On Tuesday the Senegalese army said it took three rebel “bases” in the restive southern region Casamance and recovered weapons during an offensive launched in late January after months of a lull in the long-standing conflict. Officers of the Senegalese army took the press for a rare visit to two …
Read More »Somalia expresses high hopes in election meeting
Somalia’s government spokesman Mohamed Moalimu has said a planned meeting next week will help end political uncertainty in the country. He told the BBC’s Newsday programme that the government was always ready to facilitate free and fair elections. The country missed the 8 February deadline to hold elections because of …
Read More »Somalia’s Farmajo moves to end electoral impasse
Somalia’s President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo has called for a meeting with federal state leaders next week to resolve the impasse on how to proceed with elections. The term of President Farmajo ended on Monday after talks on the elections collapsed on 5 February. Opposition groups have said they no longer …
Read More »Uganda lifts internet and social media restrictions
The Ugandan government has announced the full restoration of internet and social media services. “We apologise for the inconveniences caused, but it was for the security of our country,” Peter Ogwang, State Minister for ICT and National Guidance, tweeted. He added: “Let’s be constructive, not destructive consumers/users of social media.” …
Read More »23 villagers killed during raid in Nigeria’s Kaduna state
Officials in Nigeria’s north-western state of Kaduna say gunmen killed at least 23 villagers and injured others in a series of attacks on Tuesday. The authorities say 10 of the victims were shot dead in a village in Birnin-Gwari area. One of the attackers was killed by villagers. In a …
Read More »Internet and phone services disrupted in Gambia
The Gambia is experiencing prolonged downtime of internet and mobile telephony resulting in general disruption of services. This is the second time in a week that the West Africa country has experienced hours of shutdown in communication services. Last week, the state-owned telecommunications company, Gamtel, apologised to consumers for the …
Read More »Ghana’s parliament shuts down after coronavirus outbreak
Due to increasing coronavirus cases among lawmakers and staff, Ghana’s parliament will suspend sittings for three weeks , Speaker Alban Bagbin announced on Tuesday. The number of MPs who have contracted the virus has risen to 17 while that of staff has gone up to 151. Speaker Bagbin said sittings …
Read More »South Africa will now use Johnson & Johnson Covid-vaccine
The South African government has outlined its amended coronavirus immunisation plans. They were put on hold when a trial suggested that the AstraZeneca vaccines which were due to be distributed were less effective against a local variant of the virus. Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said a Johnson and Johnson vaccine …
Read More »422 migrants rescued off Libyan coast
Hundreds of migrants rescued off the Libyan coast in the past few days have arrived in Italy, where they disembarked on Monday. The NGO SOS Mediterranee said the 422 migrants were rescued by their ship, Ocean Viking, during several search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean Sea between February the …
Read More »Tanzanian president John Magufuli will not run for a third term
The ruling party in Tanzania has dismissed growing calls from its MPs for President John Magufuli to extend his term in office. The 61-year-old president, who won elections in October, is currently serving his second and final five-year term in office. Humphrey Polepole, the CCM party’s publicity secretary, has told …
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