Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Kenya’s electoral commission on Thursday postponed a re-run of the presidential vote to October 26, giving itself nine extra days to fix problems that had caused the first poll to be annulled. The decision came a day after the Supreme Court issued a detailed judgement lambasting …
Read More »Tanzania president orders wall be built around tanzanite mines
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Tanzanian President John Magufuli on Wednesday ordered the army to build a wall around the country’s tanzanite mines to prevent smuggling and better control exports of the precious gems unique to the East African country. The deep blue or royal purple stones are mined in …
Read More »Sudan’s Bashir pushes for Darfur arms collection
Nyala, Sudan | AFP | Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on Wednesday pressed on with a government campaign to collect arms from tribes in war-torn Darfur where a devastating conflict has killed thousands and displaced millions. Bashir, wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of genocide and war crimes related to …
Read More »Museveni, Boris Johnson discuss South Sudan, Burundi
Kampala, Uganda | PPU | President Yoweri Museveni has held candid talks with the United Kingdoms Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson on the situation in Somalia, South Sudan and Burundi, telling him there must be a more serious concerted effort to flush out and stop Al-Shabaab militants from Somalia and called for …
Read More »One dead, 25 injured as rival protests rock Togo
Lome, Togo | AFP | A child was killed and at least 25 people were injured Wednesday in Togo as thousands held rival demonstrations over the continued rule of President Faure Gnassingbe, the scion of Africa’s oldest political dynasty. Rival demonstrations in Lome drew thousands a day after the opposition boycotted …
Read More »US, EU slam DR Congo army for using ‘excessive force’
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | The United States and European Union on Wednesday urged Congolese security forces to refrain from using “excessive force” after soldiers fired on Burundian refugees last week, killing over 30. “The US government is dismayed by the violence and death of more than 30 Burundian nationals …
Read More »Trump says friends going to Africa to ‘get rich’
New York, United States | AFP | US President Donald Trump hailed Africa’s business potential Wednesday, telling several leaders of African nations he has many friends going there to “get rich.” At a lunch with the leaders amid the UN General Assembly, Trump mused about the vast continent’s opportunities and …
Read More »NORTH KIVU: 12 dead, 92 missing as floods hit eastern DR Congo
Goma, DR Congo | AFP | At least 12 people died and 92 were missing after heavy rains caused flooding in two villages in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, an official said Wednesday. “The provisional toll after torrential rain hit the villages of Bihambwe and Matanda in Masisi Territory is …
Read More »Nigeria warned land wars threaten national security
Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | Nigeria was warned on Tuesday that clashes between herders and farmers threatened the country’s national security, after such conflict claimed more lives last year than the Boko Haram insurgency. The International Crisis Group said some 2,500 people were killed in 2016 and tens of thousands …
Read More »Kenya court blames election commission IEBC for botched vote
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Kenya’s Supreme Court on Wednesday blamed the election commission for last month’s annulled presidential vote, rebuking officials for bungling the transmission of results and basing the outcome on dubious documents. The full ruling detailing the court’s shock decision on September 1 to annul President Uhuru Kenyatta’s …
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