VIF News Digest: International Developments (Africa), 8 – 14 April, 2019
Boko Haram targets civilians in deadly attacks in South-East Niger: VOA,
10 April 2019

The United Nations refugee agency reports tens of thousands of refugees and displaced people in Niger’s Diffa region are suffering immense hardships as violent attacks by Boko Haram increase in frequency and intensity.

According to the U.N. refugee agency, last month 88 civilians in Niger’s border areas were killed by Boko Haram, the Nigeria-based Islamist militant group. The spike in violence, it says, has forced more than 18,000 people to flee their homes, many for the second or third time. Large numbers have fled to Diffa town in search of safety, adding to the heavy burden of this overcrowded area. Since 2015, nearly 250,000 people, about half of them refugees from Nigeria, have sought protection from Boko Haram in Diffa. Click here to read.....

Death toll from devastating Cyclone Idai rises above 1,000: Aljazeera
10 April 2019

The death toll from a storm that crashed into southeast Africa last month has risen above 1,000, with more than 4,000 cases of cholera reported among survivors in Mozambique, the hardest-hit country. The United Nations has described Cyclone Idai as "one of the deadliest storms on record in the southern hemisphere".

The cyclone made landfall the night of March 14 near the Mozambican port city of Beira, bringing heavy winds and rains, before moving inland to neighbouring Zimbabwe and Malawi. Click here to read.....

China gives AU $2m for capacity building efforts: Africanews
11 April 2019

The African Union Commission, AUC, on Wednesday confirmed receipt of two million dollars from the Chinese government. The amount was handed over via a cheque from the Ambassador of China to the AU, Liu Yuxi. It was received by the deputy chairperson of the AUC, Kwesi Quartey.

“I had the honour and privilege to receive once again, on behalf of the Commission, a cheque for US$2 million from the Amb. of China to the AU, for the Commission’s capacity building programme. Click here to read.....

Nigeria evacuates whole town to screen for Boko Haram members: The Guardian
11 April 2019

Nigerian soldiers have evacuated the entire population of a town in the north-eastern insurgency-hit state of Borno without warning. The military said people were evacuated ahead of operations, but residents of Jakana said they were taken to a camp this week in the state capital Maiduguri to check whether they were members of the extremist group Boko Haram. Jakana is home to about 10,000 people.

The UN said residents were not allowed to collect any belongings, with some even arriving without shoes. It called for them to be given humanitarian aid immediately. Click here to read.....

Sudan’s President Omar Hassan al-Bashir is ousted, but not his regime: The New York Times
11 April 2019

As Sudan’s military announced at lunchtime on Thursday that it had finally unseated President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, a brief burst of joy exploded outside the military headquarters in Khartoum where huge throngs of protesters had massed.

Nearly four months of protest, dozens of deaths at the hands of the security forces and endless chants of “revolution!” had finally come to this: the ouster of the despised leader who had ruled their vast country, plagued by famine and war, for 30 years. Click here to read.....

Police used tear gas, arrest scores of protesters in Algeria: Aljazeera
13 April 2019

Police have fired tear gas and arrested scores of protesters in Algiers as massive crowds gathered for the first Friday demonstrations since the announcement of presidential elections to succeed deposed leader Abdelaziz Bouteflika.

Police said in a statement on Friday that 108 people were arrested after clashes with "infiltrators" among the protesters, who injured 27 policemen. Click here to read.....

Ivanka Trump in Ethiopia to 'promote women’: BBC
14 April 2014

President Donald Trump's eldest daughter, Ivanka Trump, has arrived in Ethiopia to promote a US government initiative aimed at advancing women's participation in the workplace. The initiative aims to benefit 50 million women in developing countries by 2025. Ms Trump will visit women working in the coffee industry and a female-run textile facility. She will also visit Ivory Coast during her four-day tour of Africa.

Launched in February, the Women's Global Development and Prosperity (W-GDP) initiative aims to train women worldwide to help them get well-paying jobs. Click here to read.....

Libya's UN-backed government denounce school air strike: africanews
14 April 2019

Libya’s U.N backed Government of National Accord has condemned an air strike on a school on the southern outskirts of Tripoli on Saturday. But government’s spokesman welcomed immediate ceasefire as long as the situation changes and forces invasion flee Tripoli.

“Within the same context, today the Head of the Presidency Council met with the United Nations envoy, his deputy, in order to brief him on the latest progressions of the capital. He has informed them that the forces of Khalifa Haftar are still using warplanes and random air strikes on civilian areas, the latest being the air strike on the region of Ain Sara today. The U.N. envoy has confirmed his complete disagreement with what is happening, especially with the aggressions towards civilians “, Mohanad Younes said. Click here to read.....

Google has opened its first Africa Artificial Intelligence lab in Ghana: CNN
14 April 2019

A rural farmer in Tanzania hovers over a wilting cassava plant with her phone. In seconds she gets a diagnosis of the disease affecting her plant and how best to manage it to boost her production. The farmer used an app on her phone based on TensorFlow, Google's Artificial Intelligence (AI) machine that the company outsourced to help developers create solutions to real-world problems.

When people think of Artificial Intelligence, they most likely think of scenes from science fiction movies, but in reality, it applies to everyday life from virtual assistants to language translation on Google, says John Quinn, an AI researcher. Click here to read.....

Ethiopia's 'Roof of Africa' forest burns: Israel joins fire combat: africanews
14 April 2019

Israeli firefighters are the latest addition to a growing list of experts in Ethiopia to help authorities deal with a rampaging forest fire that has hit the Semien National Park in the northern Amhara region.

Fire have been raging in parts of the historic national park for the past few months but it wasn’t until last week that external intervention was sought for to combat the crisis. Click here to read.....

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