AFRICA

Washington, United States | AFP | The International Monetary Fund on Friday released an additional $257 million in funds for Tunisia as part of its four-year, $3 billion loan agreement. The IMF board approved the second review of the country’s economic performance under the financial aid package that was initially …

Kidal, Mali | AFP | Mali’s Prime Minister Soumeylou Boubeye Maiga made a landmark visit to the restive northern town of Kidal on Friday, the first since 2014 by a head of government to an area still in the hands of former rebels. Five French soldiers were wounded in Kidal …

Cairo, Egypt | AFP | With his trademark black sunglasses and blanket media presence, Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi projects an air of benign paternalism. Whether the people love or loathe Sisi, see him as a bulwark of stability or as a domineering autocrat — there is little doubt that he …

Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | The Democratic Republic of Congo on Friday said it was shunning a donor conference in Geneva next month aimed at raising $1.7 billion to tackle what the United Nations has called a catastrophic humanitarian crisis. Prime Minister Jose Makila said the UN had overreacted …

Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Zimbabwe’s main opposition party on Friday fired its deputy president and two other senior officials on misconduct charges, stoking fears of a split in the party ahead of key elections in July, a month after the death of founding leader Morgan Tsvangirai. The Movement for …

Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | Pope Francis on Friday met representatives of the South Sudan Council of Churches and discussed how to promote peace in a country ravaged by a bloody four-year civil war. “The Pope holds the suffering people of South Sudan in his heart,” said Council Secretary …

Lome, Togo | AFP | Talks between Togo’s ruling party and the opposition resumed on Friday after a month-long pause, with Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo acting as a mediator. After an hour of debate between the two sides, Akufo-Addo decided to move to bilateral talks, meeting first with the ruling party …

  Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari received the released Dapchi girls on Friday in a meeting clouded by the absence of a Christian student still held by Boko Haram for refusing to convert to Islam. “We entered into negotiation solely to make sure that no single girl …

Dakar, Senegal | AFP | Senegalese President Macky Sall on Friday promised to “track down” the perpetrators of a spate of child kidnappings and killings in Senegal that have sown fear among parents in the West African nation. Police said Tuesday that two children had been murdered in recent days and …

Port Louis, Mauritius | AFP | The vice-president of Mauritius assumed temporary power on Friday a week after the resignation of President Ameenah Gurib-Fakim over allegations of a credit card scandal. A statement from the presidency said Paramasivum Pillay Vyapoory had assumed the functions of the president on 23 March. He …