AFRICA

Mogadishu, Somalia | AFP |  Somalia’s security ministry said Sunday that forces had killed two gunmen and captured three after a siege at a Mogadishu hotel following a twin car bombing that left at least 14 dead. Spokesman Abdiasiz Ali Ibrahim said a number of people had been rescued from …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP |  Kenya’s repeated presidential election, held after an August 8 vote was annulled, has still not been completed after violence prevented voting Thursday in flashpoint opposition strongholds. Some tricky legal questions remain: – When will the result be announced? – It is impossible to say at …

  Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | South Africa’s finance minister received some faint praise last week — not for the economy’s performance, but for admitting the country is in a dire position that is set to get worse. Malusi Gigaba delivered a mid-term budget that laid bare South Africa’s …

Trump’s strategy and 5 factors around Mogadishu killing of 300 Kampala, Uganda | HAGGAI MATSIKO, IAN KATUSIIME, JULIUS BUSINGE | October 20| Hundreds of dead were burnt beyond recognition. One mother lost all her nine children. Wives, husbands, children and whole families perished in the Oct.14 bomb attack in Somalia capital, …

Kenya’s Odinga says still possible to ‘reconsider’ vote pullout Nairobi, Kenya | AFP |  Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga said Thursday he could “reconsider” his decision to quit the country’s troubled election race, provided there was “proper” headway on electoral reform. “If proper consultations are done and if proper reforms …

Mogadishu, Somalia | AFP | Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed vowed Wednesday to step up the war against Al-Shabaab, as he addressed thousands at a rally in Mogadishu for the victims of the city’s worst-ever bombing. Protesters wearing red bands around their heads marched through the scene of the truck bombing, …

Lome, Togo | AFP | At least four people were shot dead on Wednesday in clashes between protesters and security forces in Togo’s two largest cities after soldiers and police launched teargas to prevent the latest anti-government protest. Opposition parties had refused to cancel plans for demonstrations on Wednesday and Thursday, …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP |  Tanzanian police said Wednesday they had arrested 12 men, including two South Africans and a Ugandan, for presumed homosexuality as part of an ongoing crackdown against gays. “We arrested the criminals at (the hotel) Peacock — they were promoting homosexuality. Two are South Africans, one …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP |  Kenya’s polls chief cast doubt Wednesday on his organisation’s ability to hold a credible vote next week, as opposition leader Raila Odinga vowed to disrupt the election with mass protests. In the latest bombshell to hit the presidential election, Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) chief …

Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Zimbabwe has banned the importation of fruit and vegetables to save scarce foreign currency in the face of a worsening economic crisis, state media reported Tuesday. Agriculture Minister Joseph Made told The Herald that President Robert Mugabe had directed that the importation of horticultural products be …