AFRICA

Paris, France | AFP |  The three-decade-old quest for an AIDS vaccine received a shot of hope Monday when developers announced that a prototype triggered the immune system in an early phase of human trials. Tested in 393 people in the United States, Rwanda, Uganda, South Africa and Thailand, the …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP |  A new book detailing Nelson Mandela’s last days has been withdrawn after it was condemned by his outraged widow, publisher Penguin Random House said Monday. The book by Mandela’s physician Vejay Ramlakan was released last week to coincide with the late anti-apartheid leader’s birthday …

Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | An apparent photo of Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari was posted on Twitter Sunday, offering a rare glimpse of the ill leader since his departure for London for medical treatment in May. Posted from the official Twitter account of the Nigerian presidency, the picture shows the …

Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | Nigeria’s former oil minister faces charges only at home but her name crops up in a growing number of international cases that lift the lid on the scale of alleged corruption in the country’s oil sector. Since leaving office in 2015, Diezani Alison-Madueke has been implicated …

Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP |  The Congolese opposition on Saturday unveiled a rolling programme of strikes and civil disobedience aimed at forcing President Joseph Kabila from power. The announcement was made after two days of opposition talks in Kinshasa amid concerns that Kabila, in power since 2001, is seeking …

South Asia heritage Kenyans formally recognised Nairobi, Kenya | AFP |  Kenya said Saturday it had granted formal recognition to citizens of Indo-Pakistani origin, with President Uhuru Kenyatta making them a 44th tribe. “I do hereby recognize, proclaim and order, 1.that Kenyans of Asian Heritage constitute a Community that is …

  S.Africa circumcision ritual: a dangerous route to manhood Coffee Bay, South Africa | AFP |  Naked, covered in white clay mud, and with his penis wrapped in leaves, Abongile Maqegu, 20, sits in a hut in South Africa recovering from his circumcision — a traditional ritual that can prove …

CHAN: Uganda’s Mucureezi scores 4, Guinea go on record 7-goal spree Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP |  Guinea thrashed Guinea-Bissau 7-0 in Conakry Saturday for a record winning margin for an African Nations Championship (CHAN) qualifier. The west Africans overtook Tanzania, who walloped Somalia 6-0 in Dar es Salaam during …

Juba, South Sudan | AFP |  Aid workers that were raped during an attack on their compound in South Sudan must testify in-person against a group of soldiers on trial for the assault, a judge ruled Friday. The decision is the latest frustration for victims of the attack on the …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP |  Kenyan police said on Friday they had arrested an opposition parliamentarian on suspicion of “ethnic contempt” over a public address he made ahead of next month’s tight presidential election. Junet Mohammed, a high-ranking member of leading opposition candidate Raila Odinga’s Orange Democratic Movement, was taken …