AFRICA

Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | Key dates in the post-independence history of the Democratic Republic of Congo, where presidential elections will be held on Sunday: – End of Belgian rule – On June 30, 1960, the Belgian Congo becomes independent. Power is shared between Joseph Kasa-Vubu, the president, and …

Paris, France | AFP | Africa’s second largest country, the Democratic Republic of Congo is rich in raw materials and minerals but cursed by deadly violence, insurgencies, graft and poverty. After repeated delays, presidential elections are due to be held on Sunday, although electoral authorities have postponed the vote until …

Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | One of the world’s powder-keg countries faces a crunch test on Sunday when Democratic Republic of Congo heads into elections marred by delays, clashes and fears of polling-day chaos. The vote crowns two years of turmoil, sharpening worries that the fragile giant of central …

Kano, Nigeria | AFP | Boko Haram sacked two military bases in northeast Nigeria overnight as the jihadist fighters battle for control of a strategic town on Lake Chad, military sources said Thursday. Jihadists from the IS-supported Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) overran a naval base and a multinational …

Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | DR Congo on Thursday told the EU to recall its envoy in retaliation for sanctions against 14 officials, including President Joseph Kabila’s champion in elections three days away. “The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo urges the European Council to proceed without fail …

Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso | AFP | Ten police officers were killed and three wounded in an ambush in northwestern Burkina Faso on Thursday, the west African country’s security ministry said. “The toll is 10 officers who have lost their lives and three wounded,” the ministry said in a statement, adding …

Bukavu, DR Congo | AFP | Thousands of people in DR Congo turned out to welcome Nobel Peace Prize laureate Denis Mukwege, the surgeon who helps women recover from the trauma of rape. “We won! We won!” sang Mamy Magasine as she improvised a celebratory rumba in a rain-soaked courtyard …

Beni, DR Congo | AFP | Patients being monitored as possible Ebola patients fled a camp in eastern DR Congo on Thursday after it was attacked by demonstrators protesting further delays to the country’s election, the health ministry said. Around 20 patients fled the centre during the incident, at a …

Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | Egypt’s foreign minister on Thursday voiced support for Sudan’s embattled government, as Khartoum grapples with demonstrations against price hikes in which a disputed number of protesters have been killed. Cairo’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and intelligence chief General Abbas Kamel arrived in Sudan’s capital on …

Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | A network of Sudanese journalists went on strike Thursday in the wake of deadly protests sparked by a hike in bread prices, while opposition groups called for further rallies. Angry crowds have taken to the streets in the capital Khartoum and several other cities since …