Monrovia, Liberia | AFP | Liberian presidential candidates George Weah and Vice-President Joseph Boakai dominated partial tallies released by the country’s electoral commission on Thursday, but the results showed the vast majority of votes are yet to be counted. Political parties have expressed concern over polling-day hitches on Tuesday that …
Read More »Ethiopia takes over leadership of Nile Basin Initiative
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Ethiopia has assumed leadership of the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI), taking over from Uganda. Ethiopia will chair both the Nile Council of Ministers and the Nile Technical Advisory Committee of the NBI for the next one year. The new chairman of the Nile Council of …
Read More »After 46 years, S.Africa rules police murdered apartheid opponent
Pretoria, South Africa | AFP | An anti-apartheid activist who died in police custody 46 years ago did not commit suicide but was murdered by officers, a South African court said Thursday in a historic ruling for campaigners. The court called for an officer involved in covering up the circumstances of …
Read More »Five questions about Kenya’s election saga
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Two months after Kenyans lined up to vote for a president, the election is still far from over. A dramatic series of twists and turns has seen the first result annulled and a new election scheduled that opposition leader Raila Odinga is now refusing to …
Read More »Kenya bans protests in main city centres
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Kenya’s government on Thursday banned protests in main city centres, citing lawlessness during opposition rallies against the electoral commission ahead of a scheduled presidential poll re-run. The move comes as opposition leader Raila Odinga called for daily protests next week to keep up pressure on election …
Read More »S. Africa court to rule on activist’s death 46 years on
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | A South African court will rule Thursday on whether the suspicious 1971 death of an apartheid-era activist in custody was suicide, as police officers claimed, or actually a regime killing. For many, the case — the culmination of a relentless campaign by the activist’s family — …
Read More »Sudan receives first US dollar transfers since sanctions lifted
Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | Sudan’s central bank said Wednesday it had received its first overseas fund transfer in US dollars since Washington announced the lifting of a 20-year-old trade embargo against Khartoum. Washington last week announced the lifting of sanctions from this Thursday onwards, saying Khartoum had made progress on …
Read More »Several hurt in protests as Kenya election officials mull next move
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Several people were injured in protests in Kenya on Wednesday, a day after opposition leader Raila Odinga announced he would quit the presidential race, in a move that plunged the country into uncharted waters. Election officials have been locked in crisis meetings since the decision, as …
Read More »Zambia ends emergency powers imposed during crisis
Lusaka, Zambia | AFP | Zambia’s justice minister said Wednesday that emergency measures imposed at the height of a political crisis that followed the detention of an opposition leader on treason charges would not be renewed. The southern African nation was earlier this year rocked by soaring tensions that also saw …
Read More »Results delayed in vote to replace Liberia’s Sirleaf
Monrovia, Liberia | AFP | Liberia’s election results were delayed on Wednesday by hitches at a number of polling stations, with Vice President Joseph Boakai and footballer George Weah seen as the frontrunners to succeed Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. The National Elections Commission (NEC) is expected to announce the first official results …
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