AFRICA

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | A South African court on Tuesday issued an arrest warrant for embattled former president Jacob Zuma after he failed to appear for a pre-trial hearing over corruption charges he faces related to a 1990s arms deal. But execution of the warrant will be deferred until May 6 when the …

Casablanca, Morocco | AFP |  From Casablanca to Algiers via Tunis, the chants belted out across football stadiums echo young North African fans’ frustrations not connected to the highs and lows of the beautiful game. Chants of “F’bladi delmouni!” (“Oppressed in my country!”) at the demonstrations that have been commonplace in …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP |  Kenya’s second president Daniel arap Moi took power promising peace, love and unity, but ended up mired in graft scandals, stifling democracy and fanning the dangerous embers of tribalism. Leading Kenya from 1978-2002 with an iron fist, his 24-year reign was infamous for torture, corruption, the …

  Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | The UN health agency on Tuesday warned cancer cases would rise by 81 percent in low- and middle-income countries by 2040 because of a lack of investment in prevention and care. The Geneva-based World Health Organization (WHO) said in a report that these countries had …

With one-third of the 2030 Agenda journey already complete, it is an opportune time to examine Africa’s progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) so far as well as assess what adjustments to strategies are needed to overcome the remaining obstacles. The SDGs provide time-bound targets in key sectors—including health, …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Former Kenyan president Daniel Arap Moi, who ruled the country with an iron fist between 1978 and 2002, has died aged 95, President Uhuru Kenyatta has announced. Moi’s 24-year rule saw his country become a one-party state where critical voices were crushed, corruption became endemic …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Africa’s economies are growing strongly, but growth alone cannot meet the needs of the continent’s poorest citizens, because “nobody eats GDP,” the African Development Bank’s President, Akinwumi Adesina, has said. His statement came as he unveiled the Bank’s flagship economic report, the 2020 African Economic …

Judges driven to court in a military armoured vehicle Lilongwe, Malawi | AFP | Malawi’s constitutional court on Monday ordered new elections after annulling the results of a vote that re-elected President Peter Mutharika in May, citing widespread irregularities. (read full judgment bottom) “We hold that the first respondent (Mutharika) …

Entebbe, Uganda | AFP | Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday held talks with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and called for the opening of missions in each others’ countries, during a visit aimed at boosting ties. Netanyahu last visited Uganda in July 2016 to mark the 40th anniversary of a hostage …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Gay Tanzanian activist Tee, 34, recalls with nostalgia a time when Tanzania was like “paradise” for LGBT people — before the 2015 election of President John Magufuli ushered in fear and persecution. It’s all relative. Tanzania has long criminalised same-sex relations, and social stigma has always …