AFRICA

Tripoli, Libya | AFP | Between 90 and 100 migrants were missing after their makeshift boat sank in the Mediterranean off the coast of Libya, the country’s navy said late Tuesday. The inflatable boat was carrying more than 100 people when it went down, according to navy spokesman Ayoub Kacem, who …

Lusaka, Zambia | AFP | The start of Zambia’s school year has been postponed and all public gatherings banned to contain a cholera outbreak that has killed 61 people, officials said Tuesday. Church services were cancelled on Sunday and a night-time curfew has been imposed to limit movement in Lusaka’s densely-populated …

Kano, Nigeria | AFP | Four west African states have launched a major offensive against the Boko Haram jihadist group in Nigeria, the military said on Tuesday. Soldiers from Nigeria and the neighbouring countries of Cameroon, Chad and Niger are targeting a Boko Haram faction led by Abubakar Shekau in the …

FEATURE | Alice Aterianus-Owanga |  In Gabon as in other African states, rap has become instrumental in constructing political identity. On August 17, Gabon celebrated 57 years of independence with a massive free concert in the capital, Libreville. The aim: to promote national unity in a festive fashion. An impressive …

Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | DR Congo’s electoral body trumpeted on Tuesday the arrival of the first voting machines from South Korea for long-delayed elections that the government has pledged to hold in December. The vote is supposed to bring about the belated departure of President Joseph Kabila, in power …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | South Africa’s graft-tainted president Jacob Zuma on Tuesday announced a probe into corruption at the highest levels of the state after parliament indicated it would this week deliberate procedures for impeachment. Corruption allegations have tarnished Zuma’s image as well as eroded his support base and …

Luanda, Angola | AFP |  Angolan President Joao Lourenco on Monday denied “any tension” with his long-serving predecessor Jose Eduardo dos Santos, many of whose relatives and friends he has sacked from public office in a fight against corruption in the oil-rich southern African nation. In November, within three months …

Khartoum, Sudan | AFP |  Hundreds of Sudanese students from the University of Khartoum threw stones at anti-riot police Monday on a third day of protests against soaring bread prices, an AFP correspondent reported. Bread prices more than doubled last week as flour manufacturers raised prices on dwindling wheat supplies …

Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP |  Zimbabwean anti-corruption investigators said Monday they are probing whether former first lady Grace Mugabe fraudulently obtained a doctorate that she apparently received within months and the dissertation for which remains unpublished. Grace, whose apparent desire to succeed her 93-year-old husband prompted the army takeover that …

Cairo, Egypt | AFP | Egyptians will head to the polls on March 26-28 in the first round of a presidential election, National Elections Authority chief Lasheen Ibrahim said on Monday. A second round will be held on April 24-26 if required, he told a news conference in Cairo. Ibrahim …