Allafrica: Top News

[Nyasa Times] Malawi's legislators have passed a bill to legalize cannabis, the plant that produces hemp and marijuana for medical use, as the country looks to reduce its reliance on tobacco.

[Addis Standard] In an unexpected turn of events, Ethiopia's Ministry of Water, Irrigation & Electricity said today that Ethiopia will not take part in the upcoming trilateral GERD talks with Egypt and Sudan, which was scheduled to take place in Washington D.C. on February 27-28. The Ministry said it was skipping the next talks because it did not finalize the ongoing discussions with Ethiopia's country team of experts.

[Radio Dabanga] El Obeid -The Revolutionary Awakening Council (RAC) led by former janjaweed leader Musa Hilal claims that one of its members has died in the prison of El Obeid, capital of North Kordofan, while another detained member has become completely blind through torture, ill-treatment ,and denial of health care.

[263Chat] Senior doctors have implicated Health and Child Care deputy minister Dr John Mangwiro, refuting his earlier claims that he procured medical equipment with the advise of senior surgeons.

[Nation] Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko has defended his decision to hand over some county functions to the national government.

[News24Wire] A search was under way for at least nine people on Thursday morning, between Oudekraal and Mouille Point, on the Western Cape coast.

[HRW] Nairobi -At Least 21 Killed in Attack on Ngarbuh Village; Set Independent Inquiry

[East African] Ethiopia says it will not send representatives to the final round of negotiations on the use of the Nile waters, in a move likely to delay a binding agreement.

[allAfrica] Cape Town -The ancient bronze sculpture was seized by customs agents at Mexico City airport as its buyer tried to bring it into Mexico.

[New Zimbabwe] Vice President Kembo Mohadi has dismissed as personal opinion, recent claims by Prosecutor-General Kumbirai Hodzi that most Zimbabwean State institutions were captured by corrupt cartels.

[East African] Bissau-Guinean National Electoral Commission (CNE) is confirming the victory of President-elect Mr Umaro Sissoco Embaló, giving him licence to proceed to take oath despite a court challenge from his opponent Domingos Simões Pereira.

[News24Wire] A 19-year-old Mpumalanga woman has been arrested after the skeletal remains of who is believed to be her 2-year-old daughter were found in her garden.

[New Times] The National Public Prosecution Authority (NPPA) has announced that the Medical-legal Autopsy Report showed that Kizito Mihigo, who died on February 17 in Remera Police Station, died by suicide.

[New Zimbabwe] Parliament was Wednesday forced to adjourn earlier than planned when MDC MPs angrily voiced their disapproval over the 'shallow' manner with which State Security minister Owen Ncube was responding to questions relating to mealie-meal shortages.

[Daily Maverick] Tito Mboweni has gone where previous finance ministers have feared to tread -- slashing the public wage bill. The political landmines are about to explode.

[Daily Maverick] Citizenship as a tool of exclusion was a staple of apartheid-era oppression in South Africa. It was with this in mind that the opening words of the Freedom Charter and later the preamble of the Constitution proclaimed, 'South Africa belongs to all who live in it'.

[Monitor] The conclusion of investigations into the mismanagement of refugee funds in the country depends on cooperation between the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and government investigation agencies, the minister for Disaster Preparedness and Refugees, Mr Hilary Onek has said.

[News24Wire] The cellphones of State Security Minister Ayanda Dlodlo, her deputy Zizi Kodwa and several officials in the office of the minister have been cloned, the department confirmed on Wednesday.

[Premium Times] An unnamed corporal in the Nigerian Army, serving in Borno State, on Wednesday opened fire on four of his colleagues, killing them in the process. He then shot himself dead, the spokesman of the Nigeria Army, Sagir Musa, said.

[Thomson Reuters Foundation] Dakar -The victims included 46 children, who were forced into sex work in hostels and slums or sent to beg at markets and bus stations

[DW] The Libyan authoritarian's aims extend far beyond his claims to be ridding the country of Islamists. And that's exactly what his foreign backers want, analysts say.

[The New Humanitarian] Rome -'Everyone is facing danger. Refugees and Libyans.'

[The New Humanitarian] Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo -'Serious human rights violations continued in 2019, but were often hidden and quickly covered up.'

[Thomson Reuters Foundation] Dakar -Slavery is a historical practice in the Saharan country, which only abolished it in 1981

[ISS] Terror attacks on soldiers in Sahel states are raising questions about these armies' ability to withstand extremist threats and protect their populations. A total of 271 soldiers have died in recent attacks on military camps in Chinagodar and Inatès in Niger, Indélimane and Boulkessi in Mali, and Koutougou in Burkina Faso - the Liptako-Gourma region.

[Nation] Twitter was ablaze Wednesday evening after the government announced that 239 passengers, who arrived in Nairobi aboard a China Southern flight, were cleared of coronavirus and advised to self-quarantine.

[Nation] The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries and Cooperatives has banned the slaughter of donkeys in the country.

[New Times] President Paul Kagame on Wednesday evening reshuffled the cabinet making major changes to key ministries notably Health and Education.

[The Conversation Africa] The eight Francophone states that form the West African Economic and Monetary Union have agreed to drop the use of the CFA Franc. Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Togo will soon start using new currency, the 'Eco'. The currency is scheduled for launch in June 2020.

[The Conversation Africa] At the core of this year's budget proposals from South Africa's national treasury is the admission that national debt is no longer expected to stabilise. In previous years, bar one brief exception, budgets and medium-term budgets repeatedly promised that debt would stabilise even as previous years' promises were broken.