Africa (except North Africa)

MOGADISHU, May 24 (Xinhua) -- Somali Prime Minister Mohamed Roble on Tuesday suspended Foreign Minister Abdisaid Muse Ali for abuse of power.

Roble said in a statement issued in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, that Ali had authorized a ship carrying illegal charcoal exported from Somalia destined for Oman.

The prime minister who has also nullified the letter from the foreign minister directed relevant government agencies to investigate the incident and report it to the authorities for possible action.

KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — A Ugandan opposition figure who is calling for street protests against rising commodity prices is being detained inside his home by police.

Kizza Besigye, a four-time presidential candidate, has been unable to leave his home outside the capital, Kampala, since May 12, with police pitching camp nearby to enforce his apparent house arrest. Ugandan police routinely detain opposition figures inside their homes, insisting they can impose preventive arrest to maintain public order.

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — More than 300 people have been evacuated from their homes as a result of renewed heavy rains, flooding and mudslides in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province, weeks after severe flooding killed more than 400 people and displaced more than 40,000 others.

The new rains have damaged roads, homes and electricity infrastructure largely in the northern parts of the province since last Friday, according to provincial authorities and emergency personnel.

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Zimbabwe has opened an international conference to try to win international support for its campaign to be allowed to sell its stockpile of seized ivory.

If the southern African country is not permitted to sell off its 130 tons of ivory, estimated to be worth $600 million, officials warn it may quit the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, CITES.

KIGALI, May 22 (Xinhua) -- The Rwandan government has launched the construction of a 43.5 MW power plant expected to boost the country's efforts to ensure universal access to electricity by 2024.

The China-supported Nyabarongo II Hydropower Plant is a multipurpose development project located on the main stream of Nyabarongo River, at the junction of Rwanda's Northern and Southern provinces.

21 May 2022; MEMO: Ethiopia warned on Friday that Sudan's invasion of its soil would cause "unprecedented" clashes, accusing Khartoum of working to change the demography of the disputed area, Anadolu Agency reported.

18 May 2022; MEMO: The former head of Israel's Mossad spy agency, Yossi Cohen, was deported from the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2019 after he was suspected of planning a coup against the country's president, Haaretz revealed on Tuesday. Details of the visit have been covered up by the military censor in Israel until now.

JUBA, May 19 (Xinhua) -- Sixty South Sudanese students at the Juba Teaching Hospital College of Nursing and Midwifery are receiving specialized training by members of the ninth batch of the Chinese medical team dispatched to the world's youngest nation.

With the training, which will end Friday, the students of nursing and midwifery are adequately prepared to treat heart-related complications after acquiring skills and expertise from Chinese medics.

Hakim Martin, a 25-year-old student of midwifery, says that he is grateful to have acquired the skills.

NAIROBI, May 19 (Reuters) - The soldier son of Uganda's long-serving President Yoweri Museveni is signalling his readiness to take over his father's job, with comments on global affairs from Ukraine to Ethiopia and birthday festivities akin to political rallies.

However, should he run instead of Museveni in the next presidential election due for 2026, Muhoozi Kainerugaba would face stiff opposition from opponents determined to prevent a family dynasty in the East African nation.

DAR ES SALAAM, May 18 (Xinhua) -- As Tanzania launched its second round of vaccination against polio Wednesday, the World Health Organization (WHO) pledged to provide technical support and coordination for the vaccination campaigns.

The WHO said in a statement that it would provide technical support in collaboration with UNICEF and the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. The statement said the supplemental mass vaccination campaign will run from May 18 to May 21 in the country's 195 districts and will reach 10,576,805 children under 5.