Rwanda wins bid to host the 2025 World Cycling Championship
Following the applications of Rwanda and Morocco to host the first world championships of cycling in Africa, the Rwandan cycling federation has on Thursday announced that the 2025 world road cycling championships will be held in Rwanda.
As this would be the first in Africa, a statement released by the country’s cycling federation said the International Cycling Union (UCI) congress has opted unsurprisingly for Rwanda’s bid, but the congress which would be held on Friday must ratify the decision for it to become official.
Algeria announces closure of airspace to Morocco
Following the August 24th announcement by Algeria of the break of its diplomatic relations with Morocco, the Algerian authorities on Wednesday 22nd September announced the immediate closure of its airspace to all Moroccan civilian and military aircraft and aircraft registered in Morocco.
According to a statement by the Algerian presidency, the decision was reached during a meeting of the High-Security Council (HCS), chaired by the Head of State Abdelmadjid Tebboune, also Minister of Defense, and is devoted to the examination of “developments at the borders with the Kingdom of Morocco”.
Royal Air Maroc said the closure would mostly affect Moroccan aircraft whose routes fly over Algerian territory in the immediate future, most especially 15 flights weekly linking Morocco with Tunisia, Turkey, and Egypt.
Sudan’s military criticizes civilian politicians after coup attempt
Sudanese military leaders Monday said that the civilian politicians they share power with had opened the door to a coup attempt. A council known as the Sovereign Council has ruled Sudan under a fragile power-sharing deal between the military and civilians since the overthrow of Omar al-Bashir in 2019 but their relationship has remained fractious since then.
The council’s head and the deputy accused the civilian politicians of seeking personal gains and forgetting the aims of the revolution. and according to them, the military authorities have arrested and detained 21 officers suspected to be linked with the attempted coup.
Corruption trial of former S.Africa president Zuma adjourned till October
The judge presiding over the corruption case of former South African president Jacob Zuma has on Wednesday adjourned the ongoing trial to October 26th.
Zuma, who has been involved in a $2 billion government arms deal scandal for almost a decade, was meant to start in May but has been postponed several times due to legal arguments and Zuma’s unavailability. But according to the judge, Judge Piet Koen, he has pleaded not guilty to charges of corruption, money laundering and racketeering related to the acquisition of military equipment.
South Africa adopts more ambitious emissions target before climate summit
South Africa’s environmental department has on Wednesday decided to adopt a more ambitious emissions reduction target ahead of a United Nations climate conference in November. The country which is Africa’s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases aims to keep emissions to a range of 350-420 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (Mt CO2e) by 2030 through a climate commission established by President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Nigerian court orders alleged separatist freed
A Nigerian court situated in Abuja had ordered the immediate release of a woman who was accused of being a member of Nnamdi Kanu’s IPOB and detained since February.
According to the court, the police had illegally detained Ngozi Umeadi and she is entitled to the damages of 50 million naira from the police. Amnesty International had earlier accused the Nigerian security forces of killing at least 115 people connected with the separatist propaganda in the southeast this year and arbitrarily arrested or tortured scores of others.
Arrest warrant issued for Burundi’s exiled opposition leader
Burundi opposition leader, Alexis Sinduhije, has been issued an international arrest warrant on Wednesday 24th September by the Burundian authorities through the Attorney general of the country, Sylvestre Nyandwi.
Alexis Sinduhije who had been in exile was accused of leading a group responsible for multiple “terrorist acts’, following a string of attacks in the troubled East African nation in recent days that have left at least six people dead and more than 100 wounded. But in a statement issued by the Attorney general, the warrant issued to Alexis is related to earlier attacks, including grenade explosions and ambushes that have killed dozens and injured several since the start of 2020, Nyandwi said.
South Africa’s national airline back to operation after bankruptcy
South African Airways (SAA), the country’s biggest airport, on Thursday commenced and took to the skies for the first time in around a year. The state-owned SAA’s longstanding financial woes were intercepted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and it halted all operations last September when it ran out of funding. The company restarted domestic flights from Johannesburg to Cape Town on Thursday and next week will launch a slimmed-down international service to five African capitals: Accra, Kinshasa, Harare, Lusaka, and Maputo.
Kenya film board bans viral gay documentary
Kenya authorities have on Thursday banned a recent viral documentary ‘I am Samuel’ which is about a gay Kenyan man’s struggle to be accepted by his family and country. According to the Kenya Film Classification Board (KFCB), while announcing its prohibition on the exhibition, distribution, possession, or broadcast, said the documentary is blasphemous and an affront to the constitution.
This decision however comes three years after KFCB banned “Rafiki,” an Oscar-nominated film about two women falling in love, saying that it promoted homosexuality.
Zambian president set to meet IMF, World Bank in Washington
In a bid to secure a lending programme to help Zambia emerge from a debt crisis, Zambia’s presidency spokesperson Anthony Bwalya, announced that President Hakainde Hichilema is due to meet officials at the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in Washington. In November, Zambia became the first African country to default on its sovereign debt during the COVID-19 pandemic after failing to keep up with payments on nearly $13 billion of international debt. About a quarter of this debt is held by either China or Chinese entities via deals shrouded in secrecy clauses, complicating negotiations for IMF relief.
