Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari returned home on Saturday after spending more than 100 days in London receiving treatment for an undisclosed illness. His plane touched down around 4:35 pm (1535 GMT) at the international airport in Abuja, an AFP correspondent said. Wearing a black caftan …
Read More »Here are Africa’s longest-serving leaders
Luanda, Angola | AFP | Angolan President Jose Eduardo Dos Santos, in power since 1979, will not contest Wednesday’s general election, meaning he will soon lose his place as Africa’s second longest-serving leader. The continent is home to many men who have held office for two decades or more, and …
Read More »DOS SANTOS: Angola’s secretive leader heads towards exit
Luanda, Angola | AFP | When Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos steps down and his successor is chosen in Wednesday’s elections, it will bring to an end a 38-year reign dominated by his unrelenting authoritarian style. Though seldom seen in public, he has been a looming presence in daily …
Read More »Angola vote marks new era as Dos Santos ends 38-year reign
Luanda, Angola | AFP | Angola goes to the polls Wednesday in a historic election marking the end of President Jose Eduardo Dos Santos’s 38-year reign, with his party set to retain power despite the country’s economic crisis. The MPLA (People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola), which has …
Read More »South Africa online rhino horn auction delayed by two days
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | A controversial online auction of rhino horn set to open Monday has been delayed by two days after a legal challenge delayed the South African permit for the sale, the organisers announced. Outraged conservationists say the three-day auctoin could undermine the global ban on rhino …
Read More »BBC Pidgin takes to the airwaves in Nigeria
Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | Imagine a language without an alphabet, held together without grammar or spelling, which changes every day but is nonetheless spoken and understood by more than 75 million Nigerians. So how would a global mega-broadcaster like the BBC go about reaching this vast, young and un-tapped audience? …
Read More »South Africa gives go-ahead to rhino horn auction
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | A South African court on Sunday gave the go-ahead for an online auction of rhino horns that has outraged conservationists. South African authorities had moved to ban the three-day auction which they feared would undermine the global ban on rhino trade, refusing to issue a …
Read More »Thirteen dead in fresh C. Africa clashes
Bangui, Central African Republic | AFP | Thirteen people have been killed in a town in Central African Republic, a local doctor said Sunday, as the toll from sectarian violence that has sparked fears of genocide continued to rise. The clashes took place in Bria, in the centre of the country …
Read More »BUHARI: Some comments on social media have crossed the red line
Abuja, Nigeria | THE INDEPENDENT | In his first address since his return from treatment abroad, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has warned about divisive comments on social media. “Nigerians are robust and lively in discussing their affairs, but I was distressed to notice that some of the comments, especially in …
Read More »Mugabe’s deputy returns from S.Africa ‘after food poisoning treatment’
Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Zimbabwe’s vice president has returned home from neighbouring South Africa where he was flown for emergency medical care for suspected food poisoning, a privately-owned newspaper reported Sunday. Emmerson Mnangagwa, 74, who is seen as a favourite to succeed President Robert Mugabe, fell ill at a rally …
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