Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Zimbabwe’s new President Emmerson Mnangagwa vowed sweeping change at his swearing in on Friday, seeking to reassure foreign investors and pledging to fight poverty and corruption after Robert Mugabe’s shock resignation. In his inaugural address, Mnangagwa set out a programme of dramatic change that promised …
Read More »DR Congo court suspends trial over mass rape of children
Bukavu, DR Congo | AFP | The trial of 18 suspected militiamen over the kidnapping and rape of some 40 girls in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has been suspended after a defendant demanded the recusal of two judges, a judicial source said Friday. The demand was made by a …
Read More »Liberia election board rejects vote fraud claims, court showdown looms
Monrovia, Liberia | AFP | Liberia’s election commission on Friday confirmed its rejection of fraud allegations over the first round of presidential elections, setting the scene for a showdown at the Supreme Court. The announcement, which concerns the October 10 vote, confirms a decision initially taken on Monday, National Elections …
Read More »Attack on mosque in Egypt’s Sinai kills at least 235
Cairo, Egypt | AFP | Attackers killed at least 235 worshippers Friday in a bomb and gun assault on a packed mosque in Egypt’s restive North Sinai province, in the country’s deadliest attack in recent memory. A bomb explosion ripped through the Rawda mosque frequented by Sufis roughly 40 kilometres …
Read More »Four UN peacekeepers, soldier killed in Mali attacks: UN
Bamako, Mali | AFP | Four UN peacekeepers and a Malian soldier were killed in attacks in Mali on Friday, the UN’s MINUSMA mission to the country said. Twenty people, including another Malian soldier and several UN peacekeepers were injured in the attacks. The first attack happened in the morning …
Read More »Zimbabwe’s political roller-coaster: What we know
Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Former vice president Emmerson Mnangagwa has taken over as Zimbabwe’s new leader, ending strongman Robert Mugabe’s 37-year reign and the country’s worst political crisis since independence. Here is a snapshot of two weeks of turmoil, from a military takeover to mass street protests and an …
Read More »Sisi vows to respond with brutal force after 235 killed in Egypt mosque attack
Attack on mosque in Egypt’s Sinai kills at least 235 Cairo, Egypt | AFP | Armed attackers on Friday killed at least 235 worshippers in a bomb and gun assault on a packed mosque in Egypt’s restive North Sinai province, in the country’s deadliest attack in recent memory. A bomb …
Read More »Sorrow, admiration in Mugabe’s birthplace
Zimbabwe | AFP | Local residents in the rural Zimbabwean village where Robert Mugabe was born, got married, and has a house say he was a great leader — but express sorrowful acceptance rather than anger at his ousting. Kutama, 55 miles (90 kilometres) outside the capital Harare, has been …
Read More »S. African court doubles Pistorius sentence to more than 13 years
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | A South African appeals court increased Paralympic champion Oscar Pistorius’ sentence for murdering his girlfriend to 13 years and five months on Friday, marking a victory for prosecutors in a case that shocked the world. The Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein more than …
Read More »Mnangagwa sworn in as Zimbabwe president
Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Emmerson Mnangagwa was sworn in as Zimbabwe’s president on Friday, marking the final chapter of a political drama that toppled his predecessor Robert Mugabe after a military takeover. Mnangagwa, until recently one of Mugabe’s closest allies, took the oath of office at the national sports stadium …
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