AFRICA

Monrovia, Liberia | AFP | New President George Weah is nothing less than revered among Liberia’s youth, who view his rise from the slums to stellar success in European football as proof he can also turn around their fragile economy. In his inaugural address on Monday, Weah thanked young voters …

Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | Nigeria’s former president, Olusegun Obasanjo, on Tuesday called on the country’s current leader not to seek a second term of office. Obasanjo, who headed a military government in the 1970s and was Nigeria’s first president when civilian rule was restored in 1999, said Muhammadu Buhari …

Cairo, Egypt | AFP | Egypt’s military on Tuesday accused a former armed forces chief of staff who plans to challenge President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in March elections of forgery and other crimes linked to his candidacy announcement. The general command of the Egyptian armed forces made the allegations against …

Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | DR Congo’s minister for human rights on Tuesday called for the prosecution of police who opened fire on anti-government protestors at the weekend, in a crackdown condemned by the EU and UN. Six people were killed, scores injured and dozens arrested, according to the …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | South African jazz legend Hugh Masekela who died on Tuesday aged 78 has triggered an outpouring of tributes to his music, his long career and his anti-apartheid activism. “After a protracted and courageous battle with prostate cancer, he passed peacefully in Johannesburg,” Masekela’s family …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | South Africa’s Winnie Madikizela-Mandela who is popularly known as “the mother of the nation” has been admitted to hospital with a kidney infection, the family of her ex-husband Nelson Mandela said Tuesday. Winnie, 81, is an icon of the anti-apartheid struggle and was persecuted …

Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | Nigerian police on Tuesday briefly detained activists calling for the release of the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram jihadists nearly four years ago, campaigners said. Members of the #BringBackOurGirls advocacy group were taken into custody as they held their daily demonstration in the capital, …

Monrovia, Liberia | AFP | New Liberian President George Weah has appointed the first members of his cabinet, all of them men, largely naming party allies but picking a foreign minister close to former president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. Ex-international footballer Weah was sworn in on Monday at a stadium surrounded …

Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | The UN’s Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday called for “credible investigations” after at least six people were killed in the Democratic Republic of Congo during a crackdown on a protest against President Joseph Kabila. Guterres said the government should “hold those responsible accountable” in a …

Monrovia, Liberia | AFP | Former football star George Weah promised to tackle Liberia’s economic and social problems as he was sworn in on Monday in the first democratic transfer of power for more than 70 years. Here are five things he has pledged to do since his election: – Tackle …