United Nations, United States | AFP | A UN panel of experts has found violations of the arms embargo imposed on South Sudan, reporting to the Security Council that there are “alarming levels” of sexual violence, hunger and human rights abuses in the war-scarred country. The panel’s 29-page report seen …
Read More »175 dead, over 10,000 affected by Nigeria cholera outbreak
Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | Suspected cholera cases have jumped in northeast Nigeria where Boko Haram violence has forced tens of thousands of people to seek refuge in crowded camps, the Norwegian Refugee Council said Monday. The humanitarian group said 10,000 people have been affected by the fast-spreading cholera outbreak …
Read More »CAF postpones Kenya-Sierra Leone Nations Cup qualifier
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | The Confederation of African Football (CAF) on Monday postponed the Africa Cup of Nations qualifier between Kenya and Sierra Leone due to be held in Nairobi. World football governing body FIFA suspended the Sierra Leone Football Association in October in a row over government interference. …
Read More »German bank caught in DRC colonial land dispute
Frankfurt am Main, Germany | AFP | A German state-owned bank has found itself at the centre of a battle in the Democratic Republic of Congo over agricultural land dating back to the Belgian colonial period, AFP learned Monday. Representatives from nine communities in the DRC last week called on DEG …
Read More »Ethiopia arrests senior military and intelligence officers
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | AFP | Ethiopia has arrested 63 senior military and intelligence officers accused of corruption and human-rights abuses, the country’s attorney general, Berhanu Tsegaye, said Monday. The arrests are a rare move against the country’s powerful security apparatus. They represent a further flexing of power by reformist …
Read More »Libyan players in Italy for fresh bid to solve crisis
Palermo, Italy | AFP | Libya’s key political players meet with global leaders in Palermo on Monday in the latest bid by major powers to kickstart a long-stalled political process and trigger elections. A summit in Paris in May had seen the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) and eastern …
Read More »Gabon presidency admits leader Ali Bongo is seriously ill
Libreville, Gabon | AFP | Gabon’s presidency admitted for the first time on Sunday that President Omar Bongo, hospitalised for nearly three weeks in Saudi Arabia, is in a serious condition but said his health is improving. The 59-year-old leader was taken to hospital in the Saudi capital Riyadh on …
Read More »At least 10 stowaways dead as DR Congo train derails
Bukavu, DR Congo | AFP | At least 10 stowaways were killed and 24 were injured when a freight train derailed in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, a local official said Sunday. Rehema Omari, stationmaster in the town of Samba near where the accident occurred on Friday, said the …
Read More »Cash-strapped Libyans sceptical ahead of peace talks
Tripoli, Libya | AFP | Queueing up outside banks in Tripoli, Libyans say they have little hope of an end to the political and economic turmoil shaking their country, on the eve of international crisis talks in Italy. Accompanied by his five-year-old son, architect Mohamad Kredigh was hoping to get …
Read More »Hundreds flee after Boko Haram raid in northeast Nigeria
Kano, Nigeria | AFP | Hundreds of villagers fled their homes in Nigeria’s northeast late on Saturday after an attack by Islamist militants from the Boko Haram group, militia officials and witnesses said. The raid highlighted fragile security in Nigeria’s northeast, where the army is still battling to end a …
Read More »