AFRICA

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | AFP |  Ethiopia’s parliament on Thursday appointed the country’s first female supreme court chief, the latest post in a trend of elevating women to high offices, a top official said. Meaza Ashenafi’s appointment as president of the highest court followed Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s moves last …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP |  South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa on Thursday sacked the head of the country’s tax collection agency, an ally of scandal-tainted former leader Jacob Zuma, said the presidency. The president dismissed Tom Moyane after a judiciary inquiry recommended his immediate removal “to forestall any further …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Uganda has given the World Health Organisation (WHO) a go-ahead to administer an investigational Ebola vaccine in high risk areas neighbouring  the DRC, where the outbreak has already claimed 170 lives. Uganda will become the first country in the world to give the vaccine …

Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | Supporters of President Joseph Kabila on Thursday denounced alleged cheating in an opinion poll that placed two opposition leaders well ahead before a presidential election due on December 23. Results of the national poll, released on Tuesday, tipped Felix Tshisekedi, president of the main, …

Banjul, Gambia | AFP | Britain’s Prince Charles and his wife Camilla landed Wednesday in The Gambia for the first leg of a week-long African tour aimed at strengthening ties with Commonwealth nations. The Prince of Wales, heir to the throne, took over as head of the 53-member Commonwealth of …

  Juba, South Sudan | THE INDEPENDENT | President Yoweri Museveni has told the people of South Sudan that war should never be used again to solve political arguments between brothers and sisters. He said war is wasteful and this was an unnecessary conflict. “Thank you very much for attending …

Dakar, Senegal | AFP | Amnesty International voiced concern Wednesday at the number of protesters killed in Guinea — three in the last fortnight and 18 this year — urging the government to “take all necessary measures to ensure the situation does not spiral out of control”. “Over the past …

a Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | When one of Africa’s richest men joined Twitter and posted his first tweet on May 11 this year, the fanfare in his native Nigeria was immediate. News that Femi Otedola had opened an account spread like wildfire and the billionaire head of Forte Oil …

Juba, South Sudan | AFP | South Sudan rebel leader Riek Machar returned to the capital Juba for the first time in more than two years Wednesday, saying he arrived with a message of peace. Machar, who under the terms of the September deal is to be reinstated as vice president, …

Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | The Democratic Republic of Congo is “not ready” to hold long-delayed elections in December, the main opposition party said Tuesday, the day after the army handed over 150 trucks and a dozen aircraft for use by the electoral commission. “One hundred fifty trucks can’t …