Bamako, Mali | AFP | Amnesty International on Tuesday called on authorities in Mali to investigate extrajudicial killings following the discovery last week of a mass grave containing six bodies. The rights group said it had collected evidence that “the six bodies found in a mass grave on 25 March had …
Read More »Zimbabwe leader to meet Xi in first China state visit
Beijing, China | AFP | Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa was due to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday as he seeks economic support from a major partner that previously backed his ousted predecessor Robert Mugabe. Mnangagwa, who received military training in China when he was a young liberation fighter decades …
Read More »UN disputes Morocco’s claims of incursions in W. Sahara
United Nations, United States | AFP | The United Nations on Monday disputed claims by Morocco that the Polisario Front had carried out incursions in a buffer zone of Western Sahara, where a UN mission is monitoring a ceasefire. Morocco wrote to the Security Council on Sunday to report that …
Read More »Kagame’s Kampala visit
Meeting raises hope for improved relations between Kampala and Kigali Kampala, Uganda | RONALD MUSOKE | A recent one-day state visit by Rwandan President Paul Kagame to Uganda on March.25 has raised hopes that relations between the two countries might return to normalcy again after several months of heightened tensions. …
Read More »Egypt’s Sisi sweeps vote with 97 percent, turnout down
Cairo, Egypt | AFP | Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi swept to a second term with 97 percent of valid votes, official results showed Monday, dominating an election last week that saw him face no serious rivals. The head of the election authority Lasheen Ibrahim said at a press conference that …
Read More »Prisoner or free man? Mystery surrounds Kadhafi’s son Seif
Zintan, Libya | AFP | Nearly a year after a Libyan militia announced it had set free the son and heir apparent of slain dictator Moamer Kadhafi, the fate of Seif al-Islam remains a mystery. His reported release from detention by the Abu Bakr al-Sadiq Brigade which once controlled the …
Read More »Nelson Mandela’s ex-wife Winnie Mandela dies at 81
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | Winnie Mandela, the former wife of South African anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela, died on Monday aged 81, triggering an outpouring of tributes to one of the country’s defining and most divisive figures. She died in a Johannesburg hospital, her family said in a statement, adding …
Read More »Ethiopia’s Abiy strikes conciliatory tone in swearing-in speech
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | AFP | Ethiopia’s new prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, apologised to people harmed in recent political unrest and reached out both to the political opposition and longtime rival Eritrea at his swearing-in on Monday. Abiy is the first ethnic Oromo to be selected by the ruling Ethiopian …
Read More »18 killed in Boko Haram attack on Nigerian army base, villages
Kano, Nigeria | AFP | Boko Haram fighters attacked a military base and two surrounding villages near the flashpoint Nigerian city of Maiduguri overnight, killing at least 18 people and wounding 84, officials said Monday. It was one of the most brazen attacks in recent months and was a precursor …
Read More »Botswana’s new president vows to tackle unemployment
Gaborone, Botswana | AFP | Botswana’s new president, Mokgweetsi Masisi, used his inauguration speech on Sunday to vow to tackle youth unemployment in one of Africa’s most stable countries. The swearing-in ceremony in parliament came after Ian Khama stepped down having completed the constitutional maximum of 10 years in office. …
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