AFRICA

Burundi’s government has rejected the deployment of 228 UN police to the troubled African nation, saying a French-led UN resolution authorising the force was made without its consent. The UN Security Council on Friday agreed to deploy the force in its strongest move to date to try to end more …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | South Africans vote Wednesday in closely contested municipal elections that could deal a heavy blow to the African National Congress (ANC) that has ruled since leading the struggle to end apartheid. Nelson Mandela’s former party risks losing control of key cities including the capital …

This article appeared on NEXT CITY July 26, 2016 titled  How One African City Is Flipping the Script on Urban Development From Wall Street to the World Bank, people are looking at Kampala as a model for how cities can finance their futures, writes Liam Taylor Joseph Aliguma is perched …

Kano, Nigeria | AFP | Nigeria has shelved a plan to build a $10 million film village outside the mainly Muslim northern city of Kano, bowing to virulent opposition from radical Muslim clerics. The decision deals a blow to a booming industry, developers said, as the centre was to generate …

South Africans vote Wednesday in municipal elections widely seen as a referendum on President Jacob Zuma, with the stalling economy overshadowing progress made since the end of apartheid. Zuma’s African National Congress (ANC), which controls the majority of the 278 municipalities, has been weakened by graft scandals and growing public …

Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | Congo’s veteran opposition chief Etienne Tshisekedi on Sunday called for elections to be held this year and for President Joseph Kabila to step down as scheduled on December 20. Tensions have been growing in the mineral-rich but troubled state over fears that Kabila, in …

Washington, United States | AFP | Washington has warned that those who perpetrate atrocities in South Sudan’s civil war will be held responsible for their crimes. The United States served as a midwife in the creation of the South Sudan, formed in July 2011 by partitioning Sudan. But South Sudan …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Dozens of secondary schools across Kenya have been deliberately set on fire, but as the authorities struggle to pinpoint why, fractious relations between pupils, teachers and a controversial education minister offer clues. In the last three months, 117 Kenyan schools have been partially burnt by …

United Nations, United States | AFP | The United States urged the UN Security Council on Friday to back a regional force for South Sudan to shore up UN peacekeepers unable to cope with the violence. The council adopted a resolution extending the mandate of the UN mission in South …

Cairo, Egypt | AFP | High school finals are always a terrifying prospect for Egyptian students. After cheat sheets were leaked this year, the exams turned into a nightmare for Mariam Khaled. She had gone home to sleep after finishing an exam. When she woke up, she discovered she would …