AFRICA

Makurdi, Nigeria | AFP | Two priests were among at least 18 people killed in a dawn attack on a church in central Nigeria, police said Tuesday, in violence condemned by President Muhammadu Buhari as “satanic”. Around 30 suspected herdsmen attacked Mbalom community in the volatile region killing the worshippers …

Cairo, Egypt | AFP | Three soldiers and 30 jihadists have been killed in the past week in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula where the military is battling the Islamic State group, the army said Wednesday. Around 200 jihadists and at least 33 government troops have now been killed since the launch …

AFRICAN ARGUMENTS | Emmanuel Freudenthal | On the podium for the World’s Longest-Serving President, Paul Biya currently holds the silver medal. At an impressive 35-plus years in office, the Cameroonian leader’s ability to keep hold of power over the decades has been remarkable – perhaps all the more so because of how little …

AFRICAN ARGUMENTS | Mohammed Girma | At the end of Zagwe dynasty around the 14th century, medieval Ethiopia was in disarray. Provincial warlords were battling for supremacy and the nation was on the brink of disintegrating. Ethiopia was at threat of breaking itself apart through internal fighting as its standing in the world diminished. …

Jerusalem, Undefined | AFP |  Israel announced on Tuesday it had abandoned plans to expel African migrants who entered the Jewish state illegally, after failing to find a country willing to host them. The plan had targeted some 42,000 migrants of Eritrean and Sudanese origin currently living in Israel. Government …

Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | DR Congo’s opposition was on Tuesday set to hold an authorised mass rally for the first time in nearly two years to mark the 28th anniversary of multi-party politics in the country, as tensions grow over veteran President Joseph Kabila’s refusal to quit despite the …

Paris, France | AFP | South Africa is set for a steep decline in wine production in 2018 as the country grapples with a water crisis ravaging Cape Town and surrounding areas, a Paris-based global organisation said Tuesday. Africa’s top wine producer is set to produce 8.6 million hectolitres of wine …

Mangochi, Malawi | AFP | Malawi’s former president Joyce Banda will arrive home this week after four years of self-imposed exile that saw an arrest warrant issued against her for alleged corruption, her party said on Monday. Nowa Chimpeni, a spokesman for Banda’s People’s Party (PP) told local media she …

Antananarivo, Madagascar | AFP | Hundreds of Madagascan opposition supporters returned to the streets on Monday to protest against the president and a deadly crackdown by security forces on an anti-government demonstration. Two people were killed and at least 16 people wounded at protests in the capital Antananarivo on Saturday that …

Paris, France | AFP | Detained Egyptian photojournalist Mahmoud Abu Zeid, widely known as Shawkan, will be awarded UNESCO’s World Press Freedom Prize, the United Nations’ cultural body said Monday. Shawkan was arrested in August 2013 as he covered deadly clashes in Cairo between security forces and supporters of ousted …