Speaking during the Africa Prosperity Dialogue 2025 at the Accra International Conference Centre on Thursday 30 January, Gwen Mwaba reiterated the bank’s commitment to addressing Africa’s infrastructure deficit.

“Bridging Africa’s infrastructure gap requires an estimated $130 billion to $170 billion annually. Addressing this challenge demands innovative approaches. Afreximbank is committed to financing transformative projects that will reshape the continent’s infrastructure landscape,” she stated.

She highlighted the bank’s ongoing efforts to mobilize both public and private investments to close the financing gap, which has long impeded the continent’s development. According to her, creating a sustainable infrastructure ecosystem requires not only financial backing but also strategic partnerships and policy harmonization to attract investments.

Mwaba further emphasised the importance of infrastructure in driving economic growth, fostering regional integration, and enhancing trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). She reaffirmed Afreximbank’s dedication to supporting projects that improve transport networks, energy systems, and digital connectivity, positioning Africa as a competitive global player.

“To attract investment, we must create ecosystems that foster transparency, reduce risks, and drive innovation. Only then can we transform Africa into an interconnected marketplace that benefits all its people. Beyond debt financing, Afreximbank is supporting infrastructure development through equity investments under its subsidiary, the Fund for Export Development in Africa (FEDA). Through its comprehensive guarantee offerings and project preparation facility, Afreximbank is ensuring the successful realization of key infrastructure projects.

“Yet, infrastructure is not just about physical structures—it is about connections. It is about linking nations, communities, and economies. The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) presents a remarkable opportunity to enhance trade and foster collaboration,” she added

The World Heritage Committee has named 42 new sites to UNESCO’s World Heritage List — including one in Israeli-occupied West Bank.

The newly inscribed properties were announced during the 45th session of the World Heritage Committee being held from Sept. 10 to 25 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Of the 50 “candidate sites” being considered, these made the list:

• Cultural Landscape of Old Tea Forests of the Jingmai Mountain in Pu’er, China
• Deer Stone Monuments and Related Bronze Age Sites, Mongolia
• Gaya Tumuli, South Korea
• Gordion, Turkey
• Jewish-Medieval Heritage of Erfurt, Germany
• Koh Ker, Cambodia
• Modernist Kaunas, Lithuania
• National Archaeological Park Tak’alik Ab’aj, Guatemala
• Old town of Kuldiga, Latvia
• Prehistoric sites of Talayotic Menorca, Spain
• Santiniketan, India
• Silk Roads: Zarafshan-Karakum Corridor in Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan
• The Gedeo Cultural Landscape, Ethiopia
• The Persian Caravanserai, Iran
• Tr’ondek-Klondike, Canada
• Viking-Age Ring Fortresses, Denmark
• Zatec and the Landscape of Saaz Hops, Czechia
• Forest Massif of Odzala-Kokoua, Congo
• Volcanoes and Forests of Mount Pelee and the Pitons of Northern Martinique, France
• Ancient Jericho/Tell es-Sultan, West Bank
• Astronomical Observatories of Kazan Federal University, Russia
• Khinalig People and “Koç Yolu” Transhumance Route, Azerbaijan
• Djerba, Tunisia
• Sacred Ensembles of the Hoysalas, India
• Yogyakarta and its Historic Landmarks, Indonesia
• The Maison Carrée of Nimes, France
• Bale Mountains National Park, Ethiopia
• ESMA Museum and Site of Memory – Former Clandestine Center of Detention, Torture and Extermination, Argentina
• Eisinga Planetarium in Franeker, Netherlands
• Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks, U.S.
• Jodensavanne Archaeological Site: Jodensavanne Settlement and Cassipora Creek Cemetery, Suriname
• The Ancient Town of Si Thep, Thailand
• Wooden Hypostyle Mosques of Medieval Anatolia, Turkey
• Zagori Cultural Landscape, Greece
• Anticosti, Canada
• Evaporitic Karst and Caves of Northern Apennines, Italy
• Nyungwe National Park, Rwanda
• Cold Winter Deserts of Turan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan
• Uruq Bani Ma’arid, Saudi Arabia
• Tugay forests of the Tigrovaya Balka Nature Reserve, Tajikistan
• Rwanda memorial sites, Rawanda
• Funerary sites of the First World War, Belgium and France

Located 250 meters below sea levels, Tell es-Sultan contains evidence of religious funeral practices, which included “plastering and decorating skulls of the deceased,” according to a nomination document related to its UNESCO inscription.

Dea / Archivio J. Lange | De Agostini | Getty Images

Kyiv’s Saint Sophia Cathedral is now on UNESCO’s List of World Heritage in Danger.

Joern Pollex | Getty Images Sport | Getty Images

Brazilian football icon Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima, commonly known as Ronaldo, has entered into matrimony for the third time. 

The celebrated former striker, now 47, exchanged vows with his model partner Celina Locks, 33, in a picturesque ceremony held in Ibiza over the weekend.

The radiant couple chose to don elegant all-white ensembles for the occasion, creating a striking visual against the backdrop of their intimate celebration with close family and friends. A heartwarming picture shared on social media captured the newlyweds being showered with delicate white flower petals as they made their way from the altar.

Celina expressed her joy on social media, stating, “Today we bring our families together for an intimate religious celebration. And thus marks the beginning of a week of many celebrations.”

Ronaldo and Celina had announced their engagement in January, a romantic gesture that took place during a Caribbean getaway. Their relationship had blossomed over the course of seven years.

This union marks Celina as Ronaldo’s third spouse, following previous marriages to Milene Domingues and Daniella Cicarelli.

As Ronaldo embarks on this new chapter of his personal life, well-wishes and congratulations pour in from fans and admirers around the world.

The eastern cities of Benghazi, Soussa and Al-Marj have also all been affected.
Earlier, Eastern Prime Minister Osama Hamad told a Libyan TV channel it was estimated that 2,000 people had died and thousands were missing: “Entire neighbourhoods in Derna have disappeared, along with their residents… swept away by water.”
Alongside areas in the east, the western city of Misrata was among those hit by the floods.
Libya has been in political chaos since long-serving ruler Col Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown and killed in 2011 – leaving the country effectively split with an interim, internationally recognised government operating from the capital, Tripoli, and another one in the east.
According to Libyan journalist Abdulkader Assad, this is hampering rescue efforts as the various authorities are not able to respond with agility to a natural disaster.
“There are no rescue teams, there are no trained rescuers in Libya. Everything over the last 12 years was about war,” he told the BBC.
“There are two governments in Libya… and that is actually slowing down the help that is coming to Libya because it’s a little bit confusing. You have people who are pledging help but the help is not coming.”

He said bribery at a time of war is “high treason”.

It comes amid efforts to bolster the armed forces, as Ukraine’s counter-offensive operation continues.

A statement from the president’s office said corruption allegations “pose a threat to Ukraine’s national security and undermine confidence in state institutions”.

Replacement officials will be chosen from candidates who have battlefield experience and have been vetted by the intelligence service, it continued.

Officials taking cash and cryptocurrency bribes or helping people eligible to be called up to fight to leave Ukraine are among the charges, said Mr Zelensky, in a video posted on social media.

Ukraine’s general mobilisation rules mean all men over the age of 18 capable of fighting are eligible to be conscripted, and most adult men under the age of 60 are prohibited from leaving the country.

“We are dismissing all regional military commissars,” he said.

“This system should be run by people who know exactly what war is and why cynicism and bribery at a time of war is high treason.”

He said the conscription system “is not working decently”, adding: “The way they treat warriors, the way they treat their duties, it’s just immoral.”

The corruption came to light after an inspection of local army offices.

Mr Zelensky said 112 criminal proceedings against 33 suspects have been launched against regional officials, and that abuses had been found across the country.

Neither Ukraine or Russia reveal how many of their soldiers have been killed since the February 2022 invasion, but both have sought recruits widely as attritional fighting continues.

The anti-corruption drive is the latest to be launched by the Zelensky government.

In January 11 officials accused of corruption left their posts and the head of the country’s Supreme Court was detained in May over bribery allegations.

Corruption in public services has been a long-running problem in Ukraine and tackling it is one of the tests the country would have to pass to join Western institutions like the European Union.

According to Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index, Ukraine ranks 116th out of 180 countries, but efforts in recent years have seen its position improve significantly.

Source: BBC