Africa (except North Africa)

KAMPALA, Jun 11 (NNN-IRIN) – Uganda and the Czech Republic, yesterday signed a defence cooperation agreement, according to a military statement issued here.

The two countries will establish and enhance bilateral defence cooperation, the statement said.

Charles Engola, Uganda’s outgoing minister of state for defence and veteran affairs, and Tomas Kopecny, visiting Czech Republic deputy minister of defence for industrial cooperation division, signed the agreement.

(Reuters) --- Two years after local emir Djibril Diallo fled his home in northern Burkina Faso following death threats from Islamist militants, he received an unexpected request: to return and take part in peace talks with the same people who wanted him dead.

Adama Ouedraogo, deputy mayor of Diallo's hometown of Thiou, called him in January to help negotiate an end to years of attacks by jihadists against local militias and civilians that forced thousands of people to flee the area.

(Reuters) --- President Muhammadu Buhari told young Nigerians on Thursday that they must "behave" in order to attract jobs and investment.

Buhari, speaking on Arise TV, said security was essential in order for investment in the country, where unemployment rose to 33.3% in the fourth quarter.

10 June 2021; MEMO: The United Arab Emirates has ratified a 2018 extradition treaty with South Africa, its embassy in Pretoria said on Wednesday, a move that President Cyril Ramaphosa's government hopes will lead to the return of the Gupta brothers to face corruption charges, reported Reuters.

GOMA, Congo (AP) — Thousands of people are returning to Goma and a surrounding region in eastern Congo hoping to find their homes still intact weeks after a volcano erupted, but fearing the worst.

The eruption on May 22 of Mount Nyiragongo forced tens of thousands of people to flee with no warning as lava flowed through their communities.

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — In the global race to vaccinate people against COVID-19, Africa is tragically at the back of the pack.

In fact, it has barely gotten out of the starting blocks.

In South Africa, which has the continent’s most robust economy and its biggest coronavirus caseload, just 0.8% of the population is fully vaccinated, according to a worldwide tracker kept by Johns Hopkins University. And hundreds of thousands of the country’s health workers, many of whom come face-to-face with the virus every day, are still waiting for their shots.

ABUJA, June 7 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The Nigerian government has announced the indefinite suspension of microblogging platform, Twitter.

Africa’s most populous nation said the move was connected to “the persistent use of the platform for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence.”

The move comes days after the company deleted a tweet by President Muhammadu Buhari over violation of platform rules.

KAMPALA, June 7 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni re-imposed a strict lockdown that included the closure of schools and the suspension of inter-district travel to help beat back a surge in COVID-19 cases in the East African country.

The new measures, which took effect from Monday morning, include the closure of all educational institutions, some bans on travel, the shutdown of weekly open markets, and the suspension of church services.

(Reuters) --- Two opposition parties in Somalia's breakaway Somaliland region won a majority of seats in the region's first parliamentary election in 16 years, the National Electoral Commission said on Sunday.

Out of parliament's 82 seats, the Somaliland National Party, called WADDANI, won 31 and the Justice and Welfare Party (UCID), won 21 seats. The ruling Unity and Development Party, Kulmiye, secured 30 seats, the electoral commission said.

(Reuters) --- Nigerian telecoms firms blocked access to Twitter on Saturday following a regulatory directive aimed at suspending the U.S. social media giant indefinitely, a move criticised by rights campaigners and diplomats as a gag on free speech.

Nigeria's government said on Friday it had suspended Twitter's activities indefinitely, two days after the platform removed a tweet by President Muhammadu Buhari that threatened to punish regional secessionists in the West African country.