Africa (except North Africa)

29 June 2019; DW: The Ethiopian government confirmed on Friday that more than 260 people have been arrested over a failed coup in the northern region of Amhara. The arrests included the spokesman of a political party that supports the Amhara ethnic group.

KIGALI, June 28 (Xinhua) -- Rwanda has begun issuing the East Africa e-passport in line with the country's commitment to promote regional integration as envisioned by East African Community (EAC) partner states, an immigration official announced Friday.

24 June 2019; DW: Amhara Attorney General Migbaru Kebede died in hospital on Monday after he was injured in an attack on senior officials in the northern Ethiopian region, public broadcaster EBC reported.

A hospital source confirmed the death to German news agency DPA.

Ethiopia's army chief, a retired general, the Amhara regional president and his adviser were also fatally shot when factions of the military launched a bid to unseat the regional government late on Saturday. 

Addis Ababa, Jun 23; AFP/GANASHAKTI:  Ethiopia's army chief and the president of a key region have been shot dead in a wave of violence highlighting the political instability in the country as Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed tries to push through reforms.

The latest unrest in the Horn of Africa nation flared on Saturday afternoon in Amhara, one of nine autonomous regions, when a "hit squad" attacked a meeting of top officials, Abiy's office said Sunday.

22 June 2019; DW: Voters in the Islamic Republic of Mauritania went to the polls on Saturday to elect a new president as Mohammed Ould Abdel Aziz prepares to step aside after serving two five-year elected terms.

Some 1.5 million people in the West African state are entitled to vote in the presidential election. Preliminary results are expected at the start of next week.

DAR ES SALAAM, June 17 (Xinhua) -- A Tanzanian government senior official said on Monday that the contribution of minerals to the east African nation's gross domestic product (GDP) will reach 10 percent by 2025 given the current growth trend.

Dotto Biteko, Minister for Minerals, said the mineral sector's contribution to the GDP hit 5.07 percent in 2015 from about 3.5 percent in 2010 because of the reforms taken in the sector.

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — A pair of explosions rocked Somalia’s capital and left 11 people dead, the country’s police chief said Saturday, as the al-Qaida-linked extremist group al-Shabab claimed responsibility.

Another 25 people were wounded, Gen. Bashir Abdi Mohamed told reporters in Mogadishu. He said the first car bomb went off near a security checkpoint for the presidential palace and was responsible for nine deaths.

The second car bomb killed the driver and his accomplice near a checkpoint on the road to the heavily fortified airport, he said.

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — With Zimbabwe’s economy in shambles and political tensions rising, leaving the country seems the best option for many who are desperate for jobs. But those dreams often end at the passport office, which doesn’t have enough foreign currency to import proper paper and ink.

A passport now takes no less than a year to be issued. An emergency passport can take months amid a backlog of 280,000 applications, never mind recent ones.

BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — Assailants raided a central Mali village early Monday, killing at least 95 people in the latest massacre in a growing ethnic conflict that has been enflamed by Islamic extremists, government officials said.

Nineteen people were missing after the ethnic Dogon village of Sobame Da was attacked around 3 a.m., said Interior Security Ministry spokesman Amadou Sangho. Homes were burned and animals slaughtered, the government said.

4 June 2019; DW: Sudan's army rulers Tuesday canceled all agreements it had reached with the main opposition coalition and announced elections would be held in nine months.

The Sudanese military announcement comes a day after the army and militias used deadly force to quash a week-long sit-in protest outside army headquarters in the capital, Khartoum, that left at least 30 dead and dozens more wounded.