AFRICA

Beira, Mozambique | AFP | The death toll in Mozambique on Saturday climbed to 417 after a cyclone pummelled swathes of the southern African country, flooding thousands of square kilometres, as the UN stepped up calls for more help for survivors. Cyclone Idai smashed into the coast of central Mozambique …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Ugandan government has committed to facilitate a dignified return of refugees to countries that have been declared safe.  State Minister for Disaster Preparedness and Refugees Musa Ecweru says that Uganda cannot just let refugees return home until it’s assured of their safety. The …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP |  Defending champions Cameroon are among 21 countries hoping to fill one of 10 places up for grabs this weekend in the final 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers. The Indomitable Lions will be among the 24 finalists in Egypt this June provided they avoid …

WARRAQ ISLAND, Egypt | AFP | Residents of a Cairo island with lush fields and unpaved roads, a world apart from Egypt’s traffic-choked metropolis, are determined to stay put as judges rule on their possible expulsion. Accessible only by ferry, the island of Warraq stands in sharp contrast to the …

Algiers, Algeria | AFP | The party of ailing Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika said Wednesday it supports protesters’ calls for change while backing his call for dialogue to overcome the country’s political crisis. The National Liberation Front (FLN)’s statement comes after cracks emerged within two other pillars of Bouteflika’s regime, key …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP |  Three teenage schoolgirls in Burundi have been sent to prison to await trial for scribbling on a picture of President Pierre Nkurunziza in textbooks, activists said Thursday. The girls, aged 15, 16 and 17, face up to five years in prison for insulting the head …

  Watamu, Kenya | AFP | Snake antivenoms have been around for 125 years, are effective and can be produced cheaply at scale. Yet Africa, with its abundance of deadly snakes, has an alarming shortage of the life-saving medicine. Experts and campaigners blame a combination of weak production capacity, feeble …

Cairo, Egypt | AFP |  A water crisis brewing between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan over a contentious Nile dam could escalate into a conflict with “severe humanitarian consequences”, a think-tank said on Wednesday. Egypt, which relies almost totally on the Nile for irrigation and drinking water, fears the Grand Ethiopian …

Cairo, Egypt | AFP | A century after Egypt’s March 1919 revolution, the prominent Wafd party credited with leading popular demands to end the British occupation, has now been largely sidelined on the country’s political scene, analysts say. A one-time liberal opposition force with a mass following, Wafd is considered Egypt’s …

Algiers, Algeria | AFP | Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika on Monday confirmed he will stay in power beyond his term expiring next month, despite tens of thousands of people demonstrating against his rule. Bouteflika announced on March 11 he was withdrawing from his bid for a fifth term, initially sparking elation …