AFRICA

Malakal, South Sudan | UNICEF | The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said 15,000 children remain separated from their families or missing, five years after conflict first broke out in South Sudan. UNICEF said more than four million people have been uprooted by the fighting in the country, the majority of …

Cairo, Egypt | AFP | Egypt on Thursday officially signalled its willingness to take over from Cameroon as hosts of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, a day before the deadline for candidates. “The Egyptian football federation (EFA) declares its candidacy to host the 2019 African Nations Cup which is …

Washington, United States | AFP |  The United States will seek an end to UN peacekeeping missions in Africa that do not bring long-term peace, national security advisor John Bolton said Thursday. “We will only back effective and efficient operations, and we will seek to streamline, reconfigure or terminate missions …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The first-ever Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF) to be held on the continent opened on Dec.02  in Cairo, Egypt, with the President of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), Prof. Benedict Oramah, calling for the implementation of initiatives that will add meaning to that African Continental Free …

Mogadishu, Somalia | THE INDEPENDENT | –  A cadet training school occupied by African Union troops for the last 11 years, will soon be handed over to the Somali National Army (SNA). Jaalle Siyaad Military Academy in the Somali capital Mogadishu, served as a key operations base for the African …

Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP |  Nearly 80 percent of the materials for staging the December 23 election in DR Congo’s capital, Kinshasa, were destroyed when an election warehouse was torched overnight, officials said Thursday. The blaze ripped through a large warehouse in central Kinshasa in the early hours of …

Bamako, Mali | AFP | Several dozen civilians have been shot dead by gunmen who raided an area in northeastern Mali near the border with Niger, local officials and a Touareg self-defence group told AFP Thursday. The attack, which took place early Wednesday, occurred in an area which has been …

Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | The main challenger to President Muhammadu Buhari in next year’s presidential poll has signed a deal committing to peaceful elections a day after missing the initial ceremony in the capital. “Earlier today, I appended my signature to the Peace Accord,” Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | Former South African president Jacob Zuma must pay back state funds and cover his own costs, a court ruled Thursday, leaving him facing massive legal bills as he fights graft charges. Zuma, who was ousted in February over multiple graft scandals, could be liable …

Accra, Ghana | AFP | A statue of Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi has been removed from Ghana’s most prestigious university after complaints that he was racist against black Africans. India’s former president Pranab Mukherjee unveiled the statue to the global peace icon at the University of Ghana in Accra …