Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Kenya’s government on Thursday banned protests in main city centres, citing lawlessness during opposition rallies against the electoral commission ahead of a scheduled presidential poll re-run. The move comes as opposition leader Raila Odinga called for daily protests next week to keep up pressure on election …
Read More »S. Africa court to rule on activist’s death 46 years on
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | A South African court will rule Thursday on whether the suspicious 1971 death of an apartheid-era activist in custody was suicide, as police officers claimed, or actually a regime killing. For many, the case — the culmination of a relentless campaign by the activist’s family — …
Read More »Sudan receives first US dollar transfers since sanctions lifted
Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | Sudan’s central bank said Wednesday it had received its first overseas fund transfer in US dollars since Washington announced the lifting of a 20-year-old trade embargo against Khartoum. Washington last week announced the lifting of sanctions from this Thursday onwards, saying Khartoum had made progress on …
Read More »Several hurt in protests as Kenya election officials mull next move
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Several people were injured in protests in Kenya on Wednesday, a day after opposition leader Raila Odinga announced he would quit the presidential race, in a move that plunged the country into uncharted waters. Election officials have been locked in crisis meetings since the decision, as …
Read More »Zambia ends emergency powers imposed during crisis
Lusaka, Zambia | AFP | Zambia’s justice minister said Wednesday that emergency measures imposed at the height of a political crisis that followed the detention of an opposition leader on treason charges would not be renewed. The southern African nation was earlier this year rocked by soaring tensions that also saw …
Read More »Results delayed in vote to replace Liberia’s Sirleaf
Monrovia, Liberia | AFP | Liberia’s election results were delayed on Wednesday by hitches at a number of polling stations, with Vice President Joseph Boakai and footballer George Weah seen as the frontrunners to succeed Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. The National Elections Commission (NEC) is expected to announce the first official results …
Read More »No DRC presidential poll before 2019
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | DR Congo’s electoral commission announced Wednesday that the vote to replace President Joseph Kabila expected by the end of the year will not happen before the start of 2019. Kabila officially ended his term in office in December, but he was allowed to stay …
Read More »IEBC: Odinga’s still on the ballot
Kenya’s IEBC says yet to receive notice of Odinga withdrawal Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Kenya’s electoral authorities said Wednesday they had not received formal notice that opposition leader Raila Odinga had quit the presidential race re-run set for October 26, so regarded all original candidates as still on the …
Read More »Amb. Wonekha presents credentials to Rwanda President Kagame
Kigali, Rwanda | MOFA | Uganda’s High Commissioner in Kigali Oliver Wonekha has presented credentials to Rwanda President Paul Kagame at Urugwiro village (Presidential residence). Wonekha informed Kagame that she was aware of the good relations the countries share and promised to build on the successes of her predecessor to uphold …
Read More »Beauty is skin deep for Benin’s pineapples
Allada, BENIN | AFP | From his chair in the middle of a pile of pineapples, Jean-Xavier Satola supervises cutting and packaging, as Benin — Africa’s fourth-biggest exporter of the fruit — starts trading again after an eight-month self-imposed absence. The fields of Allada in southern Benin are a hive of …
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