The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is believed to have the capacity to significantly boost intra-regional trade and break Africa’s longstanding dependence on foreign countries as export destinations and sources of imports and investment. With the official launch on January 1 this year, many trade blocs are beginning to realign their preferences in a bid to improve market access. FEMI ADEKOYA writes on how major trading partners like the United States and Europe are reviewing their trade programmes to align with the AfCFTA.
The AfCFTA holds the ace for African countries to improve intra-African trade and replace activities that were hitherto dominated by third-party countries to Africans. Despite this potential, there are challenges about the ability of African countries to remove red tapes and encourage trade.
Pegasus Spyware Potentially Targeted French President Emmanuel Macron’s Phone on Behalf of Morocco: Report
Le Monde reported that, according to sources, one of Macron s phone numbers is on a list selected by Morocco s intelligence service. By Reuters | Updated: 21 July 2021 11:31 IST
Photo Credit: Bloomberg
French presidency said that if the revelations about Macron s phone were true, they would be very serious
Highlights
NSO issued a statement on Sunday rejecting the reporting
Le Monde stressed it did not have access to Macron s phone
The phone of French President Emmanuel Macron was on a list of potential targets for potential surveillance on behalf of Morocco in the Pegasus spyware case, French daily Le Monde reported on Tuesday.
French President Emmanuel Macron leads a list of 14 current or former heads of state who may have been targeted for hacking by clients of the notorious Israeli spyware firm NSO Group, Amnesty International has said. The unprecedented revelation . should send a chill down the spine of world leaders, Amnesty s secretary general, Agnes Callamard, said in a statement on Tuesday. Among potential targets found on a list of 50,000 phone numbers leaked to Amnesty and the Paris-based journalism nonprofit Forbidden Stories include Presidents Imran Khan of Pakistan, Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa and Barham Salih of Iraq. Three current prime ministers and the king of Morocco, Mohammed VI, are also on the list, The Washington Post reported.
Tokyo Olympics underway despite threat of Covid-19
Posted: Jul 21, 2021 2:11 AM
Updated: Jul 21, 2021 2:11 AM
Posted By: By Joshua Berlinger, CNN
After a delay of more than a year due to the pandemic, the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics are finally underway.
Competition began Wednesday morning with Japan s softball team facing off against Australia at the Fukushima Azuma Baseball Stadium. The opening ceremony will be held Friday, but Olympic events typically begin before the formal start for scheduling purposes.
These Olympics are expected to be a competition unlike the world has ever seen. Organizers decided to push ahead despite Japan s struggle to rein in the spread of Covid-19, and with just two days until the formal opening, it is still not clear whether the public health measures in place are enough to prevent the Games from becoming a global superspreader event.
India s oil import from Iran will not be immediately hampered by US sanctions
India s oil import from Iran will not be immediately hampered by US sanctions
India Pays Its Third Largest Oil Supplier In Euros Using European Banking Channels And Imports Are Set To Continue Unless These Are Blocked, The Officials Added.
News Nation Bureau | Edited By : Subhayan Chakraborty | Updated on: 09 May 2018, 04:52:52 PM
New Delhi:
The US decision to restore financial sanctions on Iran will not hamper India’s oil imports from the Islamic Republic as long as European countries don’t follow up, officials said on Wednesday.
India pays its third largest oil supplier in Euros using European banking channels and imports are set to continue unless these are blocked, the officials added.