Mogadishu, Somalia | AFP | As many as 512 died in an October truck bombing in the Somali capital Mogadishu, an emergency committee investigating the terrorist atrocity has found. An earlier death toll of 358 already made the October 14 bombing the deadliest terrorist attack in Somalia’s history. No group claimed …
Read More »Nearly 1,300 Nigerians repatriated from Libya in November
Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | Nearly 1,300 Nigerian migrants were brought home from Libya in November — nearly twice as many as in the previous month, the head of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said on Friday. “1,295 Nigerians voluntarily returned from Libya in November after being stranded in …
Read More »Liberia Supreme Court begins hearing election appeal
Monrovia, Liberia | AFP | Liberia’s Supreme Court on Friday began hearings of an appeal filed by two political parties claiming fraud in the first round of the presidential election and calling for a re-run of the vote. “We remain optimistic till the final ruling is given. This is the …
Read More »S. Sudan to join Chemical Weapons Convention: watchdog
The Hague, Netherlands | AFP | South Sudan is joining the Chemical Weapons Convention outlawing the use of toxic arms, meaning only three nations have not signed on to the treaty, a global watchdog said Friday. “South Sudan has no reason to sit on the fence,” top foreign ministry official …
Read More »Europe-Africa summit aims for evacuation of 3,800 migrants risking abuse
Abidjan, Ivory Coast | AFP | Leaders at an EU-Africa summit called Thursday for the immediate evacuation of nearly 4,000 distressed African migrants in Libya under a new drive to fight slave traders and traffickers. Wrapping up a two-day summit in Ivory Coast’s economic capital, a top African Union (AU) official …
Read More »French NGO helps African mums shake off AIDS stigma
Paris, France | AFP | To young African migrant women seeking help at a centre outside Paris, AIDS is much more than a disease. It is social death. The women, some of whom were infected after being raped on the perilous journey across land and sea to Europe, complain …
Read More »Brazzaville: Journalists attacked meeting opposition lawyers
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | A group of plainclothes men attacked journalists in the Republic of the Congo on Thursday as they tried to attend a press conference held by the legal team of a jailed opposition figure, an AFP correspondent said. The assault took place outside the offices of …
Read More »Protesters keep up pressure on Togo president
Lome, Togo | AFP | Protesters in Togo showed no signs of relenting in their bid to oust President Faure Gnassingbe on Thursday, taking to the streets for a second day as the opposition outlined conditions for talks with the government. In Lome, the rallies — which have become a common …
Read More »Zimbabwe’s president names top military officers in new cabinet
Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Zimbabwe’s new president named his first cabinet Thursday, appointing two senior military officers to key portfolios and dropping close allies of Robert Mugabe who resigned after the armed forces took control of the country. President Emmerson Mnangagwa appointed as foreign affairs minister Sibusiso Moyo, the …
Read More »Sudan armed groups still deploy child soldiers: UN
Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | The United Nations said Wednesday that some armed groups fighting in Sudan still deploy child soldiers, but acknowledged Khartoum’s efforts to prevent child recruitment into its forces. Olof Skoog, chairman of the UN Security Council’s working group on children and armed conflict, said armed groups including …
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