AFRICA

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP |  South Africa’s defiant opposition leader Julius Malema made a fresh push on Monday for the seizure of white-owned land by blacks, despite charges against him over similar calls. Just after appearing in court over land grab claims he made in June, Malema again urged …

Is FDLR splitting? The recent arrest of a top Rwandan rebel commander in the DR Congo has once again sparked speculation that the FDLR could be on the verge of imploding internally. Habyarimana Mucebo Sofuni, a senior member of the Rwandan FDLR rebel group, was captured in Rutshuru, north-eastern DR …

Algiers, Algeria | AFP |  Algeria’s state energy company Sonatrach on Sunday awarded the China Petroleum Engineering and Construction Corporation (CPECC) a 380-million-euro ($420-million) contract to renovate its Algiers refinery. CPECC, which is affiliated to the China National Petroleum Corporation, will rehabilitate the refinery after Sonatrach severed an initial deal …

Khartoum, Sudan | AFP |  Sudanese security agents seized all copies of three newspapers Sunday, a journalists’ association said, just days after they covered a fuel price hike in reports seen as critical of the government. Members of the powerful National Intelligence and Security Service, or NISS, took copies of …

Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | Nigeria has released a spokesman for former president Goodluck Jonathan held for allegedly diverting money meant to fight Boko Haram Islamists, an anti-graft official said Sunday. Reuben Abati was arrested and held for questioning by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) since October 24 …

Sofia, Bulgaria | AFP |  Five Bulgarian nurses jailed for eight years in Libya over an HIV epidemic at a children’s hospital welcomed on Saturday media reports accusing Kadhafi-era spies of deliberately infecting the infants. The five nurses, who along with a Palestinian doctor, became known as the “Benghazi six” …

Paris, France | AFP | A French soldier deployed in a counter-terrorism force in Mali died overnight from injuries sustained in a mine blast, the defence ministry said Saturday. The jihadist group Ansar Dine, which has ties to Al-Qaeda, claimed the attack on social media, saying it took place some …

Kano, Nigeria | AFP | Saturday Nigerian troops on Saturday rescued another of the missing Chibok schoolgirls seized by Boko Haram Islamists, in an operation near the border with Cameroon, a spokesman said. The girl, found along with her baby son, was one of the more than 200 schoolgirls taken …

Banjul, Gambia | AFP |  The Gambia’s first ever female presidential candidate has withdrawn from the race and will endorse the single opposition candidate challenging President Yahya Jammeh, she said Saturday. In a statement sent to AFP, Isatou Touray said she was dropping out of the contest “so as to …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | South Africa’s embattled President Jacob Zuma put on a brave face Saturday at his first public appearance since the release of fresh evidence of alleged corruption at the top of the ANC government. “I have spent a lot of time in jail. I am …