AFRICA DIPLOMATIC

Al-Bashir faces indictment

Sudanese judge on formally indicted former President of Sudan Omar al-Bashir for possessing illicit foreign currency and corruption. Al-Bashir was publicly questioned for the first time since his overthrow. Update: A Sudanese judge on Saturday formally indicted Omar al-Bashir for possessing illicit foreign currency and corruption, charges the ousted leader challenged as he was publicly questioned…

Ebola patient passed away in Uganda

The nine-year-old girl from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), , who was tested positive this week for the Ebola virus in Uganda, died on August 30 morning. (Image: illustration). “She died around 8 AM this morning,” Yusuf Baseka, director of health services for Kasese District, southwestern Uganda told AFP. The child was in isolation…

Angola and Congo fires ignored

More fires than in Amazon are burning in Africa according to the NASA data. The data said there were 6,902 fires in Angola and 3,395 fires in neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo, compared with 2,127 fires in Brazil. Fires are burning across Central Africa. Last week, Angola had 3x as many fires as Brazil, reports…

Congo government appointed

Democratic Republic of Congo Prime minister announced a new government after eight months of negotiations between President Felix Tshisekedi, who won an election and former President Joseph Kabila, with around two thirds of posts going to allies of the latter. In the long-delayed election last December, Tshisekedi defeated a candidate officially backed by Kabila, who…

G7 focus on Africa

“Let me also say that the EU has concrete proposals for Africa. We are keeping our longstanding commitment to the Global Fund against AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis, and we will contribute 550 million euros to the replenishment of the Fund. This means that our overall involvement will exceed 1 billion euros” said the president of the…

Five Mali soldiers killed in jihad

Five soldiers killed in an ambush, the Malian army representatives said. According to the statement the soldiers were travelling between the towns of Hombori and Boni, about 100 km north of the Burkina Faso border, when they fell into an ambush. Their vehicle was also destroyed. Reinforcements have been immediately dispatched. (Image above: Hombori sunset). Dans…

Nigeria: 16 people killed in Katsina

Armed groups have killed 16 people in separate attacks on remote villages, an area plagued by cattle-rustling and kidnappings, in northern Nigeria‘s Katsina state, officials announced. (Image above: illustration). #NIGERIA: 17 people killed, at least 6 kidnapped, as #bandits attacked 4 villages in #Katsina state 18 Aug. Attackers reportedly killed 4 people at Tsayau village, Jibia…

Russian sailors abducted in Cameroon

The whereabouts of three Russian citizens from the crew of the vessel attacked in the Gulf of Guinea, close to Cameroon port of Douala on August 15, remain unknown, the Foreign Ministry announced. (Image above: illustration). “Based on the incoming information, on August 15, near the port of Douala (the Republic of Cameroon), unknown perpetrators attacked a cargo vessel…

SA Cabernet Sauvignon in focus

South Africa has a long history with Cabernet Sauvignon, both as a varietal and blended wine. Highly rated examples abound, too, including many Stellenbosch-based bottlings from producers with long track records, like Kanonkop, Le Riche, Rust en Vrede, Rustenberg and Waterford, But South African Cabernet Sauvignon was never firmly identified as a consistent exemplar on the international wine stage. It’s time for…

Ebola hits South Kivu

A woman and her child were confirmed with Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s South Kivu region this week, which outlines new challenges in defeating the outbreak. Health officials expressed their concerns that the latest cases were registered more than 700 km south from the initial epicenter of the outbreak . A mother and…