AFRICA

How African researchers are tackling Ebola HEALTH | YAP BOUM | In August 2015 Dr Sakoba Keita, who led the Ebola response in Guinea during the largest Ebola outbreak the world has ever seen, declared: “The Ebola vaccine is a gift from Guinea to West Africa and the world”. This …

Luanda, Angola | THE INDEPENDENT | President Joao Lourenço has invited his Congolese counterpart Denis Sassou Nguesso to attend the summit that will bring together the Presidents of Angola, Rwanda, Uganda and DRC to take place today in Luanda. Both countries have excellent cooperative relations in political-diplomatic, oil, environment and …

Yaoundé, Cameroon | AFP |  A military court in Cameroon on Tuesday handed a life sentence to the head of the country’s anglophone separatist movement, Julius Sisiku Ayuk Tabe, in a move that analysts said could inflame the 22-month-old revolt. Ayuk Tabe, a charismatic leader widely deemed as a moderate in …

Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | Sudan’s transition towards civilian rule got off to a bumpy start as generals and protest leaders fell two days behind schedule Tuesday in unveiling a joint sovereign council. The body will replace the transitional military council that took over from longtime ruler Omar al-Bashir when …

Kigali, Rwanda | AFP |  A Rwandan brewery apologised Tuesday for printing sexist jokes on its beer labels after its attempt at humour drew a stinging rebuke from some of the country’s top female officials. Skol Brewery Limited also promised to immediately discontinue its “Live Laugh Lager” campaign, which saw …

The African Union launched the operational phase of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) at a summit in Niger last month. Vera Songwe is the Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Africa that has been providing support for the AU during negotiations and ratifications. She spoke to …

Bulawayo, Zimbabwe | AFP | Troops and police were out in force in Zimbabwe’s second city of Bulawayo on Monday blocking a planned opposition march, three days after brutally dispersing a banned protest in the capital Harare. Soldiers and armed police on horseback and in trucks patrolled the city’s  central business …

  Libreville, Gabon | AFP |  Gabon’s presidency said Monday that a recent speech showed leader Ali Bongo was “firmly in control” of the country after he suffered a stroke 10 months ago that fuelled speculation about his ability to rule. The opposition has claimed that President Bongo is unfit …

Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | Sudan’s deposed military leader Omar al-Bashir, who ruled the country for 30 years, arrived in court Monday in Khartoum for the start of his trial on corruption charges. The trial comes as a sovereign council was being formed, following Saturday’s signing of a transitional constitution by …

  Luanda, Angola | THE INDEPENDENT & AFP | President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda and Rwanda’s Paul Kagame are expected to hold discussions in Angola next week, the second such meeting in two months. According to a press release from the Angolan presidency, they two leaders will be the second …