AFRICA

Maputo, Mozambique | AFP | Lawyers in Mozambique are suing US fossil fuel giant Anadarko to block its planned $20 billion gas project, arguing the land was illegally taken from locals, according to a statement published Friday. Anadarko is one of the global companies investing billions of dollars to exploit …

Abuja, Nigeria | AFP |  Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday refused to sign off on plans to overhaul the country’s electoral laws, judging that new rules would cause “disruption and confusion” so close to an election. Africa’s most populous nation goes to the polls to elect a new president …

Blantyre, Malawi | AFP |  Malawi’s parliament has approved steps to draft a bill for the legalisation of marijuana for medical use, which could be ready for scrutiny as early as next week. Deputies agreed to let independent deputy Boniface Kadzamira draw up the bill. It would propose licensing farmers …

Malabo, Equatorial Guinea | AFP |  Equatorial Guinea’s army chief-of-staff, who was only appointed to the post in October, has been sacked by the president, state television has reported. President Teodoro Obiang Nguema, who has ruled the oil-rich country with an iron fist for 39 years, fired Colonel Ruslan Hermes …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa said Friday that a landmark minimum wage bill to bridge the country’s notorious inequality will become law from January 1 as he eyes elections due in 2019. The bill legislates that the lowest paid workers receive a minimum of …

Kananga, DR Congo | AFP | A DR Congo army officer suspected of involvement in the 2017 murder of two UN experts has been arrested by a military tribunal trying the case, the prosecutor said Friday. “Colonel Jean de Dieu Mambweni was arrested Thursday on suspicion of having prepared the …

Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | In Democratic Republic of Congo, they call him “Doctor Miracle” for his surgical skill and dedication in helping women overcome the injuries and trauma of sexual abuse and rape. Denis Mukwege is a crusading gynaecologist who has spent more than two decades treating appalling …

Marrakesh, Morocco | AFP | Representatives from around the globe are gearing up for a major conference in Morocco to endorse a United Nations migration pact, despite a string of countries shunning the accord. The Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration was finalised at the UN in July …

Mogadishu, Somalia | AFP |  A mine blast killed two generals and five other soldiers near the Somali capital Mogadishu on Thursday, military sources said, in an attack claimed by the jihadist Al-Shabaab movement. General Omar Adan Hassan, head of the army’s 12th brigade, and the brigade’s operational commander, General …

Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | The main challenger to President Muhammadu Buhari in next year’s election has advised Nigerians against selling their votes as concerns persist over possible electoral fraud at the landmark polls. Atiku Abubakar, from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), claimed Buhari’s ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) had …