Business

Kigali ( AP + Diplomat.so) - Rwanda announced Thursday that it will allow Africans to travel visa-free to the country, becoming the latest nation on the continent to announce such a measure aimed at boosting free movement of people and trade to rival Europe's Schengen zone.

Barcelona (Diplomat.so) - Hormuud Telecom has participated in this year's Mobile World Congress event, which is being held in the city of Barcelona in Spain. The Mobile World Congress (MWC) is one of the largest and most important events in the telecommunications and technology industry.

Lagos (Reuters + Diplomat.so) - The European Union is seeking additional gas supplies from Nigeria as the bloc prepares for potential Russian supply cuts, Matthew Baldwin, deputy director general of the European Commission's energy department, said on Saturday.

WASHINGTON (Xinhua + Diplomat.so) - The U.S. economy shrank at an annual rate of 1.4 percent in the first quarter this year amid the Omicron surge and elevated inflation, raising the fear of a looming recession.

DUBAI (Reuters + Diplomat.so) - Afghanistan is heading towards economic collapse that risks spiralling the country into a new political crisis, Sweden's minister for international development cooperation warned on Saturday.

Belgrade (Diplomat.so) - The Minister of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications of the Republic of Serbia, H.E. Ms. Tatjana Matić , received in Belgrade her counterpart, Minister of Trade and Industry of the Federal Republic of Somalia, Mr. Khalifa Abdi Omar.

Kabul, Afghanistan (AP + Diplomat.so) — When the Taliban swept into power, they found Afghanistan's economy fast approaching the brink and were faced with harrowing predictions of growing poverty and hunger. So they ordered the financial managers of the collapsed former government back to work,…

LIMA (Reuters + Diplomat.so) - Peruvian central bank President Julio Velarde has agreed to stay on for an extra term, a source familiar with his decision said on Monday, a move poised to calm markets rattled by the election of the country's new left-wing president.

Berlin (AFP + DIPLOMAT.SO) - Germany agreed Wednesday to warn Russia of potential sanctions and to support Ukraine's energy sector financially in a deal with the United States to settle a bitter rift between the allies over the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.

Sweida, Syria, (Xinhua + Diplomat.so) - Ahlam Sarai, a 54-year-old Syrian woman, finally realized her dream of opening the first vegetarian restaurant in her hometown Sweida.

Brussels ( Diplomat.so) - The EU has upgraded its legislation on the export controls applicable to sensitive dual-use goods and technologies such as cyber-surveillance tools.

Addis Ababa (FBC + Diplomat.so) - Ethiopia and the World Bank have signed a financing agreement to support the Government's Digitalization Program.

Khartoum (Reuters + Diplomat.so) - Petrol and diesel prices in Sudan rose sharply on Friday following fuel subsidy reforms, which are part of a series of economic measures that have helped set the country on course for substantial debt relief.

Mogadishu (Reuters + Diplomat.so) - Somalia's central bank awarded on Saturday the country's first mobile money licence to Mogadishu-based Hormuud Telecom Somalia Inc, a move aimed at formalising the country's digital payments system and integrating it with the global financial system.

Hong Kong (AFP + Diplomat.so) - Seven former and current bank employees have been arrested in Hong Kong as part of a major operation against a US$810 million international money-laundering syndicate, police said Wednesday.

Beijing (AP + Diplomat.so) — China's highest-profile entrepreneur, Jack Ma, appeared Wednesday in an online video, ending a 2 1/2-month absence from public view that prompted speculation about the future of the e-commerce billionaire and his Alibaba Group.

Beijing (Xinhua + Diplomat.so) -- The total output value of the animation and mobile game industries in Beijing exceeded 100 billion yuan (about 15.43 billion U.S. dollars) in 2020, up 32 percent year on year, according to Beijing Animation and Game Industry Alliance.

Tel Aviv (Xinhua + Diplomat.so) -- Israel's Ministry of Finance estimates that Israel's GDP will expand 4.6 percent in 2021, according to an annual report issued by the ministry on Sunday.