AFRICA

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | Eight female members of one family were shot dead in their homes in South Africa, police said Wednesday, with attackers also setting fire to the houses. Six of the victims were aged between three and 18, while two were older women. Police said the cause …

Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Zimbabwe police have arrested a journalist at a privately-owned daily over a story claiming that President Robert Mugabe’s wife, Grace had donated second-hand underwear to supporters, lawyers said Tuesday. Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) said that Kenneth Nyangani, a NewsDay journalist, was arrested on Monday …

Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | Several thousand people have fled to Zambia in the past month to escape violence in Democratic Republic of Congo, the UN said Tuesday. The UN refugee agency said 3,360 people from DR Congo’s conflict-wracked southeast had entered Zambia since August 30, the largest influx of its …

Monrovia, Liberia | AFP | Liberia’s female politicians profess near-universal respect for Ellen Johnson Sirleaf as she steps down after 12 years as president — but many also say the glass ceiling that Africa’s first female leader cracked remains firmly in place. Sirleaf, 78, will not run in October 10’s presidential …

Blantyre, Malawi | AFP | Vigilantes in Malawi have killed six people suspected of trying to obtain and drink human blood as part of magic rituals since mid-September, police told AFP on Tuesday. Malawi, where witchcraft is widely believed and education standards are low, is regularly dogged by rumours of “vampire” …

Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Zimbabwe’s main opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, has been discharged from a South African hospital were he had been receiving medical treatment, his spokesman said Tuesday. “He was discharged last week (on) Monday. He is now fine, he is out of danger,” Luke Tamborinyoka told AFP. Tamborinyoka …

Yaoundé, Cameroon | AFP | A home-made device exploded overnight near a police station in Cameroon’s restless English-speaking region, where separatist leaders have launched a campaign for independence, concurring sources said Tuesday. There were no reported casualties, they said. The bomb detonated near a police unit called the Mobile Intervention Group …

Pretoria, South Africa | AFP | Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe returned to South Africa on Tuesday for the first time since his wife claimed diplomatic immunity over allegedly assaulting a model in a Johannesburg hotel room. Mugabe, 93, was not accompanied by his wife Grace as he met President Jacob Zuma …

Maputo, Mozambique | AFP | Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi vowed on Monday to push ahead with national peace talks after he was overwhelmingly re-elected leader of the ruling Frelimo party at a five-yearly conference. Nyusi, who has ruled the country since 2015 and is likely to stand again in 2019 …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP |  Campuses at one of Kenya’s largest universities were closed on Tuesday after demonstrations broke out ahead of the country’s tense presidential election re-run, a university official said. Students at the University of Nairobi were ordered to vacate their dormitories on short notice after overnight protests …