AFRICA

Porto-Novo, Benin | AFP | A court in Benin on Thursday sentenced opposition politician Sebastien Ajavon to 20 years in prison on drugs charges and issued an international warrant for his arrest. The former presidential candidate was not at the hearing in the West African country’s administrative capital, Porto-Novo, which …

Study says child’s background does not affect performance in school Kampala, Uganda | IAN KATUSIIME | A new report by UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) in Nigeria shows full equality of learning in Bridge schools’ classrooms, regardless of a child’s socioeconomic background. The report was based on Bridge schools in …

Mutsamudu, Comoros | AFP | Comoros security forces intensified their crackdown against anti-government rebels on the island of Anjouan on Thursday, with witnesses reporting heavy gunfire and residents fleeing on the fourth day of clashes. Moroni sent in reinforcements to quell the unrest that follows months of tension as President …

Kigali, Rwanda | AFP |  Rwandan President Paul Kagame carried out a major ministerial reshuffle on Thursday, following the voluntary departure of foreign minister Louise Mushikiwabo, notably removing his influential defence minister from the post. The resignation of Mushikiwabo, who was last week chosen to head the world organisation of French-speaking …

Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | A deadly Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo is deeply worrying, but does not yet merit being labelled a global health emergency, the World Health Organization said Wednesday. “Based on the current context… the committee recommended that the current Ebola outbreak in DRC …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday denied accusations that he ignored widespread looting and financial misconduct at a major retail bank that collapsed weeks after he came into office. VBS Mutual gained notoriety in 2016 when it lent scandal-tainted former president Jacob Zuma $540,000 …

Banjul, Gambia | AFP | The tiny West African state of The Gambia on Monday swore in an 11-member commission tasked with shedding light on summary executions, disappearances, torture, rape and other crimes under ousted dictator Yahya Jammeh. President Adama Barrow hailed the panel as a vital step towards national healing. …

Luanda, Angola | AFP | President Joao Lourenco pledged on Monday to kickstart the ailing Angolan economy with a push to attract foreign investment to end its “excessive” dependence on oil revenue and return to growth. Delivering his state of the nation address to parliament, Lourenco also vowed to continue a …

Bamako, Mali | AFP | Mali’s constitutional court delayed the country’s parliamentary elections until 2019 by extending the mandate of MPs for six months, as requested by the National Assembly on Monday, according to the two institutions. Citing “force majeure” the court said it “extends the mandate of representatives until the …

Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | Islamic State-allied Boko Haram jihadists have killed another kidnapped female aid worker in northeast Nigeria, the government said, a month after one of her colleagues was murdered. Three female health workers were kidnapped during a Boko Haram raid on the remote town of Rann, in …