[Premium Times] YIAGA Africa's Samson Itodo speaks about election regulators, politicians, CSOs and the citizenry and what each category needs to do to improve Nigeria's democracy.

[AIM] Maputo -- Mozambican presidential candidate Venancio Mondlane has again threatened to bring the country to a standstill in the pursuit of what he calls "the truth about the elections'.

[Daily Trust] The planned by Shell to sell its Nigerian subsidiary by Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) and other multinational oil companies without cleaning up the pollution in the Niger Delta communities and restore ecosystem has sparked up protests in Bayelsa State.

[allAfrica] GENEVA -- After 20 months, there are no signs the war in Sudan is slowing down, and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) warned Friday that the recent surge of arrivals in South Sudan is overwhelming services in border areas.

[allAfrica] The 16 Days of Activism campaign was led by government and business accounts on South Africa X (formerly Twitter), according to a new report published by the Centre for Analytics and Behavioural Change (CABC).

[allAfrica] The Centre for Analytics and Behavioural Change (CABC) has released its latest report, Gender-Based Violence and Misogyny TikTok Analytics and Narrative Update in South Africa, on the online conversation regarding gender-based violence and misogyny.

[DW] The bill, which drew international condemnation, criminalizes sex acts within the gay community. Neither the outgoing nor the incoming president have confirmed they will sign it into law.

[New Dawn] The Senate said the US$1.8m is projected to finance the restoration of the Joint Chamber upon the passage of the budget.

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[Addis Standard] Addis Abeba- Over 10,000 residents in Bugna District, North Wollo Zone, Amhara Region, including children under five, are experiencing severe food shortages due to prolonged drought and ongoing conflict, according to the District Health Bureau.

[AIM] Maputo -- The Mozambican government on Tuesday admitted that it does not have the money to pay education and health professionals for the overtime worked in 2023 and 2024.

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[New Zimbabwe] FORMER opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) top official Tendai Biti believes the fight against President Emmerson Mnangagwa's illegal bid for a third term in office must dominate next year.

[New Zimbabwe] The Zanu PF-led government has dropped the original name of Mbudzi roundabout and retitled it Trabablas Interchange, President Emmerson Mngangagwa's nom-de-guerre during the country's liberation war.

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[allAfrica] During my time as Minister of Health in Ethiopia, we wanted to transform the country's health system, and I was looking for guidance on how to do it. It turned out the World Health Organization (WHO) had exactly what I was looking for - but it wasn't WHO that told me about it; I only found it by googling.

[ISS] Next year's G20 Summit could be an opportunity for leaders to address AI concerns regarding transparency, accountability and human oversight.

[allAfrica]

[allAfrica] Tropical Cyclone Chido made landfall around 6am on Sunday, December 15, on the coast of Mozambique as a category 4 cyclone, about 35-40km south of Pemba city in Cabo Delgado Province, located in the northern region. The cyclone remained an intense tropical storm, characterized by destructive winds reaching 260km per hour, heavy rainfall of 250mm within 24 hours, and extremely dangerous sea conditions that posed a significant risk of coastal submersion.

[allAfrica]

[AIM] Maputo -- Tropical cyclone Chido is heading for the coast of the northern Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado and could make landfall on Sunday.

[OCHA] HIGHLIGHTS

[allAfrica] Cape Town -- Tropical Cyclone Chido is affecting multiple countries in Southern Africa, potentially impacting approximately 2.5 million people across Mozambique, Malawi, and the Comoros. The cyclone already hit Mayotte with extreme wind conditions and is expected to make landfall in northern Mozambique on December 15.

[Premium Times] The Nigeria Tax Bill (from now on referred to as the NTB) is a comprehensive piece of legislation that seeks to outline all taxes in the country hitherto administered by different laws and compress them into a single simplified law

[The Conversation Africa] The backlog of subsidised public housing in South Africa is estimated at 2.4 million. In this interview, Hlengiwe Maila, a research fellow at the School of Public Management and Administration at the University of Pretoria, answers questions posed by associate professor Adrino Mazenda about possible solutions. Maila's PhD thesis, which was jointly supervised by Mazenda and Professor Lianne Malan, focused on developing a new model for the South African housing sector.

[The Conversation Africa] Infectious or chronic diseases such as long COVID, Alzheimer's disease and traumatic brain injury can cause inflammation in the brain, or neuroinflammation, that weakens muscles. While scientists are aware of this link between inflammation and muscle weakness, the molecules and processes involved have been unclear.

[Afrobarometer] Seven in 10 citizens say elected officials should prioritise voter demands rather than their own ideas.

[The Conversation Africa] The Ebola virus devastated west Africa in 2014, claiming over 11,000 lives in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea.

[OCHA] HIGHLIGHTS

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[allAfrica] Kenyan President William Ruto led the nation in commemorating Jamhuri Day, which marks 61 years since the country became a republic on December 12, 1964. He presided over the event, which took place at the historic Uhuru Gardens situated along Lang'ata Road in Nairobi County.

[Vanguard] Nigeria's national power grid managed by the Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN, collapsed yesterday, the 11th time in 2024, leaving the country in complete blackout.

[HRW] Islamist Armed Groups Responsible for Killing Civilians, Arson

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