AFRICA

Gaborone, Botswana | Xinhua | COVID-19 is no longer considered a public health emergency of international concern in Botswana, Christopher Nyanga, the spokesperson for Botswana’s Ministry of Health, announced in a statement Friday. “Botswana had actually de-escalated COVID-19 response activities over the past six months and has reduced measures and protocols …

Khartoum, Sudan | Xinhua | The Sudanese Army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have promised to protect civilians and achieve a short-term ceasefire to facilitate emergency humanitarian assistance, as they signed the Jeddah Declaration of Commitment to Protect the Civilians of Sudan. In response to various parties’ concern over …

As desperate civilians and expatriates flee the country, local midwives are stepping up and helping pregnant women bring new life into the world despite the intense clashes. SPECIAL FEATURE | BIRD AGENCY | In the heart of a war-torn Sudan, an ancient tradition is being rekindled amidst the chaos: midwifery. …

Conflict in Sudan between rival military interests is not only impacting the country’s people. It also threatens the country’s fast-growing agriculture sector as well as its natural resources – including oil, gold and gum Arabic. Fizzy drinks and candy manufacturers the world over should be worried. SPECIAL FEATURE | BIRD …

Kinshasa, DRC | THE INDEPENDENT | Félix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, the president of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), has stated that if the East African Community Regional Force (EAC-RF) troops, deployed as part of a peacekeeping mission in the war-troubled province of North Kivu, do not fulfill their mandate, …

Goma, DRC | THE INDEPENDENT | Ugandan Troops under a peacekeeping mission in the war-troubled province of North Kivu, Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo have recovered 120 cows from suspected Nyatura militia. The animals were recovered between the weekend and Monday from the militia operating in the areas of Kinyandoni, …

Zimbabwe is taking advantage of a technology used in South Africa and China, to develop ammonium-based fertilizers from coal SPECIAL FEATURE | BIRD AGENCY | A Zimbabwean government-owned entity, Verify Engineering, is preparing to use locally available coal to develop ammonia-based fertilisers as the country ramps up agricultural productivity. “We …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The United Nations aid chief said it will be difficult to secure an end to the fighting in Sudan, as the warring parties are keen to “keep it going”. He said it was “really, really, deeply concerning” the speed with which the crisis was “going …

Nairobi, Kenya | Xinhua | Kenya is keen to expand its tea export to China in order to boost the sector’s revenues, a government official said Friday. “This year, we expect the volume to increase as more Kenyan orthodox and black teas find their way to China,” said Peris Mudida, head …

Luanda, Angola | Xinhua | Angola’s President Joao Lourenco has advocated for a ceasefire in Sudan during a conversation with the Sudanese army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan over the phone, according to a statement posted on the Facebook page of the Angolan Presidency Friday. President Lourenco spoke on the phone with …