AFRICA

Nekemte, Ethiopia | AFP |  Desta Garuma, a 27-year-old rickshaw driver, never showed much interest in politics, so his family has no idea how soldiers concluded he was involved in a rebel movement active in Ethiopia’s Oromia region. But one day in January, five truckloads of soldiers followed him home, shouting …

Conakry, Guinea | AFP |  Guinea’s President Alpha Conde announced a “slight postponement” of Sunday’s referendum on whether to adopt a new constitution, following mounting international criticism over the poll’s fairness. The government argues that the draft constitution would, among other things, codify gender equality and ban female circumcision and underage …

Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | Residents of Nigeria’s economic hub Lagos scrambled for hygiene products Friday, after the chaotic megacity of 20 million announced the first confirmed case of new coronavirus in sub-Saharan Africa. Health Minister Osagie Ehanire said in a statement overnight that the infected person was an Italian citizen …

  Luanda, Angola | AFP |  Angola’s former first son Jose Filomeno dos Santos has spent hours contemplating the marble floor and wood-panelled walls of Luanda’s Supreme Court where he has been on trial since December. The 42-year-old child of Jose Eduardo dos Santos could soon hear whether he is guilty …

Conakry, Guinea | AFP |  Guineans will be called to vote Sunday on whether to adopt a new constitution, after months of protests sparked by charges that it is a trick by President Alpha Conde to stay in power. The government says the draft constitution will, among other things, codify gender …

  Lagos, Nigeria | AFP |  Nigeria on Friday announced the first confirmed case of the novel coronavirus in sub-Saharan Africa. The case is an Italian citizen who works in Nigeria and returned from Milan earlier this week, Health Minister Osagie Ehanire said in a statement on Twitter. “The patient …

Luanda, Angola | AFP | Entrepreneur Antonio Almeida has learned to navigate around the potholes of doing business in Angola. Since launching his business two decades ago, the 44-year-old has opened seven luxury clothing stores, a customs brokerage firm and a suburban shopping centre in the capital Luanda. Along the way …

Au Cap, Seychelles | AFP | It is the world’s largest seed, and with a shape suggestive of a woman’s hips and myths of love-making powers, the coco de mer is an icon of the Seychelles. With a 10-kilogramme (22-pound) coconut wedged between his feet, experienced nut cutter Christophe Bristol uses …

Takpapieni, Togo | AFP |  Not so long ago, whenever he wanted to watch a football match or recharge his phone, Ousmane Kantcho had to go “into town” — a 15-kilometre ride by bicycle on poor roads in the savannah. His village, Tababou, lies more than 600 kilometres (375 miles) from …

Cape Town, South Africa | AFP |  South Africa’s finance minister is expected to walk a tightrope during the annual budget presentation to parliament on Wednesday, as the economy teeters on the edge of a fiscal cliff. The continent’s most industrialised economy has in recent years lurched from one economic woe …