AFRICA

Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | Military top brass from across Africa on Monday kicked off a conference co-hosted by the United States aimed at boosting cooperation between countries fighting extremist groups. The African Land Forces Summit brings together “land force chiefs from across Africa for candid dialogue” to improve security, …

Monrovia, Liberia | AFP | With one Liberian newspaper facing a $1.8 million defamation case and a BBC journalist fleeing the country, there has been no honeymoon period for the press under the new government of President George Weah. Accused of wanting to muzzle the media, the former footballer-turned-politician has …

6666, United States | AFP | President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria will meet Donald Trump in Washington on April 30 to discuss issues including “fighting terrorism” and economic growth, the White House announced Sunday. “President Trump looks forward to discussing ways to enhance our strategic partnership and advance our shared …

Jerusalem, Undefined | AFP | Israel on Sunday began freeing 207 African migrants from prison following a supreme court ruling after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu controversially reversed a deal with the UN refugee agency on the detainees’ fate. By early evening, a spokeswoman for the immigration authority told AFP, about …

THE LAST WORD: Why our continent needs to rethink her overenthusiastic attitude towards foreign direct investment THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | Last month, Rwanda hosted the African Union’s summit on the Continent Free Trade Area (CFTA). The discussions were as inspiring as they were frustrating. Leaders from government …

Lusaka, Zambia | AFP | International lenders and markets are growing increasingly concerned about “hidden debt” in Zambia, a situation similar to the one that plunged neighbouring Mozambique into a deep financial crisis. For several weeks financiers have demanded answers about the level of the country’s true external borrowing — …

Lome, Togo | AFP | Guinea-Bissau’s President Jose Mario Vaz has nominated another new prime minister, the West African bloc said on Saturday, after talks aimed at ending years of political crisis. The Economic Community of West African States said Vaz had nominated Aristide Gomes as “prime minister of consensus” …

Bangui, Central African Republic | AFP | The UN mission in the Central African Republic said Saturday it had launched a probe after the arrest of a peacekeeper suspected of trafficking arms in the perennially restive nation. “A MINUSCA blue helmet in civilian clothes was arrested in Bangui on Friday …

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 …