Africa UP Close

Mugabe is filing an application to Zimbabwe’s Constitutional Court to delay July elections until security and media reforms can be expanded. The Malian government has signed a ceasefire with Tuareg rebels in the buildup to elections later this year. Liberian troops are heading to Mali to act as peacekeepers, for the first time in 52 years. Two African migrants, survivors of a boating tragedy that killed 63 people bound for Europe, are suing the French and Spanish militaries due to NATO boats not aiding survivors in distress. South Africa is remembering the centenary of 1913′s native land act, an element of the nation’s former apartheid. Ethiopia and Egypt have agree to continue holding talks over water-distribution in the Nile and Ethiopia’s planned dam project. The Renamo opposition party in Mozambique threatened to hurt the government this past week by taking out the only railway coming out of the country’s oil fields. Kenyan trade in East Africa, formerly strong, has been weakening because of rising costs and inefficiencies at Mombasa ports. Thirty eight gunmen riding in on motorcycles kill at least 32 in Northern Nigeria (other sources report higher), alongside other conflicts in the region that threaten to cause a refugee crisis. Finally, South Africa’s Basic Education Minister lashed out at recent actions organized by NGO Equal Education.

Continue reading to see each story in more detail… 

A Washington Post commentator has urged Obama to cancel the visit to Tanzania during his upcoming Africa trip in response to slavery charges against a former Tanzanian diplomat. Morsi, worrying those in Egypt concerned about political polarization, has appointed a new governor for the tourist town Luxors: a hard-line Islamist from the group Gamaa Islamiya. South Africa is asking for public co-operation from the British Government in probing allegations that Britain spied on former SA President Thabo Mbeki. Leaders of the SADC party in Zimbabwe met for a summit in Mozambique to urge Mugabe to ask the Constitutional Court to extend its election deadline, so that an election can be put off until there are media and security reforms that would make it more likely to be fair. Législatives en Guinée: la date du 30 juin n’est plus retenue. There were marches in Praetoria and Capetown in South Africa on Monday, calling for “safer and better reformed schools.” Finally, the economy of the whole of Southern Africa, especially Namibia, is slowly on the rise.

In South Africa, President Zuma has said that Mandela is responding to treatment. The Managing Director of the World Bank Group discussed in a press release the potential for youth in Niger. After Kenyan MPs invoked massive public anger with their ask for a large pay raise, they settled on Tuesday for a smaller amount. The first draft of a new constitution in Tanzania recognizes the rights of minority groups that have been ignored since independence 50 years ago. Tuareg rebels in Mali have agreed to sign a deal that would bring on nationwide polls July 28th. The ICC has offered to try Ruto (Kenya) in East Africa, but there are still concerns about the body’s relationship with the continent. A Zimbabwean activist on Facebook calling himself ‘Baba Jukwa’ is taking the country’s leaders to task. The President of South Sudan has agreed to hand off oil disputes with nearby Sudan to African Union mediators. Finally, according to Zanzibar’s Department of Environment, “rising sea levels have resulted in seawater mixing with fresh water supplies and contaminating the wells.”

Continue reading to see each story in more detail…

The South African President said this morning that “Nelson Mandela remains in the hospital, and his condition is unchanged.” Union Africaine fin de le’etat de grace pour Nkosazana-Dlamini Zuma. In analyzing the upcoming economic week, the Mail and Guardian found that manufacturing, mining, and retail trade figures are likely to be the main feature of SA’s data calendar; they went on to summarize the economic outlook in Africa, Europe, the US, and Asia. Adjournement du proces Moubarak au 6 juillet. Members of the African Innovation Foundation spoke about the importance of their goals in the continent, alongside members of Agriprotein, the winner of the 2013 Innovation Prize. Finally, professor and journalist Keith Somerville writes about coverage of political issues in SA and the world, with the potential passing of Nelson Mandela.

Continue reading to see each story in more detail…

The Rwandan President Paul Kagame dropped two RPF members from his cabient, fueling speculation that the former justice minister and former minister of cabinet affairs would oppose a third term for Kagame. The 23rd World Economic Forum took place in Cape Town, South Africa in May. Kenya’s Clerk of the National Assembly has told journalists that they must abandon Parliament’s media center, and can only return when “needed.” The Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary of the UN Security Council reports that African countries are on the frontlines of pushing for reforms in the Council. Strikes by Mozambique Doctors and nurses enter their third week as the medics march with tape over their mouths to symbolize the government’s lack of response. Five years after a reform bill on Nigeria’s oil and gas industry was presented to Parliament, the efforts have fallen apart. The World Bank and the UN promise do things differently in relation to African Policy, amidst announcements of the Bank pledging US $1 billion to the Great Lakes Region. Finally, an Egyptian Morsi aide is apologizing after a discussion between two politicians on sabotaging a new Ethiopian dam project was broadcast live.

Continue reading to see each story in more detail…

After an October 2012 test case in London’s High Court, thousands of Kenyans are signing on with the Law Society of Kenya to sue Britain over abusive treatment during the Mau Mau rebellion. Pourquoi la dette africaine attire les investisseurs. Oscar Pistorius’s case has been delayed two months following a pre-trail hearing, and media misconduct could push that even farther (South Africa). La CPI demande plus de preuves contre Laurent Gbagbo avant de le juger. At the Fifth Tokyo International Conference for African Development in early June, Japan plans on rolling out its next five-year phase of African engagement. Robert Mugabe plans abide by a new court ruling that he must hold elections in Zimbabwe by the end of July. Libya appeals to the International Criminal Court that it can fairly try Gaddafi’s son, and does not wish to turn him over to the ICC. Finally, the World Cup Legacy Edition will be hosted in Qatar on June 4th, and a group of representatives of the South African business community have arrived, led by the Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry Elisabeth Thabethe.

Continue reading to see each story in more detail…

President Obama’s trip to Africa; ‘anarchy’ in the Central African Republic; technology supporting agriculture in Kenya; the mineral paradox in East Africa; emergency meeting of rival political leaders in Madagascar; and release of terrorist suspects in Nigeria

Continue reading for an overview of today’s news.

Continue reading for some of today’s news stories.

Continue reading for stories including the desire of British Parliament to establish to “confine asylum seekers to leased houses” in Kenya, the battle against food insecurity in Africa, Côte d’Ivoire’s request for drones, the African Development Bank’s loan to Kenya for the construction of a road to Kenya, Uhuru Kenyatta’s restructuring of the Kenyan cabinet, and the convening of a summit of Central African leaders to discuss the instability in the CAR.

Continue reading for stories including an analysis of France’s involvement in the Mali crisis, the implications surrounding the return of exiled Rwandan politicians from the diaspora, the continuation of a legal battle between Nelson Mandela’s granddaughter and George Bizos, a constitutional amendment supporting term limits in Uganda, William Ruto’s decision to not be present during his trial at the ICC, and the confrontations between Seleka rebels and the local population at Bangui.