AFRICA

Cairo, Egypt | AFP | Five Egyptian public figures, including two former presidential hopefuls, called Sunday for voters to boycott the March presidential election after the withdrawal of all candidates but the incumbent Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. Sisi, who has been in power since 2014, appears set to run unopposed after …

Cairo, Egypt | AFP | Egypt’s ultra-conservative Islamist Al-Nour party has decided to support President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in his bid to be re-elected in March, the party said on Sunday. Sisi, who has been in power since 2014, appears set to run unopposed after all other presidential hopefuls announced …

Bogota, Colombia | AFP | A rash of bombings hit police stations in northern Colombia over the weekend, killing seven police and injuring dozens more in what authorities said appeared to be the work of drug gangs. The attacks began early Saturday in the city of Barranquilla, where five police officers …

Rabat, Morocco | AFP | The International Monetary Fund is holding a two-day regional conference from Monday in Morocco with a message of reform amid growing “frustration” among the population of some Arab states. “Rising social tensions and protests in several countries across the Middle East and North Africa are …

Reconsidering governance in Africa: Why our obsession with copying and pasting western institutions causes more harm than good THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | If you follow debate on Africa anywhere in the world, everyone will tell you that the main problem with our countries is governance. Yet this claim is …

Addis Ababa | THE INDEPENDENT | For Africa to combat the threat of transnational terrorism on the continent, it must employ a multi-dimensional approach, President Yoweri Museveni has said. Speaking at the Peace and Security Council Meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Uganda’s President Museveni said the approach had to address …

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | AFP |  African Union chief Moussa Faki Mahamat said Sunday that “the time has come” to slap sanctions on those blocking peace in South Sudan, one of the most intractable wars facing African leaders as they meet in Ethiopia. At the opening of the 30th annual …

Bogota, Colombia | AFP | At least five police officers were killed and 41 others wounded Saturday when alleged drug traffickers detonated a bomb at a station in the northern city of Barranquilla, hours after a car explosion ripped through a security post near the border in neighboring Ecuador. There …

Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | Separate outbreaks of violence attributed to a Boko Haram attack and clashes between Muslim herders and Christian farmers left at least six people dead in Nigeria, police and local authorities said Saturday. At least three people were killed late Friday when Boko Haram attacked the …

Bamako, Mali | AFP | Fourteen soldiers were killed and 18 wounded on Saturday in an attack on their camp in Mali’s restive north, the army said, while military sources told AFP jihadists were responsible. Mali’s deteriorating security situation is of growing concern as Al-Qaeda-linked groups mount increasingly deadly attacks …