Banjul, Gambia | AFP | The Gambia’s first ever female presidential candidate has withdrawn from the race and will endorse the single opposition candidate challenging President Yahya Jammeh, she said Saturday. In a statement sent to AFP, Isatou Touray said she was dropping out of the contest “so as to …
Read More »South Africa’s Zuma: ‘I am not scared of jail’
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | South Africa’s embattled President Jacob Zuma put on a brave face Saturday at his first public appearance since the release of fresh evidence of alleged corruption at the top of the ANC government. “I have spent a lot of time in jail. I am …
Read More »Kulata loses application, investigations into land allegations to go ahead
The High Court has dismissed an application filed by Sarah Kulata Basangwa, the interdicted former Commissioner for Land Registration Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban development, seeking to halt a probe against her. The application sought to block an investigation by a committee put in place by the Lands Minister Betty Amongi …
Read More »In Africa, little enthusiasm for US vote after Obama
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | “The dream becomes reality”, “Our son, our hope”: the headlines in the Kenyan press in 2008 captured pride and excitement after the election of Barack Obama. Eight years later, enthusiasm for the outgoing president has faded on a continent that he is accused of forsaking. …
Read More »Meet the comedians trolling the US presidential campaign
Los Angeles, United States | AFP | One day in mid-March, Fox News ran a story about a pair of Donald Trump supporters sporting Nazi-style armbands emblazoned with their candidate’s last initial. “Armbands are a fairly new phenomenon in American presidential politics. And so is Donald Trump,” the station’s reporter …
Read More »‘Bots’ step up for 2016 election news coverage
Washington, United States | AFP | If you’re reading about the US election, some of that news is likely to come to you from a “bot.” Automated systems known as “bots” or “robo-journalism” have been around for years, but they are playing a bigger role in coverage this year amid …
Read More »The battle for Mosul: What we know
Baghdad, Iraq | AFP | Elite Iraqi forces are facing tough resistance as they battle the Islamic State group in eastern Mosul. Here are some facts about the country’s biggest military operation in years: Where are the Iraqi forces? Iraq’s elite Counter-Terrorism Service pushed into the Al-Karama area of eastern …
Read More »DR Congo police fire tear gas to prevent banned rally
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | Police fired tear gas and fanned out across the capital of DR Congo on Saturday to prevent a banned opposition rally seeking the exit of President Joseph Kabila this year. DR Congo has been going through political turmoil which deepened last month after the …
Read More »AFCON: Best paid coach in Africa sacked
Gabon sack Costa, appoint Garrido ahead of CAN Libreville, Gabon | AFP | Africa Cup of Nations hosts Gabon have sacked coach Jorge Costa little more than two months before the start of the 2017 tournament, the country’s federation announced on Friday. The Fegafoot first cancelled a Costa press conference …
Read More »Harvard University cancels men’s soccer season over sex rating
New York, United States | AFP | Harvard University, one of the most prestigious and expensive colleges in the United States, cancelled its men’s soccer season after discovering that the team rated women for their sexual appeal. The move comes as American universities grapple with problems of rape and sexual …
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