Mopti, Mali | AFP | After years of ethnic massacres and unrelenting jihadist attacks, central Mali has been left a harrowed area of deserted villages and displaced people. An Islamist insurgency erupted in the north of the vast west African state in 2012, claiming thousands of military and civilian lives since. …
Read More »Guinea sets March 22 for controversial constitutional referendum
Conakry, Guinea | AFP | Guinea’s President Alpha Conde has set March 22 for the constitutional referendum on his proposed reforms that opponents worry will allow him to bypass term limits and stay in power. The vote, originally set for March 1 but delayed over local and international concerns about its …
Read More »Museveni calls for urgent meeting on River Nile
Museveni calls for equitable use of River Nile Entebbe, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | President Yoweri Museveni has said all the countries that share the Nile, the world’s longest river should use her waters for the benefit of all, not at the detriment of others. Museveni was on Friday speaking …
Read More »South Sudan’s road to peace marred by ‘unconscionable’ violence
Juba, South Sudan | AFP | The cattle rustlers were asleep, resting ahead of a raid, when automatic gunfire tore through their camp. Ambushed by rival herdsmen, encircled and outgunned, they were cut down, one by one. Koba Ngacho was lucky. Shot three times and left for dead, the young rustler …
Read More »Sudan economy in crisis almost year after Bashir ouster
Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | Sudan’s economy has sunk into a deep crisis since the overthrow of longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir almost a year ago, risking collapse and social unrest in a country in transition. Mass protests erupted in Sudan in late 2018 against a government decision to triple bread …
Read More »Kenya confirms first case of coronavirus in East Africa
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Kenya announced Friday the first confirmed case of coronavirus in East Africa, as the region so far unscathed by the global pandemic scaled up emergency measures to contain its spread. A 27-year-old Kenyan woman tested positive for the virus on March 12 in Nairobi, a week after returning from the …
Read More »Kiir names new cabinet, hands defence to Machar’s wife
Juba, South Sudan | THE INDEPENDENT | South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir has named a new cabinet for the Transitional Government of National Unity (TGoNU), handing the ministry of defence to Angelina Teny, wife of Vice President Riek Machar. The main opposition SPLM-IO that nominated nine, took the prominent cabinet dockets …
Read More »Dakar petitions for ‘Central Park’ to stem concrete sprawl
Dakar, Senegal | AFP | Residents of Senegal’s booming capital Dakar are petitioning to transform one of the city’s last blank spaces into a leafy park, hoping to beat back an ever-rising tide of concrete. Seen from above, the coastal city is a sea of monochrome-sand colour, with almost no green …
Read More »Women bear the brunt of climate change in Angola
Lubango, Angola | AFP | Tehandjila Quessale’s heart sank every time her mother sent her to fetch water for their crops, up in the mountains of Angola’s southern Huila region. The 16-year-old had to leave school early and walk three hours to join a long queue of people at the nearest …
Read More »War brings unexpected benefits to ‘virus-free’ Libya
Tripoli, Libya | AFP | Despite advice from health authorities to shun public gatherings, Moayed al-Missaoui and friends watched an Italian Serie A football match in a buzzing cafe in the Libyan capital Tripoli. While the novel coronavirus has affected more than 100 countries since December, many in Libya believe their …
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