AFRICA

Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on Wednesday pardoned 259 rebels captured in fighting with government forces, including dozens who had been sentenced to death, the presidency said. Bashir’s order came three days after a prominent insurgent group freed dozens of prisoners, mostly soldiers, it had captured in …

Cairo, Egypt | AFP | Dozens of Egyptians protested across the country on Tuesday because they were unable to get their share of subsidised bread, police said. The protests followed a supply ministry decision to limit the number of subsidised loaves bakeries can sell people who do not yet have …

  MIDRAND, SOUTH AFRICA: An armed attack Sunday night on Pan African Parliament (PAP) legislators in Midrand, South Africa, has threatened to derail deliberations, with members asking the PAP President Roger Nkodo to put aside the order of business of the day and address the security concerns. The thugs trailed …

  Banjul, Gambia | AFP |  Cliched rappers spend money on bling and cars, but Senegalese-American artist Akon is looking skywards to splash his cash, investing in solar power projects across Africa. The rapper added The Gambia and Cape Verde to his Akon Lighting Africa initiative this weekend, a fund …

Washington, United States | AFP |  President Donald Trump’s administration issued a revised immigration ban Monday that temporarily freezes US visa issuance to anyone from six mostly-Muslim countries and halts for 120 days all refugee arrivals. Here are the key points: – What’s new in the revised order? – Iraq, …

Sudan rebels free 125 prisoners captured in fighting Entebbe, Uganda | AFP | Sudanese rebels on Sunday released at least 125 prisoners they had captured in fighting with government forces, most of them soldiers, an AFP journalist said. Their release was secured thanks to mediation from Uganda, while the International …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP |  A British man has been shot dead on his ranch in central Kenya, a local official said Sunday, blaming heavily armed herders responsible for land invasions in the area. Thousands of herders — some armed with spears, others with AK47s — have invaded private ranches …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP |  South Africa’s state security minister said Sunday the government is considering a move to regulate social media in an effort to curb the proliferation of what he described as “false” information. “The false narrative in the social media, it’s one of the challenges that …

Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP |  Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe returned home Sunday from Singapore where he had flown earlier this week for a medical review, his spokesman said. Mugabe returned “this morning”, spokesman George Charamba told AFP. He had travelled to Singapore Wednesday, just days after he celebrated his 93rd …

Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | The United Nations announced aid worth $5 million (4.7 million euros) on Saturday to help people affected by the humanitarian crisis in the violence-wracked Kasai region of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The remote, central region has been plagued by violence since mid-August when …