Two politicians die and 25 others test positive as president promotes herbal remedy as country’s ‘green gold’. In April, President Rajoelina launched a local herbal concoction he says prevents coronavirus [Henitsoa Rafalia/Anadolu] Madagascar President Andry Rajoelina said two lawmakers have died after becoming infected with coronavirus, as he claimed...
Protesters oppose National Assembly’s decision to appoint Ronsard Malonda as chairman of electoral commission CENI. In this file photo from July 9, protesters took part in the demonstration in Kinshahsa against the national assembly’s choice of a new electoral commission head [File: Arsene Mpiana/AFP] Police have used tear gas...
Forces loyal to Khalifa Haftar claim they want a fair distribution of the oil revenues managed by Tripoli. Since January, groups loyal to Haftar have been blocking the production and export of oil from the country’s most important fields and terminals [Esam Omran Al-Fetori/Reuters] Libya’s National Oil Corp (NOC) has...
Analysts say powerful business interests and ‘state capture’ have led to the current political crisis. Demonstrators take part in an anti-government protest in Sofia, Bulgaria on Saturday [Reuters/Stoyan Nenov] Over the past four days, Bulgaria has been shaken by a wave of anti-government protests with thousands marching through the capital...
Anti-government protests have left several people dead with the opposition demanding President Keita’s resignation. It has been described as the worst civil unrest Mali has seen in decades. President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita promised to form a national unity government. The country has been without one since elections earlier this year....
Since alcohol sales were reintroduced in June, hospitals have experienced a spike in emergency ward admissions. President Cyril Ramaphosa visits a coronavirus treatment facility in Johannesburg in April [Jerome Delay via Reuters] South Africa will immediately re-enforce a ban on the sale and distribution of alcohol to reduce the volume...
Pope Francis says he was hurt by mosque decision, but Turkish government defends its ‘sovereign rights’. Pope Francis has said he was hurt by Turkey’s decision to make Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia museum a mosque, but Ankara said the decision will maintain a relationship of equality and mutual respect in the country. It was the...
African nation reports 13,497 new infections in just one day while several US states report surge in new deaths. South Africa is reporting another 13,497 confirmed coronavirus cases for a total of 264,184 including 3,971 deaths. More than a third of cases are in the new hot spot of Gauteng...
Tunda tenders resignation after a dispute with President Felix Tshisekedi over judicial reform proposals. Tshisekedi had said in a speech he would oppose any reforms that undermined the independence of the judiciary [Carlo Allegri/Reuters] The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Justice Minister Celestin Tunda tendered his resignation in the wake...
Police say they rescued men, women and children who had been held hostage at a long-troubled church near Johannesburg. Photos tweeted by the police showed more than a dozen men lying on the ground, subdued [SAPS] Five people have been killed in an attack on a church west of Johannesburg,...
Violence broke out at demonstrations demanding President Keita resign over economic woes and alleged corruption. Malian Prime Minister Boubou Cisse promised to rapidly form a government “open to facing the challenges of the day”, adding the death toll from the country’s worst civil unrest in years had risen to four....
The shooting of Oromo musician Haacaaluu Hundeessaa sparked protests last week in which at least 239 people were killed. A member of the Oromo Ethiopian community in Beirut, Lebanon lights a candle to protest the death of musician and activist Hachalu Hundessa [Anwar Amro/AFP] Ethiopian authorities said they have...
In April, Sudan’s cabinet approved amendments to the criminal code that would punish those who perform FGM. Nearly nine out of 10 girls in Sudan fall victim to FGM, according to the United Nations [Reuters screenshot] Sudan’s highest governing body has ratified a law criminalising female genital mutilation (FGM),...
Tension is running high in DRC as protesters denounce nomination of controversial figure to head election commission. Several people have been killed in protests across the Democratic Republic of the Congo. On Thursday, thousands of protesters defied a ban on public gatherings to march against the nomination of a new...
Thousands of demonstrators rally in Bamako to demand security and economic reforms in the country. A protester holds a sign that reads ‘Ibrahim Boubacar Keit get out’ [Matthiew Rosier/Reuters] A large anti-government demonstration in Mali has descended into chaos as protesters tried to occupy buildings including the national assembly,...
The reshuffle follows protests urging faster reforms and greater civilian rule in Sudan’s transition towards democracy. Hamdok recently promised to take a number of major decisions, without giving details [Hannibal Hanschke/Reuters] Sudan’s prime minister has replaced the finance, foreign, energy and health ministers and three other senior cabinet post-holders...
As cases increase by 24 percent in a week, top health official urges countries to increase testing and mask use. A nurse at Nairobi’s Kenyatta National Hospital participates in a Zumba aerobic fitness programme as a way of helping them to cope with working situations during the pandemic [File: Njeri...
Airports in the capital, Abuja, and the commercial hub, Lagos, have reopened after three months of coronavirus restrictions. Domestic flights in Nigeria have resumed after three months of COVID-19 restrictions. Airports in the capital, Abuja, and the commercial hub, Lagos, have reopened. Other airports are due to resume flights over...
Rights group says evidence suggests government security force involved in turning the area into a ‘killing field’. Burkina Faso’s military is struggling to stem armed violence that has spread across the country, internally displacing almost a million people [Luc Gnago/Reuters] At least 180 bodies were found in mass graves...
The explosion happened at the Gbetiokun oilfield during the installation of a ladder on a platform, government says. Nigeria is the biggest oil producer on the continent, with about two million barrels per day [File: Afolabi Sotunde/Reuters] Seven people have been killed in an explosion at the Gbetiokun oilfield...
Parties angry over moves to appoint figure accused by opposition of helping former leader Kabila rig past elections. The protests have been triggered by a decision by the National Assembly to appoint Malonda as chairman of the independent national electoral commission [File: Arsene Mpiana/AFP] Police in the Democratic Republic...
Guterres told UNSC Libya’s ‘conflict has entered a new phase with foreign interference reaching unprecedented levels’. Since 2014, Libya has been split with an internationally-recognised government controlling Tripoli and the northwest, while Haftar in Benghazi controls the east [Mucahit Aydemir/Anadolu Agency] United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned the...
The 61-year-old became unwell during a weekly cabinet meeting and was evacuated to a hospital where he passed away. Gon Coulibaly had returned to Ivory Coast last Thursday after two months in France to undergo a heart exam and rest [Thierry Gouegnon/Reuters] Ivory Coast’s prime minister and the governing...
It’s high time for the discipline of political science to reckon with its explicit and implicit epistemic violence. Tocqueville, who is almost synonymous with liberalism, democracy, and individual rights in the US, is known to be an apologist for colonisation and white settlers in North Africa [Wikimedia commons] Correction, 07/07/2020: A...
Experts warn fragile healthcare systems in many nations could be overwhelmed in the face of a severe COVID-19 outbreak. Most countries on the continent have put in place restrictions to prevent the spread of the virus [Afolabi Sotunde/Reuters] The outbreak of the new coronavirus has reached every nation in...
