Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | AFP | More than 13,000 migrants have been repatriated from Libya since the beginning of December, the African Union’s chief said Monday, nearly two months after reports emerged showing refugees being sold as slaves. That number is short of the AU’s goal to fly 20,000 out of …
Read More »Kenya opposition supporters gather for Odinga ‘swearing-in’
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Supporters of Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga gathered in Nairobi Tuesday ahead of a ceremony to swear him in as an alternative president, three months after he claims an election was stolen from him. The planned “inauguration” has raised fears of violence as police had …
Read More »LIVE: Defiant NASA supporters head to Uhuru Park for Odinga swearing in
Nairobi, Kenya | THE INDEPENDENT | After a tense night, reports indicate that Kenya police on Tuesday morning allowed buses ferrying National Super Alliance (NASA) to head towards Nairobi on a day when opposition leader Raila Odinga is planning to have himself sworn in as an alternative president. Hundreds of supporters were photographed …
Read More »Mali president declares three days mourning for dozens killed
Bamako, Mali | AFP | Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita declared three days of mourning on Monday for the dozens of people killed over the last week in jihadist attacks and bombings. Keita cancelled travel plans to an African Union summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia over the weekend to visit central …
Read More »Africa aims for cheaper air travel with free market launch
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | AFP | Africans have for years paid sky-high airfares when travelling within the continent but a major aviation trade agreement launched Monday by the African Union aims to change that. Twenty-three African countries have signed on to the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM), which is …
Read More »Good, bad and ugly for African footballers in Europe
Paris, France | AFP | African stars were involved in the good, bad and ugly across the major leagues of Europe at the weekend. Naturalised Malian Fousseni Diabate bagged a brace on his debut for Leicester in a 5-1 FA Cup rout of lower league Peterborough. Want-away Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from …
Read More »D-DAY: Kenya opposition to swear-in Odinga as ‘president’
Police have said the gathering, to be held at Nairobi’s central Uhuru Park, is illegal Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Kenya’s opposition leader Raila Odinga is planning to have himself sworn in as an alternative president on Tuesday, seen as a final push to challenge Uhuru Kenyatta’s election. Odinga challenged …
Read More »BBC launches Ethiopian and Eritrean radio services
London, United Kingdom | AFP | The BBC on Monday launched new daily radio services producing news, current affairs, features and English language training for Ethiopians and Eritreans. The BBC World Service programmes will be broadcast from Monday to Friday in the Amharic, Afaan Oromo and Tigrinya languages and will …
Read More »Egyptians urged to boycott vote after withdrawals
Cairo, Egypt | AFP | Five Egyptian public figures, including two former presidential hopefuls, called Sunday for voters to boycott the March presidential election after the withdrawal of all candidates but the incumbent Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. Sisi, who has been in power since 2014, appears set to run unopposed after …
Read More »Egypt Islamist party backs Sisi re-election bid
Cairo, Egypt | AFP | Egypt’s ultra-conservative Islamist Al-Nour party has decided to support President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in his bid to be re-elected in March, the party said on Sunday. Sisi, who has been in power since 2014, appears set to run unopposed after all other presidential hopefuls announced …
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