(BBC) Uganda’s leader Yoweri Museveni has promoted his eldest son to become a special presidential adviser in a reshuffle of army commanders. Maj Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba has risen rapidly within the military, fuelling speculation that he is being groomed to become president one day. Analysts say his new role, working more closely with state house, will broaden his remit and… Read more »
(The Guardian) A vaccine for Ebola which has completed successful trials in Guinea and Sierra Leone means the virus should never again be able to wreak the havoc it did during the recent epidemic in west Africa, say scientists. More than 11,000 people died in the outbreak, which began unnoticed in December 2013 and spread across the region, infecting at… Read more »
(CNN) Amid unrest in cities across the nation, Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara announced Saturday the government reached an agreement with soldiers who have been demanding pay bonuses. Some of the soldiers said they were promised — but never received — a salary bonus for their role in bringing Ouattara to power after disputed elections in 2010, a military source… Read more »
(France 24)Chief Justice Emmanuel Fagbenle delayed the hearing until Jan. 16, meaning the court will hear the challenge filed by Jammeh’s ruling APRC party only two days before the end of the long-ruling president’s mandate. Legal sources said the foreign judges named to the court have not yet arrived in the West African country. Outside the courtroom, hundreds of people… Read more »
(South China Morning Post) A multibillion-dollar China-built rail line linking the Horn of Africa with the continent’s vast interior was officially launched on Tuesday, an important milestone for China’s burgeoning influence in the region. The 750km line connects port city Djibouti and Addis Ababa, the capital of landlocked Ethiopia, the fastest-growing economy in Africa. The railway is expected to reduce… Read more »
(Forbes) The number of billionaires in Africa–and the size of their fortunes–continues to drop. On this year’s list, FORBES is only including African billionaires living in Africa, instead of featuring Africa’s 50 richest people. There are 21 billionaires on this year’s list, worth a combined $70 billion. On the November 2015 Africa Rich List, there were 23 African billionaires worth a… Read more »
(Al-Jazeera) South Africa’s ruling African National Congress is marking 105 years since it was formed but there are deep divisions in the ranks of Africa’s oldest liberation movement. President Jacob Zuma, ANC leader, will speak to party members on Sunday in Soweto, Johannesburg. The party, which has won every election since the end of apartheid in 1994, has been plagued… Read more »
(BBC News)The Gambia’s Supreme Court is unable to hear the petition seeking to annul last month’s election until May, chief justice Emmanuel Fagbenle says. The Nigerian judge due to oversee the seven-member panel was not available till then, he said. Longstanding ruler President Yahya Jammeh, 51, initially accepted defeat but later rejected the result. It is not yet clear what… Read more »
(The Guardian) A further 49 clinics are under threat of closure due to financial shortfalls, with the UN’s appeal for the country close to 50% underfunded. Eleven health facilities in Sudan, funded by the UN and serving people displaced by conflict in the region, have been forced to close due to lack of money. Funding shortfalls also threaten the closure… Read more »
(France 24) Floods triggered by heavy rains and a river bursting its banks have killed at least 50 people and left thousands homeless in the southwest Democratic Republic of Congo, a provincial governor told AFP on Thursday.