Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | AFP | African Union leaders vowed on Monday to push peace efforts in Libya, a sign of the bloc’s desire to play a bigger role in resolving the continent’s conflicts. The AU leadership has complained about being overlooked in Libya-related peacemaking efforts, which have been led primarily …
Read More »African leaders grapple with failure to ‘silence the guns’
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | AFP | Seven years ago, amid extravagant celebrations marking the African Union’s 50th anniversary, the continent’s heads of state declared they would “end all wars in Africa by 2020.” But as leaders travel to Addis Ababa this weekend for the latest summit of the 55-member bloc — …
Read More »Nigeria, S.Africa pledge ‘early warning systems’ to stop xenophobic attacks
Pretoria, South Africa | AFP | The presidents of Nigeria and South Africa on Thursday agreed to share intelligence and set up “early warning mechanisms” to prevent attacks on foreign nationals, weeks after xenophobic violence in Johannesburg stirred tensions between the continent’s largest economies. Muhammadu Buhari and South African counterpart Cyril …
Read More »Nigeria’s Buhari urges protection for foreigners in S.Africa summit
Pretoria, South Africa | AFP | Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday began a visit to South Africa with a call to beef up protection of foreign nationals, weeks after xenophobic attacks in Johannesburg stirred tension between Africa’s leading economies. Buhari and his counterpart Cyril Ramaphosa went into long-planned talks aimed …
Read More »Nigeria’s Buhari visits S.Africa after xenophobic violence
Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari heads to South Africa on Wednesday for a state visit after an outburst of xenophobic violence in and around Johannesburg stirred tensions between Africa’s leading economic powerhouses. Buhari and his South African counterpart Cyril Ramaphosa will meet Thursday to discuss bolstering trade …
Read More »Mugabe’s body heads back to divided Zimbabwe for burial
Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | The body of Zimbabwe’s ex-president, Robert Mugabe, was flown out of Singapore Wednesday, heading home for burial in a country divided over the legacy of a former liberation hero whose 37-year rule was marked by repression and economic ruin. Mugabe, a guerrilla leader who swept to …
Read More »South Africa vows crackdown on xenophobic attacks after five die
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | Five people have been killed in a surge of xenophobic violence in South Africa, police said on Tuesday, as President Cyril Ramaphosa vowed to clamp down and the African Union, Nigeria and Zambia condemned the attacks. Hordes of people — some armed with axes and …
Read More »S.Africa’s Ramaphosa misled parliament: ethics watchdog
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | South Africa’s ethics watchdog on Friday said President Cyril Ramaphosa misled parliament last year over a 500,000 rand ($36,000) donation to his campaign fund from a company facing extensive corruption allegations. The country’s ombudswoman Busisiwe Mkhwebane, said her investigations had shown that the president gave …
Read More »S.Africa’s Zuma tells graft probe he’s a victim of conspiracy
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | South Africa’s former president Jacob Zuma on Monday dismissed multiple graft allegations against him, telling a judicial inquiry he was the victim of conspiracies, years of “character assassination” and plots to kill him. In an often rambling monologue, Zuma accused unnamed foreign intelligence agencies and …
Read More »S.African president admits economy ‘extremely weak’
Cape Town, South Africa | AFP | South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Thursday described the country’s economic outlook as “extremely weak” as he vowed to speed up emergency funding for the debt-laden Eskom state power supplier. Ramaphosa delivered a downbeat economic assessment in his first state-of-the-nation address since the ruling …
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