AFRICA

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 …

Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | At least 50 people want to become Zimbabwe’s hangman, a job that fell vacant over a decade ago, officials said Tuesday, stressing that applicants were “very interested” in the role. The country, which has an unemployment rate of more than 90 percent by some measures, last …

Tunis, Tunisia | AFP | Talks between representatives of rival authorities in strife-torn Libya have hit a new snag after a parliamentary delegation suspended its participation in the UN-backed discussions hosted by Tunisia. Years of political turmoil since the 2011 overthrow of long-time dictator Moamer Kadhafi have left Libya divided between …

Kampala, Uganda | AFP |  Ugandan police on Wednesday banned what it termed illegal demonstrations over plans to remove presidential age limits, seen as paving the way for President Yoweri Museveni to serve a sixth term in office. A bill removing the age limit for the president was introduced in …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | Rent-a-room giant Airbnb said Tuesday that it had provided accommodation for 1.2 million visitors to Africa over the last year — double the previous year as tourism expands across the continent. The website now offers more than 100,000 accommodation options in Africa, global public affairs …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Tanzanian opposition figure Tundu Lissu, who was shot and critically injured at his home last month, is now out of intensive care, his party CHADEMA said Tuesday. Lissu, who was attacked on September 7, left the unit at a hospital in Nairobi last week, after having …