AFRICA

Makurdi, Nigeria | AFP | Five people have been killed in fresh clashes between farmers and nomadic herders in Benue state in central Nigeria, the epicentre of a wave of deadly violence this year over grazing land, police said Monday. “Just yesterday we had a case where two persons were …

Tshikapa, DR Congo | AFP | Of the many headaches facing the UN mission in DR Congo as its mandate comes up for renewal, few are greater than the ethnic bloodshed and brewing humanitarian crisis in the Kasai region. The sprawling diamond-rich region exploded into violence in September 2016 after …

Luanda, Angola | AFP | The son of Angola’s former president Jose Eduardo dos Santos has been charged with fraud linked to a $500 million transfer executed when he ran the country’s sovereign wealth fund, prosecutors said Monday. Jose Filomeno dos Santos is accused of “fraud, misappropriation of funds, money …

Freetown, Sierra Leone | Sierra Leone’s High Court on Monday lifted an order that had halted the country’s presidential runoff, although the electoral commission has requested a brief postponement after losing valuable time to prepare the vote. The High Court removed an injunction it imposed on Saturday to halt preparations …

Niamey, Niger | AFP | At least five civilians were killed and several others wounded in an attack by suspected Boko Haram militants in southeast Niger, near the border with Nigeria, according to local sources. “The BH (Boko Haram) came to the market place early Friday evening, they shot the …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | Disgraced former South African president Jacob Zuma could appear in court within weeks on charges of corruption, fraud and money laundering in connection with a decades-old $5 billion arms deal, reports said Sunday. Quoting sources close to the case, news websites News24 and TimeLive …

Cairo, Egypt | AFP | Egyptians headed to the polls Monday in a presidential election to choose between incumbent Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and a little-known politician who has struggled to make the case he is a serious contender. Polling stations opened at 9:00 am (0700 GMT) for the three-day vote, …

Goma, DR Congo | AFP | The EU said on Sunday it was “extremely concerned” about DR Congo after the country announced it would decline a $1.7 billion international aid package. A war of words broke out between the United Nations and DR Congo after Kinshasa said on Friday it would …

Dapchi, Nigeria | AFP | The schoolgirls kidnapped by the Boko Haram jihadist group in Dapchi, northeastern Nigeria, were reunited with their families on Sunday after spending nearly five weeks in captivity. The 105 girls, covered head to toe in burkas, arrived aboard five buses in the town of Dapchi, in …

Freetown, Sierra Leone | AFP | Sierra Leone’s opposition candidate Julius Maada Bio on Sunday accused outgoing leader Ernest Bai Koroma of attempting to derail Tuesday’s presidential run-off through the courts to keep his party in power. The High Court on Saturday ordered the National Electoral Commission (NEC) to halt …