Diplomats condemn
Machar’s call for war in
South Sudan
The international community on October 6 hit out at a call from South
Sudan’s rebel leader Riek Machar for
renewed war with the government,
raising concerns about heavy fighting in recent weeks.
Machar, the former vice president,
last month urged “a popular armed
resistance” against his rival Salva Kiir’s
government, in a statement from
Khartoum where he is in exile.
In a joint statement, the European
Union, Norway, the United States and
the United Kingdom, together with
Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan and Uganda,
condemned “calls by opposition leaders for a renewal of armed conflict”.
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As Nation Media announced the bad
news, on the international scene Bill
Gates’ Microsoft announced the acquisition of LinkedIn at a whopping
$26.2 billion.
Business Insider reported that
LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner will remain CEO of the social network for
professionals, reporting directly to
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.
Ultimately, LinkedIn will maintain
its “distinct brand, culture, and independence” — just the same way
Facebook handled its acquisition of
WhatsApp.
Business Insider said LinkedIn
shares jumped more than 47 per cent
following the news when the mar-
kets opened but Microsoft shares,
which were halted in pre-market
trading pending the news, have since
reopened and fallen about 4 per cent.
The acquisition deal is expected to
be sealed by the end of 2016 with
tech giant Microsoft paying $196 per
share for LinkedIn.
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“Further fighting will not solve South
Sudan’s pressing political and economic challenges. It will only increase
the suffering of South Sudan’s people,
worsen a grave humanitarian crisis,
and further inflame ethnic tensions.”
South Sudan plunged into conflict in
2013 — two years after attaining a
hard-won independence — when Kiir
accused his rival and former deputy
Machar of plotting a coup d’etat.
A patchily implemented August 2015
peace deal saw Machar return to the
capital earlier this year to resume his
role in government, but fresh fighting
between his forces and soldiers loyal
to Kiir erupted in July.
Machar fled to Khartoum, and his former ally Taban Deng Gai took up his
position as vice-president, although
it is unclear whether Machar’s armed
rebels have also switched sides.
The arrangement will launch a new
“eBay Powered by Mall for Africa
dedicated platform,” said eBay Business Development Director Fernando Saiz. “The platform will enable inventory from all eBay US individual
and business sellers with a 300+ star
rating to be purchased by buyers in
Nigeria and Kenya.”
Sales on the MallForAfrica-eBay site
will begin “first in Nigeria, then Kenya, followed by Ghana, all in 2016,”
confirmed Mall for Africa CEO Chris
Folayan, noting additional African
countries will follow.
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American eBay sellers will soon gain
access to Africa’s biggest consumer
markets. This comes via a new partnership between the US e-commerce
giant and online shopping startup
Mal lfor Africa, set to go live by press
time.
OCTOBER 2016 EDITION - 07