Cairo, Egypt | AFP | Egypt’s Al-Azhar university on Sunday said it had expelled a female student after she appeared in a video hugging a male colleague, accusing her of undermining the school’s reputation. The video, which went viral earlier this month, showed a young man carrying a bouquet of …
Read More »New Gabon government announced from abroad
Libreville, Gabon | AFP | Gabon’s prime minister announced a new government in a video message recorded thousands of miles away in Morocco, where ailing Gabonese President Ali Bongo is recovering from a stroke. Recently appointed PM Julien Nkoghe Bekale gave details of the reshuffle in footage broadcast late Saturday …
Read More »Nigeria’s chief justice facing assets charges: court
Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | Nigeria’s most senior judge was on Saturday charged with failing to declare his assets, in a move the main opposition party said triggered alarm bells as elections approach next month. Chief Justice of Nigeria Walter Samuel Nkanu Onnoghen will appear before a panel of three …
Read More »Malawi vice president turns opposition candidate in election race
Lilongwe, Malawi | AFP | Malawi Vice President Saulos Chilima has launched a bitter attack on his own government ahead of elections in May, when he hopes to win power as head of a new opposition party. Chilima told AFP in an interview that he no longer speaks to President …
Read More »Tunisia sentences 41 to death over 2014 attack on army
Tunis, Tunisia | AFP | A Tunisian court has sentenced 41 jihadists to death over an attack that killed 15 soldiers on the border with Algeria in 2014, prosecutors said Saturday. The sentences for the men, only two of whom are currently in custody, were delivered in the capital Tunis …
Read More »DR Congo presidential runner-up asks court to cancel result
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | The runner-up in DR Congo’s presidential election, Martin Fayulu, has appealed to the Constitutional Court to annul the provisional result which awarded victory to his opposition rival Felix Tshisekedi, his lawyer said Saturday. The request was filed on Friday ahead of a 48-hour deadline …
Read More »Zimbabwe to re-introduce local currency within a year: minister
Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Zimbabwe will re-introduce a local currency “in less than 12 months”, after using the US dollar and regional currencies since a hyperinflation crisis a decade ago, the finance minister said in an interview published on Saturday. President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who took over from long-time ruler Robert Mugabe and won a …
Read More »Ruling ANC kicks off S.Africa election campaign with vow to restore democracy, growth
Durban, South Africa | AFP | South African President on Saturday launched the ANC’s campaign for legislative elections in May, acknowledging the party’s past mistakes and promising to restore democratic institutions and economic growth. Ramaphosa unveiled a 68-page manifesto before tens of thousands of supporters in the eastern city of Durban, marking the start of …
Read More »Many feared dead after tanker blast in Nigeria
Warri, Nigeria | AFP | Nigerian police on Saturday said many people were feared dead after a petrol tanker veered off the road, caught fire and exploded as people tried to recover fuel. The vehicle crashed in the Odukpani area of the southeastern state of Cross River, just north of the state capital, Calabar, at …
Read More »Regional powers stick with Bashir as Sudan protests mount
Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | As angry protests pile pressure on Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir to step down, key powers are standing by his regime to ensure stability in a strife-torn region, analysts say. Demonstrations that erupted in the provinces last month after the government tripled the price of bread have escalated into nationwide protests …
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