VIF News Digest: International Developments (Africa), 29 April – 5 May, 2019

Islamists in Sudan cancel rally over fears of violence: VOA, 29 April, 2019

Islamists in Sudan who were allied with ousted autocrat Omar al-Bashir say they have cancelled a planned rally for fear of violence from the protesters who drove him from power earlier this month.

Ultraconservative preacher Abdel-Hay Youssef said in video posted on Facebook that the decision to cancel Monday's rally came after a meeting with Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known by the nickname Hemedti, who serves as deputy head of the ruling military council. Youssef says they received assurances from Dagalo and others that "Islamic laws will not be abolished." Click here to read... [2]

Drought puts 2.3 million people at risk in Angola – UNICEF: Reuters, 30 April, 2019

A severe drought in Angola has plunged 2.3 million people into a food security crisis with thousands of children being treated for malnutrition, a report compiled by the United Nations children’s fund UNICEF said.

It said there had been an inadequate response after below-average and erratic rainfall. Angolan President João Lourenço declared a state of emergency in January, but UNICEF said the response has been hampered by a lack of funding. The organisation’s own action plan for Angola has secured only 28 percent of its intended funding, it said. Click here to read... [3]

25 people killed in Boko Haram attack on Nigerian village: VOA, 30 April, 2019

Victims' relatives say suspected Boko Haram extremists attacked a village in northeastern Nigeria, killing at least 25 people who had just returned home from a wedding.

Rebecca Malgwi says two of her brothers-in-law were killed in the attack on Kuda-Kaya village in Adamawa state on Monday night. She says the attackers went from house to house. She says many people could not escape because the shooting came from all directions. Click here to read... [4]

Mozambique: Flood victims reluctant to return home: allAfrica, 1 May, 2019

Hundreds of Mozambican flood survivors who fled to evacuation camps in Malawi in early March after Cyclone Idai , say they are not ready to return home unless they are relocated to higher ground. They say returning to their flood prone areas would put them at risk should another flood occur. In the meantime, they are appealing to Malawi's government to reconsider its decision to close down evacuation camps in May. But government authorities in Malawi say their resources are limited.

Rute Joseph and her four children fled Cyclone Idai flooding that damaged her house and washed away her property in Zambezia province in Mozambique. Click here to read... [5]

Rage over South Africa corruption turns off voters: VOA, 2 May, 2019

For many South African voters, the government's struggle with corruption — which in the past five years has provoked numerous inquiries, dominated headlines, and even forced out former President Jacob Zuma — isn't about the staggering scope of the problem, though a minister in the ruling African National Congress has estimated that corruption could be costing the economy nearly $2 billion every year.
For student Mathabo Mokopane, all it took to turn her off the ANC-led government was a tiny road, in her tiny town in rural South Africa. Click here to read... [6]

Nigeria, Brexit-bound Britain target closer investment ties: Reuters, 2 May, 2019

Nigeria and Britain aim to deepen insurance sector ties and look into introducing naira-denominated instruments onto London’s financial market, the trade ministry in Abuja said, as Britain makes efforts to expand trade links with partners beyond the EU.

Thursday’s ministry statement followed a visit to Nigeria by British foreign minister Jeremy Hunt, on a week-long international tour to push for a greater UK diplomatic presence in Africa. Click here to read... [7]

US opens $300m embassy in Zimbabwe: The Herald, 3 May 2019

The United States of America opened its US$292 million embassy compound in Harare, a structural behemoth believed to be one its largest embassies in Africa and beyond. US Ambassador to Zimbabwe Brian Nichols said the new embassy symbolised the United States’ ongoing and durable commitment to the people of Zimbabwe.

The US has, for the past two decades, maintained illegal sanctions on Zimbabwe that are responsible for massive de-industrialisation and increased investor risks since the global superpower also sanctions countries and businesses, including banks that deal with Zimbabwe. Click here to read... [8]

DR Congo records 1,000th Ebola death in current outbreak: Aljazeera, 4 May, 2019

The death toll in the Democratic Republic of Congo's latest Ebola outbreak has risen to more than 1,000, according to the country's health ministry, with a volatile security situation and deep community distrust complicating efforts to beat back the nine-month-old epidemic.

The Ministry of Public Health said in its latest update on Friday that 14 new deaths from the virus were recorded, taking the toll to 1,008 deaths from more than 1,450 confirmed cases registered since the epidemic erupted in August. Click here to read... [9]

Ethnic attacks in Mali killed 18 civilians this week: peacekeeping mission – Reuters, 4 May 2019

At least 18 civilians were killed in two related attacks this week in central Mali, the United Nations MINUSMA peacekeeping mission said on Saturday, as the death toll from fighting between local hunters and herders continues to climb. It did not identify the assailants in the attacks on a Dogon ethnic community in the Mopti region.

The region has been engulfed in a conflict between Dogon hunters and Fulani herders that killed hundreds of civilians in 2018 and is spreading across the Sahel, the arid region between the Sahara desert to the north and Africa’s savannas to the south. Click here to read... [10]

Zimbabwe's largest opposition party demands dialogue with ruling party: Xinhua, 5 May 2019

Zimbabwe's biggest opposition party leader Nelson Chamisa on Saturday demanded exclusive dialogue with President Emmerson Mnangagwa's ruling ZANU-PF party on how to get the country back on its feet.

Chamisa, president of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), told thousands of people at a memorial service for his predecessor Morgan Tsvangirai in Buhera, Manicaland Province, that talks between the country's two biggest political parties were the only way towards solutions to challenges bedevilling the country. Click here to read... [11]