AFRICA

Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday presented parliament with his government’s 2019 budget plan that he said was to help growth, fight poverty and boost infrastructure. The draft budget, at 8.83 trillion naira ($24.3 billion), was smaller than the 9.12 trillion approved for the previous …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | South African police said Wednesday an arrest warrant had been issued for Grace Mugabe, wife of former Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe, after she allegedly assaulted a model in Johannesburg in 2017. “The police investigated and we made an application to the courts and the …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Deals valued at US $32.6 billion were recorded at the inaugural week-long Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF) which ended in Cairo on December 17, 2018, according to preliminary figures released by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank). Afreximbank, which organized the trade fair in collaboration with the …

United Nations, United States | AFP | The UN Security Council Tuesday urged all parties to reject violence five days before the presidential election in the Democratic Republic of Congo. At least six people have been killed in violence in the run-up to the December 23 election, which will see …

Cairo, Egypt | AFP | An Egyptian court on Tuesday ordered the release of a rights activist jailed since May after she criticised sexual harassment in the country in a video posted online, her lawyer said. The decision to free Amal Fathi came as her husband Mohamed Lotfy, also a …

Tshikapa, DR Congo | AFP | One person died at a protest on Tuesday against the arrival of the “pro-Kabila” candidate in a city in central DR Congo, days ahead of elections that will see the country emerge from the 17-year presidency of Joseph Kabila. The unrest in Tshikapa, a …

Antananarivo, Madagascar | AFP | For months, they have bombarded voters with campaign slogans and speeches by “their” candidate, but on Tuesday, two fiercely-partisan media groups in Madagascar fell silent a day before the presidential run-off election. The “ceasefire” — in line with electoral law — is in stark contrast …

Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP |  An inquest into the fatal shooting of six people in post-election violence in Zimbabwe squarely blamed the military and police on Tuesday, saying the use of live fire was “unjustified and disproportionate”. The victims were gunned down and dozens others were wounded when soldiers opened …

  Mogadishu, Somalia | THE INDEPENDENT | Ahead of its inaugural flight to Somalia in January 2019, Kenya’s national carrier, Kenya Airways, made a test flight to Mogadishu today, as part of routine preparations preceding the formal launch of the direct flight early next year. The carrier has leased a …

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | AFP | Police in Ethiopia’s northern Amhara regional state have arrested a “doomsday prophet” who caused widespread panic over claims his village would be wiped out on Monday, state media reported. The state-owned Amhara Mass Media Agency (AMMA) reported that the prophet had told his followers …