Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | AFP | Kenya on Thursday withdrew a second athletics coach from the Rio Olympics in five days over a doping cheat bid. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said it had launched disciplinary proceedings against the coach who media reports said had impersonated an athlete for …
Read More »Sudan issues flood warning as Nile rises
Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | Sudanese authorities on Wednesday warned people living near the banks of the Nile to be wary of flooding, after two weeks of heavy rainfall killed dozens across the country. Authorities said water levels were rising on the Blue Nile along border with Ethiopia after continuous …
Read More »Lungu vs Hichilema: Zambia’s presidential battle
Lusaka, Zambia | AFP | The front-runners in Zambia’s presidential election on Thursday are incumbent Edgar Lungu and rags-to-riches businessman Hakainde Hichilema — two adversaries who battled it out only last year. Lungu won that election by fewer than 28,000 votes, securing the right to complete the final months of …
Read More »Cameroon bank workers accused of massive theft
Douala, CAMEROON | AFP | Four employees of a Cameroon bank have been detained on suspicion of stealing millions of euros, sources told AFP on Tuesday. The four staff members of BICEC, a local subsidiary of French bank BPCE, have been placed in detention in the economic capital Douala after …
Read More »Clashes heighten concerns ahead of Zambia election
Lusaka, ZAMBIA | AFP | Election officials and candidates in Zambia’s presidential vote on Tuesday condemned fresh outbreaks of violence between rival supporters, as concerns grow that the relatively stable country could face worsening unrest. Just 18 months after President Edgar Lungu narrowly won a snap election, he and the …
Read More »US asks UN to back South Sudan regional force
The United States has asked the UN Security Council to send a 4,000-strong regional force to South Sudan’s capital of Juba and to impose an arms embargo if the government blocks the deployment. A draft resolution presented to the council would establish the regional protection force and authorize it to …
Read More »Tensions in Chad as Deby sworn in for fifth term
N’Djamena, Chad | AFP | Chad’s President Idriss Deby took the oath of office Monday for a fifth term in power, facing dogged resistance from an opposition that alleges his re-election was a “political hold-up”. With tensions high a day after the death of a protester during an opposition march, …
Read More »Museveni tours Chad oil facilities
President Yoweri Museveni started his two-day visit to Chad by touring their oil facilities on Sunday. In N’Djamena for the swearing-in ceremony of President Idriss Deby to his fifth term in office, Museveni jumped on a helicopter to inspect the country’s oil refinery. Over 15 heads of state are expected to …
Read More »Kenyan athletics manager recalled after doping bribe report
London, United Kingdom | AFP | The manager of the Kenyan Olympic athletics team has been recalled from the Rio Games after an investigation alleged he demanded money to give warnings about doping tests, a media report said. The investigation by the Sunday Times newspaper and German television channel …
Read More »Pistorius hospitalised after ‘fall in prison’
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | Convicted murderer Oscar Pistorius has returned to his prison cell in South Africa’s capital after being treated at hospital for injuries sustained in a fall, prison officials told AFP Sunday. “He had to be detained Saturday afternoon at the hospital after falling off …
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