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Powerful Earthquake Hits Morocco, 296 Persons Feared Killed

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A powerful earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.8 has hit Morocco, killing at least 296 people, injuring more than 150, damaging buildings and sending local people fleeing into the streets for safety.

Morocco’s Interior Ministry said early on Saturday that the reported number of dead and injured was a preliminary figure.

“According to a provisional report, the earthquake killed 296 people in the provinces and municipalities of Al Haouz, Marrakesh, Ouarzazate, Azilal, Chichaoua and Taroudant,” the ministry said in a statement, adding that 153 people were injured and hospitalised.

The earthquake hit shortly after 11pm local time (22:00 GMT) on Friday evening, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

The USGS estimates that the epicentre of the quake occurred in the Atlas Mountains, some 75km (44 miles) from Marrakesh, the fourth largest city in the country.

The epicentre of the quake was near the mountain town of Ighil in Al Haouz Province, roughly 70km (43.5 miles) south of Marrakesh.

Local media reported that roads leading to the mountain region around the epicentre were jammed with vehicles and blocked with collapsed rocks, slowing rescue efforts.

Abderrahim Ait Daoud, the head of a town in the area, told the Moroccan news site 2M that several homes nearby had partly or totally collapsed, and electricity and roads were cut off in some places.

He also said that authorities were working to clear roads in Al Haouz province to allow passage for ambulances and aid to populations affected. Large distances between mountain villages mean it will take time to learn the full extent of the damage, he added.

Moroccans posted videos showing buildings reduced to rubble and dust, and parts of the famous red walls that surround the old city in Marrakesh, a UNESCO World Heritage site, damaged. Tourists and others posted videos of people screaming and evacuating restaurants in the city. Shocked residents in Marrakesh and Casablanca fled out of buildings and onto the streets for safety.

One Marrakesh resident, Brahim Himmi, told the Reuters news agency that he spotted ambulances leaving the city’s historic old town. He also said that building facades had been damaged as the earth shook.”

While earthquakes in the region are “uncommon but not unexpected”, one of this magnitude has not been seen in the immediate area in over 120 years.

“Since 1900, there have been no earthquakes M6 [magnitude 6] or larger within 500km of this earthquake, and only nine M5 [magnitude 5] and larger,” the USGS said on its website.

Most of those previous earthquakes occurred further to the east as well, the agency added.

Friday evening’s earthquake was a relatively shallow one, occurring at a depth of 18.5km (11.5 miles). The USGS explained that “oblique-reverse faulting” in the Atlas Mountains was the cause of the quake.

The last major earthquake to strike Morocco occurred in 2004, killing over 600 people. That quake, dubbed the Al Hoceima earthquake, was positioned on an active plate boundary on the country’s northernmost coast, bordering the western Mediterranean Sea. It clocked in at a magnitude of 6.3.

An even larger quake struck neighbouring Algeria in 1980. Known as the El Asnam earthquake, the 7.3-magnitude event was the strongest seismic activity the region had seen in centuries. Also originating in the Atlas Mountain range, it levelled houses, leaving 300,000 people on the street and over 2,600 people dead.

Aljazeera

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Africa

Afreximbank Gets New President, Dr. George Elombi

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By Afreximbank

The shareholders of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) have appointed Dr. George Elombi as the next President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the continental financial institution. He becomes the fourth President to lead the Bank since its establishment in 1993.

His appointment was one of the key decisions of the 32nd Afreximbank group annual meetings and associated events held in Abuja, Nigeria, from 25 to 28 June, with the formal annual general meeting of shareholders taking place on Saturday, 28 June 2025.

He succeeds Professor Benedict Oramah, who has served as President and Chairman of the Board of Directors since 2015, and who will be stepping down in September 2025.

A Cameroonian national, George Elombi has been with Afreximbank since 1996, joining as a Legal Officer. He rose through the ranks to become Executive Vice President, Governance, Legal and Corporate Services. Over his nearly three decades at the Bank, he has served as Director and Executive Secretary (2010–2015); Deputy Director, Legal Services / Executive Secretary (2008–2010); Chief Legal Officer (2003–2008); and Senior Legal Officer (2001–2003).

Prior to joining Afreximbank, he taught law at the University of Hull, United Kingdom.

Dr. Elombi played a pivotal role in establishing Afreximbank group’s structure, including the formation of key subsidiaries that have expanded the Bank’s capacity to deliver on its mandate. As Chair of the Emergency Response Committee, he led the Bank’s response to the COVID-19 crisis, mobilising over $2 billion for vaccine acquisition and deployment across African and Caribbean nations. Under his supervision of the Equity Mobilisation and Investor Relations department, the Bank’s total ordinary equity mobilised amounted to USD 3.6 billion as at April 2025.

In his acceptance speech, Dr. Elombi expressed a deep commitment to the Bank’s mission and future, stating:

“I have worked alongside remarkable colleagues and extraordinary leaders to help shape this institution’s vision, its mandate as well as its growth.  As we look to the future, I see Afreximbank as a force for industrialising Africa and for re-gaining the dignity of Africans wherever they are.  I will work to preserve this important asset.”

He accepted the shareholders’ desire as expressed by his predecessor to make the institution a US$250 billion bank in ten years.

Dr. George Elombi holds a Master of Laws (LL.M.) from the London School of Economics, University of London, and a Ph.D. in commercial arbitration from the same university. He obtained a ‘Maitrise-en-Droit’ from the University of Yaoundé in 1989.

His appointment followed a rigorous selection process initiated in January 2025, which included a global call for applications published in international media and on the Afreximbank website. Shortlisted candidates were interviewed by an international human resource executive search firm. The top candidates were presented to the Board of Directors, which recommended Dr. Elombi to the General Meeting of Shareholders for final approval.

Under the Afreximbank Charter, a president is appointed by the general meeting of shareholders upon the recommendation of the Board of Directors for a term of five years, renewable once.

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Akinwumi Adesina Bags Kenya’s Highest National Honour

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By Eric Elezuo

“I am very proud to be the President that confers on you this well-deserved honor of the people of Kenya”

One of Nigeria’s finest exports, who is the President of the prestigious African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, has once again, raised the bars in honours and awards acquisition.

The seasoned diplomat, who once served as Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, was on Monday, March 17, 2025, conferred with the highest-rated honour in Kenya, the Chief of the Golden Heart (C.G.H) at the State House, Nairobi.

President William Ruto of Kenya, who joyfully did the honours, noted that the award was for his role in the East African country’s Last Mile Connectivity and Lake Turkana Wind Projects among other landmark achievements across Africa.

For starters, the C.G.H. is the highest award in Kenya and is mostly given to sitting heads of state or exceptional global leaders. This signifies that Adesina, for his global glories, developmental strides, efforts at uniting Africans through via economic options, equate in status with a sitting president of Kenya. The award was some days earlier also given to His Highness Prince Rahim Al-Hussaini Aga Khan V.

Speaking elatedly after giving the award to Adesina, with all the accompanying paraphernalia, President Ruto hailed the AfDB President, saying he deserves the honour for his commitment and distinguished service to the people of Kenya.

He noted: “I am very proud to be the President that confers on you this well-deserved honor of the people of Kenya. It is an honor that I have the privilege as President but on behalf of the government and the people of Kenya to award you for the distinguished service, the commitment you have demonstrated, and the passion you have worked with to see to it that in every way even before you became the President of the African Development Bank.”

Responding, Adesina, who was flanked by his beloved wife, many other aides, colleagues and associates including the Chairman, Ovation Media Group, Chief Dele Momodu, thanked President Ruto for honoring him with the prestigious award saying it is a rare privilege to be conferred with the award.

“Your Excellency President Ruto I am most grateful to you for conferring me today with the prestigious honor of the Chief of Order of the Golden Heart (C.G.H), Kenya’s highest and most distinguished honor.

“I am very humbled for your incredible kindness what a great honor, what a rare privilege, what a historic recognition. The country that I love so much, Kenya, loves me back, appreciates and celebrates my leadership at the African Develpment Bank. Thank you, Mr. President,” said the AfDB President.

He added, “On behalf of my dear wife and your sister, Grace, the Board of Directors at the African Development Bank, our boards of governance, the management and staff of the African Development Bank and on my own behalf, I accept this honour with great humilty.”

A statement shared on their verified X handle after the award, the Kenyan State House noted in part that, “President William Ruto has thanked the African Development Bank (AfDB) for working with Kenya to drive critical areas of the country’s growth in the past 60 years.

“The President made the remarks when he conferred AfDB President and Chairman of the Board Akinwumi Adesina with the Chief of the Order of Golden Heart (CGH) award in Monday at State House, Nairobi.”

“It is an honour that I have the privilege as President, and on behalf of the people of Kenya, to award you for the distinguished service, commitment, and passion you have demonstrated for our country,” Ruto was qouted as saying.

Akinwumi was elected President of Africa Development Bank in 2015, and has remained in office till date.

The AfDB President’s speech is produced in full next page…

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Mahama Nominates Youth Leader, John Opare Addo in New Ministerial List

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President John Mahama has released another batch of ministerial nominees. National Democratic Congress Youth Organiser George Opare Addo has been selected to head the newly created Ministry for Youth Development and Empowerment.

A statement from the presidency shows that more familiar names feature in the list, with Haruna Iddrisu nominated as the Education Minister-designate in his latest batch of nominations and Eric Opoku nominated as the Minister for Food and Agriculture.

These nominees join the three non-regional ministerial picks already nominated and vetted. Ten regional minister picks were also previously nominated but have not been vetted.

Two of the nominees, Joseph Nelson for the Western Region Minister and Amelia Arthur, are from the Western Region, which has prompted some praise from the NDC in the region.

George Opare-Addo is a lawyer, local government official, business executive, and accomplished party organiser. His political activism and organisational skills earned him the position of National Youth Organizer of the NDC, a role he has held since 2018. He is also a former Municipal Chief Executive for the Akuapem North Municipal Assembly.

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