AFRICA

Mogadishu, Somalia | AFP | Businessman and politician Said Abdullahi Deni was elected president of the semi-autonomous state of Puntland in northern Somalia on Tuesday in a vote by regional lawmakers. Puntland, like much of the rest of Somalia, has suffered from decades of clan warfare and, more recently, terror …

Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has acknowledged setbacks in the fight against Boko Haram as the jihadists launched fresh attacks in the restive northeast. The 76-year-old head of state was elected in 2015 on a promise to end the Islamist insurgency, which has killed more than …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | Two passenger trains collided during the morning rush hour in South Africa’s capital city Pretoria Tuesday, killing three people and injuring hundreds, emergency services said. Two critically injured people were airlifted from the scene of the crash in Mountain View, northern Pretoria, spokesman Charles …

Beni, DR Congo | AFP | Ten civilians including children and relatives of soldiers were killed overnight in a raid by armed men in restive eastern DR Congo, officials said Tuesday. “There was an incursion yesterday (Monday) around 23:00… in the village of Mavivi” north of Beni, local administrator Donat …

Maputo, Mozambique | AFP | Mozambique said Monday it was working with US and South African authorities after its former finance minister was arrested in Johannesburg over $2 billion in alleged secret loans to Mozambican state companies. Manuel Chang, 63, was arrested on December 29 and will appear in a …

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | AFP | The African Union and France warned against any “unconstitutional” change of power in Gabon, whose government on Monday claimed to have foiled an attempted takeover. AU chief Moussa Faki Mahamat, in a tweet, said his organisation “strongly condemns the coup attempt” in Gabon. “I …

Ndwedwe, South Africa | AFP | Thousands of white-robed devotees of the Shembe Church in South Africa greeted the New Year last week by climbing the mountain of Nhlangakazi, sacred to them for more than a century. Every New Year, people mostly from Inanda township, near the coastal city of …

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | AFP | Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki on Monday reopened a border crossing between their countries as part of an ongoing reconciliation between the former foes. The two leaders re-opened the border crossing between Humera in Ethiopia and Oum Hajer in …

Donald Trump’s administration to focus on development finance and lending for infrastructure projects in Africa Kampala, Uganda | RONALD MUSOKE | The US will step up efforts to counter China’s growing influence in Africa this year, according to a recent report that shows the growing rivalry between the world’s two …

Dubai, United Arab Emirates | AFP | A desperate legal fight by 18-year-old Saudi Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun to stop her deportation from Bangkok airport has yet again shone a spotlight on the treatment of women in her homeland. Ultraconservative Saudi Arabia is striving to craft a new image — but …