AFRICA

Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | Sudanese protesters lit candles and released balloons in Khartoum as thousands rallied across the country to mourn dozens killed last month in a brutal raid on a protest camp, AFP correspondents reported. Crowds of protesters were violently dispersed by men in military fatigues in a pre-dawn …

Luanda, Angola | AFP |  The presidents of Rwanda and Uganda on Friday pledged at a summit in Angola to seek to resolve tensions that have erupted between their two countries in recent months. Rwanda’s Paul Kagame and Uganda’s Yoweri Museveni, once close allies, have exchanged public accusations of spying …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP |  South African former president Jacob Zuma is due on Monday to make a much-anticipated appearance before an inquiry into alleged corruption after previous witnesses gave damning evidence against him. Zuma is accused of overseeing mass looting of state funds during his nine-year reign before …

Abidjan, Ivory Coast | AFP |  Ivory Coast, the world’s largest cocoa producer, earns just a fraction of the crop’s potential value and must process it domestically and develop its distribution to fully reap the benefits, a World Bank report said Thursday. Cocoa accounts for 40 percent of the West African …

Omo Forest, Nigeria | AFP |  The jungle was so thick that Emmanuel Olabode only found the elephants he was tracking when the great matriarch’s sniffing trunk reached out close enough to almost touch. “She flapped her ears, blocking us to guard her family, then left in peace,” recalls Olabode. “It …

Port Said, Egypt | AFP | When Mohamed Ghaly’s workshop was reduced to rubble in February, he could never imagine that a new cultural centre dedicated to an instrument with Pharaonic roots would thrive just months later. The semsemia, similar to a harp and made of beechwood with steel strings, is …

Salé, Morocco | AFP |  The trial of the suspected jihadist killers of two Scandinavian women hikers beheaded in Morocco’s High Atlas mountains last December neared its close Thursday as lawyers prepared to deliver their final arguments. Prosecutors have called for the death penalty for the three main jihadist suspects behind …

OURTZAGH, Morocco | AFP |  Beautiful handcrafted pottery made by Mama Aicha rarely sells in Morocco anymore, but thanks to social media her ancient techniques are drawing students from around the world to the foothills of the Rif mountains. “When I heard about the workshop on Instagram, I signed up immediately …

Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | Can Lagos hold back the waves? Sprawled around a lagoon, Nigeria’s frenetic economic capital faces a threat from the Atlantic on its doorstep. The ocean has pounded the soft, sandy shoreline on a timescale far surpassing human history — but now its waves spell a major …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the global development network of the United Nations, has partnered with the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) — Africa’s leading philanthropy committed to empowering entrepreneurs — to train, mentor and financially support 100,000 young entrepreneurs in Africa over 10 …