African leaders gathered in Paris on Tuesday for a summit dedicated to supporting the continent's financial recovery from the damage wrought by Covid-19.
French President Emmanuel Macron wants to discuss helping African countries deal with debt and find solutions to the economic crisis.
Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, said the summit sought to reverse the “dangerous divergence” between advanced economies and the developing world.
“We have to go back to the strong development Africa had before Covid, for Africa and for the rest of the world. We have to put our resources strongly behind growth and social improvement in Africa.”
Ms Georgieva said Africa’s economy was expected to grow only 3.2 per cent in 2021 compared to an average of six per cent for the rest of the world.
“We have to boost growth, public and private investment in Africa,” she said. “We can do that by mobilising financing from international organisations, from bilateral donors and of course from the countries themselves.”
Mr Macron said there was scope not only "to respond to urgent needs … but also to make from that situation an opportunity to tackle problems we've seen for a long time".
Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi, the current head of the African Union said that Covid-19 had “left our economies impoverished because we had to use all the means we had, the few means we had, to fight against the disease".
“This is a great opportunity for Africa,” he said.
The IMF said in late 2020 that Africa faced a $290 billion shortfall up to 2023 in money needed for future development.
French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said Africa “does not have the financial means today to relaunch its economy”.
In comments to RFI radio, he warned of the risk of a “great economic divergence between Africa, which would go backwards, while the United States, Europe and Asia recover strongly”.
Last month, Mr Macron said a failure to properly support the African continent would hamper economic progress and see a surge in migration.
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France to lend Sudan $1.5bn to clear IMF debt
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
LILO & STITCH
Starring: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders
Director: Dean Fleischer Camp
Rating: 4.5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Starring: Emma Stone, Emma Thompson, Joel Fry
4/5
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Dr Amal Khalid Alias revealed a recent case of a woman with daughters, who specifically wanted a boy.
A semen analysis of the father showed abnormal sperm so the couple required IVF.
Out of 21 eggs collected, six were unused leaving 15 suitable for IVF.
A specific procedure was used, called intracytoplasmic sperm injection where a single sperm cell is inserted into the egg.
On day three of the process, 14 embryos were biopsied for gender selection.
The next day, a pre-implantation genetic report revealed four normal male embryos, three female and seven abnormal samples.
Day five of the treatment saw two male embryos transferred to the patient.
The woman recorded a positive pregnancy test two weeks later.
10 tips for entry-level job seekers
- Have an up-to-date, professional LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, set one up today. Avoid poor-quality profile pictures with distracting backgrounds. Include a professional summary and begin to grow your network.
- Keep track of the job trends in your sector through the news. Apply for job alerts at your dream organisations and the types of jobs you want – LinkedIn uses AI to share similar relevant jobs based on your selections.
- Double check that you’ve highlighted relevant skills on your resume and LinkedIn profile.
- For most entry-level jobs, your resume will first be filtered by an applicant tracking system for keywords. Look closely at the description of the job you are applying for and mirror the language as much as possible (while being honest and accurate about your skills and experience).
- Keep your CV professional and in a simple format – make sure you tailor your cover letter and application to the company and role.
- Go online and look for details on job specifications for your target position. Make a list of skills required and set yourself some learning goals to tick off all the necessary skills one by one.
- Don’t be afraid to reach outside your immediate friends and family to other acquaintances and let them know you are looking for new opportunities.
- Make sure you’ve set your LinkedIn profile to signal that you are “open to opportunities”. Also be sure to use LinkedIn to search for people who are still actively hiring by searching for those that have the headline “I’m hiring” or “We’re hiring” in their profile.
- Prepare for online interviews using mock interview tools. Even before landing interviews, it can be useful to start practising.
- Be professional and patient. Always be professional with whoever you are interacting with throughout your search process, this will be remembered. You need to be patient, dedicated and not give up on your search. Candidates need to make sure they are following up appropriately for roles they have applied.
Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz
Army of the Dead
Director: Zack Snyder
Stars: Dave Bautista, Ella Purnell, Omari Hardwick, Ana de la Reguera
Three stars
