AFRICA

London, United Kingdom | AFP | Four-time African footballer of the year Yaya Toure says football authorities should be more proactive when it comes to racism. The 35-year-old former Ivory Coast great — who also starred for Barcelona and Manchester City — said football’s governing bodies only reacted once incidents had already occurred, as in …

  Algiers, Algeria | AFP | Algeria’s ailing President Abdelaziz Bouteflika will resign before his mandate expires on April 28, his office said Monday, after a succession of loyalists deserted him in the face of massive protests. The 82-year-old, who has rarely been seen in public since a 2013 stroke, …

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | AFP | In his first speech as Ethiopian prime minister last April, Abiy Ahmed called for an end to the repressive, exclusionary governance that had plunged the country into turmoil. It was a promise on which he is seen to have delivered dramatically, earning him both …

Praia, Cape Verde | AFP | The World Health Organization has estimated that disease strips hundreds of millions of dollars from Africa’s economic output, as the burden of untreated disease hugely outweighs the potential expense of healthcare. In a report published at the end of a three-day UN forum for …

United Nations, United States | AFP |  The UN Security Council agreed Friday to extend the huge peacekeeping operation in the Democratic Republic of Congo until December to allow time for a withdrawal plan to be drawn up. The council unanimously adopted a French-drafted resolution that asked Secretary-General Antonio Guterres …

Algiers, Algeria | AFP | Thousands of Algerians gathered for new anti-government protests in the capital on Friday despite moves by a succession of veteran loyalists to abandon ailing President Abdelaziz Bouteflika. Demonstrations were expected to take place across the North African country, where protests broke out more than a month …

Beira, Mozambique | AFP | The number of confirmed cholera cases in cyclone-ravaged Mozambique climbed sharply to 139 Thursday as authorities prepared to roll out a mass vaccination campaign to stem the spread of the deadly disease. “The total number of cholera cases is now 139,” government health officer Ussein Isse …

Beira, Mozambique | AFP | Disease is threatening to aggravate the already dire conditions facing millions of survivors following the powerful tropical cyclone which ravaged southern Africa 10 days ago, officials warned on Sunday. Cyclone Idai smashed into Mozambique’s coast unleashing hurricane-force wind and rain that flooded swathes of the poor …

Algiers, Algeria | AFP | Army chief Ahmed Gaid Salah, who has called for President Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s departure, has until now been a faithful supporter of the leader who made him one of Algeria’s most powerful men. Born in 1940 in the Batna region, 300 kilometres (186 miles) southeast of Algiers, …

Southern Africa leaders back Western Sahara at ‘historic’ talks Pretoria, South Africa | AFP | Several southern African leaders on Tuesday threw their support behind Western Sahara, with one calling the disputed territory the “last colony” on the African continent. Also attending is Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni. President Cyril Ramaphosa, leader …