Gambia
Gambians vote on Saturday in the first election since the brutal and eccentric autocrat Yahya Jammeh was removed from power after 22 years. Many were surprised in 2016 when Jammeh accepted the result of an election that saw victory for opposition candidate Adama Barrow. Six candidates are running, and voters are looking for action on a battered economy and justice for victims of atrocities under Jammeh’s rule.
More from AP here.
Afghanistan
In a decision that stunned many, the Taliban has announced it is banning forced marriage in Afghanistan, saying women should not be considered property anymore and will be free to marry who they choose. The decree was cautiously welcomed by several influential Afghan women who said they now wanted to see it carried through. “Both [women and men] should be equal,” the decree said. “No one can force women to marry by coercion or pressure.” The Taliban, though, has yet to make any meaningful moves guaranteeing women’s rights around work and education.
More from Al Jazeera here.
Ethiopia
The Ethiopian government is closing schools so that students can harvest food for soldiers fighting on the frontlines of the country’s civil war, according to state-run media. Key territory has been trading hands between government forces and Tigrayan rebels for the last week, with both sides seemingly bent on a military victory rather than a negotiated settlement. Despite the initial report coming from state media, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s spokesperson, Billene Seyoum, in a Twitter post denied the children would be harvesting the crops specifically for troops.
More from BBC here.