AFRICA

  Freetown, Sierra Leone | AFP | Sierra Leone’s opposition challenger Julius Maada Bio secured his first term in office as a civilian Wednesday when he was declared the winner of a controversial presidential run-off — but his opponent vowed to contest the result. Bio, a former soldier who briefly …

Freetown, Sierra Leone | AFP | Sierra Leone’s opposition challenger Julius Maada Bio secured his first term in office as a civilian Wednesday when he was declared the winner of a controversial presidential run-off. Bio, a former soldier who briefly led a military junta more than two decades ago, won …

Douala, Cameroon | AFP | Twelve European tourists have been freed after being taken hostage in western Cameroon, where anglophone militants are campaigning for an independent state, the government said on Wednesday. The group of seven Swiss and five Italians “were taken hostage by a band of armed terrorists” in …

Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | The Nigerian central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee will hold its first meeting this year on Wednesday after a political standoff between the executive and the senate prevented a quorum for months. Experts predict that the committee will hold rates at a record high of 14 …

United Nations, United States | AFP | A peacekeeper was killed and 11 others wounded when a UN base was attacked early Tuesday in the Republic, triggering heavy fighting that also left 22 fighters dead. The anti-balaka mostly Christian militia launched the dawn attack on the temporary UN base in …

Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | Sudan’s state security prosecutor has charged the country’s main opposition leader, Sadiq al-Mahdi, with collaborating with rebel groups to overthrow the regime of President Omar al-Bashir, a media network reported Tuesday. Bashir, backed by Islamists, toppled Mahdi’s civilian government in a 1989 coup after which …

Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | The Democratic Republic of Congo wants the UN mission to leave the country in 2020, Foreign Minister Leonard She Okitundu said Tuesday, following a UN Security Council vote last week extending the peacekeepers’ mandate for another year. “We have let the Security Council know that …

Jerusalem, Undefined | AFP | Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cancelled an agreement with the UN refugee agency on Tuesday aimed at avoiding forced deportations of thousands of African migrants only hours after having announced the deal himself. The stunning turnaround after Netanyahu announced the accord in a televised address …

Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | The kidnappers of a Catholic priest abducted in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo at the weekend are demanding $500,000 for his release, the church said on Tuesday. Father Celestin Ngango was taken away by armed men on Sunday shortly after he had celebrated Easter …

Conakry, Guinea | AFP | Guinean opposition leader Cellou Dalein Diallo on Monday called for an end to protests over disputed local election results that has left at least 15 people dead after violent confrontations with the security services. Former prime minister Diallo earlier met President Alpha Conde to discuss how …