AFRICA NEWS

A British teenager is being held in an Egyptian prison accused of “spying,” his family claim.

The central idea behind the Compact is a simple one: create a platform for closer coordination between African countries, international organisations, and bilateral G20 partners to support economic, business, and financial sector reforms that will attract private investment. 

In Burkina Faso, a country struggling to contain jihadist violence, education is one of the victims of the insurgency - with hundreds of schools closed, teachers in hiding and pupils kept indoors over the fear of attacks.

Tanzania is looking to draw tourists and funding from Hong Kong, with officials from the east African nation visiting the city on Friday to pitch a wide range of investment and travel opportunities.

The latest annual report by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation on the performance of African governments notes an overall improvement of health while education is in decline.

Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame appointed new ministers of defence and foreign affairs in a cabinet reshuffle announced late on Thursday.

Gambia has launched a truth, reconciliation and reparations commission to lay bare abuses committed under the 22-year rule of former leader Yahya Jammeh, with President Adama Barrow declaring the country’s “dark days” are over.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Wednesday warned African countries that their increasing indebtedness and failure to service their public debts was creating poverty for its citizens.

A majority of county assemblies are yet to ratify legal instruments to anchor the regional economic blocs in law, threatening to derail the partnerships intended to help drive growth.

A UN human rights expert welcomed with satisfaction the Tunisian Government’s efforts to shore up democracy since the 2011 revolution, but urged authorities to expedite efforts to protect the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association.

Ethiopia’s attorney general on Friday filed terrorism charges against five people accused of trying to “kill the prime minister” at a huge rally in the capital in June, barely two months after the reformist leader took office.

South Sudan President Salva Kiir Mayardit will travel today to attend a ceremony organized by Sudan to celebrate the final signing of the peace deal.