An article from Fox News recently called attention to the killing of Christians in Nigeria by comparing it to the deadly Easter Sunday suicide bombings of churches and hotels in Sri Lanka. According to the article, the attacks “highlight the dangers that remain from asymmetric terrorism and violence against Christians in ethnically and religiously divided societies.” However, linking these tragedies to each other and to a perceived global trend of violence against Christians mischaracterizes the nature of the conflict in Nigeria. 

Nigerians will go to the polls for their general election in February 2019. In line with its mandate, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has reminded candidates that they are prohibited by law from campaigning before November 18, which marks ninety days before election day for federal offices, which is scheduled for February 16.

In the article, author Adenike Olanrewaju describes the emergence of publications Genevieve Magazine, Exquisite Magazine, Today’s Woman, and Glam Africa. With an increasingly cosmopolitan elite, Olanrewaju writes, “luxury brands are eager to establish firmer footholds there.”

Earlier this month, protests against Comoran President Azali Assoumani turned violent, as armed protesters squared off against the military in the old town of Mutsamudu. Located on the archipelagic country’s island of Anjouan, the city has seen a wave of protests from locals following Assoumani’s victory in a controversial referendum, which upends the country’s power-sharing arrangement, held earlier this summer.

In a cabinet reshuffle last week, Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed appointed ten female ministers, comprising half of the all cabinet posts. Days later, Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame announced that Rwanda’s new cabinet would also be gender-balanced. The Ethiopian parliament elected its first female president, Sahle-Work Zewde.