Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | Four countries in southern Africa on Monday took steps against m imports made at a factory found to be the origin of the world’s worst-ever listeria outbreak. Mozambique and Namibia announced they were immediately suspending imports of the products. Botswana said it was recalling …
Read More »Eni and Shell trial over Nigeria kickbacks postponed
Milan, Italy | AFP | A trial for oil giants Eni and Shell over bribery and corruption allegations in the purchase of an offshore oilfield in Nigeria was delayed for two months on Monday. The trial had been set to start in a Milan court, but the judge said that, …
Read More »At least 10 die in Nigeria farmer-herder clashes: police
Kano, Nigeria | AFP | At least 10 people were killed in several days of violence between herdsmen and farmers in eastern Nigeria, police said on Monday, but the cattle drivers gave a higher toll. Clashes broke out in a number of remote herding villages in the Mambilla district of …
Read More »Ethiopians strike over state of emergency
Burayu, Ethiopia | AFP | Businesses closed in Ethiopia’s capital and its largest region on Monday to protest a state of emergency declared after the prime minister’s resignation last month. Shops were shut and roads deserted in parts of the capital Addis Ababa and in towns in the surrounding Oromia …
Read More »Shifting fortunes for main parties as S. Leone votes
Freetown, Sierra Leone | AFP | Sierra Leone holds a general election on Wednesday with uncertainty over the impact of new movements vying to break the stranglehold of two parties which have ruled since independence from Britain in 1961. President Ernest Bai Koroma is stepping down after a decade and …
Read More »Soldier killed in Senegal’s troubled Casamance region
Dakar, Senegal | AFP | A Senegalese soldier was killed Sunday and another wounded in a military operation targeting “criminal activities” by rebels in the country’s southern Casamance region, the army said. Also during the operation “two rebels were taken prisoner… three fields of Indian hemp were destroyed,” and “weapons of …
Read More »Eni and Shell go on trial over Nigeria kickback scandal
Milan, Italy | AFP | Oil giants Eni and Shell go on trial in Milan on Monday, charged with bribery and corruption in the purchase of an offshore oilfield in Nigeria. Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi, his predecessor Paolo Scaroni and several officials from Eni and Shell are among those facing …
Read More »Mass rally in Niger to back 2018 budget
Niamey, Niger | AFP | Tens of thousands of supporters of Nigerien President Mahamadou Issoufou marched in the capital Niamey on Sunday after a number of opposition protests against the 2018 budget, which they say favours big business. Wearing t-shirts and brandishing banners in the colours of the ruling party, …
Read More »Sierra Leone leader defends presidential candidate, record
Kambia, Sierra Leone | AFP | Sierra Leone’s outgoing leader has defended the presidential candidate widely seen as his handpicked successor on amid accusations of personal interference, and hit out at opponents of an election day vehicle ban. The West African nation goes to the polls on Wednesday to choose …
Read More »Four soldiers, 10 jihadists killed in Egypt Sinai campaign
Cairo, Egypt | AFP | Egypt’s military said on Sunday four soldiers and 10 jihadists were killed in a military operation in Sinai against Islamic State group jihadists. The deaths raise military casualties to at least 16 dead, along with more than 100 jihadists, since the start of the operation …
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