A PwC report shows South Africa's standard VAT rate at 14% is significantly lower than the average rate of between 20% and 25% in other African countries, but Gerald Soverall from PwC's tax practice says policy-makers should not lose sight of the fact that taxation needs to be structured to promote economic growth.

Noon briefing by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.

Highlights:
- UN/EU Retreat
- Mali
- Central African Republic
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Somalia
- Afghanistan
- Sri Lanka
- Comoros
- ECOSOC
- Football for the Goals

UN/EU RETREAT
Quick announcement for you on Thursday, starting Thursday afternoon and most of the day on Friday, the United Nations and the European Commission will hold their first High-Level Dialogue and that will take place at the Greentree Foundation, just outside of New York City.
The discussions will be co-chaired by the Secretary-General and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.
This High-Level Dialogue will explore avenues for the United Nations and the European Union for strengthening multilateralism, international cooperation and partnerships.
Throughout several sessions, participants will discuss a number of key challenges facing the international community and how these can best be addressed through increased multilateral cooperation.
This includes peace and security, climate emergency, human rights, digital cooperation as well as the global economic situation and the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.
The delegations will also discuss the war in Ukraine and its global consequences, including efforts to alleviate the impact, especially on the most vulnerable, on the food, energy and finance sectors.

MALI
You will have seen that in a statement we issued this morning in which the Secretary-General strongly condemned yesterday’s attack due to an Improvised Explosive Device against a convoy of the UN Mission in Mali. As we mentioned to you yesterday two Egyptian peacekeepers were killed. The latest number of injured is now nine, and the attack took place approximately 62 km north-east of Gao, in northern Mali.
The Secretary-General expressed his deepest condolences to the families of the victims, as well as to the Government and people of Egypt, whose soldiers continue to pay the highest price in the service of peace in Mali. He recalled that attacks targeting UN peacekeepers may constitute war crimes under international law and called on the transitional authorities in Mali to spare no efforts in identifying the perpetrators of the attack and swiftly bringing them to justice.
The Secretary-General also paid tribute to the peacekeepers of the UN Mission in Mali who, with exemplary determination and courage, continue to implement their mandate in extremely challenging circumstances in support of the people of Mali.

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
Moving slightly further east to the Central African Republic, our peacekeeping colleagues there tell us that the Mission has intervened to protect civilians caught up in clashes between the CAR armed forces and the Union for Peace (UPC) rebel group and that is taking place in the Basse-Kotto Prefecture.
The violence erupted following an attack on an armed forces base in Dimbi, which forced more than 500 civilians to flee to a nearby school. The peacekeepers provided protection. The Mission also used heavy machine guns to repel the assailants from the town. The situation is now reported to be calm, although peacekeepers remain in position and reinforcements were sent to ensure that security is maintained.

Full highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/conte....nt/noon-briefing-hig

The business communities from Namibia and South Africa held their first-ever business forum with the aim of deepening their economic ties.

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Today, 346 million Africans, more than a quarter of the continent's people, are suffering from hunger because of conflict, drought and poverty.

Now a war, thousands of kilometres away, is threatening to worsen Africa's food insecurity crisis. Grain supplies are disrupted and the prices of staples and fuel are skyrocketing.

The chair of the African Union and Senegal's President Macky Sall warns that there is the risk of a "catastrophic scenario" of food shortages and has urged Russia and the West to help ease the situation.

Elsewhere, the US president says the job market is "robust", while Elon Musk has a "super bad feeling" about the economy.

Ever wondered what the education systems are like in different countries? Find out more in today's episode of Culture Shock!

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Is China recovering from the Pandemic? How do you stop shops from hitting whales? And what is Bill Gates doing to help Africa?



Dan Novak and Ashley Thompson host today's Learning English show.
01:07 They go first to Gregory Stachel for a report about China's weak economic recovery following the pandemic.


06:00 Then, environmental groups are seeking urgent action from the U.S. government to prevent ships from hitting whales. As Bryan Lynn reports, speed limits for ships is one measure activists are seeking.


10:30 Next up is the LE Health and Lifestyle Report. Caty Weaver tells about a major new effort from the Gates Foundation to support vaccine development and manufacture in Africa.


16:12 After the report, Caty joins Dan in the studio for a chat about the aid organization.


17:38 The show closes with the LE Lesson of the Day. Andrew Smith and Jill Robbins base their instruction on the LE video series Let's Learn English.


You can read thee stories on our website:


IMF: China’s Weak Recovery Could Hurt Other Asian Economies
https://learningenglish.voanew....s.com/a/imf-china-s-


Groups Demand Urgent Rules to Protect Whales from Ships
https://learningenglish.voanew....s.com/a/groups-deman


Gates Foundation Helps mRNA Vaccine Development in Africa (Try the quiz! Scroll down after reading the article to test your understanding.)
https://learningenglish.voanew....s.com/a/gates-founda

The SABC's Washington correspondent, Nina-Maria Potts is a reporter that been around the block. She has worked on pretty much every continent in the last decade, and is in South Africa at the moment.

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RESTRICTIONS: Broadcast: NO USE JAPAN, NO USE TAIWAN Digital: NO USE JAPAN, NO USE TAIWAN
The U.N. has warned that Somalia and the rest of east Africa may soon be facing a severe locust plague.


A report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations says that young locusts are threatening pastures and crops in Somalia. The insects are said to threaten more than 10 million people in the region.


These young locusts are expected to mature and develop wings in the coming weeks. They are then expected to make their way to Ethiopia and Kenya.


Somalia has become the first country in east Africa to declare an emergency over locust infestation, BBC News reports.


Kenya and Ethiopia are already taking precautionary measures by using planes to spray pesticides to prevent a locust outbreak.


The locust outbreak follows a period of unusually heavy rains and a powerful cyclone off the coast of Somalia at the end of 2019, the Associated Press reports, citing climate experts.


According to the report, more rains are expected in the next few weeks. This means that the number of locusts could increase.


Dominique Burgeon, the Food and Agriculture Organization's emergency and resilience director, explained another generation of the insect could now even be born in regular moisture conditions due to the high density of locusts.


He said that without enough planes spraying to stop the locust swarms, the outbreak may even turn into a plague, which could take years to control.


RUNDOWN SHOWS:
1. Young locusts are threatening east Africa
2. How Kenya and Ethiopia are taking precautionary measures
3. The number of locusts could increase as more rains are expected
4. Why a new generation of locusts could be born even in regular moisture conditions


VOICEOVER (in English):


" A report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations says that young locusts are threatening pastures and crops in Somalia."


"The insects are said to threaten more than 10 million people in the region."


"These young locusts are expected to mature and develop wings in the coming weeks. They are then expected to make their way to Ethiopia and Kenya."


"Kenya and Ethiopia are already taking precautionary measures by using planes to spray pesticides to prevent a locust outbreak."


"Citing climate experts, the Associated Press reports that the locust outbreak follows a period of unusually heavy rains and a powerful cyclone off the coast of Somalia at the end of 2019."


"According to the report, more rains are expected in the next few weeks. This means that the number of locusts could increase."


"Dominique Burgeon, the Food and Agriculture Organization's emergency and resilience director, explained another generation of the insect could now even be born in regular moisture conditions due to the high density of locusts."


SOURCES: Associated, Press, Bloomberg, BBC News, Science Alert, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
https://apnews.com/3bdd3a1db71....36d0e0e454f5f1f59c99
https://www.bloomberg.com/news..../articles/2020-02-02
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-51348517
https://www.sciencealert.com/a....frica-is-having-its-
http://www.fao.org/3/ca7557en/ca7557en.pdf


***
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Join the discussion this Wednesday as we revisit the anti-corruption journey in Africa at 11:00 am (E.A.T)

As part of its series of activities on the impact of the COVID 19 pandemic, Making Finance Work for Africa (MFW4A) hosted a joint webinar with the African Financial Markets Initiative (AFMI) on the performance of the African local currency fixed income asset class. The African Local Currency Bond Fund (ALCB Fund), launched by the African Development Bank (AfDB), is a multi-stakeholder initiative which aims to promote local capital market development, access to long-term local currency financing, and to crowd-in domestic institutional investors. Read more: https://www.mfw4a.org/events/w....ebinar-covid-19-perf

Why is the need for investments in water and wastewater infrastructure in Africa massive, financing is increasingly available, but bankable projects are not to be found? Innovative approaches to attract investments to the renewable energy sector could bring learnings and inspiration for overcoming barriers in the water sector.

So many people ask me about what types of business they could start in Ghana or other parts of Africa. This is a list of five ideas that could help you get started on your dream of starting a business that invests in an African country.

#YouTubeAfrica #Ghana #IvyProsper #YourGuideOnGhana #AfricaToTheWorld #Africa #Travel

Moderator:
• Deborah Magid, IBM Ventures

Panelists:
• Tayo Akinyemi, AfriLabs
• George Mulamula, CEO, DTBI Incubator
• Kamau Kuria, CEO, Ecotact
• Harry Hare, DEMO Africa
• Danta Disparte, Risk Cooperative

Spark Talk: Mohad Altrad (via Video), Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur of the Year, 2015

More information: www.GES2015.org

African American Heritage Trail tells the other side of Columbia's history

During this webinar, a panel of experts from prominent associations & research organizations will present their outlooks on the different segments for solar market development in Sub-Saharan Africa.

We'll start off by highlighting the investment flow and will then tackle the off-grid sector and its potential to provide affordable and widely-accessible solar power solutions across Africa. Next, we will look at mini-grid development, regional distribution, and the compatible component of e-mobility.
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An initiative that will allow young people to engage with other African countries for opportunities and come up with innovations will soon be launched in Namibia.

Youth Conneckt Chapter is an initiative endorsed by the African Union and adopted by 28 African countries.

World Punishes South Africa and other African nations over Omicron | By Prashant Dhawan

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This webinar took place on Tuesday, 25 August 2020 as part of Week 6 of the Africa-UK AgriFood Innovation Mission 2020. The theme for this webinar was "Other Opportunities" and there were presentations and focussed Q&A. The programme agenda was as follows:

09.30 – 09.35: Welcome and overview - Tim Messeder, Knowledge Transfer Manager, KTN

09.35 – 09.50: Department for International Trade - Toyosi Ogunshola, Trade Account Manager, DIT

09.50 – 10.05: Knowledge Transfer Partnerships

10.05 – 10.20: Innovation Awards- £40,000 pump priming funding for UK-Africa Collaboration - Tim Messeder, Knowledge Transfer Manager, KTN

10.20 – 10.30: Question & Answer session - Tim Messeder, Knowledge Transfer Manager, KTN

For more information on the GCRF AgriFood Africa Virtual Missions, visit the programme page here: https://ktn-uk.org/agrifood/gc....rf-agrifood-africa-p