AFRICA

Tokyo, Japan | AFP | Imagine the body’s instruction manual, the genome: here words are genes, letters are DNA, and the equivalent of typos can have disastrous consequences. In recent years, scientists have grown increasingly fluent in the language of genome, but much remains mysterious, including the function of many of …

Abidjan, Ivory Coast | AFP | The president of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Akinwumi Adesina, hit back on Wednesday at accusations of corruption and vowed to continue working. In a press statement, Adesina slammed “unprecedented attempts by some to tarnish my reputation” and declared “I will… continue to work with …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Pan-African lender, United Bank for Africa joined countries on the African continent to celebrate the African Day. Formally the African Freedom Day and African Liberation Day, Africa Day, is commemorated on May.25 annually as a foundation for the formation of the Organisation of African Unity …

Windhoek, Namibia | AFP | Namibia has killed 10 elephants over the past two months to prevent the freely roaming animals from trampling crops, the environment ministry said Tuesday. The southern African country is home to over 24,000 elephants, mostly concentrated in and around national parks near the northern border with Angola. The pachyderms are …

Nairobi, Kenya | THE INDEPENDENT |  The Board of Directors of Equity Group Holdings Plc, the largest bank on the Nairobi Securities Exchange by market capitalization, has withdrawn its recommendation of a Ksh. 9.5 billion ($88 million) dividend payout to its shareholders. According to a statement, Equity states that “the …

Abidjan, Ivory Coast | AFP |  Senegalese superstar Youssou N’Dour and Grammy-winner Angelique Kidjo were among a galaxy of African talent brought together for a virtual concert to raise awareness of the coronavirus pandemic. More than 100 artists and celebrities from across the continent and the diaspora took part in the …

Cairo, Egypt | AFP |  State surveillance is on the rise globally as governments such as Egypt’s take advantage of the coronavirus pandemic, warns exiled historian and intellectual Khaled Fahmy. Amid the COVID-19 crisis, states have used phone apps and other high-tech measures to monitor the spread of the disease, and …

Boma, South Sudan | AFP |  The light plane banked sharply to circle back over the plains. The pilot had spotted something below: antelope, first one, then many, the stragglers of a million-strong migration across this vast wilderness. But there are other wonders out here on the savanna. A trio of …

Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | Vital Kamerhe, a major ally to DR Congo President Felix Tshisekedi, proclaimed his innocence on Monday as a historic trial for alleged corruption resumed. Kamerhe, 61, a veteran political figure who is also Tshisekedi’s chief of staff, is accused with others of having embezzled more …

Bujumbura, Burundi | AFP | Burundi’s ruling party presidential candidate Evariste Ndayishimiye on Monday was declared the victor of the bitterly disputed election, with 68.72 percent of the vote. The election commission, which released the official results live on Burundian media, said that his main opposition rival Agathon Rwasa of the National Freedom Council (CNL), …