Africa (except North Africa)

MOGADISHU, Sept 25 (Reuters) - A suicide car bomb killed at least eight people in the Somali capital on Saturday at a street junction near the president's palace, police said, and al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab said it was behind the attack which targeted a convoy going into the palace.

Police spokesperson Abdifatah Aden Hassan told reporters at the scene of the blast the casualties could be higher, since some of the dead and wounded had been taken away by their relatives.

Mumbai, Sep 23 (PTI) Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) on Thursday said the African nation has reopened its borders for Indian travellers, which were closed for a brief period due to the second wave of Covid-19.

The temporary ban of passenger flights from India was revoked after a brief period of suspension since May this year as a result of the spike of Covid-19 pandemic in the country, KTB said in a statement.

MOGADISHU, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) and the Somali National Army (SNA) have launched a joint operations center in Mogadishu to boost ongoing stabilization efforts in the country.

The AU mission said in a statement on Thursday that the Joint Operations Coordination Center, which is jointly operated by AU and SNA military officers, will enhance joint planning and coordination of military operations against al-Shabab.

KIGALI, Sept 20 (Reuters) - A Rwandan court on Monday sentenced Paul Rusesabagina, a one-time hotel manager portrayed as a hero in a Hollywood film about the 1994 genocide, to 25 years in prison after he was convicted of terror-related charges.

NIAMEY, Sept 19 (Reuters) - France's Armed Forces Minister arrived in Niger on Sunday as part of a two-day visit to allies in the Sahel region, where French-led military operations against Islamist militants are under threat from Mali's talks with Russian defence contractors.

Diplomatic and security sources have told Reuters that Mali's year-old military junta is close to recruiting the Russian Wagner Group, and France has launched a diplomatic drive to thwart it, saying such an arrangement is "incompatible" with a continued French presence. 

NAIROBI, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) -- Senior Kenyan government officials on Saturday received a batch of Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine doses from China as the East African nation ramps up inoculations for high-risk populations against the virus, saying they would reinvigorate the pandemic fight in the country.

MOGADISHU, Sept 17 (Reuters) - Somalia's President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed on Friday accused neighbouring Djibouti of illegally detaining his national security adviser, a criticism which appeared linked to a destabilising row between the president and his prime minister.

Djiboutian authorities held the adviser, Fahad Yasin, preventing him from travelling to Mogadishu by air, the director of communications in the presidency Abdirashid Hashi said, without providing more details.

BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — France’s president announced the death of Islamic State in the Greater Sahara’s leader late Wednesday, calling Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahrawi’s killing “a major success” for the French military after more than eight years fighting extremists in the Sahel.

French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted that al-Sahrawi “was neutralized by French forces” but gave no further details. It was not announced where al-Sahrawi was killed, though the Islamic State group is active along the border between Mali and Niger.

CAPE TOWN, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Efforts to develop an African base for COVID-19 vaccine production will focus on trying to replicate Moderna's (MRNA.O) shot, but a lack of progress in talks with the U.S. company mean the project will take time, a senior WHO official told Reuters.

The drive to produce vaccines in Africa is designed to help more developing countries access COVID-19 shots after rich nations bought up most of this year's supply.

MOGADISHU, Sept. 12 (Xinhua) -- United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed on Sunday called on Somali political leaders to shun political discord which may jeopardize the gains made in the country.

Mohammed, who made a day-long visit to Mogadishu, said Somalia has achieved considerable momentum with its ongoing electoral process and urged the leaders to de-escalate the political tension in the country.