AFRICA

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | AFP |  The Rio Olympic Games men’s 3,000m steeplechase final will be a race to forget for East Africans Jacob Araptany and Ezekiel Kemboi. Araptany looked comfortable in the leading pack when he slipped as he approached a hurdle as the race entered the finals laps. Video …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | South African opposition parties on Tuesday slammed the ruling ANC for failing to deliver on its promises, four years after police killed 34 Marikana miners in a massacre that shocked the world. “There has been no justice that has taken place for those who …

Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | Boko Haram’s list of victims — dead, displaced or abducted — grows longer by the day. The jihadist group has claimed more than 20,000 deaths, displaced 2.6 million people from their homes, and kidnapped thousands of children since it started fighting in 2009 for an …

Lusaka, Zambia | AFP |    Zambia’s incumbent President Edgar Lungu was on Monday declared the winner of a closely-fought election in the southern African country that the opposition claimed was rigged. Election commission chief Esau Chulu announced that Lungu was “duly elected” after releasing the final results from Thursday’s …

Juba, South Sudan | AFP | South Sudan President Salva Kiir said Monday he is not opposed to the deployment of a strengthened UN force while expressing “very serious concerns” over the internationally-backed plan. In a speech at the opening of parliament in the capital Juba on Monday, Kiir said …

Goma, DR Congo | AFP | At least 36 people have been killed in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the government said Sunday, calling it a massacre in revenge for military operations in the area. Three days of national mourning have been declared following Saturday night’s mass killing, the …

Lusaka, Zambia | AFP |    Zambia’s opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema on Sunday blasted the national election commission for slow progress in releasing results from this week’s closely-fought presidential vote. Hichilema, the leader of the United Party for National Development (UPND) who has alleged fraud in Thursday’s vote, demanded to …

Sephareng, Lesotho | AFP |    For farmer Mohlakoane Molise, the view of the enormous Katse dam from his smallholding high in the mountains of Lesotho taunts him daily. His country is suffering through its worst drought in 35 years, but the vast and vital water reserves remain out of …

Abuja, Nigeria | AFP |  Nigeria coach Samson Siasia said on Friday that he will support players boycotting Saturday’s football quarter-final against Denmark over unpaid allowances. “We have only been paid allowances for 11 days. There is no match bonus. What about all the months we have been training in …

Kampala, Uganda | AFP |  Uganda announced Friday it would not contribute troops to a regional brigade designed to bolster the UN mission in South Sudan, hours before a Security Council vote authorising the deployment. A key ally of South Sudanese President Salva Kiir, Uganda’s government said it did not …