AFRICA

Abuja, Nigeria | AFP |  English-speaking West African countries on Thursday criticised a move to rename the CFA franc used by former French colonies, saying the move jarred with plans to introduce a region-wide currency of the same name. Members of the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ) Convergence Council said …

Isabel dos Santos says run for president ‘possible’ Luanda, Angola | AFP | The billionaire daughter of Angola’s ex-president, Isabel dos Santos, says she would consider running for president in the next election in 2022. Dos Santos is being probed under an anti-graft campaign launched by her father’s successor President …

Banjul, Gambia | AFP |  Thousands of supporters of Gambia’s former dictator Yahya Jammeh demonstrated Thursday on the outskirts of the capital Banjul, demanding his return from exile. The protest came days after the former autocrat was heard in a leaked audio recording insisting that the tiny West African state …

Bangui, Central African Republic | AFP |  The unexpected return of two former presidents to the Central African Republic, the main figures in a civil war that still bloodies the country despite an 11-month-old peace accord, has set the stage for high-stakes political chess ahead of elections in December. Francois Bozize, …

Cousin Island, Seychelles | AFP |  Giant tortoises amble across Cousin Island as rare birds flit above. The scene attests to a stunning success for BirdLife International, a conservation group that bought the tiny Seychelles isle in 1968 to save a songbird from extinction. Thick vegetation smothers ruins that are the only …

Washington, United States | AFP | Ethiopia made progress with Egypt and Sudan in US-brokered talks in easing concerns over a hotly contested mega-dam on the Nile, with a tentative agreement to fill it only during the rainy season. The three countries had set a deadline of Wednesday to reach …

Lome, Togo | AFP | After he was struck down by malaria and typhoid, Togolese tailor Ayawo Hievi thought he was set to recover when he started taking drugs prescribed by his doctor. But far from curing him, the medication he was given at the neighbourhood clinic made him far …

  Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | Heavy gunfire broke out in Sudan’s capital Tuesday as several agents of the long-feared security agency launched a “rebellion” against a restructuring plan, prompting a closure of the international airport. A teenager was wounded when shots were fired at some bases of the Directorate …

  Nairobi, Kenya | THE INDEPENDENT | President Uhuru Kenyatta has reshuffled his cabinet and dropped two ministers (cabinet secretaries). Dropped are Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mwangi Kiunjuri and Henry Rotich who has been in charge of the National Treasury. Rotich was recently charged with corruption in a dam deal gone …

Anka, Nigeria | AFP |  Haruna Hasaman knew she only had moments to get away when the roar of motorbikes ruptured the quiet of her village in Zamfara state, northwest Nigeria. She scrambled for her five children and fled just as the gunmen screeched in and opened fire. “They killed many …