AFRICA

2106, Egypt | AFP | Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi extended for three months from Saturday a state of emergency for the fourth time since it was first declared last year, the official gazette said. A nationwide state of emergency was first imposed in April last year after two church bombings …

Soweto, South Africa | AFP | South Africa lays to rest anti-apartheid icon and Nelson Mandela’s former wife Winnie Mandela with full state honours at a stadium funeral in Soweto on Saturday. Tens of thousands of mourners burst into loud cheers as the casket carrying her remains was wheeled into …

Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | Nine people have been arrested after 15 people were killed when armed men attacked two banks and a police station in central Nigeria, police said on Friday. The gang struck in broad daylight in a busy commercial district in Offa, Kwara state, on April 6, …

1942, Angola | AFP | Angolan teachers on Friday ended a strike after reaching a deal with the government on pay and conditions, their union said. The teachers had begun the walk-out, originally planned to last for three weeks, on Monday in what was seen as President Joao Lourenco’s first …

Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | Donors gathered in Geneva Friday were expected to cough up pledges of $530 million (430 million euros) towards addressing a towering humanitarian crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the UN said. The amount was less than a quarter of the some $2.2 billion the …

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | AFP | A campaign by Arab states to block Israel’s bid for a Security Council seat has gained support weeks ahead of a scheduled UN vote, the Palestinian foreign minister said Thursday. “We are doing everything possible to convince as many countries as possible to block …

Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | As Nigeria prepares to mark the fourth anniversary of the Chibok kidnapping, UNICEF reported on Friday that over 1,000 children have been abducted by jihadists since 2013. “Since 2013, more than 1,000 children have been abducted by Boko Haram in northeastern Nigeria, including 276 girls …

Accra, Ghana | AFP | Ghana president Nana Akufo-Addo suspended two sports officials on Thursday following the arrest of 60 Ghanaians posing as journalists who tried to illegally enter Australia for the Commonwealth Games. Pius Enam Hadzide, the deputy minister for youth and sports, and Robert Sarfo Mensah, the director general …

Abidjan, Ivory Coast | AFP | A new disease infecting cassava — dubbed “Ebola for plants” — could spell a looming food crisis for Africa, researchers have warned, fearful that the emerging blight could decimate one of the continent’s most vital food crops. Africa is the world’s largest producer of …

2047, Algeria | AFP | Algerians on Thursday mourned 257 people killed in a military plane crash the day before, the country’s worst-ever aviation catastrophe, with no indication yet of the cause. President Abdelaziz Bouteflika announced three days of national mourning after the plane slammed into a field near the …