Since Malawi is landlocked, it relies on Tanzania’s ports for international trade. Therefore, its top exports – raw tobacco, tea, legumes, soybeans, and sugar – will suffer, particularly since its top trading partners are international (with Germany and India as leading destinations).

The export of fertiliser to Malawi will also be suspended.

South African exports which will be hit include various fruits, including apples and grapes. While relatively muted compared with the impact of Tanzania’s move on Malawi’s economy, South Africa is heavily reliant on exports. Already weakened by 31% tariffs from the US ($500 million worth of South Africa’s $13.7 billion in agricultural exports go to the US), the country may now struggle in the intra-regional reorientation which many other economies are enjoying.

Tanzania has also halted the transit of any agricultural goods through its territory to either country, stymying Malawi’s international importing capability in particular.

Tanzanian Minister of Agriculture Hussein Bashe has justified this policy as retaliatory. Both Malawi and South Africa have embargoes on Tanzanian produce. 

This refers to Malawi’s ban on the import of certain produce, which was apparently designed as a temporary measure: a “strategic move to create an environment where local businesses can thrive without the immediate pressure of foreign competition,” according to Malawi’s Trade Minister, Vitumbiko Mumba at the time.

Tanzania, Malawi, and South Africa are all members of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) regional economic bloc. This may grow fraught with Bashe’s emphasis that Tanzania will begin to act in defence of its national sovereignty. By Mahika Ravi Shankar, Trade Finance 

It is the latest truce deal since the rebels stepped up an offensive in eastern DR Congo where authorities say 7,000 people have been killed since January.

The Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwandan-backed M23 rebels have agreed to halt fighting in the east of the country until peace talks mediated by Qatar reach their “conclusion”.

It is the latest truce deal since the rebels stepped up an offensive in eastern DR Congo where authorities say 7,000 people have been killed since January.

Both sides on Wednesday jointly announced to work towards peace following more than a week of talks, which they described as “frank and constructive”.

Last month, Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame also reaffirmed their commitment to an “unconditional” ceasefire in a surprise meeting in Doha.

The decades-long conflict has intensified since January when M23 staged an unprecedented offensive, seizing Goma and Bukavu – eastern Congo’s two largest cities – and sparking fears of a wider regional war.

DR Congo accuses Rwanda of arming the M23 and sending troops to support the rebels in the conflict. Despite assertions from both the UN and US, Rwanda has denied supporting the M23. Rwanda has said its forces are acting in self-defence against the Congolese army and allied militias, some of which it accuses of links to the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

DR Congo also accuses Rwanda of illegally exploiting its mineral deposits in the east of the country, which Rwanda denies.

In a joint statement released separately by the M23 and Congolese government on Wednesday, each side pledged to give peace talks a chance.

“By mutual agreement, both parties reaffirm commitment to the immediate cessation of hostilities, a categorical rejection of any hate speech, intimidation, and call on all local communities to uphold these commitments,” they said in a statement read on Congolese national TV and and posted on X by the M23 spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka.

They said the ceasefire would apply “throughout the duration of the talks and until their conclusion”.

Sources in the Qatar talks told Reuters news agency that the outcome of the meetings were almost derailed by “technical” issues.

It is not clear how long the truce will hold as several ceasefires have been agreed since 2021, before later collapsing.

Belgium’s Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Prevot termed the truce a “crucial step towards ending the violence”.

Qatar has been mediating between the two parties after the rebels refused to attend peace talks in Angola last month.

The Congolese government had long refused to hold direct talks with M23, branding it a “terrorist” group. By BBC

JUBA – The South Sudan Reform Movement/South Sudan Reform Fighters (SSRM/F), an armed opposition group, has called on the Nuer White Army militia to sever ties with First Vice President and SPLM-IO leader Riek Machar, claiming he is effectively “jailed” by the terms of the revitalized peace agreement. 

Both Yich Yat, the SSRM/F’s political and mobilization secretary, issued a statement to Sudans Post today urging the militia, also known as Gojam or Terchuong, to disassociate itself from any organization linked to the government, including the SPLM-IO.

“Reformists are asking all the Nuer White Army to denounce SPLM-IO and its leadership, because our future as young generation is much more important and crucial than listening and receiving orders from the detainees – who have succumbed to the … government through the fragile R-ARCSS,” Yat stated, referring to the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan.

He called on the militia to align with the SSRM/F, led by former SPLA-IO military governor of Sobat State Duer Tut Duer, for “fundamental change and genuine peace” in South Sudan.

“It is a suitable time for all South Sudanese to stand tall against the rogue regime led by Salva Kiir and his warlords,” Yat added.

The SSRM/F further urged the militia to “listen and receive orders only from the SSRM/F leadership,” and called for them to join the fight in Ayod and Fangak in Jonglei State, and to move towards the Bahr el Ghazal region from Unity State.

The White Army is an ethnic Nuer militia that fought alongside the SPLM-IO during the 2013-2018 civil war. While the group lacks formal political objectives, it has been used by Nuer political leaders seeking to exert influence.

This appeal follows the militia’s recent withdrawal from Nasir and Ulang Counties in Upper Nile State, which they had captured after clashes with government forces in March. A senior South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) brigade commander was killed during these clashes. Sudan's Post 

Nairobi county clinical officers on Thursday staged protest, accusing Governor Johnson Sakaja's administration of ignoring their plights and treating them "without dignity."

Led by Kenya Union of Clinical Officers Nairobi Branch chairman, Stephen Muthama, the clinicians are demanding for the implement career progression guideline by the county government. 

The document, developed in May last year by Public Service Commission in consultation with other stakeholders, dictates recruitment, promotion, redesignation and retention of clinical officers. 

"We went on strike, the policy document went through, but Nairobi City County has declined and refused to implement. Our demand is they implement it in totality. That is the guideline that dictates our career progression, our career development from internship to retirement," said Muthama.

He added: "We are demanding that Nairobi City County adopts and implements the guideline with immediate effect. We cannot be having a county that prides itself as a city of order, dignity and opportunities and they are denying the Clinic of SARS opportunity."

The clinicians also are demanding for posting of their five colleagues that they said "have been walking with appointment letters since April 18, 2024 when they were officially recruited." 

"These people were shortlisted, were interviewed, got appointment letters last year and up to date they have never been posted. Our demand, number one, is the five clinical officers be posted and they go to serve Nairobians," he stated.

The deployment of the officers, they argued, would help solve shortage of health care workers int the devolved unit. 

At the same time, they are also demanding for promotion of their "deserving colleagues" who have stagnated in a particular job group for the longest time.

"We are asking them to promote and re-designate all deserving clinical officers with immediate effect because you have the policy document that will help you to actualise that," he said. By Okumu Modachi, The Standard