Benin News
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AFGHANISTAN, 2017/09/09
Destinations worldwide welcomed 598 million international tourists in the initial six months of 2017, some 36 million additional than in the same period of 2016. At 6%, increase was well above the trend of recent years, making the current January-June period the strongest half-year since 2010.
Visitor numbers reported by destinations around the world reflect strong request for international travel in the initial half of 2017, according to the new UNWTO World Tourism Barometer. Worldwide, international tourist arrivals (overnight visitors) increased by 6% compared to the same six-month period last year, well above the sustained and consistent trend of 4% or higher increase since 2010. This represents the strongest half-year in seven years.
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BOTSWANA, 2017/09/09
This year, under the leadership of H.E. President Alassane Ouattara and the theme of “Accelerating Africa’s Path to Prosperity: Growing Inclusive Economies and Jobs through Agriculture”, the African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) 2017 is shaping up as a premier platform to showcase ongoing evolution in Africa’s agricultural transformation schedule and to scale up the political, policy, and financial commitments needed to achieve the Malabo Declaration and the world development schedule around the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Following the launch of the landmark annual Africa Agriculture Status Statement (ASSR) at the AGRF taking place in Cote d’Ivoire from 4-8 September 2017, the major conclusion centres around the power of entrepreneurs and the free market in driving Africa’s economic increase from food production. This is owing to the fact that a lot of businesses are waking up to opportunities of a rapidly growing food market in Africa that may be worth additional than $1 trillion each year by 2030 to substitute imports with high price food made in Africa.
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BOTSWANA, 2017/09/09
Market Research Company Euromonitor International revealed before this week the key trends shaping travel and tourism in Africa at the 41st Annual World Tourism Conference in Kigali, Rwanda.
According to Euromonitor International’s new data, international arrivals to Africa grew by 6.5 % in 2017, to reach 18,550 million, up from 16,351 million in 2012. Key markets such as South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Mozambique, Cameroon, Mauritius and Tanzania accounted for 70 % of international trips to the Sub-Saharan African region.
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BOTSWANA, 2017/08/30
"Africa is terra incognita for the Trump Government: a continent it cares little - and understands even less - about. With no dyed-in-the-wool Trumpian Africa hands available, the government appears ready to cede Africa policy making to career civil servants and a few mainstream Republican appointees." - Matthew T. Page
The headline to Page's article in Quartz Africa states that "Donald Trump could be getting his US-Africa policy right by simply not having one." His view is actually additional nuanced, in judging that no policy would likely be only "less bad" than explicitly "bad policy" that may result from better White Home interest in Africa.
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BOTSWANA, 2017/08/30
Donald Yamamoto, who has extensive diplomatic experience in Africa inclunding two tours as a U.S. ambassador, will take office as Acting Assistant Secretary of National for Africa on 5 September. He is the second career official tapped for a senior policy position on Africa in the Trump government.Donald Yamamoto, who has extensive diplomatic experience in Africa including two tours as a U.S. ambassador, will take office as Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Africa on 5 September. He is the second career official tapped for a senior policy position on Africa in the Trump administration. Senior CIA analyst Cyril Sartor was hired as senior director for Africa at the National Security Council earier this month Key Africa jobs at the Defense Department (DOD) and the U.S. Agency for International Development remain vacant.
"Having someone with Don Yamamoto's experience in that post is very significant," Mel Foote, Constituency for Africa president, told AllAfrica. "As Africa confronts a lot of challenges, we want to see responsible U.S. engagement in partnership with African governments and civil society organizations."
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BOTSWANA, 2017/08/20
While the continent’s major economies were hit by the fall in commodity prices in 2016, Africa retained its position as the second-fastest growing continent globally recording an average of 2.2% GDP increase, behind only South Asia, according to the African Development Bank Group (AfDB).
Much of Africa’s increase in 2016, AfDB says, was driven by East Africa where several nations recorded “strong performances.” In general, of the continent’s sub-regions, East Africa posted the highest increase rate with 5.3%, led by Ethiopia.
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BOTSWANA, 2017/08/20
Some property pundits believe there are major opportunities for investors or companies on the continent.
While most pundits will acknowledge that the saying “Africa is not for sissies” rings authentic at the same time as it comes to property investment , some commentators believe that there are major opportunities for investors on the continent.
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BENIN, 2017/08/18
A bronze sculpture of a cockerel that adorned a Cambridge University dining room is part a huge haul of looted antiquities that may presently be returned to Nigeria and neighbouring Benin Republic any minute at this time.
The British Museum will take part in a European summit to discuss the return of art seized from the Benin Kingdom, presently part of southern Nigeria, by a British punitive expedition in 1897 as "reparations" next it defied the British Empire by imposing customs duties.
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BOTSWANA, 2017/08/15
The US will probably maintain its current levels of aid to Africa despite President Donald Trump’s proposals to slash funding, according to Bill Gates, the world’s richest man.
Trump said in May his government would no longer allocate funding for family planning, a move that has the potential to undermine aid programs in the poorest nations in the world. However, with Congress in control of the budget, it’s unlikely that all cuts proposed by the Trump government will go ahead next year, Gates said in an interview in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania’s commercial capital.
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BOTSWANA, 2017/08/13
Women and children's rights advocate Graca Machel yesterday urged women and youth in Tanzania to be proactive at the same time as it comes to seeking development opportunities.
Ms Machel, the founder of the Graca Machel Trust, said this during the closing of an eight-day conference in the city which was aimed at empowering communities to tackle development challenges.