Paris, France | AFP | More than 400 people were hurt, 14 seriously, in a day and night of “yellow vest” protests over rising fuel price hikes around France that claimed one life, Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said on Sunday. The injury toll, more than double the last tally provided …
Read More »Pope prays for victims of Central Africa massacre
Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | Pope Francis on Sunday prayed for peace in the war-ravaged Central African Republic, where two priests were killed in ethnic unrest last week. “I learned with sadness the news of the massacre two days ago in a camp for the displaced in the …
Read More »Seven Ugandan fishermen shot dead by Congolese militia
Kampala, Uganda | AFP | Suspected Congolese militiamen shot dead seven Ugandan fishermen and wounded another on Lake Albert, which straddles the two countries’ border, police said Sunday. Uganda’s deputy police commander in the region Amos Muhindo said the gunmen opened fire on the fishermen as they went to retrieve …
Read More »Nigerian troops foil Boko Haram attack
Kano, Nigeria | AFP | Nigerian troops repelled an attack on a military base in northeastern Borno state in which a soldier was killed and four others were injured, military and militia sources told AFP Saturday. On Wednesday jihadists from IS-affiliated Islamic State West Africa Province killed three soldiers when …
Read More »Sixteen Ebola WHO staff evacuated amid DR Congo clashes
Beni, DR Congo | AFP | The World Health Organization (WHO) said Saturday that 16 staff members have been temporarily evacuated from DR Congo’s restive eastern city of Beni after a shell hit the building they were staying in. The incident occurred in the Ebola-plagued region during clashes between UN …
Read More »A year after Mugabe’s fall, Zimbabwe yearns for upswing
Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Zimbabwean businessman Munya Chihota’s face lights up when he recalls taking part in a march last year with tens of thousands of people calling for then-president Robert Mugabe to step down. The march came after the military had briefly taken over, and days before Mugabe …
Read More »Ex-C.Africa militia leader ‘Rambo’ arrives at ICC detention centre
The Hague, Netherlands | AFP | A former Central African Republic militia leader nicknamed “Colonel Rambo” arrived on Saturday in The Hague, where he will stand trial for war crimes and crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court. Currently a lawmaker, Alfred Yekatom’s extradition was the first of its …
Read More »Somalia holds first boxing competition since civil war
Mogadishu, Somalia | AFP | Somalia has held its first boxing competition in more than three decades, with young fighters in the conflict-torn nation dreaming of a career in international rings. The three-day lightweight boxing competition that wrapped up Sunday took place in the capital Mogadishu, where athletes squared off …
Read More »Mayweather and kickboxer will aim to ‘knock out’ in exhibition: promoter
Tokyo, Japan | AFP | Boxing superstar Floyd Mayweather Jr and a Japanese kickboxer half his age will be aiming to knock each other out next month, despite the match-up being an exhibition, the fight’s Japanese promoter said Saturday. The bout between Mayweather and Tenshin Nasukawa, first announced earlier this …
Read More »AU warns Gabon as Bongo remains incapacitated
Libreville, Gabon | AFP | The African Union on Saturday warned Gabon to respect constitutional order after a high court intervened in a crisis surrounding the country’s hospitalised President Ali Bongo. A statement by AU Commission chair Moussa Faki Mahamat emphasised that the 55-member group of African nations had a …
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