AFRICA

Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari’s 100-day-long overseas medical trip is stoking tensions in the country, as calls grow for him to either return or resign. Buhari, a northern Muslim, has been in London since May 7 to receive treatment for an undisclosed ailment, appointing Vice President Yemi …

S.Africa police decline to reveal if Grace Mugabe has fled Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP |  South African police Wednesday said they knew the whereabouts of Zimbabwe’s first lady Grace Mugabe, who faces accusations of assault, but declined to say if she had fled the country. The 52-year-old wife of …

Bogota, Colombia | AFP | Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos declared the country’s 50-year conflict with FARC guerrillas “truly over” Tuesday, as the last truckloads of decommissioned weapons rolled away to be melted down. Santos himself shut a padlock on the last lot of decommissioned rifles before it was taken out …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Five police officers were killed Tuesday when their patrol was ambushed by suspected Shabaab Islamists in eastern Kenya, police said, the latest in a string of similar attacks in the area. The attack occurred in Ijara, in the county of Garissa, and led to a firefight …

  Lusaka, Zambia | AFP | Zambian opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema was released from prison Wednesday and treason charges against him were dropped, his party said shortly before his trial was to begin in Lusaka. “Hakainde Hichilema and his 5 co-accused have been released from prison with the treason charge dropped,” …

Freetown, Sierra Leone | AFP | Sierra Leone’s president appealed Tuesday for urgent help for the flood-hit capital of Freetown, where more than 300 people are feared dead, as rescue workers continued a grim search for bodies after one of the worst natural disasters to hit the country. The Red Cross …

Lusaka, Zambia | AFP | Zambian opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema is set to stand trial for treason on Wednesday in a case that threatens to rock a country known for its relative stability. Hichilema, leader of the United Party for National Development (UPND), has been in custody since April over …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP |  Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga is expected to unveil his next move Wednesday to contest a presidential poll he claims was rigged in favour of President Uhuru Kenyatta. The 72-year-old cried foul shortly after vote counting began in last Tuesday’s election, sparking deadly protests in …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Kenya is to launch a bid to host the athletics world championships in 2023 after successfully staging two other international competitions in the last 10 years. No African nation has ever staged the sport’s flagship event, but Kenyan sports minister Hassan Wario said Kenya had shown …

UPDATE: Grace Mugabe accused of assaulting model in S. African hotel Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP |  Zimbabwe’s first lady Grace Mugabe was under investigation by South African police Tuesday after she allegedly used an extension cord to assault a model in a Johannesburg hotel. The alleged attack threatened to …