Africa Guinea-Bissau Guinean economist Carlos Lopes was named economist of the year by 'Financial Afrik' for his book on the trap of self-delusion and Africa's dependence on Europe
Africa Eritrea Over 161.000 chickens will be distributed to poultry farmers across the country in an effort by the Ministry of Agriculture to improve food security and increase access to nutritious products
Africa Togo New measures to improve the safe transport and use of radioactive materials have been announced
Africa Republic of the Congo The eighth edition of the plant fair was well attended, with 2.891 visitors; for Minister of Forestry, Rosalie Matondo, the fair was a place to demonstrate the cooperation between nurseries, administration managers and the population
Africa Nigeria 35 children died in a crowd crush during a Christmas fair at the Bashorun district's Islamic High School in Ibadan, where around 5.000 people, mainly children and family members, had gathered for advertised cash handouts and food distributions
Africa Zimbabwe The devastating drought caused by the El Niño phenomenon has left 7,6 million people food insecure; in the district of Chivi, Masvingo province, the inhabitants are now dependent on food aid distributed by the government and WFP
Africa Rwanda The outbreak of Marburg virus disease has been declared over by the Rwandan government, with no new cases reported in the last 42 days, after the last patient tested negative for the virus twice
Africa Burkina Faso The first 44 gold bars from the processing of the fine coal from the Essakane gold mine have been handed over in Ouagadougou, destined to the national reserve; the Transition authorities envision to create wealth through the expertise in mining processing
Africa Kenya Assisted reproductive techniques will be used to save from extinction the northern white rhinoceros, a species of which only two females remain in the world, reported Kenya's National Wildlife Service
Africa Ivory Coast Chef Melanie Zenaib Bancé has not left the cooker since 17 December to conquer the Guinness Book of Cooking Marathon; the goal is to make 16.000 dishes from 293 menus from all regions of the country, that will be donated to needy people and hospitals
Africa Morocco The country voted for the first time in the UN assembly in favour of the moratorium on the application of the death penalty; Morocco's adherence to this moratorium had been announced on 9 December in the House of Representatives by the Minister of Justice
Africa Mali The High Communications Authority has revised its initial decision to permanently close down the Joliba TV channel and, after intense negotiations and an appeal by the broadcaster, the HAC has decreed a six-month suspension
Africa Democratic Republic of the Congo The country has filed a complaint against Apple's subsidiaries in Belgium and France accusing them of sourcing the minerals essential for the production of devices from the many illegal mines in the country, and thus being complicit in those crimes