Paris, France | AFP | Borussia Dortmund’s Gabonese goal king Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang remains in the running to defend his African Player of the Year crown after making the final shortlist of five players on Tuesday. But the 27-year-old faces competition from Leicester’s Algerians Riyad Mahrez and Islam Slimani, Senegal’s Sadio …
Read More »African nations fail in bid to block LGBT expert
United Nations, United States | AFP | A bid by African countries to delay the appointment of the first-ever UN expert on LGBT rights was defeated on Monday, clearing the way for the investigations of anti-gay violence. A draft resolution demanding talks on the legality of the new expert’s mandate …
Read More »Nigeria’s economic crisis deepens
Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | Nigeria’s economic slump sharpened in the third quarter as rebels bombed oil pipelines in the restive south and businesses struggled to access foreign exchange, official data showed Monday. The third quarterly contraction in a row comes as the West African nation reels from a crash …
Read More »HIV treatment soars, but young African women suffer
Windhoek, Namibia | AFP | The number of HIV-infected people taking anti-retroviral medicine has doubled in just five years, the UN said Monday, while highlighting high infection rates among young African women. A new report by UNAIDS said it was on course to hit a target of 30 million people …
Read More »Kenyatta: Africa deserves equal treatment
President Uhuru Kenyatta has called on Africans to demand equal treatment when engaging with other countries on what he described as illegitimate and the unfair international order. Kenyatta regretted that while African countries accepted the sovereign decisions of other countries, their rights to exercise sovereignty and democratically set aside international …
Read More »Memorials of Genocide
Rwanda hosts experts meeting in bid for UNESCO Heritage status Rwanda needs to closely involve local communities in the management and interpretation of `Sites of Memorial of Genocide’ in the country. This recommendation is one of many made during the recent international experts meeting on the World Heritage Convention and …
Read More »Vintage biplanes on cross-Africa trek land in Khartoum
Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | A dozen biplanes taking part in a vintage air rally bound for Cape Town arrived in Sudan’s capital on Sunday, with one participant walking away from a bad landing. The aircraft dating from the 1920s and 1930s took off on November 12 from the Greek …
Read More »Egypt says 292 face trial for Sisi assassination plots
Cairo, Egypt | AFP | Egypt will try 292 jihadist suspects over plots to assassinate President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and the Saudi crown prince and attacks in the Sinai Peninsula, a prosecution official said Sunday. The suspects, including 151 currently in custody, were referred to a military court for alleged …
Read More »Pope creates 17 cardinals, ‘Princes of the Church’
Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | Pope Francis will create 17 new cardinals from across the globe Saturday in a time-honoured ceremony, elevating them to an elite body that advises and elects popes. Three of them are from the US, while others come from corners of the world where …
Read More »Malawi man convicted over ‘cleansing’ sex ritual
Nsanje, Mozambique | AFP | A Malawian man accused of sleeping with more than 100 girls and women in a series of traditional cleansing rituals was on Friday convicted by a court of “engaging in harmful practices”. Eric Aniva — who has said he is infected with the HIV virus …
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