Africa (except North Africa)

LUSAKA, April 5 (Xinhua) -- The Zambian cabinet has approved the eighth national development plan, a new framework through which the country's national development aspirations will be actualized, a government spokesperson said Tuesday.

The development plan, which runs from 2022 to 2026, was anchored on four pillars namely economic transformation and job creation, human and social development, environmental sustainability, and good governance environment.

NAIROBI, April 5 (Xinhua) -- Kenya and the Netherlands on Monday signed an agreement to facilitate the export of horticultural products through the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR).

James Macharia, the cabinet secretary in the Ministry of Transport, Infrastructure, Housing, Urban Development and Public Works, told journalists in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, that the deal involves the development of a cool logistics corridor on the railway system for the transportation of fresh produce to the port of Mombasa for onward export to Europe.

GOMA, DR Congo, April 2 (Xinhua) -- UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic od the Congo (MONUSCO) paid a final tribute Saturday to the eight peacekeepers who died during a helicopter crash Tuesday in northeastern DRC.

The memorial service took place this Saturday in Goma, capital of North Kivu province, in the presence of the UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix.

KAMPALA, March 31 (Xinhua) -- Over 7,000 people from the eastern part of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have crossed into Uganda after intense fighting back home, authorities in Uganda's border district of Kisoro said on Wednesday.

The Congolese are fleeing fighting that started on March 28 between DRC troops and rebels, Kisoro Chief Administrative Officer Manasseh Rukundo said in a statement.

He called for emergency response, saying the district is overwhelmed by the refugee influx.

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Congo’s army says rebels in the country’s east have shot down a United Nations helicopter carrying eight peacekeepers and U.N. observers.

The helicopter shot Monday was among two carrying out reconnaissance for the U.N. mission in Congo, according to a statement from Congo’s army on Tuesday. Those on the helicopter were assessing the movements of communities that had been attacked by a rebel group in order to coordinate humanitarian assistance.

ACCRA, March 28 (Xinhua) -- Ghanaian President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has announced the re-opening of land and sea borders and the lifting of most of the COVID-19 restrictions.

In his 28th nationwide COVID-19 address late Sunday, the president said the decision was made after reviewing the raft of measures put in place to help win the fight against the virus, against the background of rapidly declining infections, and the relative success of the vaccination campaign by the Ghana Health Service.

HARARE, March 26 (Xinhua) -- Zimbabwe held a crucial one-day parliamentary and local government by-election on Saturday which was characterized by a low voter turnout in many constituencies.

The by-elections, which had been set aside due to the COVID-19 pandemic, were to choose parliamentary and local government representatives in 28 parliamentary constituencies and 122 local government jurisdictions across the country.

Most constituents fell vacant when opposition lawmakers were recalled in a battle over the control of the country's largest opposition party, the MDC-T.

NAIROBI, March 25 (Xinhua) -- Kenya and Huawei on Friday signed an agreement to boost the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) capacity in the country.

Joe Mucheru, cabinet secretary in the Ministry of ICT, Innovation and Youth Affairs said in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, that under the agreement, a total of 20,000 Kenyans will receive training including 12,500 civil servants over the next three years.

HARARE, March 25 (Xinhua) -- Zimbabwe will hold its first by-elections in two years Saturday following the lifting of the suspension of elections by the government in a bid to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.

Observers have said that the by-elections, in which 28 parliamentary and 122 council seats will be up for grabs, will provide contesting parties with ideas on how they will fare in 2023 harmonized presidential, parliamentary and council elections.

BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — West African leaders on Friday held another summit on Mali after imposing regional sanctions in January on the country after its military leaders said they would stay in power for four more years instead of holding an election in February.

The regional economic bloc known as ECOWAS invited the junta leader and transitional president of Mali, Col. Assimi Goita, to attend in person, but his office said he wouldn’t go in person but may attend virtually.