AFRICA

Arusha, Tanzania | JUMUIYA| The 18th Ordinary East African Community (EAC) Heads of State Summit has been set for May 20, 2017, in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.Top on the agenda is the consideration of EU-EAC Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) and Sustainable Financing Mechanism for the Community. The Summit will also consider …

Midrand, SOUTH AFRICA: African legislators have kick-started the process of developing legislation on policing in Africa. Titled, “The Draft Model Police Act”, the proposed legislation addresses issues of governance, human rights and justice. It also spells out the role, functions, powers and duties of a police officer including appointment, promotion, …

Abuja, Nigeria | AFP |  The claims read like the plot of a best-selling thriller, with secretive arms dealers and a corruption-riddled government fighting jihadists. The weapons deal collapses in acrimony but instead of a shoot-out, the embittered parties fight it out in court. In this real life saga, Ara …

Oslo, Norway | AFP |  A British-Norwegian dual citizen who was serving a life sentence for murder and espionage in a Congolose prison was released and returned to Norway on Wednesday, authorities said. Joshua French, 35, was sentenced to life in prison in 2013 for the murder of his cellmate …

Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP |  Rebels from an outlawed political-religious group attacked Kinshasa’s central prison on Wednesday, breaking out their leader and about 50 other prisoners, the Congolese government said. “Followers of the Bundu Dia Kongo (BDK) attacked Makala prison at dawn and broke out around 50 prisoners including …

Mogadishu, Somalia | AFP |  At least three members of the Somali security forces were killed Wednesday as they tried to defuse a bomb inside a vehicle in the capital Mogadishu, police said. “The vehicle was seized and the security forces were trying to defuse the bomb inside when it …

Abuja, Nigeria | AFP |  Nigerian troops have been told not to get involved in politics, the army said Tuesday, in a warning likely to resonate given the country’s history of coups and with the president currently abroad and ailing. Army spokesman Sani Usman said the Chief of Army Staff, …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP |  At least four people died on Tuesday when their vehicle set off an improvised explosive device in a small Kenyan town near the border with Somalia, police said. The blast was the second in two days to hit border towns after suspected Shabaab militants attacked …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP |  South Africa’s highest court weighed Monday whether lawmakers can cast secret ballots in a no-confidence vote in President Jacob Zuma, who faces growing criticism within the ruling ANC. Several hundred protesters marched to the Constitutional Court in Johannesburg in the latest demonstrations against Zuma, …

Banjul, Gambia | AFP |  The Gambia’s president swore in six new judges to top courts Monday, with Gambians dominating the list in a country that long relied on foreign justices under the former regime. Courts were long seen as a tool used by The Gambia’s ex-leader Yahya Jammeh to …