ACCRA: Ghana’s outgoing President Nana Akufo-Addo Friday announced visa-free travel for all African passport holders from the start of this year, marking a step toward continental economic integration.
The announcement came during his final state of the nation address as he prepares to step down on January 6 after two terms in office.
“I am proud to have approved visa-free travel to Ghana for all African passport holders, with effect from the beginning of this year,” Akufo-Addo said in his speech to parliament.
“This is the logical next step to the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and the workings of the largest trading bloc in the world,” he said.
“All these are essential elements to the realization of the AU’s Agenda 2063, which envisages an integrated and connected Africa by 2063,” he added, referring to the African Union’s development blueprint for a 50-year period.
Ghana joins Rwanda, Seychelles, Gambia and Benin in offering visa-free entry to African travelers.
Ghana had previously allowed visa-free access to citizens of 26 African nations and visas on arrival for travelers from 25 others, while only two African countries — Eritrea and Morocco — required a visa before entry.
The visa-free policy builds on Ghana’s efforts to strengthen its international reputation, particularly through initiatives like the 2019 Year of Return, which celebrated the African diaspora and commemorated 400 years since the transatlantic slave trade.
The campaign attracted thousands of visitors, including celebrities, to Ghana and led to some receiving citizenship, bolstering the country’s global profile as a cultural and tourism hub.
Akufo-Addo also used his last address to trumpet economic progress under his leadership, citing an increase in Ghana’s gross international reserves to $8 billion, from $6.2 billion in 2017, and significant GDP growth in 2024.
“Economic growth has returned to the pre-Covid trajectory,” he said, projecting a 6.3-percent growth rate for 2025.
“I leave behind a Ghana that is thriving, one that has navigated significant global challenges with remarkable tenacity, whose economy is steadily rebounding, and whose institutions are operating effectively,” he said.
The oil-and-gold-rich West African nation is one of the most stable democracies in Africa.
Since 2022, it has been battling one of its worst economic crises in decades and is currently under a $3-billion International Monetary Fund relief program.
The outgoing president hands over power to John Mahama, who won the December elections.
Ghana announces visa-free entry for African passport holders
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Ghana announces visa-free entry for African passport holders

- Ghana joins Rwanda, Seychelles, Gambia and Benin in offering visa-free entry to African travelers
How CPEC expansion can transform Afghanistan’s economy

- Chinese, Pakistani and Afghan foreign ministers held a trilateral meeting in Beijing
- Afghanistan is believed to have vast reserves of lithium and other critical minerals
KABUL: The entry of Beijing’s multi-billion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor into Afghanistan is expected to boost its ailing economy and regional standing, experts say, following the announcement of expansion plans.
The Chinese, Pakistani and Afghan foreign ministers reached an agreement during a trilateral meeting in Beijing on Wednesday to broaden the flagship part of China’s global infrastructure and investment strategy.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the expansion of CPEC aimed to “deepen” cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative — a network of massive road, energy, port and industrial projects launched in 2013 to connect China to the rest of Asia, Europe and Africa.
For Afghanistan, the mega project offers an “important opportunity” to boost its political and economic ties not only with China and Pakistan, but also with the neighboring Central Asian republics, Amin Stanikzai, an economist and lecturer at the Rokhan Institute of Higher Education in Nangarhar, told Arab News.
“It can serve as the intersection of China, Pakistan, Afghanistan, as well as South and Central Asia, therefore, it benefits Afghanistan ... Afghanistan is optimistic about the CPEC project partly because regional connectivity is in Afghanistan’s interest as it is a landlocked country with no access to the sea.”
Since the Taliban took over Afghanistan in 2021, its economy has been reeling under Western sanctions and unemployment has more than doubled.
“If managed well, the project can contribute to the overall stability and development in the region, in addition to improving connectivity and Afghanistan’s access to regional and international markets,” Stanikzai said.
Chinese projects could offer a significant respite to Afghanistan’s economic woes and help develop its potential.
Afghanistan is believed to have vast untapped reserves of lithium, rare earths and other critical minerals, which are key resources in the EV battery and green tech industries.
The potential value of Afghanistan’s lithium and rare earth elements has been estimated by the US Geological Survey and the US Department of Defense to range between $1 trillion and $3 trillion.
It has also some of the world’s largest untapped copper deposits. China Metallurgical Group Corp won a 30-year lease in 2008 to develop the Mes Aynak copper mine in Logar province, but the project stalled due to security issues.
Last year, the Taliban government and China renewed discussions to revive the project.
Talks on Afghanistan’s inclusion in CPEC also started several years ago but practical work has yet to begin, complicated by geopolitical considerations.
Major global powers remain skeptical of China’s BRI. The project has also been consistently opposed by India as it involves construction in Pakistan’s Gilgit-Baltistan region — part of the disputed Kashmiri territory, which New Delhi and Islamabad claim in full but rule in part.
The entry of CPEC projects would, however, help mend Afghanistan’s lately troubled relations with its largest trading partner and route: Pakistan.
“Afghanistan can benefit from these projects politically as well since this is an initiative led by China and it can use its influence over Pakistan in resolving political tension between Afghanistan and Pakistan in the future,” said Abdul Hai Qanit, a political analyst and commentator on Afghan affairs.
“This will have a positive impact on Afghanistan’s economy as a result of becoming a part of the large transportation network that BRI and CPEC will provide. Afghanistan will be able to export its goods without any challenges and delays.”
The scope of projects in the long term could help transform Afghanistan, whose infrastructure and economy have been underdeveloped due to decades of war.
It would also secure its access to international markets and integration into regional economic frameworks.
“Direct linkage to China through Pakistan via CPEC could facilitate the construction of vital transportation corridors, energy projects and digital infrastructure. These are crucial elements for long-term development and post-conflict reconstruction,” Bashir Seddiqi, an international relations expert, told Arab News.
He was not certain, however, how soon the change could be seen.
“Feasibility of implementation remains deeply uncertain,” Seddiqi said. “The CPEC project itself, despite its strategic importance, has experienced delays and setbacks within Pakistan due to governance challenges, financial constraints and shifting political priorities.”
Philippines’ Marcos tells cabinet to resign after polls setback

- Marcos’ allies failed to win majority of Senate seats contested in midterm elections
- Majority of Filipinos expressed disapproval of his govt over economy and corruption
MANILA: Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. called on his cabinet members on Thursday to render their resignations in a move seen as an attempt to address the public’s dissatisfaction over his administration’s performance.
Marcos, the son of a late Philippine dictator overthrown in 1986, won the presidency by a landslide in 2022 after campaigning on a vision of national unity and portraying himself as a candidate for change.
But public support for the 67-year-old leader has faced a steep decline this year, with surveys by Pulse Asia showing his approval rating with voters dropping to 25 percent in March from 42 percent in February.
Marcos’ latest move comes after his allies failed to secure a majority of contested Senate seats at the May 12 midterm elections, raising questions over the president’s weakened mandate in the remaining three years of his term, which ends in 2028.
“It’s time to realign government with the people’s expectations,” Marcos said in a statement issued by his office on Thursday.
“This is not business as usual … The people have spoken, and they expect results — not politics, not excuses. We hear them, and we will act.”
The call for courtesy resignations — described as a “bold reset” — marks “a clear transition” to a “more focused and performance-driven approach,” the statement reads.
At least 21 cabinet secretaries have either immediately submitted their resignations or expressed their readiness to do so.
The midterm elections were “reflective of the true desire and sentiments of the people on the ground,” said Froilan Calilung, political science professor at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila.
“There was a massive decrease in his numbers, and this could be attributed to the fact that there are no concrete measures, programs, or policies that can be attributed to his government for at least the past two or three years,” he told Arab News.
Pulse Asia’s survey in March also showed the majority of Filipinos expressing disapproval of the Marcos administration on issues seen as most urgent, including controlling inflation and fighting corruption, which stood at 79 percent and 53 percent, respectively.
“I think what the president is trying to do right now is to salvage whatever is left of his political capital before he enters the lame-duck phase of his administration, which could happen anywhere between the fourth and the fifth year of his term of office,” Calilung said.
By calling for the resignations of his cabinet secretaries, Marcos may also be seeking to “shake off the stigma” of himself as a weak and indecisive leader and trying to project an “image of somebody who is in charge or is in control” of the situation, he added.
Though it will be hard to recover after the “wasted” first three years of his presidency, there was still a chance that Marcos could make a comeback.
“The president should come up with better legislation, more well-meaning policies and programs that will directly address the current conditions of the current problems of inflation, job security, food security, agrarian self-sufficiency, among others,” Calilung said.
“If the president will be able to do these things, then I think there’s still some time to recover.”
UK net migration in 2024 fell by half to 431,000

- Rule changes led to big drops in the numbers of people arriving on work- and study-related visas
- PM Keir Starmer unveiled tough new policies this month vowing to 'take back control' of Britain’s borders
LONDON: Net migration to the UK dropped by half in 2024, the latest official figures showed on Thursday, in what will be a welcome boost for under-fire Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimated the figure for last year stood at 431,000, a dramatic drop from the 860,000 recorded in the year to December 2023.
It was the biggest fall in net migration since the Covid pandemic.
“Long-term net migration is down by almost 50 percent,” the ONS said in its latest report.
“We are seeing reductions in people arriving on work- and study-related visas,” it added.
It had also recorded “an increase in emigration over the 12 months to December 2024,” especially by those on work and study visas.
The previous Conservative government had toughed the rules for people applying for such visas, setting higher caps on salaries and refusing permission for people to bring their families with them.
Migration has become a hot-button issue in UK politics and Starmer unveiled tough new policies on May 12 vowing to “finally take back control” of Britain’s borders.
The measures included cutting overseas care workers, doubling the length of time before migrants can qualify for settlement and new powers to deport foreign criminals.
Starmer, a former human rights lawyer who voted for the UK to remain part of the European Union, is under renewed pressure to tackle immigration following surprise gains by the anti-immigration Reform UK party in May local elections.
He said in his speech that Britain risked becoming “an island of strangers,” triggering sharp criticism from within his own Labour party for his toughened rhetoric.
The aim of the new measures is to “reduce net migration substantially, with visa numbers falling by up to 100,000 a year by the end of this parliament” in 2029, the interior ministry said in a statement.
Interior minister Yvette Cooper said: “The 300,000 drop in net migration since the election is important and welcome after the figures quadrupled to nearly a million in the last parliament.”
She added that nearly 30,000 unsuccessful asylum seekers, many arriving on UK shores in small boats, had been returned to their countries of origin since the general election in July.
It marked a 12-period increase compared to the same period 12 months ago.
But opposition Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch argued on X: “Numbers are still too high and Starmer STILL keeps voting against every plan to bring them down further.”
She alleged that as soon as Labour took power after winning the July election they had scrapped “the tough measures we took to get these numbers down.”
Conservative former home secretary James Cleverly said while Labour “will try to claim credit,” the changes were a result of policies enacted by his government.
“This drop is because of the visa rule changes that I put in place,” he argued on X.
According to the latest poll of voting intentions by YouGov, the Reform party of hard-liner Nigel Farage is ahead in the polls, with 29 percent support, compared to 22 percent for Labour.
Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats edged ahead of the Conservatives with 17 percent, who were relegated to fourth place on 16 percent.
Hooting not shooting across the India-Pakistan frontier

- “There is obviously no interaction with the enemy,” an Indian officer told AFP
- Troops along the LoC began exchanging nightly gunfire two days after the attack, rattling off shots into the dark without causing casualties
INDIA: Sometimes the only outsiders that Indian troops posted along the contested frontier in Kashmir see are Pakistani soldiers eyeballing them across the remote valley high in the rugged Himalayan mountains.
Contact between them extends to what Indian soldiers posted to the fortified concrete bunkers call “hooting” — an occasional taunting shout or whistle echoing across the divide, which can be as little as 30 meters (100 feet) at its narrowest point.
That’s close enough to hurl a hand grenade or, perhaps more hopefully for the arch-rivals who share a sporting passion, a well-thrown cricket ball.
“There is obviously no interaction with the enemy,” an Indian officer deployed along the de facto border, dubbed the Line of Control (LoC), told AFP in a visit to positions organized by the army.
Troops on each side are settling back down to an uneasy standoff a month after the deadly April 22 attack on tourists in Kashmir sent relations spiralling toward a war between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan.
New Delhi blamed Islamabad for backing the Islamist militants it said were behind the killing of 26 men in the deadliest attack on civilians in Muslim-majority Kashmir in decades.
Pakistan denies the charge.
Troops along the LoC began exchanging nightly gunfire two days after the attack, rattling off shots into the dark without causing casualties.
India then launched strikes deep into Pakistan’s territory on May 7, triggering four days of intense drone, missile, aerial combat and artillery exchanges.
More than 70 people were killed on both sides, the worst conflict since 1999, before a ceasefire
was agreed on May 10.
It is still holding and the LoC is again quiet.
Diplomatically, New Delhi and Islamabad seem back to an uneasy peace, trading long-standing accusations that the other supports militant groups operating in their territory.
Islamabad blamed India on Wednesday for a bomb attack on a school bus that killed six people, which New Delhi called a “baseless” allegation and said it was “second nature for Pakistan to blame India for all its internal issues.”
India expelled a Pakistani diplomat on Wednesday, the second since the ceasefire deal.
Soldiers from either side eye each other warily across the razor’s edge of the LoC that slices through the territory, home to some 17 million people and which each side claims in full.
The Indian officer pointed to a green ridge where he said Indian and Pakistani posts were about 30-40 meters apart.
“There are many such places across the frontline,” he said.
“Our soldiers can see and hear the other side at such posts,” said the officer, who could not be identified because he did not have official clearance to speak to the media.
“There is even hooting at times, but no conversations.”
When the hooting does happen, it is sometimes to taunt the other during rare cricket matches between the rival nations.
For the Indian forces, the Pakistani soldiers can be the only other humans they see outside their unit for weeks when snow cuts them off in the winter months.
The border camp had multiple well-insulated bunkers, artillery pieces covered in camouflage tarpaulins and there were several radar and air defense systems on the hills.
The 770-kilometer (478-mile) LoC — the route of a ceasefire line dating back to 1949 — snakes down from icy high-altitude outposts to greener foothills in the south.
A senior officer in charge of multiple artillery pieces said that, for many of the men, the four days of heavy barrages had been their “first experience” of such conflict.
“It was really intense,” he said, adding that “at least 100 to 150 artillery shells fell around here.”
Outposts dot the picturesque but hard-to-reach terrain of snow-clad peaks, dense forests, icy
streams and ridges.
A small, seemingly tranquil village in Pakistani-run Kashmir surrounded by green hills was visible across the valley.
“We’ve been preparing for years — and were ready,” the artillery officer said, adding that none
of his men were wounded or killed and that they “gave a befitting reply to the enemy.”
Indian army officers at another frontier post pointed to a damaged Pakistani post they’d targeted.
Another officer showed the long rolls of concertina razor wire along their side of the frontier, a formidable barrier to protect their mountain-top outposts.
“Who holds the higher position in the Himalayas is critical in any conflict,” he said.
Russia says it captures a village in Ukraine’s Donetsk region

- Air defenses had shot down 317 Ukrainian drones over the territory of Russia
MOSCOW: Russian forces have captured the settlement of Nova Poltavka in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, the Russian defense ministry said on Thursday.
Russian news agencies, citing the defense ministry, separately reported that air defenses had shot down 317 Ukrainian drones over the territory of Russia in the past 24 hours and 485 drones in total since the evening of May 20.