AFRICA

Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe | AFP | Seven Chinese nationals appeared in a Zimbabwe court on Thursday after they were arrested last month with rhino horn pieces worth nearly a million dollars. They are facing charges of breaching the country’s wildlife laws. Zeng Dengui, 35; Peicon Jang, 35; Chen Zhiangfu, 30; …

United Nations, United States | AFP | Somalia on Thursday told the UN Security Council not to interfere in its national affairs after expelling a UN envoy who questioned the government’s decision to arrest an al-Shabaab defector running for election. Somali Ambassador Abukar Dahir Osman did not specifically mention his …

Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | Five members of the Nigerian air force were killed when a helicopter crashed as Boko Haram militants ambushed a military base in northeastern Nigeria, a spokesman said Thursday. Air force spokesman Ibikunle Daramola said the five crew members had died when the helicopter “crashed in …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | Former South African president Jacob Zuma’s plan to record an album of apartheid-era struggle songs sparked off a political row Thursday as opposition politicians slammed the project as a taxpayer-funded waste of money. Zuma, ousted from power last year amid multiple fraud scandals, is …

United Nations, United States | AFP | Muslim rebels who briefly seized power in the Central African Republic in 2013 have received fresh weapons supplies from traffickers in Sudan even as they take part in peace talks, according to a UN panel of experts. The panel tasked with monitoring sanctions …

Niamey, Niger | AFP | Niger’s army killed more than 280 Boko Haram militants near the southeast border with Nigeria in days of land and air raids, the defence ministry said Wednesday. More than 200 jihadists were killed in air strikes and a further 87 by ground troops since the …

Antananarivo, Madagascar | AFP | Madagascan security forces on Wednesday fired tear gas to break up a protest by supporters of losing presidential candidate Marc Ravalomanana, who claims he was denied victory in last month’s election because of fraud. In the run-off vote on December 19, Ravalomanana won 44 percent …

Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa cut short his annual vacation Wednesday to try to resolve an impasse with doctors who have been on strike for a month, a government spokesman said. Hundreds of junior doctors in public hospitals across Zimbabwe withdrew their services in November demanding …

Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | DR Congo on Wednesday said it had pulled accreditation for a French radio journalist and cut off the station’s broadcasts amid tensions over the counting of votes in crucial elections. The authorities said accreditation for the Radio France Internationale (RFI) correspondent in Kinshasa, Florence …

Mogadishu, Somalia | AFP | Somalia’s government has ordered the UN top envoy to the troubled country to leave, accusing him of “deliberately interfering with the country’s sovereignty.” The order comes days after the official, Nicholas Haysom, raised concerns at the action of Somalia’s UN-backed security services in recent violence …