Niamey, Niger | AFP | The leaders of Benin and Niger have given their backing to Chinese involvement in a controversial major rail infrastructure project set to span several countries. “We have taken stock of the railway issue (and) we tried to see which measures could be taken to move …
Read More »Beaten S.Leone candidate offers backing to new leader
Freetown, Sierra Leone | AFP | Sierra Leone’s beaten presidential hopeful Samura Kamara, who narrowly lost a run-off vote, congratulated victor Julius Maada Bio Saturday and vowed to throw his party’s support behind a new administration. “I’m here to congratulate our new president with executive members of my party,” Kamara …
Read More »Peacekeeper shot dead in northern Mali: UN
Bamako, Mali | AFP | A peacekeeper from Niger was shot dead by militants in northern Mali on Friday, the UN’s mission to the country said, the latest in a spate of deadly attacks on “Blue Helmets” in the conflict-torn country. “Today at 7:00 pm (1900 GMT) two unidentified gunmen opened …
Read More »‘No witchhunt,’ new Sierra Leone president promises civil servants
Freetown, Sierra Leone | AFP | Sierra Leone’s new president, Julius Maada Bio, on Friday promised civil servants they need not fear a purge despite a historic shift in the country’s politics. Bio, whose election has ended decade-long rule by the All People’s Congress (APC), praised state workers and “gave them …
Read More »Delayed elections in November: Chad’s President Deby
N’Djamena, Chad | AFP | Chad’s legislative elections, originally due to take place in 2015, “should take place in November”, President Idriss Deby told opposition parties Friday, state radio reported. Deby, named in a US corruption probe, had already promised earlier that the elections would finally take place this year. The …
Read More »DR Congo kidnappers release priest, kill 3 other people
Goma, DR Congo | AFP | Kidnappers in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo have freed a priest in exchange for a ransom but three other people abducted in the troubled region have been killed, sources said Friday. Father Celestin Ngango was taken away by armed men on Sunday shortly after …
Read More »Tanzania’s Magufuli builds wall around gem mines
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Tanzanian President John Magufuli on Friday inaugurated a 24-kilometre (15-mile) around the country’s tanzanite mines to prevent smuggling of the precious violet-blue stones, which are unique to the East African country. Magufuli in September ordered the army to build the wall around the mines, located …
Read More »Police ‘closing in’ on Grace Mugabe in ivory probe: state media
Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Zimbabwean police investigating an ivory-smuggling racket will soon question former ruler Robert Mugabe’s wife Grace, who is accused of arranging shipments abroad, a government-owned newspaper reported Friday. The Herald newspaper, once the mouthpiece of the Mugabe regime, said police were making progress in their probe into …
Read More »13 die of cholera in NE Nigeria: official
Kano, Nigeria | AFP | Thirteen people have died of cholera in the northeast Nigerian state of Yobe in the past week, the state health commissioner said Friday, blaming the outbreak on contaminated water. Yobe is among the three states worst-hit by the Boko Haram insurgency, with many people living …
Read More »‘Millions’ of duplicates on DR Congo vote register: watchdog
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | Millions of duplicates have been found among people registered to vote in Democratic Republic of Congo elections slated for December, the head of the country’s electoral commission told AFP Thursday. “We were able to register around 46 million voters,” Corneille Nangaa said, a day …
Read More »