Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Eleven people have died after a plane belonging to a safari company crashed in northern Tanzania, according to the aircraft’s owners, Coastal Aviation. “We are deeply saddened to report that eleven people have died after a single-plane accident this morning in Northern Tanzania,” the company …
Read More »DR Congo makes arrests ahead of anti-Kabila protests
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | Dozens of people were arrested in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Wednesday, following warnings from authorities that they would break up planned protests against the extended rule of President Joseph Kabila. The Lucha citizen movement said at least 27 were detained by police in …
Read More »Mnangagwa: Zimbabwe’s leader in waiting?
Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Emmerson Mnangagwa appears well-placed to return to a leading role in Zimbabwe following the army’s takeover in response to President Robert Mugabe’s sacking of the former vice president. Nicknamed “Ngwena” (The Crocodile) because of his fearsome power and ruthlessness, the 75-year-old has a reputation for taking …
Read More »Sudan journalists oppose new law curbing media freedom
Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | Dozens of Sudanese journalists on Wednesday demonstrated in Khartoum against a proposed new press law that aims to tighten restrictions on media freedom in the African country. “United Against the New Law” and “Free Press or No Press,” read banners held up by demonstrators who say …
Read More »ZIMBABWE: UK voices hope but warns against a new ‘tyrant’
London, United Kingdom | AFP | Britain on Wednesday expressed cautious optimism after the military took control of Zimbabwe, but warned against any transition “from one unelected tyrant to the next”. “The situation is still fluid, and we would urge restraint on all sides because we want to see and …
Read More »Kenya’s top court hears petitions to cancel election, again
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Kenya’s Supreme Court on Wednesday began hearing two petitions to annul last month’s presidential election, which was already a re-run ordered by the court after it annulled an earlier vote. The court hearing is the latest in a long and winding legal drama that has …
Read More »Daughter of Angola’s ex-president sacked as state oil chief
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 …
Read More »Mugabe under house arrest
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 …
Read More »Tanzanian domestic workers in the Gulf face abuse: HRW
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 …
Read More »International pressure ramps up over Liberia election delay
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 …
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