AFRICA

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | Title-holder Mohamed Salah of Egypt was among 10 African stars named Friday in a Premier League-dominated short-list for the 2018 CAF Player of the Year award. The 26-year-old scored 44 goals for Liverpool in all competitions last season, his first at Anfield afer moving …

Yaoundé, Cameroon | AFP | Nearly 300 people who were arrested in connection with Cameroon’s anglophone crisis will be released on Friday, a day after being pardoned by President Paul Biya, the defence minister said. “Those benefitting from the offer of clemency granted by the head of state will be …

Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | The UN rights chief on Friday denounced violence targeting the opposition by DR Congo’s security forces, just days before a vote marred by an increasingly tense campaign. “I am deeply worried about the reports of excessive use of force, including live ammunition, by security forces …

Libreville, Gabon | AFP | The UN must conduct a “thorough investigation” into its peacekeepers’ actions in Central African Republic during a militia attack in which “up to 100 civilians were shot and burnt alive”, Amnesty International said Friday. In a new report, the London-based watchdog said troops in the …

United Nations, United States | AFP | The United States on Thursday called for “immediate and broad-based reconciliatory dialogue” in between Cameroon’s government and separatists, urging talks “without pre-conditions.” “We urge all sides to forswear violence, to restore peace, and to resolve their grievances through political dialogue,” said Jonathan Cohen, …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | The Nigerian government is taking oil giants Shell and Eni to court in London, requesting the return of $1.1 billion (969 million euros) as part of a case of alleged corruption dating back to 2011, Bloomberg reported on Thursday. Nigeria alleges that the money …

Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | Nearly 80 percent of the materials for staging the December 23 election in DR Congo’s capital, Kinshasa, were destroyed when an election warehouse was torched overnight, officials said Thursday. The blaze ripped through a large warehouse in central Kinshasa in the early hours of …

Washington, United States | AFP | The United States lashed out Thursday at “predatory” Chinese and Russian involvement in Africa as it announced a leaner footprint on the continent that insists on accountability in trade and peacekeeping. In a speech billed as unveiling a new US strategy on Africa, national …

Malakal, South Sudan | UNICEF | The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said 15,000 children remain separated from their families or missing, five years after conflict first broke out in South Sudan. UNICEF said more than four million people have been uprooted by the fighting in the country, the majority of …

Cairo, Egypt | AFP | Egypt on Thursday officially signalled its willingness to take over from Cameroon as hosts of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, a day before the deadline for candidates. “The Egyptian football federation (EFA) declares its candidacy to host the 2019 African Nations Cup which is …