Are you a foreigner currently residing in the US of A?

Do you constantly tune into CNN, MSNBC, or even Fox News for your daily update?

Do you ever watch American content that alleges to cater to the 'World' but only cover America,the country not the continent, and if you are lucky maybe five other countries?

Have you been watching all this Trump-related content and wondering:

Who are the sources that keep snitching on the administration?

How many breaking news stories can CNN do before they ultimately say?
BREAKING NEWS: DONALD TRUMP IS STILL PRESIDENT

BREAKING NEWS: HE AIN'T DONE SHIT TODAY BUT WE WILL COVER IT.

BREAKING NEWS: HE IS STILL BREATHING Y'ALL

Are you tired of this constant regurgitation of the same idea and story for the past 24 hours?

If you said yes to all these and more, you sound like you are tired of the news. As a journalist, it is probably taboo of me to admit that I am tired of the news. However, I'm exhausted by American news. I need some nuance. I need something that pushes the conversation forward not regurgitates the opinions of a handful of people with esoteric* knowledge of American politics. 

I also need variety, the USA is not the only country in the world and they are definitely not the first to have a walking crisis in office.If you cannot tell me anything new that the past five shows and anchors told me every hour for the past 6 hours, I don't think you're saying much. Besides, variety is the spice of life and it avoids people referring to Africa as a country.

Plus I have nothing new or of any consequence to tell you, this is easier, and you get to learn something new. Yay, new knowledge!

1) Zimbabwe election

It seems like only yesterday Robert Mugabe was ousted from power and Emmerson 'The Crocodile' Mnangagwa took over the reigns of Zimbabwe. Two weeks ago, the landlocked country in Southern Africa held their first elections. 

While the voting process itself was peaceful, the results -which declared Mnangagwa the winner- led to violence. According to various media outlets, articles and tweets, police are attacking not only civilians but journalists as well. 

There have been claims that the election was not conducted in a free and fair manner. The BBC reported that the inauguration ceremony has been delayed after opposition leader, Nelson Chamisa, challenged the results in court. 

While we wait for an answer to the problems in Zimbabwe, maybe someone can answer this. Since the elections in the US were found to be rigged/tampered with, will they be seeking international observers at their election too?

If yes, the African continent has a ton of observers waiting to be called on. We know a thing or two about elections for show... we basically wrote the book about it. 

2)Elections in Democratic Republic of Congo

Yes, another African election. The landlocked central African country that is responsible for the materials needed to power your electronics is gearing up for elections to be held in December.

President Joseph Kabila has been in power since 2001 and while his term officially ended last year is still in power. According to Africanews, this discrepancy is due to a constitutional clause which states he can stay in office until his successor is elected. This past week, Kabila announced that he would not be running for office in this years elections. 

According to The East African, candidates were expected to submit their paperwork in order to run by the 8th of August. Former ICC inmate, Jean-Pierre Bemba, and 92-year-old Antoine Gizenga are some of the names on the presidential ballot. The list would have included opposition leader Moise Katumbi, however he was not allowed to set foot in the country prior to the deadline. The government denies having a hand in Katumbi being unable to get into the country and as of last week, there had been protests demanding that Katumbi be allowed back into the country.

As a citizen of a country run by two people formerly wanted and tried by the ICC, I think it is time to give up on the American deam and start investing in the African dream. Even your legal problems at the world's courts cannot stop you from being a president. Anything is possible in Africa. #theAfricandream

3)Ebola outbreak in DRC

Yup, another story from Africa and the Congo. You guessed right when I said everywhere but only meant Africa.

Things are looking a little rough for Congo after the government declared an Ebola outbreak last week. According to Reuters, the government stated that 36 people had died from Ebola in Eastern Congo.

According the WHO,  44 cases of Ebola had been reported as of August 7th. Vaccinations were to begin on August 8th. 

4)South Sudan Peace Deal

The youngest country in the world has reached an agreement that officially declares a ceasefire between the warring factions of President Salva Kiir and former Vice President Riek Machar.

According to the BBC, this peace deal is similar to the collapsed peace deal of 2015 and will see Machar return to government. Al Jazeera reported that the deal was signed last week Sunday in Sudan. At the talks were Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir, who is wanted by the ICC for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. My guy Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta, whose charges at the ICC were dropped. Everyone's fave dictator, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and the president of Djibouti, Ismail Omar Guelleh, who according to a 2011 CBS News article is one of the 'world's enduring dictators.'

Quite the signing team there. If the African Union was to have their own version of the Avengers, it would be made up of heads of states. But instead of fighting crime they would commit them.

5)Is that enough or should we go on?

Buildings in Kenya are currently being demolished for being built on riparian land. I tried to read up, but manze this thing is hard. Here is an article that should almost break it down. 

In Nigeria, masked security forces stopped elected officials from getting into parliament. According to Reuters, the acting president fired the head of Nigeria's security agency. 

Still in West Africa, the government of Cameroon is launching an investigation following the release of a video that showed men alleged to be in the military shooting at people. The video I saw on Twitter claimed that these attacks were against people in English speaking Cameroon. These allegations are not new, Amnesty International has evidence of extrajudicial executions by Cameroonian soldiers dating back to 2016. According to Al Jazeera, last month a different video surfaced with two men in military uniform shooting two women with children. In the article, the Cameroonian government spokesperson is quoted as saying that the video aims to discredit the army and the president as is it is an election year. 

In more election news, Mali is holding the second round of their presidential elections after candidates failed to get 50 percent of the votes in the first round last month. According to Al Jazeera, President Ibrahim Keita is expected to win even though there has been a resurgence of violence and fighters linked to al-Qaeda and ISIL during his term.

Lastly, I will end this with some positive news. I have to be an adult and stuff, study for exams that are meant to lead you to grad school and what not. So I am taking a little break from all of this and freeing you from my weekly and always late blabbering.

Also, if you are curious and want to keep up with news from the continent and around the world. I highly recommend BBC, Al Jazeera, Reuters, and Quartz Africa. Follow Africans on twitter, they usually tweet about what is happening in their country and other African countries. If I was talking to you in person this would be the part where I awkwardly tell you, 'so yeah, I'll umm see you later.'

 

*Esoteric - intended for or likely to be understood by a small number of people wit a specialized knowledge or interest. (I just wanted to show y'all that I knew big words tbh.)