AFRICA

Accra, Ghana | AFP |  Kwame Boadu was forced to abandon his cocoa plantation to work in Ghana’s capital Accra, but when the government announced plans for a price floor he began dreaming of a return to his fields. A higher guaranteed price for the crop means a cocoa farmer “can afford …

Khartoum, Sudan | AFP |  Sudan braced Sunday for a mass protest in the capital against the country’s ruling generals, as calls mounted for restraint to prevent a new military crackdown on demonstrators. The planned “million-man” march is seen as a test for protest organisers who have been hit by a …

Ol Pejeta, Kenya | AFP |  Every morning, at the far perimeter of the wildlife reserve capped by Mount Kenya, a khaki-clad ranger meticulously sweeps the earth of animal footprints, covering their tracks from any poachers. It’s an antiquated approach to outsmarting would-be hunters, but this ranger is not alone. …

Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP |  Zimbabwe’s worsening electricity shortages mean power is often only available for a few hours in the middle of the night — forcing furniture maker Richard Benhura to start work at 11:00 pm. It is just one aspect of the country’s dire economic difficulties as official inflation …

Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | Members of Sudan’s powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces prevented protest leaders from addressing journalists on Saturday, the eve of a mass rally against the ruling generals, protest organisers said. Sudan’s umbrella protest movement, the Alliance for Freedom and Change, has called for a “million man” march …

Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | A top Sudanese general Saturday warned he will not tolerate any vandalism at a planned mass protest, but insisted the ruling generals would hand power to a civilian administration. General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo’s warning came as the country’s umbrella protest movement called for a “million-man” march …

Khartoum, Sudan | AFP |  Driven from power after months of nationwide protests, Sudan’s former strongman Omar al-Bashir has been held in the capital’s grim Kober prison on a series of charges filed by prosecutors. Those charges range from corruption to killing protesters, and on June 16 Bashir appeared before a …

Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | A prominent Sudanese protest leader has voiced fears of more violence against demonstrators at rallies this week, insisting the June 3 “massacre” at a Khartoum sit-in had been planned. Protest leaders have called for mass rallies against the military on Sunday, the first such nationwide call …

Cotonou, Benin | AFP |  The last time that cartographers mapped Benin, Elvis Presley had just released “Jailhouse Rock,” the Soviets had launched Sputnik — and the country was still a colony named French Dahomey. Things in the West African state have sure changed since 1957, and the old maps were …

Khartoum, Sudan | AFP |  During the day, Gadoora checks his patients at a clinic near Khartoum, but at night he locks himself in his room rapping songs which echo the sentiments of Sudan’s “revolution”. “The revolution broke the long-standing wall of fear,” said Gadoora. “Songs have become much more daring …