Awkward situation at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing today

As the US envoy for Sudan testified on how little attention Sudan gets, senators cycled out due to conflicting schedules, leaving for long periods only 1 senator in the hearing room (and 20 empty seats)

'We gave our blessing for him to move to Johannesburg to escape the violence and gangs back home, only (for him) to meet his demise at the peak of his promising football career.'

Moving Nellie Peyton story about Luke Fleurs' murder & crime in South Africa reuters.com/world/africa/s…

Great piece by Libby George on what next for Zambia (and Sri Lanka and Ghana) after its bondholder deal reuters.com/world/africa/d…

Since 2020, Stuart Potts has housed hundreds of homeless people in his own one-bed flat. I’ve been spending time there over the last few months. My latest for The Guardian Long Read theguardian.com/society/2024/a…

The Independent Our first winner was Rachel Savage who wrote about the frozen north of Canada:
independent.co.uk/news/long_read…

This remains some of the work that I'm proudest of in my career. I couldn't have done it without The Independent's Rupert Cornwell Prize

New: Don’t miss out on this: independent.co.uk/news/media/rup…

This year's Rupert Cornwell Prize is open for applications - £5,000 for a journalist under 30 (on Jan 1 2024) to produce work from North America, Europe or ex Soviet Union.

I won the first award in 2018 & it was the most extraordinary opportunity. Apply!
independent.co.uk/news/media/rup…

WASHINGTON, April 19 (Reuters) - Ghana agreeing a restructuring with holders of its international bonds is 'a matter of time' rather than there being insurmountable hurdles, an IMF official said.
reuters.com/world/africa/g…

JOHANNESBURG/WASHINGTON, April 19 (Reuters) - Incomes in Sub-Saharan Africa are falling further behind the rest of the world amid a 'tepid' economic recovery, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Friday.
Story by Rachel Savage
reuters.com/world/africa/s…

Great story by James Oatway, ThandoHlophe and Nellie Peyton, a microcosm of South Africa and what is at stake in this election

Is there a major Zambian copper mine that this new Emirati player doesn't have its eyes on? Scoop from Felix Njini

Development agencies are finding it increasingly hard to persuade wealthy countries worried about wars abroad and elections at home to stump up more cash for the world's poorest.

This chart in Libby George & Karin Strohecker's story is striking
reuters.com/world/battle-d…

'In Nigeria, one product tested up to 6.8g .'

Meanwhile in major European markets there is no added sugar in formulas for kids.

Later, when people from these countries say they do not trust the West, it will be written off as ignorance and incidents like this will be ignored.

LGBT Ghanaians are waiting in fear to see if a bill that would further restrict their rights - and that they fear could empower homophobes to be 'murderous' - will be made law.

Sobering story by Maxwell Akalaare Adombila with moving photos by @accraphoto reuters.com/world/africa/l…

I see the Global Sovereign Debt Roundtable has been taking note of Jorgelina do Rosario's work on the delays for countries in debt restructuring negotiations in getting IMF money 👀reuters.com/business/finan…

GSDR progress report just out: status quo on CoT, call for a 3-month timeframe for financing assurances after SLA, no consensus on the treatment of SOE debt and NRH of domestic debt, call for more transparency on the rating impact of debt operations

imf.org/en/News/Articl…

An Israeli shell struck Gaza's largest fertility clinic in December, destroying 4,000 embryos.

At least half the couples — those who can no longer produce sperm or eggs to make viable embryos — won't ever be able to get pregnant, said the clinic's founder reuters.com/world/middle-e…

The IMF just announced a reform of its financing assurances and arrears policies — it notably introduces a new strand in the LIOA enabling the IMF to approve a program absent the consent of a major official creditor (e.g. China) under certain conditions
imf.org/en/News/Articl…

“Anybody that is not worried about Jacob Zuma has not been paying attention.” The excellent Monica Mark coverage of South Africa's election continues, on one of its big unknowns - how far will the MK Party be the “wrecking ball”? ft.com/content/5396ae…