JOHANNESBURG (AFP) – Zimbabwe’s ex-leader Robert Mugabe sent shockwaves through the party he dominated for decades when he posed with the retired general who will take on the ruling ZANU-PF in this year’s election. Mugabe grinned broadly in the posed photo, standing beside brigadier general Ambrose Mutinhiri, the leader of opposition party the National Patriotic Front (NPF), which hopes to… Read more »
PORT LOUIS (AFP) – Mauritian President Ameenah Gurib-Fakim is to resign after becoming embroiled in a financial scandal, Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth announced on Friday (March 9). Mrs Gurib-Fakim, who is the only female head of state in Africa, has been accused of using a bank card provided by a non-governmental organisation to make personal purchases and will step down… Read more »
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has warned that land grabs would not be tolerated as the ruling African National Congress (ANC) moves to change the Constitution to expropriate property without compensation. Land remains an emotive issue in South Africa and most of it remains in white hands over two decades after apartheid’s demise, despite government programmes aimed at redistribution to narrow glaring racial disparities… Read more »
Over two million children in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are at risk of starvation if they do not receive the aid they need, the UN has warned. The comments come in advance of a meeting between Mark Lowcock, the UN humanitarian chief, and potential donors willing to commit aid money to help the country in its dire situation. “We have a great… Read more »
The Democratic Republic of Congo has moved to increase taxes on mining firms and increase government royalties from the industry despite fierce opposition from international mining companies. President Joseph Kabila signed a new mining code into law on Friday. The country is Africa’s biggest producer of copper and cobalt, a vital component in mobile phone batteries. Foreign mining firms strongly… Read more »
A clock ticking in a deserted dorm room. A solitary slipper strewn across the red earth. A girl’s headscarf on the grass, rippling in the breeze. These hastily discarded belongings are poignant reminders of the 110 girls who were abducted after armed Boko Haram militants stormed their school in Dapchi, northeastern Nigeria, last week. There were more than 900 girls… Read more »
In the capital, Freetown, long queues could be seen at polling stations even before dawn. President Ernest Bai Koroma is stepping down after serving two five-year terms. His chosen successor, Samura Kamara, is being challenged by 15 other candidates – many of them promising to tackle endemic corruption and poverty. Presidential hopefuls include a former military leader, a female former… Read more »
Ethiopia is facing an upheaval of unprecedented magnitude. On February 15, the country’s Prime Minister Hailemariam stepped down in a surprise move that plunged the country into uncertainty. A day later, his government declared a nationwide state of emergency, the second such decree in less than two years. Confronted by relentless and large scale ethnic protests, Hailemariam’s government was forced… Read more »
At least eight people were killed and more than 80 injured in two attacks in Burkina Faso’s capital, one of them targeting the French embassy, security officials said. Those killed were all security personnel, Security Minister Clement Sawadogo said during a Friday news conference in Ouagadougou. The injured were being treated at local civilian and military hospitals, he said, adding… Read more »
Violence at a protest is never something anyone wants to hear, but a part of me thinks it falls on deaf ears in the United States because we have rights that protects us from this kind of thing. However, in countries that aren’t fully developed, the citizens don’t share the same luxury we do. There are constant protests going on… Read more »