AFRICA

Rabat, Morocco | AFP |  A public television station in Morocco has apologised after uproar on social media followed its broadcast of an item on makeup to hide the facial bruises of battered women. The sequence — marking last week’s International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women — …

Kampala, Uganda | AFP | The death toll has risen to 62 from weekend clashes in a traditional kingdom in western Uganda, which pitted security forces against royal guards accused of belonging to a separatist militia, police said Monday. The streets of the western town of Kasese were empty a …

Antananarivo, Madagascar | AFP |  Controversial moves to extend Congolese President Laurent Kabila’s stay in power appeared to advance Sunday as a close ally said elections would not be held until April 2018, 16 months after Kabila was due to leave office. Foreign Minister Raymond Tshibanda also warned that the …

Algiers, Algeria | AFP |  Volkswagen on Sunday signed a deal with its Algerian sales partner Sovac for the construction of a vehicle assembly plant in the North African country, officials told a news conference. Under the deal, worth $170 million (160 million euros), the plant will produce its first …

Three S.African ministers call for Zuma to resign Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | At least three South African ministers have called for President Jacob Zuma to resign, local media reported Monday, in the most serious challenge to his leadership since he took power in 2009. The News24 news agency, …

Khartoum, Sudan | AFP |  Sudan’s ruling party on Sunday criticised opposition groups over their strike call, as many public transport buses stayed off Khartoum streets and shops remained shut in a mixed response to the call. The three-day strike call was to protest a government decision to hike fuel …

Warri, Nigeria | AFP |  Nigerian militants on Sunday blew up a state-run pipeline in the restive oil producing south, in the latest act of sabotage aimed against the strategic sector, a local official said. “The pipeline popularly known as the Abura line was bombed at about 7:30 am on …

Goma, DR Congo | AFP | At least 34 civilians were killed Sunday in a flare up of ethnic violence in restive eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, authorities said, following a week of soaring tensions. “The provisional toll is 34 civilians killed,” said local official Joy Bokele, referring to an …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | Southern African leaders paid glowing tributes to the late revolutionary icon Fidel Castro, but if one country will forever be heavily indebted to his leadership of Cuba, it is Angola. Castro sent tens of thousands of troops when oil-giant Angola became embroiled in a …

Lagos, Nigeria | AFP |  It’s not Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari’s fault that Nigeria’s economy is inextricably tied to the global price of oil, now half of its 2014 peak of over $100 per barrel. But the president’s response to the economic crisis has a growing number of people concerned …