AFRICA

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 …

Monrovia, Liberia | AFP | To the cheers of a crowd fired by his promise to bring them jobs and prosperity, former football star George Weah was sworn in as president of Liberia on Monday, completing the country’s first transition between democratically-elected leaders in three generations. Weah, 51, takes over from …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP |  South Africa’s ruling ANC party confirmed Monday that discussions were underway on President Jacob Zuma leaving office, but said no date for his departure had yet been agreed. Zuma has been under growing pressure to resign since he was replaced as head of the …

Monrovia, Liberia | AFP |  Former international football star George Weah was sworn in as Liberia’s new president on Monday, in the country’s first transition between democratically-elected leaders since 1944. Weah, 51, took over from Nobel laureate Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who spent 12 years at the helm, steering the West …

Monrovia, Liberia | AFP | The inauguration of former football star George Weah as president of Liberia got underway on Monday to scenes of joy and giddy optimism on Monday, a moment marking the troubled country’s first peaceful democratic transition since 1944. Weah, 51, takes over from Nobel laureate Ellen …