Business

Ethiopian Airlines said it has suspended flights to neighbouring Eritrea, citing unspecified difficult operating conditions, Reuters reported. Eritrea had previously said it would suspend all Ethiopian Airlines flights at the end of this month. Flights from Ethiopia to Eritrea had resumed in 2018 after two decades, following a peace deal …

The German car manufacturer Volkswagen is not ruling out closing factories in Germany as it seeks to save billions more in a cost-cutting program at its namesake brand, the automaker and its works council said Monday. The group considers a major vehicle plant and a component manufacturing site in Germany …

Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote has been dethroned as Africa’s richest man, the first place being occupied by a South African billionaire, according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index. South African billionaire Johann Rupert has overtaken Aliko Dangote as Africa’s richest person. The Nigerian’s fortune has fallen by $1.7bn (£1.3bn) this year, giving …

The Central Bank of Libya (CBL) announced that it has resumed operations, following the release of its top official who was kidnapped earlier on Sunday. CBL confirmed the release of the head of its information technology department Musaab Muslam, who was taken on Sunday by an “unknown party.” “Governor Sadiq …

The Central Bank of Libya announced the suspension of all operations, following the kidnapping of one of its senior officials. The bank said that it would not resume work before the official kidnapped earlier Sunday would have been released. It said an unknown party was behind the abduction of Musaab …

A few weeks after announcing that it was working on developing more advanced voice features for its artificial intelligence, ChatGPT, OpenAI has announced the launch of an alpha version. This is now available to a limited number of users of ChatGPT Plus, the premium version of its conversational agent, accessible …

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved the release of $820 million for Egypt, welcoming the country’s efforts to restore macroeconomic stability. Egypt says it has shifted to a flexible exchange rate regime, a policy the IMF said on Monday remains a cornerstone of the authorities’ program. “Inflationary pressures are …

The luxury watch brand Rolex will close its official store in South Africa in June after 76 years, the company told local newspaper, News24. Rolex said “local markets and conjuncture have changed, and no longer warrant the presence of an official Rolex affiliate”. But added that they would remain “active …

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has officially launched the country’s first-ever interest-free commercial Islamic bank. Salaam Bank Limited, a subsidiary of a Djibouti-based bank, is the first institution to offer Islamic financing in the country. Mr Museveni said the institution had a potential to significantly contribute to the development of the …

The price of cocoa hit a new record fuelled by climate change and adverse weather conditions – impacting a market that has already seen high Easter chocolate prices in Europe. In the latest price hike, the cocoa bean traded above $10,000 per tonne on world commodity markets, $2,000 more than …