AFRICA

Monrovia, Liberia | AFP | Liberia will hold presidential and legislative elections on October 10. Here are the key points explaining how the election will work and when the results will be known. – US model – Africa’s first republic was founded by freed slaves from the United States and …

Monrovia, Liberia | AFP | Liberians go to the polls on Tuesday to elect a new president after 12 years under Africa’s first elected female leader, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. Here are five points that define the campaign: – Sirleaf steps aside – Sirleaf unexpectedly swept the vote in 2005 and …

Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | Rebels from a Ugandan-dominated group on Monday attacked a UN military base in DR Congo’s unstable east, killing one peacekeeper and injuring 12 others, the UN mission said. The attack took place in Beni where UN soldiers have been battling the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), …

Rabat, Morocco | AFP |  Engineers in Morocco are preparing to test the Arab world’s first high-speed railway this week with trains reaching 320 kilometres (200 miles) per hour, the country’s rail office said Monday. One train reached 275 kph (170 mph) on Monday along a stretch of track between …

Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP |  Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe on Monday stripped one of the top candidates to succeed him of a cabinet post, as the battle to replace the long-ruling leader intensifies. Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who also doubled as minister of justice, was replaced as minister by ruling ZANU-PF …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP |  Kenyan police lobbed tear gas at opposition supporters who protested around the country on Monday to demand a reform of the election commission before new polls are held later this month. Thousands gathered in the capital and the western opposition stronghold Kisumu, while smaller demonstrations …

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | AFP | The speaker of Ethiopia’s lower house of parliament announced his resignation without giving any reason on Sunday. Abadula Gemeda was the speaker of the House of People’s Representatives from 2010 and was previously army chief of staff and president of the country’s most-populous region, Oromia. …

Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir on Sunday extended for two months a unilateral ceasefire in the war-torn regions of Darfur, Blue Nile and South Kordofan, state media said. The decision, extending the truce to December 31, came days after the United States lifted a 20-year trade embargo …

Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | Sudan’s national carrier aims to revive its fleet by procuring new components from Boeing and Airbus after Washington lifted its 20-year-old trade embargo on Khartoum, a minister said Sunday. Sudan Airways, one of the oldest airlines in Africa, has 12 of its 14-strong fleet of aircraft …

Tunis, Tunisia | AFP | Tunisia’s health minister died of a heart attack on Sunday after taking part in a charity marathon to help battle cancer, officials said. Slim Chaker, 56, fell ill after running some 500 metres (yards) and then making a speech at the start of a race in …