AFRICA

Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka has urged Nigerians to reject President Muhammadu Buhari and his main challenger in this month’s presidential election, saying it was time for a “totally new direction.” Buhari, 76, came to power in 2015 and is seeking a second term in the February …

Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | Nigeria has filed corruption charges against two former senior government officials and close aides of President Muhammadu Buhari who were sacked for alleged graft, the country’s anti-corruption agency said on Thursday. The appointments of top civil servant Babachir Lawal and Ayo Oke, director-general of the National Intelligence Agency, were terminated …

Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | DR Congo’s government has asked its UN peacekeeping mission for help against Rwandan rebels planning operations against Rwanda from inside Congolese territory, the UN said on Wednesday. Leila Zerrougui, chief of the UN mission known as MONUSCO, said Kinshasa asked in a letter for …

Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | Sudan’s army has said it will not allow the state to collapse amid nationwide protests, as the defence minister warned of a “plot” to trigger insecurity in the African nation. Deadly protests have rocked Sudan for weeks now, with protesters calling for an end to …

Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | About 300 Sudanese professors and lecturers from the University of Khartoum held a sit-in protest on campus Wednesday against President Omar al-Bashir’s government, a spokesman for the group said. Deadly protests have rocked the east African country since December 19 after a government decision to …

  Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | One in seven Nigerians uses drugs, more than twice the global average, according to the country’s first major national drug-use survey published on Tuesday. The survey, conducted by the Nigerian government, the European Union and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime(UNODC), said an …

Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Zimbabwe’s main opposition said Tuesday a violent crackdown on civilians by the new government was worse than anything in recent years under ousted leader Robert Mugabe, accusing Harare of escalating “terrorism”. Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Nelson Chamisa said state repression had reached new levels following scenes of “terror” …

Kano, Nigeria | AFP | More than 30,000 people have fled the northeast Nigerian town of Rann and across the border to Cameroon in recent days because of fears of renewed Boko Haram attacks, the UN, civilian militia and residents said on Tuesday. The latest mass movement comes as the world body voiced renewed concern …

Moscow, Russia | AFP | Moscow on Monday said it had sent “instructors” to Sudan, where demonstrators have been protesting against President Omar al-Bashir for weeks, following reports of sightings of Russian-speaking soldiers in Khartoum. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov did not specify who the “instructors” were, but said they were in …

Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | President Omar al-Bashir vowed Monday to bring peace in the state of South Kordofan where Sudanese forces are fighting rebels, as protesters planned to hold anti-government rallies in the country’s conflict zones. Deadly protests triggered by a government decision to raise the price of bread have rocked the east African …