Niamey, Niger | AFP | More than five million children were vaccinated against polio in Niger last month, the UN said Tuesday, adding that the number was higher than the target. The drive was broadened to include children in refugee camps whose parents had fled the Boko Haram insurgency in …
Read More »Calls for ‘proof of life’ after Chibok girls death claims
Kano, Nigeria | AFP | Nigeria is facing calls to establish how many of the missing Chibok schoolgirls are still alive, after claims that nearly 100 of them may have lost their lives in captivity. Parents of the missing girls and supporters gathered in the small town in remote northeast …
Read More »Nigerian media under scrutiny over herder-farmer conflict
Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | A photograph of a man with an assault rifle in front of cattle is frequently used to illustrate Nigerian media stories about bloody clashes between farmers and herders. Another shows men armed with machetes on the rampage. The issue with both is they have nothing …
Read More »S.Africa authorities raid Gupta property over graft
Johannesburg, South Africa | South African officials on Monday raided a Johannesburg property belonging to the Guptas, a wealthy business family at the heart of graft allegations against former president Jacob Zuma. The Hawks police investigative unit and the tax service descended on the Guptas’ heavily protected compound in the …
Read More »Number of migrants detained in Libya down sharply: government
Tripoli, Libya | AFP | The number of migrants detained in Libya has dropped by four-fifths since May 2017, a senior government official told AFP on Monday. General Mohammad Bishr, head of a government department set up to tackle clandestine migration, said the number of migrants held by authorities had …
Read More »DR Congo sacks more than 250 ‘fake’ or corrupt judges
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | The Democratic Republic of Congo on Monday sacked more than 250 magistrates who did not have a law degree or were accused of corruption. President Joseph Kabila has “sanctioned more than 200 individuals who do not fulfil the conditions to function as magistrates,” Justice …
Read More »Zimbabwe heads to Commonwealth summit to ‘re-engage’
Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Zimbabwe will attend a Commonwealth summit this week in London as an observer, an official said Monday, underlining the country’s international re-engagement since President Robert Mugabe’s fall. Mugabe angrily pulled Zimbabwe out of the Commonwealth bloc in 2003 after its membership was suspended over violent …
Read More »US, Nigeria hold military summit in Abuja
Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | Military top brass from across Africa on Monday kicked off a conference co-hosted by the United States aimed at boosting cooperation between countries fighting extremist groups. The African Land Forces Summit brings together “land force chiefs from across Africa for candid dialogue” to improve security, …
Read More »Liberia’s Weah, media on edge as reporter flees
Monrovia, Liberia | AFP | With one Liberian newspaper facing a $1.8 million defamation case and a BBC journalist fleeing the country, there has been no honeymoon period for the press under the new government of President George Weah. Accused of wanting to muzzle the media, the former footballer-turned-politician has …
Read More »Trump to host Nigerian president April 30: White House
6666, United States | AFP | President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria will meet Donald Trump in Washington on April 30 to discuss issues including “fighting terrorism” and economic growth, the White House announced Sunday. “President Trump looks forward to discussing ways to enhance our strategic partnership and advance our shared …
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