RABAT, Morocco — Pope Francis called Saturday to mend the “great and deep wound” opened by the migration crisis, as he spoke during a visit to Morocco which has become the chief destination for sub-Saharan African migrants seeking to reach Europe. “We do not want our response to be one of indifference and silence,” Francis said to about 80 migrants… Read more »
Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who has not been seen since he was deposed as Sudan’s president last week, has been moved to a prison in the capital where he once confined those who challenged his nearly 30-year rule, according to two former advisers. The throngs of Sudanese protesters who forced the ouster of Mr. al-Bashir last Thursday have demanded that he be arrested… Read more »
WASHINGTON — After denying allegations last month that United States airstrikes had killed civilians in Somalia, the American military said on Friday that an April 2018 attack left two people dead. The announcement comes after Gen. Thomas D. Waldhauser, the head of Africa Command, ordered a review of all airstrikes conducted in Somalia since 2017. The internal assessment was prompted… Read more »
PHOLA, South Africa — President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa assumed power promising a “new dawn.” But just over a year later, he can’t keep the nation’s lights on. A month before a national election, the worst rolling blackouts in years are regularly plunging South Africans into the dark. With annoying frequency, warnings of “load-shedding” pop up on cellphones, referring… Read more »
A car bomb exploded on Thursday near a hotel and restaurant in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, killing at least 15 people, rescue services said, in a strike on a busy area that has been targeted by Islamist militants in the past. The explosion sent a huge cloud of smoke into the sky and destroyed two restaurants and cars parked in… Read more »
Cholera cases in Mozambique among survivors of a devastating cyclone have shot up to at least 139, officials said Friday, as nearly 1 million vaccine doses were rushed to the region and health workers desperately tried to improvise treatment space for victims. Cholera causes acute diarrhea, is spread by contaminated food and water and can kill within hours if not… Read more »
Tens of thousands of protesters in Algeria turned out Friday to demonstrate against the government’s latest attempt to pull the country out of its political impasse, clearly signaling popular rejection of a compromise offer by the Army this week. The demonstration, the sixth in a row, appeared to reinforce the deadlock: protesters have dismissed the proposal from the country’s most… Read more »
Algeria’s ailing president, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, agreed Monday to step down by the end of the month, yielding to weeks of mass demonstrations demanding his ouster. The initial reaction in Algeria was muted, and it was unclear whether the announcement would quell the protests, which have been calling for not only Mr. Bouteflika’s resignation but the end of “the system” he led. With… Read more »
A high-ranking politician in South Africa’s governing African National Congress was arrested in connection with the assassination of a party member who had exposed corruption in a public works project, officials said Monday. Mluleki Ndobe, one of the most influential A.N.C. power brokers in KwaZulu-Natal Province, was arrested early Sunday for suspected involvement in the mafia-style killing of a nationally known party… Read more »