Kano, Nigeria | AFP | Charity group Action Against Hunger on Thursday demanded the release of six aid workers kidnapped in northeast Nigeria and held by jihadists aligned to the Islamic State group. The Paris-based charity said a staff member, two drivers and three health workers for one of its projects were …
Read More »‘Wildlife-based tourism can transform African economies’
Doreen Robinson, the head of the Wildlife Unit at the UN Environment Programme was one of the co-organizers of the first ever Africa Wildlife Economy Summit held recently in the Zimbabwean town of Victoria Falls. She spoke to The Independent’s Ronald Musoke about what the conveners hoped to achieve …
Read More »Sudan protest leaders, rebels end rift over power deal
Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | Sudanese protest leaders and their rebel partners have ended their differences over a power-sharing deal signed with the country’s military rulers, vowing to work jointly for peace, a leading protest group said Thursday. On July 17, the umbrella protest movement signed a power-sharing accord with Sudan’s …
Read More »Sudan arrests top general, officers over foiled coup
Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | Sudan’s military said Wednesday it had arrested a top general and several others over a foiled coup attempt announced earlier this month. It said the plot aimed to re-install the party of longtime leader Omar al-Bashir, who was ousted by the army in April after months …
Read More »World Bank deploys $300 mn to DR Congo to contain Ebola outbreak
Washington, United States | AFP | The World Bank announced Wednesday it was deploying another $300 million in crisis aid for DR Congo to help contain the year-old Ebola outbreak. The financing comes after the World Health Organization (WHO) last week declared the current outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International …
Read More »Uganda’s popstar lawmaker to contest 2021 presidential vote
Kampala, Uganda | AFP | Ugandan pop star turned leading opposition figure Bobi Wine on Wednesday officially announced he would take on veteran President Yoweri Museveni in 2021 national elections, vowing to fight corruption and create jobs. Wine has long hinted he would throw his hat into the ring and …
Read More »Boris Johnson on Uganda
Comment | BORIS JOHNSON | February 2, 2002| You would need a heart of stone not to have been moved by the little Aids-ridden choristers. We sat under a mango tree, before a dancing-space of packed red earth, and what a preposterous delegation we were. There was Mr Rod …
Read More »Kenya’s finance minister, tops officials arrested for graft
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Kenya’s Finance Minister Henry Rotich and other treasury officials were arrested Monday on corruption and fraud charges over a multi-million dollar project to build two mega dams, police said. Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji had ordered the arrest and prosecution of Rotich and 27 other …
Read More »Battle for change far from over for women in new Sudan
Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | She may have spent 40 days in jail for demonstrating against president Omar al-Bashir who has since been toppled but activist Amani Osmane says the battle for women’s rights in Sudan is far from over. Women have been at the forefront of the revolt which …
Read More »One-stop clinics, a rare lifesaver for Zimbabwe’s sick
Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Blessing Chingwaru could barely walk without support when he arrived at the specialist Rutsanana clinic in Harare complaining of chest pains and fatigue. Weighing a skeletal 37 kilogrammes (5.8 stone), the HIV-positive motor mechanic knew something was wrong. He was immediately given a number of …
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