AFRICA

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania | AFP |  A black rhino believed to be the oldest in the world has died in Tanzania at the age of 57, according to authorities in Ngorongoro where the animal was living. The female rhino, named Fausta, died of what is believed to be natural …

Mogadishu, Somalia | AFP | A massive car bomb exploded in a busy area of Mogadishu on Saturday, leaving at least 79 people dead and scores injured in Somalia’s deadliest attack in two years. At least 16 of those killed were students from the capital’s private Banadir University, who had …

Juba, South Sudan | AFP | The Sudanese government and nine rebel groups on Saturday signed an agreement on a roadmap towards ending the bloody conflict in the Darfur region. The deal outlines different issues the parties will need to negotiate during the latest round of talks in Juba. “We believe …

Ekité, Cameroon | AFP |  It was a “dirty war” waged by French colonial troops but it never made headlines and even today goes untold in school history books. The brutal conflict unfolded in Cameroon, which on January 1 marks its 60th anniversary of independence — the first of 17 African …

Yaoundé, Cameroon | AFP |   Cameroon became independent in 1960, the first of 17 African countries to break free from their European colonial masters that year. Here are key dates in the country since then. – 1960: independence –  Cameroon was a German protectorate and was split between Britain and …

Yaoundé, Cameroon | AFP |  Next year will see a wave of celebrations in Africa among 17 countries that gained their independence in 1960. But in Cameroon, the first country in the jubilee line, the mood among many people is sour. The highly diverse central-western state was traditionally viewed as one …

Kigali, Rwanda | AFP |  Slum dwellers in Kigali are accusing city authorities of razing their homes without paying compensation, stirring anger among poorer Rwandans who feel marginalised by a government-led push to modernise the capital. This month, the first of thousands of homes slated for demolition in Kigali’s unplanned …

Tunis, Tunisia | AFP |  Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met his counterpart in Tunisia on Wednesday to discuss the conflict in neighbouring Libya, whose UN-recognised unity government has signed a military deal with Ankara. “We discussed ways to cooperate to reach a cease-fire in Libya and restart the political …

Tripoli, Libya | AFP |  Layla Mohammed barely had time to gather her children’s belongings before fleeing their southern Tripoli home when shelling targeted the Libyan capital’s outskirts earlier this year. For months she moved her family between apartments as soaring rents in the crowded city exhausted her savings, eventually leaving …

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | AFP |  Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki flew to Addis Ababa Wednesday for his first meeting with the Ethiopian prime minister since Abiy Ahmed won the Nobel Peace Prize for initiating a thaw between the sparring neighbours. Eritrea and Ethiopia fought a border war in 1998-2000 that left …