Services sector drives 6.3% growth in Ghana
Accra — Ghana’s economy grew 6.3% year on year in the second quarter of 2025, the country’s statistics agency said on Wednesday. The services sector, encompassing finance, insurance, trade and education, surged by 9.9% in the quarter compared to 2% a year earlier, government statistician Alhassan Iddrisu said.
Non-oil GDP rose 7.8%, boosting growth while agriculture expanded and oil contracted, he said. Ghana's annual inflation rate slowed to 11.5% in August, its lowest level since October 2021. Reuters
Botswana launches new sovereign wealth fund
Gaborone — Botswana has set up a new sovereign wealth fund to drive economic diversification, create jobs and manage state companies, officials said on Wednesday.
The country is facing a prolonged downturn in the global market in diamonds, its key export. It has had a sovereign wealth fund called the Pula Fund for more than three decades, which it has used to preserve part of its diamond income for future generations and stabilise government finances.
But the central bank-managed Pula Fund has been drained by recurring deficits, and officials say the new fund’s role will be different. Its initial board of directors is comprises local and international experts.
“The Pula Fund is a liquidity stabilisation fund, it is a fund that takes cash and keeps it for a rainy day. This sovereign wealth fund will not be only about stabilisation, it’s about growth,” Farouk Gumel, the fund's board chair, told a press conference. Reuters
HRW says Niger jihadists have killed 127 since March
Dakar — Islamic State (IS)-affiliated militants have stepped up attacks in western Niger, killing more than 127 people in five separate strikes since March and highlighting authorities’ failure to protect civilians, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Wednesday.
A report by the rights group provides the most detailed accounts available of attacks carried out by Islamic State in the Sahel Province in the Tillaberi region, near the border with Burkina Faso and Mali. Niger does not typically comment on such incidents.
The region is a hub of jihadist activity in West Africa linked to IS and Al-Qaeda. Reuters
Hong Kong vetoes same-sex couples rights bill
Hong Kong — Hong Kong’s Legislative Council on Wednesday vetoed a bill that would have allowed limited legal rights for same-sex couples who had registered their marriage or relationship overseas, drawing criticism from gay rights groups.
The bill, introduced by the government, had proposed a registration system to grant same-sex couples who had already sealed their union overseas to certain rights such as hospital visitation.
The government made the proposal after a judgment by Hong Kong’s highest court in September 2023 that partially approved a landmark legal push for full recognition of same-sex marriages.
Though the Court of Final Appeal did not grant the constitutional right to same-sex marriage, the five judges ordered the government to develop a legal framework to meet basic social needs of same sex couples within two years. Reuters
Australian opposition senator axed over racism
Sydney — Australian opposition leader Sussan Ley sacked a senator from her shadow ministry on Wednesday, for making “deeply hurtful” comments about Indian immigrants and then refusing to endorse her leadership.
Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, a senator for the Northern Territory in the centre-right Liberal party, singled out Indian immigrants during a radio interview last week. She refused to apologise despite condemnation by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and members of her own party and the Indian community. Reuters
Kathmandu under a curfew after PM resigns
Kathmandu — Soldiers guarded Nepal’s parliament and patrolled deserted streets on Wednesday with the capital Kathmandu under a curfew, after two days of deadly anticorruption protests forced Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli to resign.
The upheaval in the poor Himalayan nation was unleashed by a social media ban that was announced last week, but was rolled back after 19 people were killed on Monday as police fired tear gas and rubber bullets to control crowds.
The death toll from the protests had risen to 25 by Wednesday, Nepal's health ministry said, while 633 were injured. Reuters
Quantum computing start-up raises $1bn
Bengaluru — Quantum computing start-up PsiQuantum said on Wednesday it had raised $1bn in its latest funding round at a valuation of $7bn, and announced a collaboration with Nvidia to speed up development of its quantum computers.
The Series E funding round was led by investment firms BlackRock, Temasek and Baillie Gifford and saw participation from new investors including Nvidia’s venture capital arm NVentures, Macquarie Capital and Ribbit Capital.
PsiQuantum said the funding will help the company go ahead with sites in Brisbane, Australia and Chicago, Illinois as well as roll out large test systems to prove its design.
Quantum technology has the potential to perform calculations that would stump even the most powerful AI systems. Reuters
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