#Uber’s newest rival for market share in Africa hails from #Russia

"South Africa’s mobile phone operator Vodacom reported a 6.6% drop in full-year earnings due to one-off costs related to a share scheme offered to black investors."

"Zimbabwe’s state power utility imposed the worst rolling blackouts in three years on Monday, with households and industries including mines set to be without electricity for up to eight hours daily."

"These high intensity storms have been tied to the very warm sea surface temperatures in the Indian Ocean. Temperatures of 30°C are occurring more often and over longer periods of time. This is a result of gradual warming on a global scale, which has resulted in a net increase in ocean temperatures."

"Somalia’s economy continues to recover, with growth expected to strengthen to 3% in 2019 from 2.8% last year, while inflation could ease to 3% from 3.2% over the same period, the International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday."

"Employment decreased in all four of the sectors in Q1: 2019; with the Formal sector recording the largest employment losses of 126 000, followed by the Informal sector (68 000), Private households (31 000) and Agriculture (12 000)."

'Global tech giants, including Alphabet Inc and Facebook, have been increasing investment on the continent in recent years to take advantage of growing economies with rising access rates to the internet by a youthful population."

"Nigeria, MTN’s biggest market with 52.3 million users in 2017, accounts for a third of the Johannesburg-based company’s annual core profit, but it has faced problems in the country in recent years.

"The story is captured in a new book laden with graphs, maps, charts and statistics. But if you like your history as narrative, you’ll have the job of piecing together this extraordinary story written by Sandra Rowoldt Shell in Children of Hope: The Odyssey of the Oromo Slaves from Ethiopia to South Africa."

"The pivotal issue for Election 2019 was whether the outcome would give Ramaphosa more political space within the ANC to drive his reform program forward. Since he ousted Jacob Zuma from power in February 2018, having won a very tight race to succeed Zuma as leader of the ANC at its five-yearly national elective conference the previous December, Ramaphosa has begun to execute a complicated turnaround strategy."

"For their part, Aubameyang, Mané and Salah are also Africa’s most prominent soccer stars having dominated the top three nominations for the African Footballer of the Year award in the last two years. The trio’s popularity is also particularly boosted by playing in the English Premier League, the world’s most watched soccer league which also has a huge following across Africa."

"The government has announced it will shut down social media during upcoming national high school exams after officials at the ministry of education discovered papers were being sold and shared on social media platforms. Education cabinet secretary Abdullahi Godah Barre canceled tests that began last Saturday (May 11), postponing them to May 27 through May 31."

"In 1994, Frederick Brownell delivered on what may be the hardest and most consequential assignment any designer could receive: Design a flag to unite a nation—and do it in a week."

"The first quarterly earnings call after last month’s initial public offering offered Jumia executives a chance to push back against claims of alleged fraudulent dealings."

"Microsoft has now fully turned its sights on software engineering talent in Africa and will spend over $100 million on a software development center initiative. "

"The United States embassy has announced an immediate indefinite suspension of interview waivers for visa renewals for applicants in Nigeria. Known as “drop-box,” the interview waiver process allowed Nigerian applicants who met certain eligibility criteria to renew their visas by submitting their passports and supporting documents for review without going through a new in-person interview each time."

"As the country heads to the polls 25 years after its first euphoric election, disillusionment has set in, particularly among those who are as old as South Africa’s democratic regime—the twenty somethings."

"Caster Semenya, one of the world’s greatest female middle-distance runners, may be forced to quit the event she has dominated for a decade"

"While it dominates market share and infrastructure, the South Africa-owned giant’s biggest battles are with the local authorities rather than other telecoms rivals. Over the past five years, MTN has faced potential fines of up to $15 billion in Nigeria for a range of alleged misdeeds."

"Breast ironing is common in West and Central Africa, including Guinea-Bissau, Chad, Togo, Benin, Guinea-Conakry, Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya and Zimbabwe."

"Entry-level workers in the country’s garment industry are the lowest paid in the world—earning a mere $26 a month, according to a study from New York University’s Stern Center for Business and Human Rights."

"Current estimates indicate that more than 1,000 people died. This makes it the most deadly tropical cyclone ever to have made landfall on the southern African subcontinent."

"While Zimbabwe’s central bank is trying to make the case for a respectable value for its three-month old currency the Zimbabwean Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGs) dollars against the US dollar, local mobile operators are showing the RTGs’ true value in, well, real time."

"As Malawi prepares for national elections to be held on May 21, the country has been hit by a fake news campaign which has quickly spread on social media"

"The contrasting fortunes of the liberal Democratic Alliance (DA) and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) speak to a paradigm shift among voters both in South Africa and globally"

"The Great Mosque of Algiers, or Djamaa El Djazair, sits on an area of 400,000 square meters and has a 265 meter (870 feet) minaret that houses observation decks. The compound’s domed sanctuary and outside courtyard overlooking the Bay of Algiers can house up to 120,000 worshippers and has an underground parking space with a capacity of 7,000 cars."