AFRICA

Luanda, Angola | AFP |  Angolan President Joao Lourenco on Wednesday fired his predecessor’s daughter from her influential post as head of the Sonangol state oil company, the presidency said in a statement. Her appointment to the oil giant last year was widely criticised as a symbol of the nepotism …

Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP |  Zimbabwe’s military was in control of the country on Wednesday as President Robert Mugabe said he was under house arrest, although generals denied staging a coup. Neighbouring South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma, one of Mugabe’s closest allies, said he had spoken to the veteran leader …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Female domestic workers from Tanzania are being physically and sexually abused and exploited by Gulf employers, a rights group said Tuesday in a report blocked from publication in Tanzania. In a 100-page report on treatment of East African female domestic workers in Oman and the …

Monrovia, Liberia | AFP | The European Union on Tuesday joined an international chorus urging Liberian political parties and its electoral commission to end “unnecessary delays” and elect a new president. A second round of voting to choose a successor to President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was suspended indefinitely by the …

S.Africa demands no ‘unconstitutional’ change of Zimbabwe govt Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP |  South Africa on Wednesday urged neighbouring Zimbabwe to resist any “unconstitutional changes” of government as President Robert Mugabe’s grip on power appeared threatened by the military. President Jacob Zuma “has expressed hope that developments in Zimbabwe …

Harare, Zimbabwe | THE INDEPENDENT | Text of statement read out Wednesday by the Zimbabwe army. “Good morning Zimbabwe. Fellow Zimbabweans. Following the address we made on 13 November 2017, which we believe our main broadcaster Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation and the Herald were directed not to publicise, the situation in …

Lome, Togo | AFP | Togo opposition leaders on Tuesday said President Faure Gnassingbe “declared war on the Togolese people” by accusing them of orchestrating violence in massive anti-government protests across the West African country. At least 16 people have been killed and more than 200 injured since late August in …

Zimbabwe military deny takeover in state TV address Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Zimbabwean military officers read an address live on state TV in the early hours of Wednesday, saying they were not launching a coup but were “targeting criminals around” President Robert Mugabe. “It is not a military takeover …

Mugabe’s party accuses army chief of ‘treasonable conduct’ Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP |  Zimbabwe’s ruling party on Tuesday accused the army chief of “treasonable conduct” after he challenged President Robert Mugabe over the sacking of the vice president, in the latest sign of worsening instability in the country. The ZANU-PF …

Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP |  Several tanks were seen moving on the outskirts of the Zimbabwean capital Harare Tuesday, witnesses told AFP, a day after the army warned it could intervene over a purge of ruling party officials. “I saw a long convoy of military vehicles, including tanks, about an …