Africa Business News

The Saudi Arabia-led alliance’s military intervention in Yemen has not only failed in its objective to rout the Houthi rebels, but the kingdom finds itself in a position in which it might be forced to capitulate.Saudi Arabia has failed its primary objectives of defeating the Houthis and restabilising the internationally recognised government in Yemen.Nader Hashemi, director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Denver, told Al Jazeera that the Houthis have proven to be a formidable fighting force. Saudi Arabia does not have a comparable ground game that can match its adversaries.He says Saudi Arabia thought it would win this war via a bombing campaign, and it would all be over in a few weeks. they have now entered the seventh year of this war with no clear end in sight.

South Korea’s LG Electronics Inc will wind down its loss-making mobile division after failing to find a buyer, a move that is set to make it the first major smartphone brand to completely withdraw from the market.An analyst at Hi Investment & Securities, Ko Eui-Young says in the United States, LG has targeted mid-priced models and that means Samsung, which has more mid-priced product lines than Apple, will be better able to attract LG users.LG’s smartphone division says it has logged nearly six years of losses totalling some $4.5 billion. Dropping out of the fiercely competitive sector would allow LG to focus on growth areas such as electric vehicle components, connected devices and smart homes.Analysts have also criticised the company for lack of expertise in marketing compared to Chinese rivals.

Senegal says it will open a consulate in Western Sahara on Monday, joining other African and Arab countries in supporting Morocco’s claim to the disputed territory.It says the consulate will be opened by the Moroccan and Senegalese foreign ministers in the Atlantic city of Dakhla, making Senegal the 22nd nation to establish a diplomatic mission in the territory.Morocco has long sought international recognition of its claim to the region it calls its southern provinces. The Polisario movement and Algeria have denounced the opening of consulates in the territory.Rabat says the most it can offer as a political solution to the dispute is autonomy. The Polisario Front and Algeria have called for a referendum with independence as one of the options.

Egypt in a statement says the latest meeting between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam may be the last chance to re-launch talks before it is filled for the second year in a row.The meeting concludes on Monday in Kinshasa. Previous attempts at reaching an agreement over the giant dam that Ethiopia is building on the Blue Nile have ended in deadlock.Ethiopia says the dam is key to its economic development and power generation. Egypt fears it will imperil its supplies of Nile water, while Sudan is concerned about the dam’s safety and about regulating water flows through its own dams and water stations.Ethiopia says it will again fill the reservoir behind the giant hydropower dam after seasonal rains start this summer, a move that both Sudan and Egypt oppose.Sudan says Ethiopia had raised the stakes in the negotiations by seeking to re-open discussions on the distribution of Nile water.

Nigerian Government has commenced the process that will pump the technology, entertainment and creative sectors with over N240 billion in financing and investment set to take off by the end of the year.A presidential source says that the financing, which is a $500 million loan to be sourced from the African Development Bank (AfDB), could harness the potential in Nigeria’s creative and technology industries.The plan was to collaborate with the AfDB and other financial partners to set up the $500 million fund in support of the Nigeria Innovation Programme.Osinbajo’s media aide, Mr Laolu Akande, says that it was public knowledge that the vice president had spoken publicly about the $500m facilities.Akande stated that the plan to get the funding is an outcome of the Technology and Creativity Working Group set up a few years ago with members drawn from the private and public sectors.

The Kaduna State Government has vowed to prosecute anyone caught using its name to negotiate with bandits or terrorists in the stateThe Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan, made the government’s position known via a statement issued on Sunday.The commissioner described it as untrue, media reports suggesting that the Governor Nasir El-Rufai administration appointed representatives to dialogue with the criminal elements while noting that the government has not appointed an intermediary to negotiate with bandits on its behalfHe says the Government will not negotiate with or pay ransoms to bandits. Anyone who claims to do so in any capacity will be prosecuted accordingly.

Former President Goodluck Jonathan has urged Nigerians to work in unity and peace, saying that such is needed for the West African nation to overcome its present challenges. The former Bayelsa State governor urged all Christians and all Nigerians to work in love, peace and unity and exercise faith and hope, so they can overcome the current national challenges and build a prosperous nation.He charged Christians, to, imbibe and sustain godly values of righteousness, peace and justice which are the true nature of Christ.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo and popular Islamic scholar, Sheikh Abubakar Gumi, met to discuss and propose possible solutions to the security challenges in Nigeria.The meeting was part of efforts to find solutions to the menace of banditry, kidnapping, and payment of ransom, among other security threats in the land.Discussions centred on the causes, effects and implications of the various security threats, as well as the reactions by communities, local authorities, state governments, and the Federal Government, as well as authorities in neighbouring countries and nations within West Africa.Obasanjo and Gumi agreed that banditry, kidnapping, and other crimes that have led to general insecurity were a nationwide phenomenon.They acknowledged that people from various parts of the country and outside Nigeria were involved, although some people were more predominantly involved than others.

Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai says a strong link has been established between the bandits terrorising the North West and the Boko Haram insurgents operating in the North East.Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, stated this on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, saying his government would not negotiate with bandits.He says It has been established that the kidnapping operations by bandits are substantially funding Boko Haram activities in the North East.The governor decried that banditry and insurgency have evolved with time into what he described as a business and a structured industry.He explained that this was so as the criminals now have various specialised roles within their ranks which enable them to attack communities.

The United States will brief South Korea and Japan on Friday on President Joe Biden’s long-awaited review of North Korea policy in talks on Friday that will also cover concerns about a shortage of semiconductor chips, a senior administration official said on Thursday.Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, will hold a full day of talks with his Japanese counterpart, Shigeru Kitamura, and South Korea’s national security adviser, Suh Hoon, at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.Biden earlier said the United States remained open to diplomacy with North Korea despite its ballistic missile tests but warned there would be responses if North Korea escalates matters.The senior administration official says the Annapolis talks would include a discussion of the missile launches, the extent of coronavirus infections within North Korea, and recent diplomacy between Pyongyang and its main ally, China.