President Sall faces double challenge as Senegal elects MPs Dakar, Senegal | AFP | Senegal holds a legislative election on Sunday following a campaign gripped by tension between the rival coalitions of President Macky Sall, his predecessor Abdoulaye Wade and Dakar’s detained mayor. The election is seen as a crucial test …

In The Independent this week: Chinese quit Museveni’s refinery deal COVER STORY: Chinese quit Museveni’s refinery deal: US$4bn project fails to get investor again THE LAST WORD Hubris of The Economist: How this British newspaper ignores Rwanda’s context in its neocolonial desire to define that country NEWS ANALYSIS Amending constitution …

Adama Barrow: how do you solve a problem like The Gambia? Banjul, Gambia | AFP |  Six months ago, businessman and political novice Adama Barrow took power in Africa’s smallest mainland country after delivering a stunning defeat against ex-leader Yahya Jammeh, who had ruled brutally for 22 years. When Barrow …

New York, United States | AFP |  Amazon founder Jeff Bezos on Thursday became the world’s richest person, as a jump in the share price of the US tech giant enabled him to overtake Microsoft founder Bill Gates, a new estimate showed. Forbes magazine said its real-time tracking of personal …

Abidjan, Ivory Coast | AFP |  Authorities in Ivory Coast have seized a record haul of three tonnes of pangolin scales worth an estimated $82,000, in what officials on Thursday called a “massacre”. Eight men of various African nationalities were apprehended overnight on Tuesday as they prepared to sell their …

Washington, United States | AFP |  If Donald Trump fires the special prosecutor investigating his team’s ties to alleged Russian meddling in the US election, it could mark “the beginning of the end” of the billionaire’s presidency, a senior Republican lawmaker warned Thursday. Senator Lindsey Graham, who briefly ran against …

Benghazi, Libya | AFP |  Authorities in eastern Libya backed by military strongman Khalifa Haftar on Thursday ordered the closure of a Sudanese consulate and the expulsion of 12 diplomats, a pro-Haftar news agency announced. It said the order to shut down the mission in Kufra, an oasis in southern …

San Francisco, United States | AFP |  Twitter shares were hammered Thursday after the company reported no gain in its user base in the past quarter, raising fresh fears about the future of the service as it loses more ground to Facebook. Twitter, which has been struggling to keep pace …

New York, United States | AFP |  Defeated Democratic White House hopeful Hillary Clinton promises to let her guard down and explain what happened in her shock electoral defeat to Donald Trump, including the mistakes she made, in a book to published in September. Publishers Simon and Schuster revealed Thursday …

Washington, United States | AFP |  The Pentagon’s top officer directed military heads Thursday not to implement any changes to current policy on transgender personnel, a day after President Donald Trump tweeted they would be banned from serving. General Joe Dunford, who is Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff, said …