Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | A top US official Friday called on Sudan to stop demolitions of “mosques and churches” as alleged by campaign groups, insisting that Washington will push for human rights and religious freedom in the country. US Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan also said that how …
Read More »Mnangagwa: Zimbabwe’s ‘Comeback Crocodile’?
Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Emmerson Mnangagwa appeared well-placed to reprise his leading role in Zimbabwe after returning to the country in the wake of the army’s takeover, prompted by his sacking by President Robert Mugabe. Nicknamed “Ngwena” (The Crocodile) because of his fearsome power and ruthlessness, the 75-year-old has …
Read More »Four dead in UK air crash
London, United Kingdom | AFP | Four people were killed Friday when an aircraft and a helicopter collided in Buckinghamshire, south England, local police said. Two people were killed in each aircraft, which came down in woods near Waddesdon Estate, near Aylesbury, according to Thames Valley Police said. Police chief …
Read More »Three dead as clashes mark Kenyan opposition leader’s return
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Three people were shot dead Friday in Nairobi, an AFP reporter saw, as police dispersed thousands of opposition supporters welcoming home their leader Raila Odinga from an overseas trip. The three men, all with bullet wounds in the upper body, were seen lying on the …
Read More »Odinga’s return ruined by Police with tear gas
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Opposition leader Raila Odinga returned to Kenya on Friday only to have his welcome party in Nairobi broken up by police firing tear gas at his convoy and supporters, an AFP reporter saw. Odinga won an unprecedented court victory overturning the result of the August …
Read More »Calls for anti-Mugabe street protests on Saturday
Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | The leader of Zimbabwe’s war veterans association, an influential voice in national politics, on Friday said President Robert Mugabe must step down at once and urged people to protest against the veteran leader. Christopher Mutsvangwa told a press conference the “game was up” for Mugabe …
Read More »US to allow Zimbabwe elephant trophy imports
Washington, United States | AFP | Animal rights groups on Thursday strongly criticized President Donald Trump’s administration for allowing the import of Zimbabwean elephant hunting trophies. The move reverses a prohibition imposed under former president Barack Obama and is the latest rollback of Obama-era controls on a number of fronts. …
Read More »Pricing the priceless: the $450mn Da Vinci record
New York, United States | AFP | A triumph of marketing over aesthetics? Or the legitimate cost of owning a Da Vinci? The sale of a Renaissance portrait of Jesus Christ for nearly half a billion dollars has stunned the art world. Its quality and condition are debated and isolated …
Read More »Mugabe makes first public appearance since army takeover
Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe attended a university graduation ceremony Friday, making a defiant first public appearance since the military takeover that appeared to signal the end of his 37-year reign. Mugabe, 93, had been confined to house arrest after the military took over the country. …
Read More »Zimbabwe army confirms detentions of Mugabe allies: statement
Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Zimbabwe’s military said Friday it had detained some “criminals” in President Robert Mugabe’s government after generals took power in a dispute over who would succeed the 93-year-old leader. “Significant progress has been made in our operation,” the defence forces said in a statement after vowing …
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