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African press review 25 December 2014

Given the day that's in it, this is going to be a good news African press review . . . No doom or gloom or disasters . . . It could be very short.

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Things start well in South-Africa where papers are reporting that President Jacob Zuma has hinted he may be ready to take a fifth wife to accompany him through old age.

Zuma is 72 years old, has been married six times and has "about" 20 children. He currently has four wives on the state’s budget despite criticism from some taxpayers.

The president says he's in "perfect condition" after a stay in hospital in June.

According to The Star newspaper, Zulu men often take a last wife for their final years sometimes the younger sister of an earlier missus.

There's good news on the front page of BusinessDay as well where we learn that the number of Americans claiming unemployment benefit fell last week underscoring the economy’s enduring strength.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 9,000 to a seasonally adjusted 280,000 for the week ended 20 December, the Labour Department said on Wednesday. It was the fourth straight week of declines in claims.

The report came a day after the US government reported the economy expanded at its fastest pace in 11 years in the third quarter and consumer spending increased in November.

Things are looking good for Kenya too. The front page of The Standard tells us that Kenyans received a rare Christmas gift yesterday after the European Union removed taxes levied on exports from the country to the 28-member trading bloc.

Starting today, Kenyan exports such as flowers, fruit, fish and vegetables entering the European market will not be subject to any tariffs.

Kenyan exporters paid an estimated nine million euros in taxes to European Union countries since 1 October when Kenya lost duty-free market access to the bloc.

At a stretch, you could call the Standard's main story good news too at least from a government point of view. That's because the Opposition lost the first round in its fight against the recently passed anti-terror laws.

Yesterday, the High Court in Nairobi refused an opposition demand to temporarily suspend the new legislation telling the two parties to return to court next Monday.

The main story in the Kenyan Daily Nation is definitely good news. There, we learn that a man described as one of the most wanted ivory poachers in the world was brought back to Kenya yesterday after six months on the run.

Feisal Mohammed Ali was flown to Nairobi under heavy guard after he was busted in Tanzania where he has been hiding since June.

He had been on the run for six months following the seizure of 2,152 tonnes of ivory in Mombasa on 9 June.

It is now suspected that his illegal activities were supported by wealthy businessmen, senior police officers and politicians both in Kenya and abroad.

The main story in The Egypt Independent is good news for somebody. The Cairo-based paper reports that the army has signed a contract with a consortium for the establishment of six new power stations. That deal is estimated to be worth 600 million euros.

The headline to the editorial in Nigeria's daily Guardian has the benefit of being clear and accurate. It reads "It's Christmas Day".

The paper says that as Christians worldwide celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, President Goodluck Jonathan, Senate President David Mark and All Progressives Congress presidential candidate and former Head of State, Major-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari have called for peace and religious tolerance among the different faiths in Nigeria.
 

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