AFRICA

THIS WEEK: DR Congo to go to polls next year Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Independent National Electoral Commission of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has set December 23, 2018 as the date when citizens will choose their next president. In a statement released on Nov.05, the electoral …

Lome, Togo | AFP | Togo’s President Faure Gnassingbe has accused the opposition of orchestrating violence that has killed at least 16 people in massive anti-government protests across the country. Since the first protests began in late August more than 200 others have been injured as the opposition agitates for …

Kano, Nigeria | AFP | At least three Nigerian soldiers and a militiaman were killed in a Boko Haram ambush on the edge of Sambisa forest near the border with Cameroon, military and militia sources told AFP Saturday. The ambush occurred as troops returned to base late Friday in the town …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | An outbreak of cholera in Tanzania has left 18 dead in two months, the health ministry said Saturday, warning the situation could worsen as the rainy season continues. The ministry said the outbreak had left “18 dead out of 570 cases recorded” between September 1 and …

Freetown, Sierra Leone | AFP | Sierra Leone said Saturday miners had unearthed a huge 476-carat diamond, eight months after an even more valuable find in the country’s diamond-rich east. It appears to be the 29th largest diamond ever found, according to experts, but it is unclear what the hefty stone …

  Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT & AFP | Chairperson of the East African Community (EAC) President Yoweri Museveni and visiting Tanzania President John Magufuli have urged caution before any action is taken against Burundi. On Thursday, the  International Criminal Court (ICC) revealed that its judges had given the go-ahead …

Bukavu, DR Congo | AFP | Eighteen suspected militiamen, including a provincial lawmaker, went on trial Friday in DR Congo’s chaotic east for kidnapping and raping some 40 girls. Frederic Batumike and 17 others face charges of “crimes against humanity through rape and murder … and taking part in an …

Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | Britain’s minister of state for Africa Rory Stewart met DR Congo authorities on Friday and said plans to hold long-deferred elections late next year were “achievable.” The DRC had weathered months of unrest and violence over the vote, which was delayed by President Joseph …

Bulawayo, Zimbabwe | AFP |  A Zimbabwe court on Friday released on bail four people facing charges of undermining the authority of President Robert Mugabe after his powerful wife was jeered at a rally. Three men and a woman were arrested after attending a ruling ZANU-PF party rally in the …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP |  Burundi on Friday slapped away any idea that it would help the International Criminal Court’s probe into alleged crimes committed after the country spiralled into political turmoil in 2015. “Burundi rejects this decision from the very outset,” said Justice Minister Aimee Laurentine Kanyana, a day …