AFRICA

Cairo, Egypt | AFP | Egyptians headed to the polls Monday in a presidential election to choose between incumbent Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and a little-known politician who has struggled to make the case he is a serious contender. Polling stations opened at 9:00 am (0700 GMT) for the three-day vote, …

Goma, DR Congo | AFP | The EU said on Sunday it was “extremely concerned” about DR Congo after the country announced it would decline a $1.7 billion international aid package. A war of words broke out between the United Nations and DR Congo after Kinshasa said on Friday it would …

Dapchi, Nigeria | AFP | The schoolgirls kidnapped by the Boko Haram jihadist group in Dapchi, northeastern Nigeria, were reunited with their families on Sunday after spending nearly five weeks in captivity. The 105 girls, covered head to toe in burkas, arrived aboard five buses in the town of Dapchi, in …

Freetown, Sierra Leone | AFP | Sierra Leone’s opposition candidate Julius Maada Bio on Sunday accused outgoing leader Ernest Bai Koroma of attempting to derail Tuesday’s presidential run-off through the courts to keep his party in power. The High Court on Saturday ordered the National Electoral Commission (NEC) to halt …

Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Zimbabwean police are investigating former ruler Robert Mugabe’s wife Grace, accused of smuggling ivory worth millions to underground foreign markets, a state-owned weekly reported Sunday. The Sunday Mail said investigators from the parks and wildlife authority handed documents to police showing that the former first …

  Entebbe, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT |  Uganda and Rwanda have agreed to investigate recent incidents that have reportedly soured relations between the two countries. President Yoweri Museven told a press conference that Sunday’s talks were positive. “We have discussed many things ranging from Infrastructure, transportation, economy and security, and …

Kananga, DR Congo | AFP | A war of words has broken out between the United Nations and the DR Congo government which is shunning a donor conference in Geneva to raise $1.7 billion to tackle a humanitarian crisis that Kinshasa says has been vastly exaggerated by aid workers. Prime …

N’Djamena, Chad | AFP | A Chadian soldier and 20 Boko Haram members were killed in a clash in the restive Lake Chad region near Nigeria, a Chadian military officer told AFP Saturday. The incident occurred on Friday on an islet named Tchoukou Hadje, the officer said, adding that five …

Bunia, DR Congo | AFP | Six civilians were killed in attacks in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo where violence has claimed at least 130 lives since December, a local official said Saturday. Since late last year, scores of people have been killed in a flareup of clashes involving the …

Cairo, Egypt | AFP | Egyptians will choose their next president in elections starting Monday, with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi expected to easily secure a second four-year term. Some 60 million people in Egypt, the most populated Arab country, are registered to vote in three days of polling on March 26, …