AFRICA

Lome, Togo | AFP |  Togo votes Saturday in an election expected to see President Faure Gnassingbe claim a fourth term in power and extend his family’s half-century domination of the West African nation. The incumbent, 53, has led the country of eight million since 2005 following the death of his …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The people of South Sudan have been deliberately starved in different parts of the country for ethnic and political reasons, and sexual violence against women and men as a weapon of war is ongoing, UN investigators have said. The three-member commission, appointed by the …

Maseru, Lesotho | AFP | Lesotho premier Thomas Thabane failed to show up on Friday at a court where he was due to be charged with murdering his estranged wife, as his aide said he had gone to South Africa for medical checks. The 80-year-old prime minister is accused of …

Algiers, Algeria | AFP |  Algeria this weekend marks a year since the birth of an unprecedented protest movement known as “Hirak” — one that quickly forced an ailing president from power and is now looking to maintain momentum. Anti-regime protesters and groups have designated Friday and Saturday a landmark moment, …

Les Mamelles, Seychelles | AFP |  On a plain suburban street in Seychelles, far from the idyllic coastline and luxury resorts pampering honeymooners and paradise-seekers, heroin addicts queue anxiously for their daily dose of methadone. It is a scene few outsiders would associate with the tropical nirvana adrift in the Indian …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT & URN | Chief mediator, Angola President Joao LourenCo, has arrived in Kigali ahead of the Quadripartite Summit between Rwanda, Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda which will take place today at the Katuna – Gatuna border. The leaders are expected to meet as part of …

Wau, South Sudan | AFP | From behind the razor-wire fence that she is too afraid to leave, under armed protection in her own land, Jenty John Musa hears that peace is apparently coming to South Sudan. “We just hear on the radio, ‘There is peace, there is peace.’ But we’re …

Maseru, Lesotho | AFP | Lesotho Prime Minister Thomas Thabane is expected on Friday to be charged with the murder of his estranged wife, who was gunned down two days before his inauguration in 2017, police said Thursday. The news came as Thabane announced he would step down on July …

Khartoum, Sudan | THE INDEPENDENT | The Regional Nile Day 2020 celebrations are set to take place in Khartoum on February 22. At least 500 Nile Basin citizens and friends of the Nile are expected to participate in the celebrations, according to the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) that is organising the …

Paris, France | AFP | Switching in old age from a bland, unvaried diet to a Mediterranean mix of fresh veggies, fruits and fish restores a balance of intestinal bacteria linked to good health, researchers said Tuesday. In a clinical trial with 612 volunteers aged 65 to 79 across five European …