Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | A human-rights lawyer representing English-speaking Cameroonian separatists said Thursday the group had been arrested by Nigeria’s secret service and were being held “illegally”, calling on the government to probe their disappearance. Femi Falana said Sisiku Ayuk Tabe, the president of the anglophone separatist movement in …
Read More »Gabon parliament votes to change constitution, gives Bongo more power
Gabon president defends constitutional change after parliament gives okay Libreville, Gabon | AFP | Gabonese President Ali Bongo on Wednesday defended a plan to change the constitution after the fiercely-contested draft cleared a key hurdle. Parliament on Wednesday approved a raft of changes that the opposition has slammed as a …
Read More »Son of Angola’s ex-president sacked from national investment fund
Luanda, Angola | AFP | Angolan President Joao Lourenco removed the son of his predecessor Jose Eduardo dos Santos from the top job at the oil-rich country’s sovereign wealth fund, the presidency said on Wednesday. Jose Filomeno dos Santos, who was implicated in the “Panama Papers” offshore scandal, will be …
Read More »Kenyatta heads to South Africa to meet Zuma, Ramaphosa
Nairobi, Kenya | THE INDEPENDENT | President Uhuru Kenyatta is in South Africa where he will meet President Jacob Zuma and later Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, before attending celebrations on Saturday to mark the 106th anniversary of the ruling African National Congress (ANC). Kenyatta left Thursday for talks in the afternoon …
Read More »Fresh row as EU monitors issue critical Kenya poll report
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | European Union election monitors said Wednesday that Kenya’s flawed presidential poll had “weakened” the country’s democracy in a critical report that triggered an angry government response. President Uhuru Kenyatta won a second term in an October rerun after his initial victory was nullified by the Supreme …
Read More »Chad shelves bid to cut civil service salaries
N’Djamena, Chad | AFP | The cash-strapped central African nation of Chad has suspended a plan to reduce the salaries of its civil servants, Prime Minister Albert Pahimi Padacke announced on Wednesday. The plan, announced earlier this month, aims to ease the strains on a budget badly hit by a nearly …
Read More »S.Africa’s ANC faces Zuma exit options as party seeks to rebuild
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | South Africa’s ruling ANC party met behind closed doors Wednesday as pressure grew on President Jacob Zuma to step down ahead of elections next year when the party risks losing power. Zuma was replaced as party leader by his deputy Cyril Ramaphosa in December, and …
Read More »UN political chief pushes for 2018 elections in Libya
Tripoli, Libya | AFP | The UN’s political chief pushed Wednesday in Libya for the country to hold credible elections this year in a bid to ensure a peaceful shift from a failed unity deal. “The goal is a Libyan goal to end the transition phase with inclusive peaceful process that …
Read More »Ethiopia bans foreign adoptions
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | AFP | Ethiopia’s parliament has passed a law banning the adoption of Ethiopian children by foreigners, a government spokesman and diplomats told AFP on Wednesday. The vote follows an April moratorium on foreign adoptions issued by Ethiopia’s government which led to the suspension of dozens of cases, …
Read More »Toll from Boko Haram attacks falls in Niger: UN
Niamey, Niger | AFP | A total of 141 civilians in Niger were killed, kidnapped or wounded by the Boko Haram jihadist group last year, a sharp fall compared with 2016, the UN said on Wednesday. The toll in 2016 was 227 after 214 in 2015, the Office for the Coordination …
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