle, encompassing Atacama and Antofagasta airports. The consortium will invest UF7.01m (US$290.5m) to expand, improve and maintain the two sites over a 26-year concession. The award will take Sacyr’s airport PPP portfolio in the country to five, adding to Chacalluta in Arica, El Loa in Calama and El Tepual in Puerto Montt. Antofagasta is the second busiest in Chile with 2.3 million passengers in 2023, while Atacama Airport handled 723,000 passengers. An official award is expected in Q4, work begins in 2027 and the new facilities will come into operation in 2030.

A potential presidential candidate in Tunisia has been sentenced to two years in prison, marking another setback to the country’s fledgling opposition challenging President Kais Saied as he seeks a new term. Moussi’s lawyer Nafaa Laribi told The Associated Press on Tuesday that she still intends to run in the Oct. 6 presidential election, and that, unlike other candidates, nothing in Monday's sentence prevents her from running. The sentence is the latest in a growing crackdown that observers have said is politically motivated against Saied's critics, regardless of political affiliation. With Moussi and other leading opposition figures in prison, Saied is expected to face little election competition in what was once the Middle East and North Africa’s most progressive democracy. A strong critic of Islamists such as imprisoned Ennahda leader Rached Ghannouchi, Moussi was an official in longtime President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali’s ruling party.

As sub-Saharan Africa has seen an unparalleled surge of protests this year, from Kenya to Uganda and Nigeria, some observers are expressing the view that a new African Spring may be on the horizon. Young people in Kenya, Uganda and Nigeria have taken to the streets protesting against the high cost of living, lack of jobs, and their corrupt governments. Now, some observers, such as the Al Jazeera columnist, Tafi Mhaka, are asking if a sub-Saharan ”African Spring” is in the offing. “More than 10 years later, I suspect the same may now be happening in sub-Saharan Africa,” Mhaka adds. Only the coming days and weeks will show if the burgeoning protest movement in sub-Saharan Africa has already got beyond the point of no return and a new wave of African Spring uprisings will engulf the whole region.

A project aimed at improving access to drinking water, sanitation and hygiene in Zambia is to use renewable energy technologies for the water production and supply system. The money is to be used to implement “innovative measures” and improve access to drinking water, sanitation and hygiene for 460,000 people in Kabwe and Bauleni. Improving water infrastructure in ZambiaThe project also aims to strengthen the resilience of the beneficiary populations to the effects of climate change. It will collaborate with partners such as UNICEF to strengthen the provision of water, sanitation and hygiene services. Morocco: Solar energy used to power desalination plant in the desertThe Bank has supported Zambia’s water sector since the late 1970s.

Africa and North America markets help boost Super Group Q2 revenue by 9% The operator says revenue hit an all-time quarterly record. By Ciaran McLoughlinSuper Group has released its financial results for the second quarter of 2024, emphasising a positive period for the parent company of Betway and Spin. Africa and North America’s growth was a key driver for the group overall, though was partially offset by declines from the Middle East and Asia-Pacific markets. Adjusted EBITDA grew 8% year-on-year to €81.9m, while monthly active customers was 4.5 million during Q2 2024 vs 3.7 million in Q2 2023. Super Group CEO Neal Menashe said: “The second quarter of 2024 was our strongest quarter ever and demonstrates the exceptional progress we continue to make as a business.

stc Group, has signed a strategic partnership with Nexthink, a global leader in Digital Employee Experience management. This partnership will support in implementing digital employee experience (DEX) management solutions to enhance stc Group service delivery and retain its position as a world-class digital leader. stc Group is a global digital enabler, comprising 13 subsidiaries across the Middle East, North Africa and Europe. The Group has diversified its offer over the years and is now a provider of innovative digital products and solutions, encompassing digital infrastructure, cloud computing, cybersecurity, Internet of Things (IoT), digital payments, digital media, and digital entertainment. Since the implementation, stc Group improved their DEX scores by over 50% – resulting in fewer ticket escalations, faster issue resolution by 20% and happier, more productive employees.

The eVisa roll-out involves the replacement of physical immigration documents with digital immigration status. The initiative was launched under the previous Government with a target completion date of 31 December 2024. Please get in touch with your usual Lewis Silkin immigration team contact. Employers should review their right to work processes to make sure that they will retain the statutory excuse after 31 December 2024. Keep a look-out for our ‘quick guide’ to repeat right to work checks, which will be published on our Insights page shortly.

Welcome back to the last in our series of articles focused on the African Aviation Market. In this article, we compare the rate of aviation growth across different regions of Africa. Airline capacity growth of over 24% in North Africa ranks as one of the highest recoveries by an IATA region since Summer 2019. Despite what looks like positive capacity growth, the structure of the market hasn’t changed for many years. And while perhaps one or two African airlines have developed services across the continent they are certainly in the minority.

Egyptian fintech, Qardy, has secured a 7-figure USD pre-seed round of investment, with participation from White Field Ventures and Vastly Valuable Ventures among other angel investors. Qardy is described as the first digital lending marketplace in Egypt and the MENA region for financial institutions to fund MSMEs (micro, small, and medium enterprises). Since their soft launch in late 2022, the startup has quickly established itself as a trusted partner for MSME’s and financial institutions. Amal Dokhan, Managing Partner at 500 Global, says:“We are thrilled to support Qardy in their journey towards empowering businesses with accessible and efficient financial solutions. We are excited about the achievement Qardy has reached and are fully prepared to support their expansion into the KSA.

South African startup NeoNomad has launched Africa’s first hybrid exchange platform, an innovative web application aimed at addressing the pressing issues of financial inclusion, high transaction costs, and limited banking accessibility across the continent. The NeoNomad app offers a South African stablecoin called ZARcoin (ZARC), which is pegged 1:1 to the South African rand, and facilitates seamless digital transactions locally and – soon – internationally, integrating cryptocurrency and real currency with enhanced reliability and equity. Held in reserves by South Africa-based ZARC (PTY) LTD, ZARC ensures security, verifiability, and transparency through simplified audits. “We want to empower people to make informed decisions about their investing,” said Hanres Beukes, CEO of NeoNomad. Users can make crypto payments using their holdings for point-of-sale transactions via QR code scanning.