AFRICA

Botswana’s third President Festus Mogae has described Sir Ketumile’s leadership as “democratic to a fault.” Former President Mogae described Sir Ketumile Masire, Botswana’s second post-independence leader who died last week, as humble, considerate and very humorous. “His obsession was farming and food production,” he said at a memorial service to …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP |  Tanzania’s President John Magufuli plans to speed up the building of a hydroelectric dam in one of Africa’s largest game reserves, despite criticism from environmentalists and UNESCO. The long-planned dam in the Selous Game Reserve, already listed as a UNESCO world heritage site in danger, …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP |  The generic version of the most advanced drug against HIV has been introduced in Kenya, a first in Africa where more than 25 million have the disease, the NGO Unitaid said Wednesday. The drug, Dolutegravir (DTG) is the anti-retroviral drug of choice for those living …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Eight people, including four children returning to school after Eid celebrations, were killed Tuesday by a roadside bomb in eastern Kenya near the border with Somalia, police said. “We have eight victims — four children and four police,” a police spokesman told AFP following the explosion …

Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | Sudan expressed hopes on Tuesday that a US court’s decision to partially reinstate a travel ban that includes its citizens will not harm its bid to have American sanctions lifted. The US Supreme Court on Monday partially reinstated President Donald Trump’s travel ban imposing restrictions …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT REPORTER | Kenyan Presidential candidate Raila Odinga has released his National Super Alliance NASA’s manifesto dubbed the ‘Roadmap to Canaan’. “Foremost in our road map to remaking Kenya is to develop a national identity. Understanding what makes us Kenyans and good citizens,” Odinga said at the …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP |  Kenya’s election commission announced Tuesday that there would be five million new voters taking part in August polls, raising the stakes for incumbent Uhuru Kenyatta and his longtime rival Raila Odinga. After the first-ever audit of the voter’s register — often seen as a key …

ANALYSIS: Despite gains, Somalia isn’t filling the governance vacuum in regions recovered from al-Shabaab Addia Ababa, Ethiopia| BY PSC REPORT | ISS TODAY| Now more than ever, Africa needs the help of the African Union (AU) and its partners in tackling security threats and other ongoing crises – particularly in the …

The AU should encourage regional efforts to prevent violent extremism in the Lake Chad Basin Addia Ababa, Ethiopia| BY OMAR S MAHMOOD | ISS TODAY| The 29th African Union (AU) summit that starts this week will no doubt consider the threat of terrorism and how member states, supported by the AU, can …

Baidoa, Somalia | AFP |  As a teenager, Aden Hussein chose to become a refugee to get an education. With Somalia in collapse, he left his family for neighbouring Kenya where Dadaab, one of the largest and oldest refugee camps in the world, offered a de-facto city served by the …