AFRICA

Washington, United States | AFP | Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga sharply criticized the role of Western diplomats and election observers in the recent presidential vote and warned Thursday that the country is moving toward “outright dictatorship.” Odinga boycotted the presidential election held in September and has termed it a “sham.” …

Bujumbura, Burundi | AFP | Burundi has been gripped by turmoil since President Pierre Nkurunziza launched a bid for a third term in office more than two years ago. On Thursday the International Criminal Court (ICC) opened a full probe into alleged crimes committed during the crisis. Between 500 and 2,000 …

The Hague, Netherlands | AFP | International judges have given the go ahead for a full investigation into alleged crimes against humanity in Burundi, triggering anger Thursday in the crisis-torn African nation, the first ever to leave the war crimes tribunal. The decision to probe abuses in which at least 1,200 …

Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Zimbabwe freed on Thursday a 25-year-old American journalist charged with subverting President Robert Mugabe on account of an alleged tweet that described the ageing leader as “selfish and sick”. Martha O’Donovan had been charged with attempting to overthrow Mugabe as well as undermining or insulting the …

Lubumbashi, DR Congo | AFP | Nine children died and another was missing after a canoe capsized on Lake Tanganyika in the southeast of the Democratic Republic of Congo. a local official said Thursday. The motorised boat left the town of Kalemie and was heading for the port of Wimbi when …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | South Africa’s elite police unit said Thursday that it was investigating a journalist at the request of the country’s spy agency after he made corruption and tax avoidance allegations against President Jacob Zuma. In “The President’s Keepers”, released last month, Jacques Pauw paints a vivid …

Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe attended a ceremony re-naming Harare Airport in his honour on Thursday, as his sacking of the vice president fuelled speculation over his succession plans. The 93-year-old president unveiled a plaque at the newly named Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport, located 15 kilometers …

Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | Nigeria’s government was on Thursday urged to order the release of a pro-Iranian Shiite Muslim group leader, who has been in custody for nearly two years since clashes with soldiers. Ibrahim Zakzaky, who heads the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, and his wife should be freed “on …

Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | The Democratic Republic of Congo on Wednesday said foreign “greed” for its cobalt lay behind the “malicious” pressures weighing on the country’s electoral process. The DRC is in the grip of a crisis over plans to hold presidential elections, which were delayed by President Joseph …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | At least five children were killed Wednesday while playing with a grenade at a school in northern Tanzania, a local official told AFP. “We regret the death of five children, there are 23 others injured,” said Adroniz Rurindoli, a local government official in the Ngara region, …