South Africa’s Constitutional Court disqualifies ex-president Zuma next week’s elections citing criminal past
Zuma was South African president from 2009-2018 but resigned under a cloud of corruption allegations. He made a return to politics last year with a new party and has been fiercely critical of the ruling African National Congress party he once led.
Three shot dead in Kinshasa during what military termed coup attempt to oust Tshisekedi
Congolese army spokesperson Brigadier General Sylvain Ekenge said on state television on Sunday that the attempted coup d’état was “nipped in the bud by Congolese defence and security forces (and) the situation is under control.” He did not give further details.
Fiery ex-South Africa President Zuma launches new party’s manifesto promising jobs, free education
Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe party, known as the MK Party, has emerged as a significant player in South Africa’s upcoming elections after it was launched in December last year.
Cancer: Why hospitals in Africa are learning to ‘put life into your days, not days into your life’
Kenya has a national policy that compels nearly all public hospitals to have palliative care units, and the government’s National Health Insurance Fund covers hospital-based treatment. That could soon be extended to home-based care, picking up some of the associated costs like gloves and syringes.
How River Nile migrated eastward: Long-lost branch of the Nile finally located near Egypt’s Giza pyramids
River Nile is prone to migrating, and in the past, populations have had to relocate to keep up. Over the past few hundred years, the Nile has moved several kilometres to the east, possibly owing to shifting plate tectonics.
How Mali’s historic city and world’s oldest mud-brick Grand Mosque of Djenné are starved of tourists
The Grand Mosque, built in 1907 on the site of an older mosque dating back to the 13th century, is re-plastered every year by local residents in a ritual that brings together the entire city. The towering, earth-coloured structure requires a new layer of mud before the rainy season starts or it would fall into disrepair.
70 new worries that South Africa’s ruling ANC has to contend with as it braces for a slippery run
Even as the famous organisation once led by Nelson Mandela has seen a decline in its popularity, no one has risen to a position to replace it. Instead, South Africans who have turned away from the ANC have gone looking for answers among an array of opposition parties.
New South Africa health faces strong opposition after President Ramaphosa signing into law
Opposition parties accuse Ramaphosa of using the law as a campaign strategy by announcing it nearly two weeks before much anticipated elections. The May 29 vote is expected to be one of the country’s most highly contested.
Rising number of African gay migrants seek asylum in Europe to escape stiff penalties at home
No comprehensive data exists about how many migrants seek or win asylum in the EU on LGBTQ+ grounds. Based on estimates reported by NGOs working with would-be refugees, the numbers in individual EU countries ranged from two to three in Poland in 2016 to 500 in Finland from 2015-2017 and 80 in Italy from 2012-2017, according to a 2017 report by the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights.
Former Gambian interior minister to serve 20 years in a Swiss prison for crimes against humanity
The Federal Criminal Court in the southern town of Bellinzona ruled that Sonko’s crimes – including homicide, torture and false imprisonment – amounted to crimes against humanity. However, they did not rise to “aggravated” cases that could have brought the maximum penalty of life behind bars, according to several lawyers who attended the trial.
