Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Zimbabwe’s main opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai has been hospitalised in South Africa after his health deteriorated, a senior party official told AFP Saturday, though a spokesman said his condition was stable. “He is in South Africa on account of a medical cause. He is being attended …
Read More »Nine given stiff sentences in Tanzania for ivory possession
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | A Tanzanian court has sentenced nine people to at least 25 years in prison for illegal possession of ivory, as part of efforts to discourage poaching in one of the worst-hit countries. According to court documents seen by AFP Saturday, the accused, including two police officers, …
Read More »Angola’s UNITA drops parliament boycott threat over vote dispute
Luanda, Angola | AFP | The leading opposition party in Angola said Saturday its lawmakers would take their seats in parliament, withdrawing a threat to boycott the assembly to protest last month’s election outcome. The National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), which won 27 percent of the vote, …
Read More »Kenya election rerun in doubt as acrimony deepens
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Doubts are growing over Kenya’s ability to hold a rerun of its presidential election in just one month as key players remain unable to agree on how to conduct a credible vote, analysts say. Bickering on all sides and confusion over the process have only …
Read More »ANALYSIS: Unwelcome in Israel, African refugees dream of home
Tel Aviv, Israel | AFP | Tens of thousands of Africans who fled misery at home for safety in Israel are living in limbo, fearing deportation though some have lived in the country for more than a decade. Recognising a rising tide of discontent among Israelis over the migrants’ presence …
Read More »Fear, confusion as Uganda ‘serial killer’ murders pile up
Fear, confusion as Uganda ‘serial killer’ murders pile up Entebbe, Uganda | Michael O’HAGAN | AFP | “We keep finding bodies. It was once a month then once every two or three weeks then every week,” said Rose Nakasinge, a middle-aged farmer. “We had to do something.” In a gruesome spate …
Read More »One-fourth of Centrafricans displaced by conflict: UN
Libreville, Gabon | AFP | Simmering unrest and clashes in the chronically unstable Central African Republic has led a “record number” of 1.1 million people — about a fourth of the population — to flee their homes, the UN said Friday. UN High Commissioner for Refugees spokesman Andrej Mahecic said the …
Read More »Togo panel approves controversial constitutional reform plan
Lome, Togo | AFP | A parliamentary panel in Togo on Friday approved a controversial bill to revamp the constitution and introduce a presidential term limit, after days of protests against the regime of Faure Gnassingbe, the scion of Africa’s oldest political dynasty. After a closed-door session, ten members of the …
Read More »KPMG S.Africa repays $1.7 mn over bad report, ousts CEO
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | Auditor KPMG on Friday distanced itself from a report by its South Africa office used by the president to controversially fire the former finance minister and will repay its $1.7 million fee. The scandal, which also led to the ouster of KMPG South Africa’s CEO …
Read More »Zanzibar arrests 20 for ‘homosexuality’: police
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Twenty people have been arrested on Tanzania’s semi-autonomous archipelago Zanzibar for alleged homosexuality, a police official said Saturday, in the latest crackdown on the country’s gay community. “They are implicated in homosexuality. We arrested them and are busy interrogating them. The police cannot turn a blind …
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