Africa (except North Africa)

NAIROBI, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Ethiopia's government on Tuesday urged citizens to join the fight against resurgent Tigrayan forces now pushing beyond their own region in a nine-month-old war that has sparked a major refugee crisis.

The call to arms came in a statement from the office of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed: "Now is the right time for all capable Ethiopians who are of age to join the Defence Forces, Special Forces and militias to show your patriotism."

LUSAKA, Zambia (AP) — Zambia’s standing as one of Africa’s most stable democracies is being tested this week in the vote in which President Edgar Lungu is seeking re-election.

A tight race is expected and some analysts say the presidential poll may provoke a political crisis in the southern African country.

ACCRA, Aug 9 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The Ghana Parliament has approved a visa waiver agreement between Ghana and the United Arab Emirates, meaning Ghanaian passport holders seeking to travel to Dubai will be permitted free entry into the UAE.

According to details as contained in a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Government of Ghana and the UAE, the agreement comes with a mutual exemption of entry visa requirements with respect to diplomatic, service/special, and ordinary passport holders.

JOHANNESBURG, Aug 9 (Reuters) - Prosecutors and lawyers for South Africa's jailed former president Jacob Zuma, who has been in hospital since Friday, have jointly asked a judge to postpone his scheduled appearance this week in a corruption trial, his foundation said on Monday.

Zuma, whose jailing last month on a contempt of court case led to a wave of looting and unrest, was expected to appear at the Pietermaritzburg High Court on Tuesday in an arms deal corruption case dating from his time as vice president.

JOHANNESBURG, Aug 8 (Reuters) - Rwandan and Mozambican security forces have recaptured the port town of Mocimboa da Praia, an insurgents' stronghold, Rwanda Defence Force said on Sunday.

Mozambique's northern-most province of Cabo Delgado, which has gas developments worth some $60 billion, has since 2017 harboured an Islamist insurgency.

The unrest escalated as insurgents, linked to Islamic State, seized entire towns, including the strategically important Mocimboa da Praia.

MOGADISHU, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) -- Somali President Mohamed Farmajo has issued a directive barring all government officials and public institutions from entering into new economic, political and security agreements during the electioneering period.

Farmajo said the directive which is aimed at safeguarding the national assets and sovereignty of Somalia will remain in force until the next government is sworn in and takes office.

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Zimbabwe’s Victoria Falls usually teems with tourists who come to marvel at the roaring Zambezi River as it tumbles down more than 350 feet (108 meters) to the gorge below, sending up a mist that is visible from miles away.

“The Smoke That Thunders” - the English translation of what the waterfall is called in the Sotho language - is still mighty, but the COVID-19 pandemic has reduced visitors to a trickle. Ordinarily, Victoria Falls attracts 350,000 tourists a year, but their numbers have dropped to almost none as a result of travel restrictions.

JUBA, Aug 7 (Reuters) - At least 30 South Sudanese soldiers were killed and 13 injured in clashes between forces loyal to Vice President Riek Machar and a splinter group, Machar’s party spokesman said in a statement on Saturday.

In a move that risks derailing the country's already fragile peace process, rival military leaders of Machar's party SPLM/A-IO, announced on Wednesday that the vice president was ousted as head of his party and its armed forces. 

BAMAKO, Aug 6 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A bus collided with a lorry killing 41 people and injuring 33 more during heavy rains in central MALI, the government said.

Transport Minister Dembele Madina Sissoko said the dead included a baby after the passenger bus collided with a lorry carrying agricultural produce near the town of Segou.

He stressed it was a provisional toll, and blamed bad weather.

Three of the injured were seriously hurt, Sissoko added.

JOHANNESBURG, Aug 6 (Reuters) - South Africa's jailed former president, Jacob Zuma, was taken to hospital for medical observation on Friday, prison authorities said, days before he was due to appear in court for a corruption trial.

Officials did not go into details on the condition of the 79-year-old, who is serving a 15-month sentence for contempt of court at Estcourt prison in KwaZulu-Natal province.

Zuma's foundation said he was in hospital for a routine annual check-up. "No need to be alarmed, ... yet," it said in a tweet on Friday morning.