Niamey, Niger | AFP | At least five civilians were killed and several others wounded in an attack by suspected Boko Haram militants in southeast Niger, near the border with Nigeria, according to local sources. “The BH (Boko Haram) came to the market place early Friday evening, they shot the …
Read More »Zuma could face S.African court on graft charges in April: reports
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | Disgraced former South African president Jacob Zuma could appear in court within weeks on charges of corruption, fraud and money laundering in connection with a decades-old $5 billion arms deal, reports said Sunday. Quoting sources close to the case, news websites News24 and TimeLive …
Read More »Egypt heads to polls to choose between Sisi and ‘rival’
Cairo, Egypt | AFP | Egyptians headed to the polls Monday in a presidential election to choose between incumbent Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and a little-known politician who has struggled to make the case he is a serious contender. Polling stations opened at 9:00 am (0700 GMT) for the three-day vote, …
Read More »EU ‘extremely concerned’ after DR Congo shuns aid talks
Goma, DR Congo | AFP | The EU said on Sunday it was “extremely concerned” about DR Congo after the country announced it would decline a $1.7 billion international aid package. A war of words broke out between the United Nations and DR Congo after Kinshasa said on Friday it would …
Read More »Nigerian girls reunited with families after Boko Haram kidnapping
Dapchi, Nigeria | AFP | The schoolgirls kidnapped by the Boko Haram jihadist group in Dapchi, northeastern Nigeria, were reunited with their families on Sunday after spending nearly five weeks in captivity. The 105 girls, covered head to toe in burkas, arrived aboard five buses in the town of Dapchi, in …
Read More »Sierra Leone opposition accuses president of derailing election
Freetown, Sierra Leone | AFP | Sierra Leone’s opposition candidate Julius Maada Bio on Sunday accused outgoing leader Ernest Bai Koroma of attempting to derail Tuesday’s presidential run-off through the courts to keep his party in power. The High Court on Saturday ordered the National Electoral Commission (NEC) to halt …
Read More »Mugabe’s wife Grace under probe for ivory smuggling
Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Zimbabwean police are investigating former ruler Robert Mugabe’s wife Grace, accused of smuggling ivory worth millions to underground foreign markets, a state-owned weekly reported Sunday. The Sunday Mail said investigators from the parks and wildlife authority handed documents to police showing that the former first …
Read More »‘We have agreed 100% on all aspects’
Entebbe, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Uganda and Rwanda have agreed to investigate recent incidents that have reportedly soured relations between the two countries. President Yoweri Museven told a press conference that Sunday’s talks were positive. “We have discussed many things ranging from Infrastructure, transportation, economy and security, and …
Read More »War of words over DR Congo’s humanitarian crisis as children die
Kananga, DR Congo | AFP | A war of words has broken out between the United Nations and the DR Congo government which is shunning a donor conference in Geneva to raise $1.7 billion to tackle a humanitarian crisis that Kinshasa says has been vastly exaggerated by aid workers. Prime …
Read More »Chad soldier, 20 Boko Haram fighters killed in clash: army source
N’Djamena, Chad | AFP | A Chadian soldier and 20 Boko Haram members were killed in a clash in the restive Lake Chad region near Nigeria, a Chadian military officer told AFP Saturday. The incident occurred on Friday on an islet named Tchoukou Hadje, the officer said, adding that five …
Read More »