Cairo, Egypt | AFP | Abdulmalik Abdulaziz, an Uighur student, was arrested and handcuffed by Egyptian police and when they removed his blindfold he was surprised to see Chinese officials questioning him in custody. He was picked up in broad daylight with friends, and taken to a Cairo police station where …
Read More »Euphoria grips Sudan as historic transition deal signed
Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | Rapturous crowds filled the streets of Khartoum Saturday as Sudan’s generals and protest leaders signed a historic deal paving the way for civilian rule. Thousands of cheering people gathered around the Friendship Hall next to the Nile, where the documents that will govern the country’s 39-month …
Read More »Gabon’s Bongo re-emerges, attends independence parade
Gabon’s Bongo attends independence parade in rare public appearance Libreville, Gabon | AFP | Gabon’s President Ali Bongo on Saturday made a rare public appearance to attend the country’s independence day celebrations, nearly ten months after suffering a stroke that fuelled speculation about his ability to rule. Bongo, whose every …
Read More »Sudanese celebrate transition to civilian rule
Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | Sudan was poised Saturday to celebrate a historic deal between generals and protest leaders for a transition to civilian rule, which many hope will bring increased freedom and prosperity. During a ceremony to be held at a hall by the Nile in the capital Khartoum, members …
Read More »Zimbabwe police beat protesters defying regime ‘worse than Mugabe’
Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Riot police in Zimbabwe on Friday fired teargas and beat demonstrators who defied a protest ban, as the opposition accused President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government of surpassing Robert Mugabe’s regime in brutality. Scores of people gathered in a square in the capital Harare to demonstrate against the …
Read More »Uganda, Zambia deny Huawei helped spy on political opponents
Kampala, Uganda | AFP | Uganda and Zambia on Friday denied a report that employees of Chinese telecom giant Huawei had helped them spy on political opponents. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported this week that Huawei technicians helped the two African governments intercept communications and social media activity of their …
Read More »First Ebola cases surface in DR Congo’s South Kivu province
Bukavu, DR Congo | AFP | A woman has died of Ebola and her infant son was diagnosed with the virus in the first confirmed cases in DR Congo’s South Kivu province, reviving fears Friday the highly contagious disease could spread through the region. The Democratic Republic of Congo’s Ebola epidemic …
Read More »Kenyan 7s rugby players jailed 15 years for gang rape
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | A Kenyan court on Friday sentenced two rugby players to 15 years in prison for the gang rape of a female singer at a birthday party last year. The international rugby sevens players Frank Wanyama, 24, and Alex Olaba, 23, were earlier this month found …
Read More »Gentle giraffes threatened with ‘silent extinction’
Loisaba , Kenya | AFP | For most of his life as a Samburu warrior, Lesaiton Lengoloni thought nothing of hunting giraffes, the graceful giants so common a feature of the Kenyan plains where he roamed. “There was no particular pride in killing a giraffe, not like a lion… (But) a …
Read More »Sudan to launch historic transition to civilian rule
Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | Sudan’s military rulers and protest leaders on Saturday are scheduled to sign a landmark deal reached after a bloody uprising which is meant to pave the way for civilian rule. The ceremony will officialise a constitutional declaration inked on August 4 between the country’s Transitional Military …
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