Cairo, Egypt | AFP | Egypt’s foreign minister confirmed Tuesday that his country would take part in mediated talks in Washington next month over a controversial dam Ethiopia is building on the Nile. Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia “will meet in the United States on 6 November… to break the deadlock in …
Read More »‘We don’t see the peace’: Abiy’s Nobel queried at Ethiopian border
Dawhan, Ethiopia | AFP | When Zaid Aregawi learned that Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed won this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, her first thought was of her brother Alem, who is languishing in jail across the border in Eritrea. He crossed over five months ago carrying wood for an Eritrean businessman …
Read More »Nigerian pastor accused of abusing children who fled Boko Haram
Benin City, Nigeria | AFP | Deep in the tropical forest in southern Nigeria, an evangelical pastor runs a sprawling camp billed as a refuge for thousands of children who fled the Boko Haram jihadist insurgency in the north. Solomon Folorunsho, known as Pastor Solomon, says he is on a self-proclaimed …
Read More »COMMENT: Tariffs and Intra-Africa trade
Significant reduction or elimination of tariffs would boost intra-Africa trade to more than 50% COMMENT | Damali Ssali | There are several factors that influence the value and volume of trade. However, tariffs on tradeable goods and services are one of the most significant. International trade grew dramatically in the …
Read More »Tanzania backsliding on freedoms under Magufuli
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | President John Magufuli has presided over a crackdown on media and civil society in Tanzania that has seriously undermined democratic freedoms as the country approaches elections, global rights groups said Monday. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Tanzania was backsliding under Magufuli, whose …
Read More »ETHIOPIAN CRASH: Alalo’s remains finally recovered
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The remains of Christine Alalo, the former Commissioner of Police who perished in the Ethiopian airlines crash in March this year, have been retrieved. This is according to a communication sent to the Uganda Police Force, from the Ethiopian government and the Airline company. …
Read More »Mozambique’s Nyusi wins re-election in disputed poll
Maputo, Mozambique | AFP | Incumbent President Filipe Nyusi was declared the landslide winner in Mozambique’s election this month, despite claims of widespread cheating, the electoral commission announced on Sunday. Nyusi of the ruling Frelimo party scored 73 percent of the vote, ahead of Ossufo Momade of Renamo, the rebel …
Read More »MPs visit Ugandan troops serving in AMISOM
Mogadishu, Somalia | THE INDEPENDENT | Ugandan Members of Parliament have started a week-long working visit to Somalia to assess the welfare of the country’s troops serving under the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). According to a statement by AMISOM, the legislators will visit the Forward Operating Bases and interact …
Read More »‘Grave site of Kenyan anti-colonial rebel hero Dedan Kimathi found’
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | The grave site of a guerilla leader in Kenya’s anti-colonial rebellion has been discovered beneath a prison in Nairobi, a foundation set up by his family says, more than 60 years after he was executed. Dedan Kimathi, a top insurgent in the Mau Mau uprising …
Read More »Uganda’s Ochen offers insights on youth, security and peace at AFRICOM meet
Stuttgart, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany | THE INDEPENDENT | Uganda’s Victor Ochen was recently one of three young leaders from Africa that briefed the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) on the role youth can play to promote peace on the continent. Ochen, United Nations Global Goals Ambassador for Peace and Justice and 2015 …
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