AFRICA

Cairo, Egypt | AFP |  Egyptian police on Tuesday arrested a man wanted for alleged involvement in twin church bombings this month claimed by the Islamic State group, an official said. Acting on a tip-off, police arrested Ali Mahmoud Mohamed Hassan, one of 19 suspects whose names police made public …

‘A few dozen’ US troops deployed to Somalia: Pentagon Washington, United States | AFP |  The United States is deploying “a few dozen” troops to Somalia to assist the national army and conduct unspecified security operations, a US military spokeswoman said Saturday. The soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division, a …

Juba, South Sudan | AFP | A surge of fighting in eastern South Sudan has forced 60 aid workers to flee, the UN humanitarian agency said Saturday, hurting efforts to help civilians in the famine-hit nation. An increase in violence nationwide has seen thousands flee in the past two weeks, including …

Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | The Democratic Republic of Congo has suspended military cooperation with former colonial power Belgium after Brussels criticised President Joseph Kabila’s choice of prime minister, sources said Friday. “The decision to suspend military cooperation with Belgium has taken effect. This measure was pending since (Belgian Foreign …

Entebbe, Uganda | AFP | Targeted killings of specific ethnic groups in South Sudan’s civil war amount to “genocide”, according to Britain’s International Development Minister Priti Patel. “It’s tribal, it’s absolutely tribal, so on that basis it’s genocide,” Patel told reporters in Uganda this week, according to a ministry press officer …

Sisi starts crack down as Egypt faces uphill battle against corruption Cairo, Egypt | AFP | When Egyptian real estate developer Hassan tried building an apartment block without paying bribes, officials stalled the project, going so far as to suggest there were ancient relics beneath the lot. Hassan buckled and …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Gunmen have ambushed and killed eight police officers in eastern Tanzania, the presidency said Friday, the latest in a string of killings targeting politicians and security officers in the country. “President John Pombe Magufuli is surprised and very sorry to learn of the news of the …

An IRC hospital in Somaliland Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent (IFRC) warned Wednesday of a health crisis in Somaliland after 28 people died of acute diarrhoea in the past 10 days. More than 411 cases, believed to be caused by cholera, have …

Abuja, Nigeria | AFP |  Nigeria’s electoral agency has suspended more than 200 officers for accepting bribes to influence the outcome of the 2015 vote won by the opposition. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said late Tuesday that 205 staff were found guilty of corruption after an investigation by …

Lusaka, Zambia | AFP | Zambian opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema has been charged with treason after allegedly refusing to give way to President Edgar Lungu’s motorcade on a main road, police said. Hichilema, who says he does not recognise Lungu as president, was accused of deliberately endangering his life in …