Paris, France | AFP | Pro-EU centrist Emmanuel Macron takes on far-right candidate Marine Le Pen in the second-round run-off of France’s presidential election on Sunday. – Why is it important? – France is the eurozone’s second-biggest economy as well as a global military and diplomatic heavyweight, with veto power as …
Read More »Young, hip Zimbabweans flock to rejuvenated arts fest
Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Young, fashion-conscious and eager for change, thousands of Zimbabweans spent this week partying at music concerts and open-air bars during a six-day festival hosted in the capital against all the odds. The Harare International Festival of the Arts (HIFA), founded in 1999, was abandoned last …
Read More »Ex-presidents urge action to heal ‘sick’ South Africa
Johannesburg, South Africa | Three former South African presidents for the first time issued a joint call for action Friday to end the nation’s “worsening” political crisis, the latest campaign targeting President Jacob Zuma. In an unprecedented move, the country’s living former heads of state — Thabo Mbeki, F.W. de …
Read More »Nigeria’s Buhari emerges
Nigeria’s Buhari seen in public for first time in weeks PHOTOS: President @MBuhari with Chief of Staff Abba Kyari and NSA Babagana Monguno, at Juma’at prayer at the State House Mosque, today. pic.twitter.com/pbmrmvBxXx — Presidency Nigeria (@NGRPresident) May 5, 2017 Abuja, Nigeria | Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday made …
Read More »South African court orders Zuma to explain shock cabinet reshuffle
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | A South African High Court Thursday ordered President Jacob Zuma to reveal the documents he used to justify the controversial sacking of a widely respected finance minister, sparking economic turmoil. The main opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) went to court to force Zuma to explain …
Read More »Petrol shortages expose Burundi’s economic woes
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | A lack of foreign currency means petrol pumps are running dry across Burundi, the government has admitted, as the country struggles with a serious two-year-old political crisis. Long queues have been quickly forming in the capital Bujumbura where petrol is only available at some of …
Read More »Politics, potholes and price drops: the story of Kenya’s crude
Lokichar, Kenya | AFP | Kenya plans to export its first oil in June, but analysts say the test phase faces major challenges and appears motivated primarily by political considerations just months ahead of elections. British company Tullow announced the discovery of oil in Kenya in March 2012, when prices …
Read More »Nigeria’s Buhari absent again from cabinet meeting
Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | Nigerian officials on Wednesday played down fears about the health of President Muhammadu Buhari, despite his third consecutive absence from cabinet and assurances from his wife there was no cause for concern. Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo chaired the meeting instead of the 74-year-old Buhari, who has …
Read More »Rwandan tycoon to challenge Kagame in elections
Daughter of late Rwandan tycoon to challenge Kagame Kigali, Rwanda | AFP | The 35-year-old daughter of a tycoon who once bankrolled the ruling Rwandan Patriotic Front said Wednesday she plans to run as an independent candidate against President Paul Kagame in August’s elections. “Everybody is scared to express themselves …
Read More »DRC bishops urge opposition supremo Katumbi’s return
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | DR Congo’s influential Catholic bishops have urged authorities to allow prominent opposition politician Moise Katumbi to return from exile, calling his criminal conviction a “farce”. In a confidential report seen by AFP on Wednesday, the Congolese Episcopal Conference (CENCO) demanded that the government reverse …
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