USAfrica

9 hours ago | usafricaonline.com | Chido Nwangwu

JOHANNESBURG, April 24 (Reuters) — South Africa has dropped plans to raise its value-added tax (VAT) rate from May 1, following significant opposition from coalition partners and concerns over the stability of the country’s unity government. The National Treasury had initially proposed a 1 percentage point increase in VAT, to be phased in over two years, as part of the 2025 national budget strategy.

9 hours ago | usafricaonline.com | Chido Nwangwu

JOHANNESBURG, April 24 (Reuters) — South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Thursday that he had spoken with U.S. President Donald Trump regarding the ongoing war in Ukraine and the need to improve diplomatic relations between their two countries.

9 hours ago | usafricaonline.com | Chido Nwangwu

COTONOU, April 24, 2025 — The government of Benin has confirmed that 54 soldiers were killed in a deadly attack by suspected jihadist insurgents on April 17 in W National Park, northern Benin. Government spokesman Wilfried Leandre Houngbedji announced the revised death toll during a press briefing on Wednesday, April 22, 2025, significantly raising the earlier count of eight fatalities.

10 hours ago | usafricaonline.com | Chido Nwangwu

KAMPALA, April 23 (Xinhua) — Chinese oil giant SINOPEC has launched a large-scale training program for more than 800 Ugandans to build local expertise for the country’s emerging oil industry. The initiative, which began on Wednesday, will run through October at the Sunmaker Oil and Gas Training Institute. The courses will equip participants with essential skills in areas such as fabrication, pipe fitting, and scaffolding, according to a statement from SINOPEC.

16 hours ago | usafricaonline.com | Chido Nwangwu

NAIROBI, April 23, 2025, (Reuters) — In an unusual twist to Kenya’s wildlife trafficking battle, police who raided a guesthouse near Hell’s Gate National Park earlier this month were not pursuing poachers of elephant tusks or rhino horn, but instead a more discreet and surprisingly lucrative trade—queen ants. Two Belgian teenagers were arrested at Jane Guesthouse in Naivasha for attempting to smuggle queen ants harvested from giant African harvester colonies.