AFRICA

Bangui, Central African Republic | AFP | The death toll from clashes in Central African Republic has surged to around 100, local officials said Wednesday of violence that erupted hours after the government signed a truce with rebel groups. The bloodshed, which left dozens more injured, dashed hopes of an …

Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP |Financially hamstrung Zimbabwe joined UN agencies and charities Wednesday in appealing for $10.9 million of aid for thousands of refugees in the country including families fleeing violence in neighbouring Mozambique. Zimbabwe, grappling an economic crisis including a cash crunch which has had a toll on social …

Rafah, Palestinian Territories | AFP |  Egypt began on Wednesday to deliver a million litres of fuel to Gaza, a Palestinian official said, in an attempt to ease the Palestinian enclave’s desperate electricity crisis. The fuel, trucked in through the Rafah border between Egypt and Gaza, will be routed to …

Vatican City, Holy See | AFP |  Pope Francis is supporting a series of aid projects in South Sudan, the Vatican said Wednesday, sending money in his place after a trip to the war-torn country was ruled out. The Vatican will donate 462,000 euros ($515,000), which will be divided among …

Geneva, Switzerland | AFP |  Devastating conflicts, violence and persecution in Syria, South Sudan and elsewhere left a record 65.6 million people uprooted from their homes by the end of 2016, the UN said Monday. That number marks a jump of just 300,000 from the end of 2015, but is …

Clashes erupt in C. Africa a day after peace deal Bangui, Central African Republic | AFP | Intense fighting in the Central African Republic killed at least 40 people Tuesday and injured dozens more, dashing hopes for stability in the strife-torn country the day after the signing of a ceasefire deal. …

Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso | AFP |  A second set of tests on the suspected remains of Burkina Faso’s iconic ex-president Thomas Sankara have returned inconclusive, with “no DNA profile” to confirm it was his body, the family’s lawyer has said. Sometimes referred to as Africa’s “Che Guevara”, Sankara died during …

Mogadishu, Somalia | AFP |  At least 10 people were killed when Shabaab Islamists drove an explosives-laden minibus into local government offices in the Somali capital Mogadishu on Tuesday, according to the security ministry. The minibus was rammed through a security barrier outside offices in the southern district of Wadajir, …

  Birmingham, UK | NIC CHEESEMAN |   Unrigging Kenyan election The race for State House in Kenya is heating up. After a long period during which President Uhuru Kenyatta looked a shoo-in for re-election, the presidential race is looking increasingly competitive. Although the most reliable polls still give the incumbent a strong lead …

Cotonou, Benin | AFP |  Benin President Patrice Talon underwenttwo surgeries during a prolonged stay in Paris, one procedure due to doctors finding a lesion in his prostate, his office said Monday. The admission comes weeks after Talon’s absence, which lasted nearly a month, had been a hot topic in …