AFRICA

Rwanda is to host an India Innovation Growth Programme for the East African region, according to an agreement signed between the two countries on Feb. 20 in Kigali. Under the agreement, the India-Rwanda Innovation Growth Program is being launched to enable India expand ties in science, technology and innovation between …

Banjul, Gambia | AFP |  The Gambia’s new president has fired the head of the national prison system, officials said Sunday, taking aim at a service denounced for alleged abuses under the former regime. President Adama Barrow on Friday “sacked David Colley, the director-general of the Gambia Prison Service”, a …

Khartoum, Sudan | AFP |  About 32,000 South Sudanese have entered Sudan since the start of the year, with tens of thousands more expected to arrive fleeing a famine in their country, the UN refugee agency said Sunday. On Monday, South Sudan, the world’s youngest nation formed after splitting from …

Bamako, Mali | AFP |  Dozens of young Muslims opposed to alcoholic beverages smashed bars and liquor stalls in the northern Malian city of Timbuktu on Saturday, saying they were “places of depravity”, local sources said. “The youngsters were very organised, having targeted what to destroy,” said a resident reached …

United Nations, United States | AFP |  UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is warning Burundi’s President Pierre Nkurunziza against seeking a fourth term, saying such a move risks deepening the crisis in the African country. In a report obtained by AFP, the UN chief says he is “very concerned” by recent …

Matobo, Zimbabwe | AFP | Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, who turned 93 this week, celebrates his birthday on Saturday with a lavish party attended by thousands of loyalists outside the second city of Bulawayo. The ruling ZANU-PF party is hosting the event for Mugabe, who has held power since 1980 …

Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | Nigeria’s Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo seems to have been everywhere while his boss is away. He even conducted a spot check on the public toilets at Lagos international airport. The clear aim, it seems, is to give the impression of business as usual while President Muhammadu …

Lubumbashi, DR Congo | AFP |  The Pygmy and Bantu people of the Democratic Republic of Congo signed a peace deal Friday to put an end to decades of deadly violence that has killed hundreds. Pygmies from the ethnic Twa group have been seeking recognition of equal rights with other …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP |  A 5.7-magnitude earthquake hit near Africa’s Lake Tanganyika early Friday, the US Geological Survey said, with the epicentre in northen Zambia. The quake, which was 10 kilometres (six miles) deep, struck at 00:32 GMT about 45 kilometres from the Zambian town of Kaputa, which …

Pretoria, South Africa | AFP | South African police fired rubber bullets, tear gas and stun grenades to break up clashes between local protesters and immigrants in Pretoria on Friday at a march against foreigners. Shops and homes owned by migrants have been looted and torched over the last two …