AFRICA

Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe attended a university graduation ceremony Friday, making a defiant first public appearance since the military takeover that appeared to signal the end of his 37-year reign. Mugabe, 93, had been confined to house arrest after the military took over the country. …

Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Zimbabwe’s military said Friday it had detained some “criminals” in President Robert Mugabe’s government after generals took power in a dispute over who would succeed the 93-year-old leader. “Significant progress has been made in our operation,” the defence forces said in a statement after vowing …

Paris, France | AFP | At 93, Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe is the last living African head of state to have fought for his country’s independence from a colonial power before becoming its leader. He has used his aura of liberator to stay in power but has increasingly become seen as …

Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Zimbabwe’s former vice president Emmerson Mnangagwa, whose sacking last week triggered the military’s takeover, has returned to the country, an aide told AFP Friday as ageing leader Robert Mugabe clung onto power. Mnangagwa, who is a leading candidate to succeed to President Mugabe, flew back …

Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, 93, has a long history of making colourful or controversial remarks during a reign that has spanned nearly four decades. Among them: – On staying in office – “Some are saying ‘Mr Mugabe is old, so he should step down’… No! When …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Kenya’s Supreme Court said Thursday that it would issue its ruling Monday on challenges to the validity of the October 26 presidential re-run election won by incumbent Uhuru Kenyatta. Chief Justice David Maraga said the six-judge bench would hand down its decision by Monday, the constitutional …

  Washington, United States | AFP | The African Union will allow Zimbabwe’s southern neighbors in the SADC regional bloc to mediate in the political crisis there, a senior official told reporters after talks in Washington. Smail Chergui, the AU commissioner for peace and security, said the union hopes the Zimbabwean …

Paris, France | AFP | Guinea on Thursday won pledges in aid worth $20 billion to fund a five-year development plan at a meeting in Paris with banks, private players and governments. The mineral-rich West African nation is slowly emerging from the Ebola crisis and low commodity price shocks that adversely …

Mugabe refuses to stand down in talks with military Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, the world’s oldest head of state, refused to resign during a crunch meeting Thursday with military generals who have seized control of the country. The talks in Harare came after tumultuous days …

Monrovia, Liberia | AFP | The US embassy in Liberia on Thursday expressed “confidence in the integrity” of first-round voting in the country’s presidential election, urging political leaders to allow a “timely conclusion” of the vote. A second round of voting to choose a successor to President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was …