AFRICA

Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP |  Zimbabwe will hold elections in four to five months, the country’s new president has said, pointing to an earlier date than expected following the ousting of long-time ruler Robert Mugabe. President Emmerson Mnangagwa took office in November after a shock military takeover ended Mugabe’s 37-year …

Accra, Ghana | AFP | Ghana’s president, Nana Akufo-Addo, on Wednesday vowed no let-up in security after an investigation was launched into a possible extremist plot in the capital. Three men were charged on Tuesday with possession of explosives after suspected hand grenades were found in the Odorkor area of Accra. …

  Abidjan, Ivory Coast | AFP | Economic growth in Africa picked up steam last year and is set to accelerate strongly in 2018, but “massive investments” are needed in infrastructure, the African Development Bank (ADB) said Wednesday. Growth in Africa rose from 2.2 percent in 2016 to 3.6 percent in …

  Brazzaville, Congo | AFP | Congo’s government met with members of a key rebel group on Wednesday for the first time since a landmark ceasefire was signed after months of renewed armed conflict in the oil-rich nation. Fighters loyal to ex-rebel chief Frederic Bintsamou — seen as having disbanded after …

Cotonou, Benin | AFP | Civil servants in Benin walked out on Wednesday, calling for the repeal of a new law banning them from taking industrial action. The three-day strike, called for by seven trade unions representing public sector workers in areas such as health and the justice system, began on …

Libreville, Gabon | AFP | Equatorial Guinea President Teodoro Obiang Nguema has rejected opposition claims that one of its activists died in custody after being tortured, and that some 200 of their number are under arrest. In an interview late Tuesday with French radio station RFI and France 24 television, …

Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | About 200 protesters marched Wednesday in the Sudanese capital’s twin city of Omdurman against rising food prices, with anti-riot police firing tear gas to disperse the rally. Prices of food items but mainly bread have surged in past weeks across Sudan after a jump in …

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | AFP | Prominent Ethiopian opposition leader Merera Gudina was freed from jail on Wednesday after the government dropped charges against him as part of a wider prisoner amnesty, state media reported. In his first reported comments after his release, Merera urged the government to hold “honest …

Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | As demand for batteries drives a surge in the price of cobalt, the Democratic Republic of Congo is gearing up to overhaul its mining regulations to harvest more profit from the coveted metal. The global boom for smartphones and electric cars has pushed up the …

Miami, United States | AFP | Women who breastfeed their babies for six months or more may be able to cut their risk of developing diabetes in the future by nearly half, according to a study Tuesday. The findings from a three-decade US study of more than 1,200 white and African-American …