Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | An African regional bloc on Sunday called for a unity government in Democratic Republic of Congo following disputed presidential elections, while also urging a recount of the ballots. The Southern African Development Community (SADC) said political leaders should agree to a negotiated settlement after …
Read More »South African ‘great legend’ Philemon Masinga dies
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | Former South Africa star Philemon ‘Chippa’ Masinga died Sunday aged 49 in a Johannesburg hospital from cancer, the national football association said in a statement. Retired South Africa captain Lucas Radebe, who played with Masinga at then English top-flight club Leeds United in the …
Read More »Zimbabwe’s president hikes fuel prices to tackle shortages
Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa has announced an sharp increase in fuel prices in a measure to improve supplies as the country struggles with its worst petrol shortages in a decade. After years in international isolation, Zimbabwe’s economy has been on a downturn for more than …
Read More »Egypt university expels female student for hugging male friend
Cairo, Egypt | AFP | Egypt’s Al-Azhar university on Sunday said it had expelled a female student after she appeared in a video hugging a male colleague, accusing her of undermining the school’s reputation. The video, which went viral earlier this month, showed a young man carrying a bouquet of …
Read More »New Gabon government announced from abroad
Libreville, Gabon | AFP | Gabon’s prime minister announced a new government in a video message recorded thousands of miles away in Morocco, where ailing Gabonese President Ali Bongo is recovering from a stroke. Recently appointed PM Julien Nkoghe Bekale gave details of the reshuffle in footage broadcast late Saturday …
Read More »Nigeria’s chief justice facing assets charges: court
Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | Nigeria’s most senior judge was on Saturday charged with failing to declare his assets, in a move the main opposition party said triggered alarm bells as elections approach next month. Chief Justice of Nigeria Walter Samuel Nkanu Onnoghen will appear before a panel of three …
Read More »Malawi vice president turns opposition candidate in election race
Lilongwe, Malawi | AFP | Malawi Vice President Saulos Chilima has launched a bitter attack on his own government ahead of elections in May, when he hopes to win power as head of a new opposition party. Chilima told AFP in an interview that he no longer speaks to President …
Read More »Tunisia sentences 41 to death over 2014 attack on army
Tunis, Tunisia | AFP | A Tunisian court has sentenced 41 jihadists to death over an attack that killed 15 soldiers on the border with Algeria in 2014, prosecutors said Saturday. The sentences for the men, only two of whom are currently in custody, were delivered in the capital Tunis …
Read More »DR Congo presidential runner-up asks court to cancel result
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 …
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