AFRICA

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP |  South Africa’s competition regulatory authority on Monday revealed that mobile operators have been overcharging for internet connectivity, ordering top operators to drop prices within two months or face prosecution. The high cost of data has in the past stirred public outrage prompting protests under …

  Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) Executive Director, Winnie Byanyima has emphasized the need for communities to take part in the fight against HIV. This is carried in her press statement issued as the World today commemorates the World AIDs Day under the …

Kenyan Deputy President Ruto announces 2nd Nile Basin Heads of State Summit, launches Regional HydroMet Project Nairobi, Kenya | THE INDEPENDENT |  Kenyan Deputy President William Samoei Ruto recently launched a $5.5 million Nile Basin Regional HydroMet Project which will enable member states of the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) to …

Kodo, Nigeria | AFP |  Surrounded by four children, Ladi Usman scoops shea nut paste from a plastic container into a metal pot on the stove in her cramped kitchen. Squinting to keep charcoal fumes out of her eyes, she stirs it with a bamboo stick, completing the final stages of eking …

Blantyre, Malawi | AFP |  Malawi is being forced to confront child and forced labour practices after the US restricted tobacco imports from the impoverished southeastern African nation over allegations workers including children were being exploited. Although exports to the United States make up only a small part of Malawi’s total, …

Lagos, Nigeria | AFP |  A dozen officers are squeezed into the dimly lit Lagos State Police Gender Unit between worn desks and witnesses writing statements, as the force struggles to cope with an increasing number of reports of sex abuse in Nigeria. Recent figures are scarce but according to the …

Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | Sudan’s new authorities have ordered that the party of ousted autocrat Omar al-Bashir be dissolved and his regime “dismantled”, heeding the call of protesters whose campaign led to the leader’s overthrow. Bashir and his Islamist National Congress Party (NCP) had ruled the northeast African country …

Lagos, Nigeria | AFP |  John Eromosele records the coordinates of a bustling canal on his smartphone from aboard a dug-out canoe navigating the floating slum of Makoko in Nigerian megacity Lagos. The waterway is “like a boulevard, there’s always traffic here,” the computer coding specialist laughed as other boats jostled …

Algiers, Algeria | AFP |  Algerians are due to elect a new president next month but a huge protest movement bitterly rejects the vote, fearing it will cement in power politicians close to the disgraced old guard. Candidates have been loudly heckled during rare and low-key campaign events and their posters …

Goma, DR Congo | AFP | Four Ebola workers in eastern DR Congo were killed and five injured, adding to the toll of people who have died fighting the nearly 16-month-old epidemic, the UN said Thursday. A member of the vaccination team and two drivers were killed at an Ebola …