[allAfrica] This statement was provided to AllAfrica by five former American ambassadors, all career diplomats, who led U.S. representation in Ethiopia for 13 of the past 25 years. They call for the United States to intensify efforts to address Ethiopia's conflicts and end humanitarian suffering in the Tigray region.

[ISS] The arrangements to transition the turbulent Central African Republic (CAR) to normality could be described as the triumph of naive hope over brutal reality. Attempts to administer justice and hold elections in that country are certainly heroic. But they do raise important questions about the sequencing of reforms.

[allAfrica] As of February 26, confirmed cases of Covid-19 from 55 African countries reached 3,868,959.

[HRW] 20 Women Raped During March 2020 Attack in Ebam

[The Conversation Africa] On February 23, the Italian ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Luca Attanasio, his bodyguard Vittorio Iacovacci and their driver Mustapha Milambo were killed in eastern Congo. They were part of a convoy that travelled from the World Food Programme's compound in Goma, eastern Congo.

[AI London] Civilians killed and injured during the December 2020 elections in the Central African Republic

[allAfrica] Cape Town -- Congratulations are in order as the South African rapper AKA just made things official and popped the question to his girlfriend, Nelli Tembe.

[allAfrica] Cape Town -- «The urgency to get a vaccine to everyone, everywhere cannot be underestimated. As a country, we will be joining efforts to help the world recover better by ending the pandemic as a priority, addressing food security and hunger, getting all our children back to school, addressing climate change, and protecting the most marginalized. We must ensure that no one is left behind.»

[UN News] Despite a successful presidential election and other noteworthy progress, the Central African Republic (CAR) continues to be plagued by violence and volatility, the UN peacekeeping chief told the Security Council on Tuesday.

[This Day] President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the gradual return of Nigerian refugees in Cameroon, Niger and Chad to the country from February 27, 2021.

[allAfrica] Washington, DC -- The United States needs a top Africa policymaker «who has a high degree of expertise» dealing with African issues and working with Congress and key sectors of American society, a group of U.S.-based Africanists said in a letter sent today to President Biden.

[allAfrica] Finland's foreign minister Pekka Haavisto has warned of a «new refugee drama» in the EU after visiting the Um Rakuba refugee camp in Sudan, near the Ethiopian border. Hundreds of people displaced by the Tigray region conflict are fleeing to Sudan. Haavisto was not able to go to Tigray during his visit to Ethiopia.

[allAfrica] Paris -- On February 17th, 2021, Philip Morris International (PMI) held an online event entitled « Can scientifically substantiated smoke-free products contribute to public health outcomes?». This event was the third of its « Open Science Conference series » aimed at discussing and sharing the latest scientific data around tobacco and smoke-free products, and also fundamental principles behind their research «in an open and transparent manner» as the host, Gizelle

[allAfrica] Finland's foreign minister Pekka Haavisto has warned of a «new refugee drama» in the EU after visiting the Um Rakuba refugee camp in Sudan, near the Ethiopian border. Hundreds of people displaced by the Tigray region conflict are fleeing to Sudan. Haavisto was not able to go to Tigray during his visit to Ethiopia.

[allAfrica] Cape Town -- As of February 24, confirmed cases of Covid-19 from 55 African countries reached 3,846,159 .

[East African] After his appointment by President Félix Tshisekedi on February 15, Prime Minister Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde began the fundamental work of constituting his government. He knows, however, he is now President Tshisekedi's new sail to steer his boat out of the rocky waters of coalition politics.

[DW] The Democtratic Republic of Congo has accused the FDLR rebels of killing the Italian ambassador to the country on Monday. But the rebels are shifting the blame to the armies of DR Congo and neighboring Rwanda.

[African Arguments] Russia recently sent an additional 300 military advisors to support President Touadéra as part of a deepening relationship. What's in it for each side?

[allAfrica] Washington, DC -- The U.S. Senate has voted to confirm Linda Thomas-Greenfield as United States ambassador to the United Nations. The vote was 78-20. The veteran diplomat is the Cabinet-level member of the Biden-Harris team with the most extensive Africa resume.

[allAfrica] Washington, DC -- The U.S. Senate has voted to confirm Linda Thomas-Greenfield as United States ambassador to the United Nations. The vote was 78-20. The veteran diplomat is the Cabinet-level member of the Biden-Harris team with the most extensive Africa resume.

[RFI] Health officials are heading directly to Guinea's southeast region on Tuesday, after a special plane with 11,000 doses of Ebola vaccine landed late Monday night.

[The Conversation Africa] Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has become the first woman and the first African to be chosen as director general of the World Trade Organisation. The Conversation Africa's Wale Fatade asks Dr Monica Orisadare, an assistant professor of economics and director of the Centre for Gender and Social Policy Studies at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, Nigeria about Okonjo-Iweala's achievement and what it means.

[SAnews.gov.za] South Africa's unemployment rate rose to 32.5% in the last three months of 2020, Statistician-General Risenga Maluleke has revealed.

[RFI] Italy's ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo was killed in violence the DRC's president described as a «terrorist attack», which he blamed on a Rwandan Hutu rebel group.

[New Times] A draft law governing the Office of the Ombudsman has proposed the office cedes some powers to specialised organs.

[East African] The Burundi National Communication Council (CNC) on Monday lifted a ban on Bonesha radio after dialogue between CNC and media owners early this month.

[RFI] Italy's ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Luca Attanasio, was killed on Monday while travelling with a UN convoy in the east of the country, the foreign ministry said.

[RFI] Chadian rights activist Baradine Berdeï Targuio has been sentenced to three years in prison by the country's criminal court for «violation of the constitutional order», as well as ordered to pay a fine, after posting a message on social media about the health of President Idriss Déby.

[allAfrica] Cape Town -- As of February 22, confirmed cases of Covid-19 from 55 African countries reached 3,829,402.

[MSF] On 14 February 2021, the Guinean authorities declared a new Ebola outbreak. As one of the key medical organisations responding in the huge 2014 -- 2016 West Africa Ebola outbreak, MSF immediately started mobilizing a team of Ebola-experienced specialists to form the core of a response team. Anja Wolz is the Ebola Emergency Coordinator overseeing MSF's response:

[This Day] The Financial Derivatives Company Limited (FDC) has stressed that Nigeria's high unemployment (27.1%), its large youth population, as well as its poverty rates, mean that the country is effectively seating on a massive keg of gun powder.

[ISS] For the International Criminal Court (ICC), February has been a momentous month. A new chief prosecutor was appointed after a fraught election, important cases were started and another was concluded, and a decision reached on the question of Palestine. With some effort, the ICC can use these developments to assert its independence and leverage goodwill by focusing on investigations and cases.

[New Times] Pensioners have appealed for a rise in pension benefits, citing the rising cost of living.

[UN News] The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), on Friday, highlighted the dire situation of some three million displaced children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), facing brutal militia violence and extreme hunger.

[East African] All academic institutions in Rwanda will open and resume physical tutoring starting Tuesday, February 23, ending the prolonged shutdown that particularly affected learning institutions in the capital Kigali.