US offers rewards for capture of African militants

The US is offering rewards for the first time for information on Islamist militants in North and West Africa.

The highest reward of up to $7m (£4.6m) is for information leading to the location of Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau, the state department said.
Smaller rewards are offered for leading figures in Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa (Mujao).

Ghana ex-airport official Adelaquaye faces US drug charges

The ex-security chief at Ghana's international airport has been charged in the US with conspiring to smuggle Afghan heroin to New York.

Solomon Adelaquaye was arrested with two Nigerians and a Colombian in May following a joint US-Ghanaian investigation, officials said.
West Africa is a major hub for drugs smuggled from Latin America and Asia to Europe and the US.
The men have not yet commented on the allegations.
"Drug trafficking in West Africa has become a plague," said US

Africa’s development hinges on food security – UN agencies

Three United Nations bodies have called on the global community to place food security and nutrition at the centre of Africa’s development Agenda.
The three Rome-based United Nations agencies; the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development, (IFAD) and the World Food Programme (WFP) said supporting smallholder farmers in Africa is a panacea to improving global food security and empowering rural women.
According to the three bodies addressing gender inequalities

Kenyan MPs vote to increase their pay despite protests

Kenyan MPs have voted to raise their salaries in defiance of proposals to cut pay.

The vote suggests a monthly salary of about $10,000 (£6,540). The average annual salary in Kenya is about $1,700.
President Uhuru Kenyatta had asked the MPs to accept the pay cuts in order to free up funds for the creation of jobs.

World Bank, WWF to intensify collaboration in Africa’s extractive industries

The World Bank World and the Wildlife Fund (WWF) have signed a memorandum of understanding to intensify collaboration in Africa’s extractive industries, and jointly support more sustainable extractive industry practices that provide benefits to local communities and protect the environment.
The MOU commits the two institutions to share knowledge and expertise relating to the extractives sector in Africa, utilize and leverage existing resources, collaborate on research and dissemination of good practices, provide policy guidance, boost collaboration with other entities, and jointly host seminars,

Up to $1.4 trillion siphoned out of Africa in 30 years – Report

The African continent suffered an economic loss of between $597 billion and $1.4 trillion in a 30-year period from 1980 to 2009 in net resource transfers through licit and illicit ways, according to a new report published May 29, 2013.
“Between 1980 and 2009, the economies of Africa lost between $597 billion and $1.4 trillion in net resource transfers away from the continent,” said the report titled “Illicit Financial Flows and the Problem of Net Resource Transfers from Africa: 1980-2009″.