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Somalia’s President Extends Term by Two Years, Drawing Condemnation

His four-year term expired, President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed signed a contentious law that critics fear could plunge the fragile country into renewed, possibly violent, turmoil.NAIROBI, Kenya — In a highly contentious move, Somalia’s president has extended his own term in office by two years, drawing condemnation from the United States and other...

Pentagon Chief Orders New Review of Attack in Kenya That Killed 3 Americans

The unusual review of the conclusions of the initial inquiry comes more than a year after the attack by the Shabab revealed security lapses at the base. #styln-signup { max-width: calc(100% - 40px); width: 600px; margin: 20px auto; border-bottom: 1px solid #e2e2e2; min-height: 50px; } #styln-signup + .live-blog-post::before...

With a New Museum, African Workers Take Control of Their Destiny

A Dutch artist worked with former plantation employees to create a “white cube” that they hope will one day display works returned from European museums.AMSTERDAM — When the Dutch artist Renzo Martens presented his film “Episode III: Enjoy Poverty” at Tate Modern in London in 2010, he couldn’t help but notice the many Unilever logos painted...

‘Everything Is Worth Freedom’: Uganda’s Opposition Leader Faces the Future

Bobi Wine, the pop star who became a presidential candidate, considers rebuilding his anti-government movement after a violent election season that left many aides and supporters imprisoned.KAMPALA, Uganda — Bobi Wine’s eyes were bloodshot from little sleep. When he spoke, his thoughts trailed off, and his sentences sometimes lacked the precision...

‘Tell Us if He’s Dead’: Abductions and Torture Rattle Uganda

Hundreds have been detained, many brutalized, after a bloody, contested election. The government of Yoweri Museveni appears intent on breaking the back of the opposition.KAMPALA, Uganda — Armed men in white minivans without license plates picked up people off the streets or from their homes.Those snatched were taken to prisons, police stations and...

Finance

Khalifa Haftar is losing ground and lashing out in Libya

KHALIFA HAFTAR’S self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA) says it will cease fire for what remains of the holy month of Ramadan. But friends of General Haftar say he is doubling down on the civil war he started six years ago. His year-long siege of Tripoli, seat of the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA), has intensified of late. Groups loyal...

Saudi Arabia stops flogging

“THE FORNICATRESS and the fornicator—flog each of them with a hundred stripes; and do not let pity for them hold you back from carrying out God’s law.” So says the Koran, which dates back to the seventh century. Prince Muhammad bin Salman, the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, is trying to drag the kingdom into the 21st. So on April 25th the government...

Zambia was already a case study in how not to run an economy

“I FEEL YOUR PAIN,” said Edgar Lungu in a televised address on April 24th. The president of Zambia claimed that covid-19 had “thrown into disarray” the country’s finances. He mused about whether the government could afford to pay for pensions, civil-service salaries and medicine. “Where will the money come from?” It is a good question....

How Sudan’s warlords buy their gun trucks

THE TOYOTA HILUX is a sturdy vehicle. That makes it especially popular in Africa. It outsells all other pickup trucks, or “bakkies”, in South Africa. In Mali and Niger smugglers transporting people and goods across the Sahara will accept no alternative, since they can cram 30 people onto one and can still climb a sand dune. It is also a familiar...

Some African politicians risk spreading covid through quackery

Editor’s note: The Economist is making some of its most important coverage of the covid-19 pandemic freely available to readers of The Economist Today, our daily newsletter. To receive it, register here. For our coronavirus tracker and more coverage, see our hub MANY AFRICAN politicians are fighting covid-19 with tools prescribed by science. South...

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