AFRICA

  Can the African Continental Free Trade Area succeed where previous free-trade initiatives have failed? Dianna Games weighs up the issues. Africa heads into a historic year in which the long-awaited African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) finally becomes a reality, with trading under the scheme scheduled to begin on 1 …

  Cairo, Egypt | AFP | Egypt’s former president Hosni Mubarak, who ruled for three decades before he was ousted amid the Arab Spring protests in 2011, died Tuesday at age 91. The once burly autocrat with the trademark sunglasses, who became frail after multiple surgeries towards the end of …

Maseru, Lesotho | AFP |  Pressure mounted on Lesotho Prime Minister Thomas Thabane to step down Monday as he appeared in court over the murder of his estranged wife after failing to turn up for a hearing last week. The latest twist in a saga that has gripped the southern African …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | A South African inquiry into the forced sterilisation of dozens of HIV-positive pregnant women said Monday that their rights had been breached and called for government action. The investigation was launched in 2015, when two women’s rights organisations approached South Africa’s Gender Equality Commission …

Bangassou, Central African Republic | AFP | In Bangassou, splendid trees overlook elegant buildings slowly crumbling to ruin. Time here seems to have stood still, and Bangassou’s trauma too. The quiet little town in southeastern Central African Republic was relatively spared by a civil war which erupted in 2013 and mutated …

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | AFP | A “bomb attack” on a rally in support of Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed injured nearly 30 people Sunday, a police official said, in the latest sign of instability ahead of elections in August. The incident occurred in the town of Ambo, located roughly …

Juba, South Sudan | AFP |  South Sudan is the world’s youngest country and also one of the poorest, crippled by a devastating civil war that has left tens of thousands dead. As rebel leader Riek Machar was sworn in as vice president ahead of the formation of a new …

Lome, Togo | AFP |  The home of a key Togo opposition candidate was surrounded by security forces just hours after polls closed Saturday in elections widely expected to see President Faure Gnassingbe claim a fourth term in power. Troops could be seen outside the house of Agbeyome Kodjo, considered …

Khartoum, Sudan | THE INDEPENDENT | Without joint planning and investment, Nile Basin countries miss out on opportunities of development, which benefit the Nile people, says Sudan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs. Speaking during the Regional Nile Day 2020 celebrations in Khartoum, Sudan, guest of honour Asma Mohamad Abdalla, said, “The event’s …

✳ Dr. Riek Machar Teny, First VP ✳ Dr. James Wani Igga, VP ✳ Taban Deng Gai, VP ✳ Rebecca Nyandeng Garang, VP Juba, South Sudan | AFP | South Sudan rebel leader Riek Machar was sworn in as first vice president on Saturday, formally rejoining the government in the …