Africa (except North Africa)

LUANDA, Aug. 26 (Xinhua) -- Angola's ruling party, the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola, has gained 51.07 percent of the votes already counted for the Aug. 24 general elections, the National Electoral Commission (CNE) announced Thursday.

The announcement came as votes from more than 97 percent of polling stations across the country have been counted, according to the CNE.

The largest opposition party, the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola, garnered 44.05 percent of votes, the CNE said.

NAIROBI, Aug. 26 (Xinhua) -- Kenya Airways (KQ), the country's national carrier, said Wednesday it reduced its loss to 9.86 billion shillings (about 82.22 million U.S. dollars) in the first six months ending June from 95.75 million dollars recorded in a similar period in 2021.

Allan Kilavuka, the chief executive officer of Kenya Airways, attributed the improved performance to significant growth in passenger and cargo revenue in the period under review.

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — An airstrike by Ethiopia’s air force hit a kindergarten in the country’s embattled Tigray region, causing deaths and injuries on Friday, according to local broadcasters. It was the latest escalation of a conflict that has created a humanitarian crisis for millions of people.

Tigray Television quoted witnesses saying the afternoon attack hit a kindergarten called Red Kids Paradise in the Tigrayan capital of Mekele. It aired graphic images of children and adults with dismembered bodies in the aftermath of the attack.

N’DJAMENA, Aug 24 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Chad reintroduced rules making it obligatory to wear face masks in public spaces and observe social-distancing as the number of coronavirus cases rises again in one of the world’s least-developed countries, the health ministry said.

“In view of the epidemiological situation of the Covid-19 pandemic both worldwide and in Chad in particular… all preventative measures against disease, particular mask-wearing and social-distancing, must be adhered to,” the ministry said in a statement.

 NAIROBI, Aug 24 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A group of Kenyans have filed cases against the UK government at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) for alleged colonial abuses.

These include alleged theft of land, which is still being used by tea firms.

The clans say the UK’s alleged lack of engagement to seek redress has violated the European Convention on Human Rights.

The UK Foreign Office said it was “inappropriate to comment on legal proceedings”.

NAIROBI, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- More than 2.8 million children across the Horn of Africa and the Sahel are already suffering from severe acute malnutrition and could die in disturbing numbers unless urgent support is provided, the United Nations children's agency, UNICEF, warned on Tuesday.

The UN agency said the number means children are up to 11 times more at risk of dying from water-borne diseases than well-nourished children as severe malnutrition and the risk of water-borne disease collide.

LUANDA, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- Angolan voters are heading to polling stations Wednesday to elect the southern African country's new president as well as members of the National Assembly.

According to the National Electoral Commission (CNE), a total of 14.3 million voters have been registered and are expected to cast ballots in what's expected to be the most competitive election since 1992.

VOTING TAKES PLACE IN PEACEFUL MANNER

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Ethiopia’s military has launched a “large-scale” offensive for the first time in a year in the country’s northern Tigray region, Tigray authorities alleged Wednesday, while the government countered that Tigray forces attacked first.

The renewed conflict is a significant setback to mediation efforts and the work to reach millions of people starved of food and other needs.

ABUJA, Aug 23 (Reuters) - The United States will turn over to Nigeria $23 million taken by former military ruler Sani Abacha, officials said at an event to sign the agreement on Tuesday.

Nigeria has reached several agreements to return stolen cash in recent years. Abacha ruled Africa's most populous nation and top oil exporter from 1993 until his death in 1998, during which time Transparency International estimated that he took up to $5 billion of public money. He was never charged.

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Kenya’s losing presidential candidate Raila Odinga has filed a Supreme Court challenge to last week’s election result, asserting that the process was marked by criminal subversion and seeking that the outcome be nullified and a new vote be ordered.

Odinga arrived to cheers Monday and helped to hoist boxes of material for the petition into place, starting the 14-day period in which the court must rule. At least two other petitions were filed by human rights figures.