AFRICA

Bukavu, DR Congo | AFP | A notorious DR Congo militia chief whose men have been accused of systematic rapes has been arrested, the army said on Friday. Isaac Chirambiza was seized on Tuesday with three of his men in a military operation in South Kivu province, regional spokesman Captain …

Cairo, Egypt | AFP | An Egyptian court has sentenced a 25-year-old woman to three years in prison for “sexually harassing” a monkey in the country’s north, state daily Al-Ahram reported Friday. A court in Mansoura city charged Basma Ahmed with “inciting debauchery” and “committing an obscene act in public”, …

Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | Sudanese police fired tear gas at hundreds of worshippers who staged demonstrations after Friday prayers in several cities, including Khartoum, as opposition groups urged more anti-government protests. Angry crowds have taken to the streets in Khartoum and other cities since December 19 after a government …

Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | Key dates in the post-independence history of the Democratic Republic of Congo, where presidential elections will be held on Sunday: – End of Belgian rule – On June 30, 1960, the Belgian Congo becomes independent. Power is shared between Joseph Kasa-Vubu, the president, and …

Paris, France | AFP | Africa’s second largest country, the Democratic Republic of Congo is rich in raw materials and minerals but cursed by deadly violence, insurgencies, graft and poverty. After repeated delays, presidential elections are due to be held on Sunday, although electoral authorities have postponed the vote until …

Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | One of the world’s powder-keg countries faces a crunch test on Sunday when Democratic Republic of Congo heads into elections marred by delays, clashes and fears of polling-day chaos. The vote crowns two years of turmoil, sharpening worries that the fragile giant of central …

Kano, Nigeria | AFP | Boko Haram sacked two military bases in northeast Nigeria overnight as the jihadist fighters battle for control of a strategic town on Lake Chad, military sources said Thursday. Jihadists from the IS-supported Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) overran a naval base and a multinational …

Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | DR Congo on Thursday told the EU to recall its envoy in retaliation for sanctions against 14 officials, including President Joseph Kabila’s champion in elections three days away. “The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo urges the European Council to proceed without fail …

Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso | AFP | Ten police officers were killed and three wounded in an ambush in northwestern Burkina Faso on Thursday, the west African country’s security ministry said. “The toll is 10 officers who have lost their lives and three wounded,” the ministry said in a statement, adding …

Bukavu, DR Congo | AFP | Thousands of people in DR Congo turned out to welcome Nobel Peace Prize laureate Denis Mukwege, the surgeon who helps women recover from the trauma of rape. “We won! We won!” sang Mamy Magasine as she improvised a celebratory rumba in a rain-soaked courtyard …