DAVIT ENDESHAW THE MILITARY was deployed in the Ethiopian capital, as armed gangs roamed neighbourhoods in a second day of unrest that has claimed more than 80 lives and deepened political divisions in Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's political heartland. The protests were sparked by the assassination of popular musician Haacaaluu Hundeessaa on Monday night and spread from Addis Ababa to the surrounding Oromiya region. The killing tapped into grievances fuelled by decades of government repression and what the Oromo, Ethiopia's biggest ethnic group, describe as their historic exclusion from political power. "I am angry. It's eating me inside," protestor Ishetu…

AT LEAST 50 people were killed in Ethiopia's Oromiya region in protests following the fatal shooting of a popular singer, a regional spokesman said, laying bare splits in the prime minister's political heartland ahead of next year's polls. Musician Haacaaluu Hundeessaa was shot dead on Monday night in what police said was a targeted killing. Protests reflecting anger at the killing of a popular figure and a sense of political marginalisation broke out the next morning in the capital and other towns and cities in the surrounding Oromiya region. The dead included protesters and members of the security forces, spokesman…

OWN CORRESPONDENT MALAWI'S new president Dr. Lazarus Chakwera has spent his first days as the head of state on two important parallel processes - receiving reports from various state departments and beginning the process to form a cabinet. Chakwera, who became president after unseating former leader Peter Mutharika in a re-run election, also had a transition budget approved, by Parliament, to allow the government to spend money on key projects in the next four months. "I am happy to report that Dr. Saulos Chilima and I have made great progress in the formulation of Cabinet. As per procedure, nominees for…

PHILLIP KLEINFELD and PAISLEY DODDS A REVIEW of fraud and corruption risks in the Democratic Republic of Congo – one of the world’s longest-running humanitarian crises – delivers a blistering assessment that could spark major changes to aid operations in a country where hundreds of millions of dollars of foreign aid are spent annually. The 70-page draft review – circulated last month to aid officials working in Congo and obtained by The New Humanitarian – looks at everything from corruption within the Ebola response to how women and girls are subjected to sexual exploitation. It also details how donor funds…

AFRICAN MIRROR CORRESPONDENT  HEALTH workers in Ghana, the frontline workers in the war against the COVID-19 pandemic, have received a massive cash boost, running into millions of dollars, from the government. The President of Ghana Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has announced that the special dispensation to exempt health workers from paying tax has been extended for another three months. President Akufo-Addo also extended the special allowance - 50% of their monthly salary. The special incentive package for health workers in Ghana, has placed millions in their pockets. It started in April and was expected to end in June. President Akufo-Addo…

ROBERT FLUMMERFELT THE Democratic Republic of Congo’s deadliest ever Ebola outbreak was officially declared over last week, but aid groups have warned that flare-ups are still possible and that a new outbreak in the northwest is testing the capacity of responders. The announcement, from Congo’s health minister, comes 42 days after the last patient was discharged from a treatment center in the conflict-affected eastern outbreak zone of Beni, meaning the three-week incubation period during which transmission between people normally occurs has long since passed.  Attention now switches to the northwestern outbreak in largely peaceful Équateur province, where 24 cases have…

OWN CORRESPONDENT  NEGOTIATIONS to ensure that millions of Africans in three neighbouring countries get equitable use of water from the biggest dam on the continent have resumed. The restart of talks between Ethiopia, hosts of the Grand Renaissance Ethiopian Dam, Egypt and Sudan have pleased the African Union (AU). The dam also hosts Africa’s biggest hydropower plant with a capacity to produce over 6000 megawatts. The $4.7-billion dam has a capacity of 74 billion cubic meters of water and serves Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt. The latter two countries depend on the Nile River for their water although over 80% of…

OWN CORRESPONDENT The Nigerian mega social media influencer who was arrested in Dubai in connection with a $435-million cyber scam has been extradited to the US and handed to the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI). Raymond Igbalode, known as “Hushpuppi” and his alleged accomplice Jacob Ponle, known as “Woodberry” are now in the custody of the FBI. “Hushpuppi” has already made his first appearance in a US court and he and “Woodberry” are expected to stand trial and face charges that include money laundering and cybercrimes. “Hushpuppi” (37) appeared in the US court under the name that he used when…

EGYPT will hold inaugural elections for a new second parliamentary chamber on Aug. 11-12, election commissioner Lasheen Ibrahim has announced. Amendments made to Egypt's constitution last year provided for the creation of the Council of Senators, a 300-member secondary chamber that will be two-thirds elected by the public and the remainder appointed by the president. "Holding elections during the pandemic that has swept the world necessitates that we take several precautionary measures to protect ourselves and society," Ibrahim said during a televised press conference. He said all polling stations will observe health guidelines, with all voters and polling staff required…