Cameroon train crash: Scores killed, hundreds injured
(Al Jazeera) At least 70 people were killed and nearly 600 injured when an overloaded passenger train travelling between Cameroon’s two largest cities derailed and overturned.
Voters head to polls in troubled Mali after years of delay
(France 24) Voters in Mali headed to the polls on Sunday for the first time since 2013, when international forces intervened to tackle rebel forces which threatened to split the country in two.
Audio recordings drag Guinea president into mine bribery scandal
(France24) Audio recordings obtained by FRANCE 24 have cast new light on the titanic battle raging over one of the world’s largest iron ore deposits, suggesting the murky practices Guinea’s President Alpha Condé had pledged to stamp out are still taking place. For several weeks, revelations about suspicions of corruption around juicy mining contracts have multiplied in Guinea, an impoverished West… Read more »
South Africa launches major new trial of AIDS vaccine
(France24) The latest attempt in the long, frustrating search for a vaccine against HIV began in South Africa on Wednesday, as scientists test a beefed-up version of the only shot ever to show a glimmer of protection. The stakes are high. It’s the first study of its kind begun in seven years, and even moderate success could prove important not… Read more »
Analysis Post
It was surprising to see that president Zuma of South Africa didn’t have any consequences from the no-confidence vote held against him earlier, as he seems to be wildly unpopular in South Africa, due to the many corruption charges and other scandals implicating him. His recent activities have sparked many protests against him, and many members of even his own… Read more »
Ugandan Troops Move Against Tribal King in Rebel Region
(NYT.com) A long-running conflict between armed rebels and Ugandan security forces in a remote district near the Democratic Republic of Congo border escalated Sunday when Ugandan troops moved against a tribal king. Gunfire erupted outside the palace of Charles Wesley Mumbere, the king of the Bakonzo people, when the Ugandan troops tried to disarm Mr. Mumbere’s guards and arrest him…. Read more »
Jacob Zuma: South Africa’s ‘Teflon President’ escapes party backlash
(CNN.com) The 355-page State of Capture report contained allegations, and in some instances evidence, of cronyism, questionable business deals and ministerial appointments at the very top of government. The President, his son Duduzane Zuma, government ministers, the board of South Africa’s state power utility, Eskom, and the Gupta family — brothers Ajay, Atul and Rajesh Gupta — are all implicated… Read more »
Kenya delays closure of world’s largest refugee camp
(France 24) Kenya said on Wednesday it had to agreed to delay the closure of a huge Somali refugee camp that it sees as a security risk, after international pressure to give residents more time to find new homes. Nairobi had vowed to shut Dadaab camp this month, saying it was being used by Islamist militants from neighbouring Somalia who… Read more »
Burundi presidential aide escapes assassination bid
(France24) A top advisor to Burundi’s president and the most public face of the government has escaped an assassination attempt in the capital Bujumbura, officials said Tuesday. Willy Nyamitwe was returning home on Monday night when “he was met with sustained gunfire and grenade explosions”, a high-ranking presidential official told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity, One of his bodyguards… Read more »
Rwanda opens probe into role of French officials in genocide
(France24) Rwanda on Tuesday opened a formal probe into 20 French officials suspected of playing a role in the 1994 genocide which left some 800,000 dead, the prosecutor general said. “The inquiry, for now, is focused on 20 individuals whom, according to information gathered so far, are required by the prosecution authority to explain or provide clarity on allegations against… Read more »