Africa (except North Africa)

LAGOS, Oct. 31 (Xinhua) -- China Harbor Engineering Company Ltd (CHEC) on Monday handed over Nigeria's first deep sea port to the government after the completion of the huge maritime project in the country's economic hub city of Lagos.

The port will meet the needs of Nigeria's economic development, said Cui Jianchun, Chinese ambassador to Nigeria, in an interview with Xinhua at the handing over ceremony held in Lagos.

LUSAKA, Oct. 31 (Xinhua) -- Villagers in Zambia's rural areas are hoping to raise their farming productivity and make an increased income through a Chinese-aided project that aims to make a positive impact on poverty reduction in the southern African country.

MINGKAMAN, South Sudan (AP) — In a country where the maternal mortality rate is one of the highest in the world, a small clinic dedicated to reproductive health care for more than 200,000 people is about to be shut down. The worried-looking mothers know too well what might happen next.

“If the hospital closes, we will die more because we are poor,” said one expectant mother who gave her name only as Chuti. She was attending a monthly checkup at the Mingkaman reproductive health clinic in this town on the White Nile River, and it might be her last.

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Somalia’s president says at least 100 people were killed in Saturday’s two car bombings at a busy junction in the capital and the toll could rise in the country’s deadliest attack since a truck bombing at the same spot five years ago killed more than 500.

DURBAN, Oct 29 (Reuters) - Misuzulu, who has promised to unite his nation and protect tradition, was officially recognised as the AmaZulu King by the South African government on Saturday in the first Zulu coronation since 1971.

The official recognition by President Cyril Ramaphosa puts an end to lengthy legal wrangling that mired his succession to the throne -- a battle that has played out in public and the courts.

GOMA, Congo (AP) — Rebels seized two major towns in eastern Congo after fierce fighting Saturday, doubling the territory they now control, a civil society leader and residents said.

Fighting between the Congolese army and M23 rebels intensified in the vicinity of Rutshuru Centre and Kiwanja on Saturday, with heavy gunfire breaking out in the morning.

John Banyene, president of the local civil society, told The Associated Press that the rebels now controlled Rutshuru Centre and Kiwanja, which is 70 kilometers (43 miles) from the regional capital, Goma.

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Two car bombs exploded Saturday at a busy junction in Somalia’s capital near key government offices, leaving “scores of civilian casualties” including children, national police said. One hospital worker counted at least 30 bodies.

NAIROBI, Oct. 28 (Xinhua) -- Kenya's mobile service provider Safaricom said Thursday that it has partnered with Chinese technology firm Huawei to commercially launch the 5G network in the east African nation.

NAIROBI, Oct. 27 (Xinhua) -- The UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi has called on global leaders to spare no efforts in helping countries in the Horn of Africa to break the cycle of conflict and climate crises.

Grandi, who on Tuesday concluded a five-day visit to Somalia and Kenya, said despite urgent calls from humanitarian agencies active in Somalia, the catastrophic and multifaceted consequences are largely unnoticed as the world's attention remains elsewhere.

26 October 2022; MEMO: Peace talks between Ethiopia's government and Tigray rebels to end a devastating conflict in Ethiopia's northern Tigray region began Tuesday in South Africa, according to a presidency spokesman, Anadolu News Agency reports.

South Africa hopes the talks will proceed constructively and result in a successful outcome that leads to lasting peace for all Ethiopians, Vincent Magwenya told reporters.