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Somalia: Bombings in Somalia Kill At Least 18

Mogadishu, Somalia — Somali officials say two explosions Wednesday in the Lower Shabelle region have killed at least 18 people, including the mayor of the region’s capital. Islamist militant group al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the deadliest attack. Mohammed Dhaysane reports from Mogadishu. The first attack was a suicide bombing that targeted officials in the town […]

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Nigeria: Opposition Senators Walk Out of Plenary Over Insecurity, Buhari’s Impeachment

The lawmakers walked out of the chamber during Wednesday’s proceedings after the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, shut down a motion on insecurity. Senators of the opposition parties walked out of the plenary session on Wednesday. The lawmakers, numbering over 20, walked out of the chamber after the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, shot down a motion […]

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Sudan – World Bank Provides $100 Million in Emergency Support

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) in Sudan has received a $100 million contribution from the World Bank to assist with critical emergency cash and food sustenance in Sudan. In the first-ever direct contribution between the two UN agencies in the country, the Sudan Emergency Safety Nets Project aims to provide cash transfers and food […]

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Congo-Kinshasa: How Conflicts Intertwined Over Time and Destabilised the DRC – and the Region

The conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is one of the deadliest the world has ever witnessed. One report estimates the death toll at 5.4 million while a more conservative count puts it at one million dead. Much of the conflict is centred in North Kivu and South Kivu provinces, which lie […]

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Nigeria: Special Report – How Insecurity Causes Malnutrition for Millions of Nigerian Children

At least 17 million Nigerian children are undernourished; stunted and/or wasted, giving Nigeria the highest burden of malnutrition in Africa and the second highest in the world. Three-year-old Salamatu’s face was gaunt, her eyes sunken and her tiny hands and legs tightly covered by flesh. Wrapped in her mother’s arm in a health facility in […]

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Zimbabwe: Inflation Is Spiking in Zimbabwe (Again). Why High Interest Rates Aren’t the Answer

The central bank of Zimbabwe has raised its benchmark rate from 80% to a fresh record of 200%. This increase comes as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is driving global commodity prices higher, exacerbating inflation in many countries around the world, including Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe’s Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube’s thinking is that aggressive tightening of monetary policy […]

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Kenya: Matiangi Says Large Amounts of Dirty Money Being Used for Campaigns

Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiangi says large amounts of dirty money are being used in the build-up to next month’s election stating that an unusually high number of economic criminals and their accomplices may buy their way into Parliament. Matiangi who spoke during the launch of the National Risk Assessment on Money laundering and Terrorism […]

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Kenya: Peter Njiru Sworn in as New Army Commander

Nakuru — Peter Njiru has been sworn in as the new Kenya Army Commander in a ceremony witnessed by President Kenyatta at State House Nakuru. The swearing-in ceremony of President Kenyatta’s former Aide de Camp on Wednesday was attended by the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) top brass led by Chief of Defence Forces Robert Kibochi. […]

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Kenya: Let’s Embrace Peace and Unity at All Times, President Kenyatta Urges

Nakuru — President Uhuru Kenyatta has urged Kenyans to embrace peace and unity at all times by shunning leaders whose main agenda is preaching divisive politics and hatred. The President emphasized that Kenya will only continue on the development trajectory if honest leaders who stand for the truth take over from him not the “masters […]

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Rwanda on Course to Grow Electric Mobility Market

Five years ago, Rwanda announced plans to introduce environmentally friendly transport services as part of the efforts to prioritise a climate resilient low carbon economy. Other initiatives to support the agenda included building smart green cities as well as the use of ICT and digital solutions for improved service delivery. But it was not until […]

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Rwanda: World Hepatitis Day – How Rwanda Reached Last Mile in Eliminating the Virus

As part of the national plan to eliminate Viral Hepatitis C (HCV), Rwanda has so far screened 7 million people, including children and adults, and treated close to 60,000 people, according to Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC). Dr. Janvier Serumondo, the Director of Sexually Transmitted Infections and Viral Hepatitis Unit at RBC, says that although they […]

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Nigeria: Uprooted Again, Nigerians Who Fled Boko Haram Face New Dangers

Abuja — As camps for the displaced close in Borno state, thousands of people are at risk of extreme poverty and labour exploitation, aid workers say Thousands of displaced people face evictions from camps Many camp residents too scared to return home Displaced at risk of labour abuse, hunger, say aid groups When Aisha found […]

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Mali – 15 Soldiers, 3 Civilians Killed in Islamist Attacks

15 soldiers and three civilians were killed in two coordinated attacks by Islamists in southwest Mali on Wednesday, the army said. This was the third attack in a week after al-Qaeda-linked militants set off two car bombs targeting Mali’s main military base outside the capital, Bamako, on Friday, a day after a series of insurgent […]

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Angola: Giant Pink Diamond Lulo Rose Found in Angola

Australia’s Lucapa diamond company said on Wednesday that miners at a site in Angola had found a 170-carat pink diamond, dubbed the Lulo Rose. The stone, a Type IIa diamond, is believed to be the largest of its kind to have been found in centuries. How valuable is the find? It’s expected that the diamond […]

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Ethiopia – Russian FM Sergey Lavrov Dismisses ‘So-Called Food Crisis’ On Last Leg of Africa Tour

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was in Ethiopia on Wednesday for the last day of his four-nation tour of Africa as Russia attempts to shore up support amid its invasion of Ukraine. Lavrov expressed support for the increasingly internationally side-lined government in Addis Ababa while also once again rejecting any Russian responsibility for the ongoing […]

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Nigeria: We’ve Rescued Two More Chibok Girls – Army

This comes barely two months after the Army announced the rescue of one other girl from the Chibok girls group abducted by Boko Haram in 2014. Troops of the 202 Battalion of the Nigerian Army have announced the rescue of four ladies, two of whom are believed to be amongst the abducted Chibok girls. The […]

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Nigerian Workers Protest Continued Lecturers’ Union Strike

Abuja, Nigeria — A nationwide labor protest in Nigeria spread to the capital, Abuja, on Wednesday, as protesters sought to pressure authorities to resolve a payment dispute with university teachers. The lecturers walked out of classes Feb. 14 over the dispute and an unfulfilled government promise to invest $500 million in public universities. The strike […]

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Africa: Can Somalia’s New President Patch Relations With the AU?

Hassan Sheikh Mohamud is expected to regard the continental body more favourably than his predecessors did. The African Union (AU) has been central to Somalia’s slow journey towards stability. Among other things, its African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) has since 2007 led efforts to confront al-Shabaab, capacitate the Somali Security Forces and spearhead political […]