AFRICA

Washington, United States | AFP | The US Army has punished six members of the armed forces for their roles in a 2017 mission in Niger that resulted in the ambush deaths of four Americans and four allied Nigerien troops, The New York Times reported Saturday. The ambush occurred on …

Libreville, Gabon | AFP | Gabonese opposition politician Jean Ping on Saturday repeated his claim to have won 2016 elections as President Ali Bongo Ondimba remained in hospital in Saudi Arabia. Ping has continued to describe himself as “the elected president” following his defeat by a few thousand votes in …

Bangui, Central African Republic | AFP | France will give the Central African Republic, its restive former colony, aid of 24 million euros ($27.4 million) and weapons, Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian announced on Friday. “France wishes to continue its historical partnership with the Central African Republic,” the minister told …

Banjul, Gambia | AFP | The Prince of Wales on Thursday called on The Gambia to work with Britain to promote democracy nearly two years after the small West African nation emerged from decades of authoritarian rule. Prince Charles’s arrival in The Gambia was the first royal visit since the …

Yaoundé, Cameroon | AFP | A Cameroonian anglophone separatist leader was in court Thursday, in his first public appearance since he was extradited from Nigeria in January, amid spiralling violence in English-speaking areas. Sisiku Ayuk Tabe, who wants Cameroon’s two anglophone regions to separate from the French-speaking part of the …

Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | The Democratic Republic of Congo presidency has undue influence over two bodies tasked with overseeing elections, a research group said Thursday, warning the country risked “a new cycle of conflict”. The Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) and Constitutional Court have been subject to “politicisation”, …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Thursday said the ruling ANC party had emerged from “a very dark period” under his predecessor Jacob Zuma but would bounce back to win next year’s election. Ramaphosa, who came to office in February after Zuma was ousted …

Cairo, Egypt | AFP | Egyptian authorities arrested at least 19 lawyers and rights activists on Thursday, Amnesty International said, condemning what it called an “appalling setback”. The rights group called the arrests “an alarming escalation of a crackdown on human rights workers” in Egypt. “Today’s chilling wave of arrests… …

Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa said Thursday that an Australian firm would explore for oil and gas in the nation after a study indicated deposits. Invictus Energy has in recent months reworked survey data generated in the early 1990s by US oil giant ExxonMobil, previously known …

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | AFP |  Ethiopia’s parliament on Thursday appointed the country’s first female supreme court chief, the latest post in a trend of elevating women to high offices, a top official said. Meaza Ashenafi’s appointment as president of the highest court followed Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s moves last …