Contraceptive Rates in Poorest Countries Leap by 30 million Users in 4 Years – Africa Business RoundUp

Zimbabwe to Introduce bond notes to ease cash shortage

President Robert Mugabe has side-stepped parliament to issue a decree clearing the way for the introduction of “bond notes” meant to ease biting cash shortages that have gripped the southern African nation since March but have helped fuel anti-government protests in recent months.

Zimbabwe Min of Finance releases statement-reserve bank to begin issuance of bond notes–public awareness campaign to be rolled out pic.twitter.com/gIC7KepSG5

— Samira Sawlani (@samirasawlani) November 1, 2016

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As 3 African Nations Vow to Exit, International Court Faces Its Own Trial

The International Criminal Court has begun investigating war crimes in Georgia, is looking into British soldiers accused of torture in Iraq and, in one of its most politically delicate missions yet, sent a team to Israel to discuss crimes in Gaza.

But as the court tries to expand into new geography and investigate new types of crimes, it faces the most serious challenge to its existence: Three nations, all from Africa, have announced that they will no longer work with the tribunal, intensifying a longstanding debate over whether it is biased against the continent.

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Contraceptive rates in poorest countries leap by 30 million users in four years

A new report released today by Family Planning 2020 (FP2020) reveals that, for the first time in history, the number of women and girls using modern contraception in the world’s 69 poorest countries has surpassed 300 million—a milestone that has taken the health and development sectors decades to reach.

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Is Kenya’s film censor out of control?

WHAT does a film certification board do? In Kenya, at least according to Ezekiel Mutua, the head of the Kenya Film Classification Board (KFCB), the job seems to have expanded a lot. As well as certifying films, Mr Mutua and his officials have also promised to raid strip clubs to prevent a wave of “bestiality”, raged against homosexuality and threatened to regulate Netflix to prevent it from becoming a threat to national security. The wave of censoriousness has amused the Kenyan press—and made Mr Mutua into a national figure. But some Kenyans worry that it hints at a growing willingness on the part of the government to use censorship ahead of a tense general election next year. 

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New numbers from the IMF tell a tale of two Africas

HOW are sub-Saharan African economies doing? It depends on where you look, says the IMF in its latest survey of the continent, which was published this week. Regional growth will slow to just 1.4% this year, the most sluggish pace for two decades.

Things look grim in Nigeria, which is mired in recession. But the Ivory Coast, a short flight away, is thundering along at a growth rate of 8%. Similar contrasts are found across the continent. Better to talk of two Africas, says the IMF, moving at different speeds.

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