AFRICA

Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | A state of emergency imposed across Sudan is restricting public freedoms, a minister said Wednesday, as lawmakers discussed the measure imposed by President Omar al-Bashir to quell anti-government protests. Bashir declared a year-long state of emergency on February 22 after an initial crackdown failed to suppress deadly demonstrations against his iron-fisted …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Africa Now Summit 2019 slated for March 12th and 13th at the Commonwealth Hotel in Munyonyo comes at a time when there are socioeconomic changes both within Africa and globally. Africa Strategic Leadership Centre (ASLC), organizers of the much anticipated summit are taking …

Kano, Nigeria | AFP | The leader of an Islamic State-backed faction of Boko Haram may have been replaced, sources say, against a backdrop of speculation as to his fate — and the group’s future direction. Three sources with deep knowledge of the group said they had been told in recent days that the Islamic …

Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | Sudanese authorities have released a senior opposition leader who had been detained since December in connection with demonstrations against President Omar al-Bashir’s rule, his party said on Tuesday. Omar el-Digeir, the chief of the opposition Sudanese Congress Party, was arrested and jailed days after protests erupted on December 19 after …

Juba, South Sudan | AFP |  The leaders of Ethiopia and Eritrea met South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir Monday seeking to breathe new life into a flagging peace agreement signed six months ago between his government and rebels. South Sudan’s influential Catholic Church last month warned that the deal agreed …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT |  Britain’s envoy in Uganda Peter West has told URN in an interview that Rwanda and Uganda need to amicably resolve the matters that could have triggered growing animosity between the two neighbouring countries. “I think the best thing is a dialogue between the two countries. …

Beni, DR Congo | AFP | An Ebola treatment centre in  eastern DR Congo has reopened after an attack by gunmen last Wednesday forced its closure, the health ministry announced. The centre, located in Butembo in the troubled province of North Kivu, reopened on Saturday, the health ministry said in a bulletin. Repairs were also …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Four American tourists and a Kenyan pilot were killed when their helicopter crashed on an island in a lake in northwest Kenya, police said Monday. The accident occurred in the Central Island National Park in Lake Turkana at around 8pm (1700 GMT) on Sunday, police …

Algiers, Algeria | AFP | Algeria’s President Abdelaziz Bouteflika pledged Sunday not to serve a full term if re-elected at April polls after huge protests against the bid to extend his 20 years in power. The ailing leader, who suffered a stroke in 2013, vowed in a letter read out …

Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari was elected in 2015 on a wave of hope that he could defeat Boko Haram Islamists and turn around a country blighted by decades of corruption and poor governance. But while he will go down in history as Nigeria’s first opposition …