AFRICA

S.African court slaps down bid to leave ICC Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | A South African court on Wednesday ordered the government to withdraw its “unconstitutional” bid to pull out of the International Criminal Court, in a boost to the embattled Hague-based institution. The decision was a blow to …

Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, the world’s oldest national ruler, turned 93 on Tuesday, using a long and occasionally rambling interview to vow to remain in power despite growing signs of frailty. He celebrated with his staff in a private ceremony in Harare as supporters and …

Abuja, Nigeria | AFP |  Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari needs “further rest” so will extend his month-long medical stay in London, but there is “no cause” for worry over his health, his office said Tuesday. “During his normal annual checkup, tests showed he needed a longer period of rest, necessitating …

Representatives of the 10-member states of the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) converge in Dar-es-Salaam on Wednesday to celebrate 18 years of cooperation. Since February 22 1999, NBI has focused on activities aimed at assisting Member States to achieve their development objectives through Nile Cooperation. “That day, in 1999, marked a …

Juba, South Sudan | AFP | South Sudan on Monday declared famine in some parts of the country, with more than three years of war leaving nearly five million hungry in what aid groups called a “man-made” tragedy. Isaiah Chol Aruai, chairman of South Sudan’s National Bureau of Statistics, said …

Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | The Democratic Republic of Congo’s government, under pressure to act after months of violence in the south, on Sunday vowed to move away from a solely military solution. Interior Minister Emmanuel Ramazani Shadari told reporters: “The state is envisaging political, traditional and humanitarian solutions …

Singaporeans are training teachers, planning towns and impacting the lives of communities in Rwanda, as profiled in the documentary `Finding Singapore’ By Desmond Ng Singaporean Chong Fook Yen watched in horror as the student took a piece of wood, clamped it tight and tried his hardest to saw it – …

Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | Global financial support for humanitarian work in conflict-riven Sudan is expected to drop this year despite improved aid access and the easing of US sanctions, the top UN aid official in the country said. “Sudan is taking some very positive steps which are recognised, and… …

Bakau, Gambia | AFP | Thousands celebrated Saturday as new Gambian President Adama Barrow retook his oath of office, a month after he was sworn in across the border in neighbouring Senegal during a tense power struggle. February 18 is also the anniversary of The Gambia’s independence from Britain, but …

Mogadishu, Somalia | AFP | At least 14 people were killed on Sunday when a car packed with explosives blew up near a busy intersection in Mogadishu, officials and witnesses said. “We have counted about 14 people killed and more than 30 others wounded… the area was a busy intersection …