Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | The runner-up in DR Congo’s presidential election, Martin Fayulu, has appealed to the Constitutional Court to annul the provisional result which awarded victory to his opposition rival Felix Tshisekedi, his lawyer said Saturday. The request was filed on Friday ahead of a 48-hour deadline …
Read More »Zimbabwe to re-introduce local currency within a year: minister
Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Zimbabwe will re-introduce a local currency “in less than 12 months”, after using the US dollar and regional currencies since a hyperinflation crisis a decade ago, the finance minister said in an interview published on Saturday. President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who took over from long-time ruler Robert Mugabe and won a …
Read More »Ruling ANC kicks off S.Africa election campaign with vow to restore democracy, growth
Durban, South Africa | AFP | South African President on Saturday launched the ANC’s campaign for legislative elections in May, acknowledging the party’s past mistakes and promising to restore democratic institutions and economic growth. Ramaphosa unveiled a 68-page manifesto before tens of thousands of supporters in the eastern city of Durban, marking the start of …
Read More »Many feared dead after tanker blast in Nigeria
Warri, Nigeria | AFP | Nigerian police on Saturday said many people were feared dead after a petrol tanker veered off the road, caught fire and exploded as people tried to recover fuel. The vehicle crashed in the Odukpani area of the southeastern state of Cross River, just north of the state capital, Calabar, at …
Read More »Regional powers stick with Bashir as Sudan protests mount
Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | As angry protests pile pressure on Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir to step down, key powers are standing by his regime to ensure stability in a strife-torn region, analysts say. Demonstrations that erupted in the provinces last month after the government tripled the price of bread have escalated into nationwide protests …
Read More »Morocco complains to UN of W. Sahara truce violations
United Nations, United States | AFP | Morocco has accused Polisario Front fighters in Western Sahara of violating a ceasefire agreement, just weeks before an expected new round of talks on ending the decades-old conflict. In a letter seen by AFP on Friday, Morocco’s UN Ambassador Omar Hilale cited three …
Read More »Sudan rights body condemns fatal shooting of protesters
Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | Sudan’s top human rights body on Friday condemned the killing “by bullets” of protesters during a wave of unrest and called on the authorities to bring those responsible to justice. The statement by Sudan’s National Human Rights Commission was the first acknowledgement by a state …
Read More »Ruling ANC kickstarts S.Africa election season
Durban, South Africa | AFP | South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is set to unveil the ruling ANC party’s election manifesto on Saturday in front of tens of thousands of supporters, marking the start of four months of hectic campaigning. The African National Congress (ANC), which has ruled since the …
Read More »Sudan demonstrators up against ‘ruthless strategist’ in Bashir: expert
Paris, France | AFP | The demonstrations that have rocked Sudan over the past three weeks represent the biggest threat to President Omar al-Bashir’s rule since he took power three decades ago. Willow Berridge, a lecturer at Newcastle University in northern England and author of “Civil Uprisings in Modern Sudan”, …
Read More »DR Congo’s shock vote result goes to Constitutional Court
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | The outcome of DR Congo’s tempestuous presidential election appeared to be headed for the courts Friday after the poll’s runner-up said he would demand a recount. Martin Fayulu, an opposition candidate tipped by pollsters as the likely winner of the December 30 vote, told …
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