AFRICA

London, United Kingdom | AFP | Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa wants international observers including UN officials to watch over the country’s upcoming elections, he said in a Financial Times interview. Mnangagwa has adopted a more diplomatic tone since taking over as leader in November, after the ousting of the authoritarian …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | Britain is set to send helicopters to bolster a key French counter-terrorism operation in Mali in a package of measures to be agreed at a summit near London on Thursday. The commitment will come as Prime Minister Theresa May meets French President Emmanuel Macron …

Washington, United States | AFP | South Africa’s central bank chief Lesetja Kganyago will take over as chair of the International Monetary Fund’s policy advisory committee, the IMF announced Thursday. Kganyago, who has served as governor of the South African Reserve Bank since late 2014, takes on a three-year post …

Mogadishu, Somalia | THE INDEPENDENT |  The Federal Government of Somalia (FGS), in conjunction with the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), the UN, the European Union and other key international partners, have established a Transition Core Group, which is tasked with the responsibility of developing a transition plan for Somalia. …

Los Angeles, United States | AFP | Leading Zimbabwe opposition figure Roy Bennett, one of long-time president Robert Mugabe’s most outspoken critics, has died in a helicopter crash in a remote area of the US state of New Mexico, authorities said Thursday. He was 60. Bennett was killed along with …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | The European Union late Wednesday suspended a large-scale water conservation project in Kenya after evictions of local indigenous people turned fatally violent this week. The indefinite suspension of the $38 million (31 million euro) project follows the reported killing of a member of the local Sengwer …

Cairo, Egypt | AFP | Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn said Thursday at talks in Cairo they were opposed to any “conflict” over the sharing of Nile waters. Sisi said that Desalegn’s visit was “a clear sign for our peoples and the entire world of …

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 …