AFRICA

Libreville, Gabon | AFP |  abon’s election commission (Cenap) on Wednesday approved President Ali Bongo’s re-election over challenger Jean Ping, several members said. The official announcement is to be made by the interior minister in a nationwide television address to be broadcast shortly. Bongo, 57, was running for a second …

Libreville, Gabon | AFP |  Tensions ran high as Gabon’s presidential vote entered a final stretch Wednesday, with the nation awaiting official results in an election both the incumbent Ali Bongo and his main rival claimed to have won. The oil-rich country’s interior minister is due to announce the official …

Unexpected outcomes from Burundi’s trade ban on Rwanda Burundi’s July decision to ban exports to its northern neighbor, Rwanda, is brewing trouble for both economies; the question is whether the embattled leadership in Bujumbura can afford to pay that price. The export restrictions on Rwanda were imposed in July by Burundian …

Libreville, Gabon | AFP |    Security forces deployed on the deserted streets of Libreville Tuesday as Gabon awaited official results of the weekend presidential election that both the incumbent Ali Bongo and his main rival already claim to have won. The interior minister said he would announce official results …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP |  Sixty South Sudanese soldiers have been tried before a court martial for alleged crimes committed during last month’s fighting in the capital Juba, the army spokesman said Monday. Brigadier-General Lul Ruai Koang told AFP they include looting, murder, shooting and loitering with at least two …

Libreville, Gabon | AFP |  Gabon’s President Ali Bongo said Sunday that he is “calmly” waiting for the result of the country’s presidential election to be published, after his rival Jean Ping claimed victory following Saturday’s vote. “We respect the law… so we are waiting calmly for Cenap (the national …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Japan will pour $30 billion of investments into Africa by 2018, including $10 billion in infrastructure development, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Saturday at a summit in Nairobi. Abe is using the conference to meet dozens of leaders from across Africa, among them Kenya’s President …

Nairobi, KENYA | PPU The 6th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) has opened in Nairobi, Kenya with a call by the Japanese Prime Minister Chinzo Abe for Africa to be given a permanent slot on the United Nations Security Council. Speaking at the opening ceremony at the Kenyatta International Conference …

Khartoum, Sudan | AFP |  South Sudan’s former rebel leader Riek Machar has been discharged from hospital in Khartoum after being treated for a swollen leg, his aides told AFP on Friday. Machar was replaced by Taban Deng Gai as South Sudan’s first vice president after hundreds of people died …

Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP |    Riot police in Zimbabwe fired tear gas, beat up protesters and blocked off the site of an opposition rally in Harare on Friday, the latest in a string of demonstrations to hit the country. The rally — which was authorised by a court — …