AFRICA

  Kigali, Rwanda | THE INDEPENDENT | Ten African countries have celebrated 20 years of cooperation that has seen $6.5 billion in investments  and over 30,000 trained to manage Nile Basin water resources. Representatives of the ten Nile Basin States that form the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) gathered in Kigali, Rwanda, …

Algiers, Algeria | AFP | Security forces arrested 41 people during angry protests that rocked Algeria’s capital against ailing President Abdelaziz Bouteflika seeking a fifth term, authorities said Saturday. Police fired teargas on Friday afternoon to block a protest march on the presidential palace, prompting demonstrators to respond with stone-throwing. The …

Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | Sudan’s main opposition party on Saturday dismissed President Omar al-Bashir’s declaration of a state of emergency, saying protesters would keep up their campaign until his three-decade rule was ended. On Friday, Bashir imposed a nationwide state of emergency and dissolved the federal and provincial governments in …

Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | Here are key dates in Sudan since Omar al-Bashir, who Friday announced a nationwide state of emergency following two months of deadly anti-government protests, came to power three decades ago. – 1989: coup – In June 1989. army brigadier Bashir seizes power in a coup backed …

Daura, Nigeria | AFP | Nigerians voted for a new president on Saturday after a week-long delay that has raised political tempers, sparked conspiracy claims and stoked fears of violence. Some 120,000 polling stations opened from 0700 GMT, although there were delays in the delivery of some materials and deployment …

Sudan’s Bashir stands firm in face of protests Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, long wanted on genocide and war crimes charges, has declared a nationwide state of emergency as he bids to stay in power despite weeks of anti-regime protest. Demonstrators first took to the streets …

Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | President Muhammadu Buhari vowed Friday on the eve of troubled elections that Nigerians would be able to vote in security, despite a week-long postponement and violence in the north of the country. In a televised address, Buhari promised “adequate security measures are in place” for the ballot. “You will be …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Kenya’s High Court on Friday postponed a much-anticipated ruling on whether to scrap colonial-era laws which criminalise homosexuality, citing a heavy case load. “The files are above my height… we are still working,” said Chacha Mwita, one of the judges, who added that one of his colleagues was on leave …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Profiles of key suspects in last month’s terror attack in Nairobi point to the worrying rise of a new generation of Kenyan jihadists, analysts say. Police are hunting Ali Salim Gichunge, the suspected mastermind of the January 15 attack on the Dusit hotel and office complex …

Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | Democratic Republic of Congo ex-president Joseph Kabila, who yielded power to Felix Tshisekedi after December elections, moved Wednesday to assert his political clout, making the leaders of his FCC coalition sign a loyalty pledge. Kabila’s Common Front For Congo remains the strongest force in parliament, …