AFRICA

Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso | AFP | Burkina Faso is banning imports from North Korea to comply with tough UN economic sanctions punishing Pyongyang’s weapons programmes, the government said Wednesday. The decision comes after an inquiry by the United States in October showed that Burkina Faso was still trading with North …

Gbarnga, Liberia | AFP | Dekergar Duko, a lean father-of-two who crushes rocks for a living, often reminisces during his days of backbreaking labour about his life under Liberia’s warlord-turned-president, Charles Taylor. Living in a hovel metres (yards) away from the so-called “College of Knowledge” where the dreaded strongman trained child …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | The United Nations’ humanitarian coordinator in South Sudan called Tuesday for the “swift and safe” return of six aid workers who have disappeared in the northwest of the country. The co-ordinator, Alain Noudehou, said in a statement that one international and five national aid workers …

Cairo, Egypt | AFP | An Egyptian military court sentenced a colonel to six years in prison on Tuesday after he announced plans to stand in the 2018 presidential election, his lawyer said. Ahmed Konsowa was given the jail term for “stating political opinions contrary to the requirements of military …

Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | A day of protest in Democratic Republic of Congo drew a small turnout Tuesday but the opposition vowed to pursue its campaign to unseat President Joseph Kabila over long-delayed polls. Rallies were held in several cities but were attended by only a few dozen …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | South African deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa faced wide-ranging challenges Tuesday after being elected to lead the country’s ruling party as it grapples with corruption allegations and disunity. He narrowly won the vote to become head of the African National Congress (ANC) on Monday after …

Libreville, Gabon | AFP | A grocer from Niger who knifed a Danish couple in Gabon shouting “Allahu akbar” came to the capital just two days before the attack and had been stalking the pair, a prosecutor said Monday. Saturday’s attack on the Danes, who were in the west African …

Nairobi, Kenya | THE INDEPENDENT | President Yoweri Museveni and his host President Uhuru Kenyatta have today held talks that included a review of progress on the multi-billion dollar Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) Project. Uganda and Kenyan officials are committed to a seamless connectivity of the SGR which will cost the …

Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | A day of protest in Democratic Republic of Congo drew only a small turnout on Tuesday, dealing a blow to opposition hopes of unseating President Joseph Kabila over delayed elections. Rallies were held in several cities but were attended by only a few dozen …

Tripoli, Libya | AFP | Around 36,000 child migrants, including 14,000 who are unaccompanied, need help in Libya, a major transit hub for migrants trying to reach Europe, UN agencies said Monday. Out of about 400,000 migrants in Libya, nine percent are children, the UN children’s agency UNICEF and the International …