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The Unseen Wound: How the Middle East War Is Strangling Africa’s Recovery

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Mr. Montfort Mlachila, IMF Deputy Director of the African Department Just as a fragile dawn began to break over sub-Saharan Africa’s economies, a new storm gathered—not on the savannah, but in the deserts of the Middle East. And now, the International Monetary Fund is sounding an urgent alarm: the cost of living crisis is soaring once again, and the continent’s hard-won gains are buckling under the pressure. In its latest  Regional Economic Outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa , titled  “Hard-Won Gains Under Pressure,”  the IMF reveals a devastating reversal of fortune. The ripple effects from the ongoing Middle East conflict—from spiking oil and fertiliser prices to fractured transport routes—are tightening a noose around the region’s most vulnerable nations. A Momentum Interrupted Let us be clear about what is at stake. Entering 2026, sub-Saharan Africa was riding a wave of genuine optimism. The region had just recorded its fastest growth in a decade— 4.5 percent in 2025 —dri...
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GONE INTO THE SEA: The Tragic Final Hours of Two American Soldiers in Morocco

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  A week-long search across 8,200 square miles ends in a coastal cave — and a C-130 bound for home CAP DRAA TRAINING AREA, Morocco — The Atlantic swallowed them without a sound. No explosion. No enemy fire. Just a cliff, a cruel coastline, and the indifferent roar of the sea. One week after two US soldiers vanished during the massive  African Lion 2026  military exercises, the United States Army confirmed Wednesday that both bodies have been recovered. The second soldier’s remains were found — joining 19-year-old  Specialist Mariyah Collington , whose body was discovered Tuesday inside a coastal cave, trapped between rock and tide. “Search and rescue operations have concluded,” the Army said in a terse statement. “With both Soldiers accounted for, the focus shifts to recovery and repatriation.” The two bodies were transferred to a Moroccan military hospital, then solemnly loaded aboard a  US Air Force C-130 transport plane . By late Wednesday, they were already ...
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KICKOFF AND KICKBACK: America Opens the Gate — But Not for Everyone

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FILE - President Donald Trump shakes hands with FIFA President Gianni Infantino as he presented   -  Copyright © africanewsdigest | AP For thousands of football faithfuls dreaming of summer 2026, the United States has just cleared a major hurdle. But make no mistake — the border remains a minefield. In a late-breaking policy shift announced exclusively to the BBC, the US State Department confirmed it will waive the controversial  $15,000 (£11,000) visa deposit  for World Cup ticket holders from 50 nations. The decision carves a narrow path through America’s fortress-style immigration system — yet leaves entire countries locked outside the stadium gates. The five African qualifiers —  Algeria, Cape Verde, Ivory Coast, Senegal, and Tunisia  — now stand on uncertain ground. Their fans can breathe easier about the bond. But Senegal and Ivory Coast still face  partial  entry restrictions under expanded travel rules that rights groups have likened ...
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Location: Africa
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THE MOUNTAIN’S NEW FAULT LINE: KINDIKI’S 58-DAY BLITZ EXPOSES A DO-OR-DIE WAR WITH GACHAGUA

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One former deputy guards the fortress. The other lays siege from the east. And the Mountain’s soul hangs on a knife’s edge. Deputy President Kithure Kindindiki (Left), Former Deputy  President Rigathi Gachagua (Right) Two men, one mountain, zero room for second place. In the high-stakes chess match for Kenya’s most coveted voting bloc, silence is defeat. And Deputy President Kithure Kindiki has chosen thunder. Between March 1 and April 27, 2026—just 58 days—Kindiki has staged  15 planned political activities  across Mt Kenya East. Not a single public rally in Mt Kenya West. Only cameo appearances. The message is unmistakable: this is a surgical, do-or-die incursion into the heart of his predecessor’s fortress. “For too long, Mt Kenya East has hunted with the West but never eaten,” declared Public Service CS Geoffrey Ruku, now the unabashed architect of a “mini-mountain” strategy. “We will split the Mountain if that’s what it takes. We will never submit to Gachagua.” Ruku’...
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Location: Kenya
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