NEWS

Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday said he was confident of winning a second term of office at polls next month. The 76-year-old former military ruler, from the All Progressives Congress (APC) party, is one of 73 candidates on the ballot at the February 16 poll. His main challenger is …

Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | Nigerian troops were back in a strategic town on the shores of Lake Chad, military and civilian sources said Thursday, after Boko Haram attacks forced tens of thousands to flee. Fighters from the self-styled Islamic State West Africa Province overran a naval base and another housing troops from a regional …

Accra, Ghana | AFP | Norway’s Aker Energy on Thursday said it had discovered oil in commercial quantities off Ghana, which the government welcomed as a potential boost to the economy. The oil and gas operator said exploratory drilling indicated an “estimated 450-550 million barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe)” in the Pecan field, 166 kilometres …

Beirut, Lebanon | AFP | A jihadist group dominated by Syria’s former Al-Qaeda affiliate Thursday sealed its grip on northern Idlib, the last major rebel bastion, in a deal ending days of fighting with rival factions. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) signed a ceasefire with what was left of a rival alliance that sees it confirm …

Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | A suitcase containing $150,000 in cash was stolen from ousted Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe, a court in Harare has heard, with the suspected thieves spending the money on cars, houses and farm animals. The three accused — which include Constancia Mugabe, 50, a relative of the president — appeared before …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Law Development Centre Magistrate’s Court has dismissed a case against Moses Bigirwa, a Uganda Young Democrats -UYD activist. It is alleged that Bigirwa on December, 29th, 2018 while on Top Radio said that the government had hatched a plan to assassinate Kyaddondo East …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Uganda’s Chief of the Defence Forces (CDF) Gen. David Muhoozi has said Uganda is facing eminent security threats from foreigners entering the country. General Muhoozi said the foreigners are coming into Uganda with small and light arms being used in urban crimes in the major …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Poor planning of the urban settlements in Kampala is partly to blame for the latest outbreak of cholera in the city suburbs, State Minister for Primary Health Care Joy Moriku Kaducu has said. According to Kaducu, several settlements in the suburbs of Kampala are located …

Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | Three protesters died after police broke up an anti-government demonstration in Sudan, police said Thursday, as thousands chanted support for President Omar al-Bashir at a rival rally in Khartoum. Wednesday’s competing rallies in the Sudanese capital followed a month of angry street protests over a …

Paris, France | AFP |  The runner-up in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s long-awaited presidential poll Martin Fayulu on Thursday denounced the results as an “electoral coup”. His fellow opposition candidate Felix Tshisekedi was declared the winner of the December vote by the electoral commission early Thursday morning. “These results …