AFRICA

Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Zimbabwe’s main opposition leader and presidential hopeful Nelson Chamisa believes he will ride a wave of youthful optimism to election victory, emulating Barack Obama, Emmanuel Macron and Justin Trudeau. In an interview with AFP, the 40-year-old Chamisa said Zimbabweans were craving generational change in the …

Abidjan, Ivory Coast | AFP | Researchers from half a dozen states in West Africa have joined together in a battle against what one expert calls a root crop “Ebola” — a viral disease that could wreck the region’s staple food and condemn millions to hunger. Their enemy: cassava brown …

Kampala, Uganda | AFP | South Sudan’s warring leaders agreed to a power-sharing deal in Uganda Saturday that will see the rebel leader return to his position as vice president, Sudan’s foreign minister said. “It has been agreed that there will be four vice presidents: the current two vice presidents, plus …

Mogadishu, Somalia | AFP | Two explosions rocked Somalia’s internal security ministry in the capital Mogadishu on Saturday morning, a police officer said, in the latest attack claimed by Shabaab militants. “There were two blasts targeting the internal security compound near parliament,” said Ibrahim Mohamed, a police commander, adding gunfire …

Uganda’s Kashamba: For migrants in Spain, survival means squats, odd jobs Barcelona, Spain | AFP | Francis Kashamba got 10 euros for a 14-hour day and Lamine Sarr survives as a street vendor. For these illegal migrants in Spain, Europe has proved to be more of a purgatory than the …

South Sudan foes agree to withdraw forces from ‘urban areas’ Khartoum, Sudan | AFP |  South Sudan’s government and rebels agreed Friday to withdraw troops from urban areas, a Sudanese official said, as they signed a deal aimed at ending a four-and-a-half year civil war. The deal comes a day …

Luanda, Angola | AFP |  Two Angolan journalists were acquitted by a judge on Friday over an article of accusing a former attorney general of corruption, in a verdict welcomed by press freedom activists. Investigative journalist Rafael Marques and editor Mariano Lourenco faced charges of insulting a public authority over …

Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | Lawmakers in Nigeria’s ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) have formed a breakaway group in what is expected to be a prelude to defections as elections approach next year. President Muhammadu Buhari’s former ally, Buba Galadima, on Wednesday announced the creation of a group called the …

Goma, DR Congo | AFP |  Four Ugandan soldiers and three civilians were killed Thursday in clashes on Lake Edward that lies between the two countries, a senior official in the Democratic Republic of Congo said. Other clashes in the region between DR Congo forces and Ugandan rebels as well as …

THE LAST WORD: How the ideology of a welfare state has destroyed our continent and impoverished its people THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | Everywhere I turn these days, Ugandans (and Africans generally) are complaining about the sorry state of our education and healthcare systems. There is a …