Africa (except North Africa)

MOGADISHU, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- Somalia, the African Union Transition Mission (ATMIS), and the UN Support Office (UNSOS) on Saturday jointly announced the resumption of the second phase of the troop withdrawal from the country in December.

Mohammed El-Amine Souef, the special representative of the Chairperson of the AU Commission for Somalia and head of ATMIS, said the process to withdraw another 3,000 troops from Somalia was originally intended to conclude by the end of September but was halted following a request by the Somali government for a technical pause.

LUSAKA, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) -- The 2023 Conference on Public Health in Africa concluded on Thursday in Lusaka with a call for African countries to establish resilient health systems.

The conference discussions should spark renewed energy and commitment to constructing healthier and more robust health systems, said Zambian Vice President Mutale Nalumango while addressing the challenges in the health sector.

KIGALI, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) -- Domestic resource mobilization will be critical in the coming years for Rwanda and other countries to ensure sufficient and sustainable funding to sustain the gains toward ending AIDS by 2030, a UN official has said.

Hind Hassan, UNAIDS country representative for Rwanda, was speaking during an event Thursday in Kigali, the Rwandan capital, to mark this year's World AIDS Day, which falls on Friday.

JOHANNESBURG, Nov 28 (NNN-BUANEWS) – Eleven miners died in an elevator incident, yesterday, at an Impala Platinum mine in Rustenburg, North West Province of South Africa, local media reported today.

“An elevator transporting miners up and down the shaft unexpectedly dropped 200 metres,” said a report by the eNCA, a local television channel.

A total of 88 miners were on the conveyance, the report said, quoting Johan Theron, spokesperson with the mining company.

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The Kenyan High Court on Tuesday struck out key clauses of a contentious finance law that has been blamed for significantly raising taxes and the cost of living in East Africa’s largest economy.

High court judges David Majanja, Christine Meoli and Lawrence Mugambi said parts of the Finance Act 2023, including a mandatory housing levy, were unconstitutional and couldn’t be enforced.

FREETOWN, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Gunfire could be heard in some neighbourhoods of Sierra Leone's capital Freetown on Sunday afternoon following an attempt by unidentified gunmen to break into a military armoury.

The government declared a nationwide curfew after assailants attacked the armoury at the Wilberforce barracks in the early hours of Sunday. The assailants were rebuffed by the country's security forces, it said in a statement.

ANTANANARIVO, Nov. 25 (Xinhua) -- Madagascar's incumbent President Andry Rajoelina has won the presidential election by garnering more than 50 percent of the votes, according to preliminary results released Saturday by the country's Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI).

The CENI announced that Rajoelina obtained a total of 2,856,090 votes, or 58.95 percent of the votes, at a press conference.

With more than 50 percent of the votes garnered, the incumbent president won the presidential election during its first round, said the CENI.

DAR ES SALAAM, Nov 24 (NNN-DAILYNEWS) — THE Embassy of Denmark in Tanzania has announced that it has reversed its decision to close its offices in Dar es Salaam.

The embassy expressed its commitment to continuing the long and fruitful cooperation between the two nations.

The Danish government had in 2021 announced its intention to close its mission in Tanzania by 2024, citing the adjustment of its international presence as one of the reasons.

NAIROBI, Nov. 24 (Xinhua) -- Mombasa, Kenya's main seaport, received 1.32 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of containers in the first ten months of 2023, up 10.2 percent, or an increase from 1.2 million TEUs in a similar period in 2022, despite the challenging global economic conditions, the ports authority said Friday.

In a statement issued from the coastal city of Mombasa, the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) Managing Director William Ruto attributed the improved performance to increased efficiency in operations.