Africa This Week: News Round-Up
MALI “AMBUSHES LEAVES 18 DEAD”
AFP News Agency officials have reported two ambushes by armed men in Mali's central region have left 18 civilians dead.
Twelve died in an incident on Wednesday near the village of Tigula when they went out to investigate a blast that killed a soldier. A further six from the same community were killed when they went to find out what happened to the original group, AFP reports.
"Having heard the explosion, villagers went towards the scene... when terrorists intervened to execute them," a local official is quoted by AFP as saying.
SOUTH SUDAN MOURNS PRESS FREEDOM CHAMPIONS
Celebrations to mark World Press Freedom day in South Sudan have been postponed, in order to respect the funeral of former BBC News reporter Alfred Taban, who dies last weekend in Uganda aged 62. Taban was also the founder and former editor-in-cheif of the Khartoum Monitor.
Khartoum Monitor was Sudan’s first independent English-Language paper - launched in September 2000 and was renamed the Juba Monitor after South Sudan became independent in 2011.
Alfred Taban gave up journalism and took up politics in 2017, becoming a member of parliament. He was regarded as a champion for media freedom in South Sudan.
Following his death, his laughter tweeted that she wishes people to honour him through bringing unity and peace to South Sudan, which is still fractured by the civil war that began in December 2013.
WHAT DOES SUDAN’S MILITARY WANT?
A top official in Sudan’s military council has told BBC News sources`, that it will not allow civilians a majority on the supreme council set to rule the country during a transitional period.
Lt Gen Salah Abdelkhalek, and the rest of the Sudanese military clearly do not want to see their power eroded. They fear that if they are a minority in the supreme council. They will simply be out-voted every time.
In fact, stating that he might accept a 50-50 split could be seen as a concession: the military had already suggested that the council should be made up of seven soldiers and three civilians.
Of course, negotiations are often carried out partly through public declarations, and mainly behind closed doors.
In private, there are numerous attempts to break the current deadlock between the military and protesters.
Elsewhere in the interview, Lt Gen Salah pushed an old line - that without the military chaos would ensue; and repeated a well-worn denial - the armed forces hadn't targeted civilians in the past, he said. People who lost family members in Darfur, the Nuba mountains, or what is now South Sudan will simply not believe that.
CYCLONE KENNETH: MOZAMBIQUE RECORDS 14 CHOLERA CASES
The health authorities in the cyclone-hit northern Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado say they have found 14 cases of cholera there.
Cabo Delgado Director of Health Anastasia Lidimo said that since Cyclone Kenneth struck last week cases of diarrhoea have also been increasing. Currently there are 69 people with the disease.
But, she said, the authorities are “ready to tackle the situation.”
DR CONGO EBOLA DEATHS SET TO PASS 1,000 MARK
The World Health Organisation says it expects the number of deaths from the Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo to pass the 1,000 mark today.
WHO Deputy Director General Dr Michael Ryan says all efforts to control the spread of the disease are being hampered by continuing violence in the region.
Numerous rebel groups are active in eastern Congo and there is also deep mistrust of health workers. Some people still refuse to believe the Ebola virus is real.
Several treatment centres have been attacked in recent months. In April, Cameroonian epidemiologist Dr Richard Valery Mouzoko Kiboung was killed in an attack at the university hospital in Butembo.
The Ebola outbreak which began last August is already the second deadliest in history.
ALGERIA PROTESTORS “WILL NOT SHUT UP”
Thousands of protestors have rallied in the main square of the Algerian capital for the 11th week of mass demonstration in a row.
Chants of “we will not shut up” were heard as people called for the resignation of those in power a month after long-serving leader President Abdelaziz Bouteflika stepped down, Reuters Agency reports.
Slogans on banners included “you must go” and “thieves you have destroyed the country”, Reuters added.
The protestors want free elections, due on 4th July, and an end to corruption, including the removal of all officials linked to the former president.
UGANDA “RESTRICTING FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION”
Diplomats from Europe, the US and other countries have criticised the Ugandan authorities’ decision to suspend dozens of journalised on allegations that they had breached minimum broadcasting standards.
Uganda’s media regulator ordered 13 TV and radio stations to suspend 39 staff - including some senior editors.
The move was widely seen as a punishment for stations that had broadcast this week’s arrest of musician turned opposition MP Bobi Wine.
He has been released on bail.
In a joint statement, the diplomats urged the Ugandan government to respect the rule of law and allow Ugandans, regardless of their political affiliation, to excursive their basic democratic rights.
HAS THE ANC BUILT 1M HOMES SINCE 2014?
South Africa’s general election is just five days away and we’ve been evaluating some of the pledges made by the governing ANC.
During the election campaign in 2014, the ANC promised to deliver one million homes in the next five years.
So what happened and how good is it’s records?
The South African government says 3.2 million homes were built from 1994, to 2018. There was a dramatic growth in construction in the early years of the ANC rule (1994-1999). Yet after reaching its peak in 1999, the rate of house building has slowed, particularly over the past few years.
Just under 580,000 homes were delivered during the first four years of the ANC’s current term, 2015-2018.
And although data for the fifth year is not yet available, the rate of delivery falls considerably short of the promise made by the ANC at the last election.
AID REACHING CYCLONE-AFFECTED MOZAMBICANS
Aid agencies are now able to deliver aid to thousands of people affected by cyclone Kenneth, which hit the Mozambican north coast a week ago.
More than 40 people were killed buy the tropical storm and over 200,000 affected.
Aid agencies had struggled to reach affected areas in the immediate aftermath of the storm.
ETHIOPIA DEPLOYS TROOPS TO CALM VIOLENCE
Officials from the Ethiopian regions of Amhara and Benishangul Gumuz are working together to try and deal with an upsurge of ethnic clashes that has left many dead, Amhara region spokesperson Asemahegn Asres has said.
In recent weeks, Amharas have been attacked in Benishangul Gumuz and Gumuz have been targeted in Amhara.
Federal police and defence forces have been deployed to the affected areas and things are not calming down, Mr Asemahegn told a press conference.
He warned people against engaging in retaliatory attacks.
BENIN TROOPS ‘SEAL OFF ROADS NEAR EX PRESIDENT’S HOME’
Troops in Benin have sealed off the roads around the house of former President Thomas Boni Yayi, AFP news agency reports.
The area close to his home, Cadjehoun, has attracted protesters angry with the way Sunday's legislative elections were conducted.
Opposition parties were, in effect, excluded from running after very high registration fees were charged.
Protests started soon after the first set of results were released on Wednesday, AFP says. Troops and demonstrators have clashed and up to three people have been killed, it reports.
Benin has been seen for a long time as a model for peaceful democracy on the continent.
TANZANIA IN THE SPLOTLIGHT ON PRESS FREEDOM DAY
People have marked World Press Freedom day by looking at whether things have improved for journalists across the globe.
Ethiopia has hosted a major conference on journalism to mark the day. A country that has seen a dramatic turnaround in the way journalists are being treated.
Only a year ago, it had a reputation for locking up more journalists than any other country on the continent. However Prime Minister Abiv Ahmen, since coming into office, has overseen widespread reforms including the freeing of dozens of jailed journalists and bloggers.
However whilst celebrating such change in Ethiopia, the Committee for the Protection of Journalists (CPJ) is growing concerned that the situation is getting worse in Tanzania. Highlighting the case of journalist Azory Gwanda who went missing in November 2017.
There has been a growing concern over a media crackdown in Tanzania. In March, the East African Court of Justice ruled that sanctions of Tanzania’s Media Services Act restricted press freedom and freedom of expression. It called on the Tanzanian government to repeal the act.
US OPENS NEW ZIMBABWE EMBASSY ‘TO SHOW FRIENDSHIP’
The US has opened a new embassy in the Zimbabwe capital of Harare. The decision to open a new embassy, displays the “enduring friendship” between the two nations, the State department has said.
In a statement, it said the building included “design elements reminiscent of Great Zimbabwe and locally sourced material, such as brick and black granite, that reflect our appreciation for Zimbabwe’s culture and responsible use of natural resources.”
Zimbabwe’s state owned Herald newspaper described the embassy compound built at a cost of about $300m - as a “structural behemoth”, which was believed to be one of the US’ largest embassies in Africa.
The newspaper added that despite the US continuing to impose “illegal” sanctions on Zimbabwe, the US ambassador to Harare, Brian Nichols, struck a conciliatory tone at the opening ceremony.
He praised the government’s efforts to “align” laws with the constitution and promised to strengthen trade and investment ties, the Herald reports.
Stories taken from both Reuters and BBC News