Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | Lagos, Nigeria’s thriving economic capital, was on lockdown Thursday for President Muhammadu Buhari’s first official visit to the city as campaigning for next year’s presidential polls heats up. In front of the cameras, it was all smiles between Buhari and Bola Tinubu, a political grandee …
Read More »Kenya court fines minister, police chief in new showdown
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | A Kenyan court fined the interior minister and police chief Thursday after they defied orders to produce an opposition politician in court, who was instead deported for the second time in two months. A prominent but unelected politician with the National Super Alliance (NASA), Miguna Miguna …
Read More »A bridge so far: China’s controversial megaproject
Hong Kong, China | AFP | Touted as an engineering wonder, the world’s longest sea bridge, which connects Hong Kong, Macau and mainland China, includes a snaking road crossing and an underwater tunnel and reportedly uses enough steel to build 60 Eiffel Towers. Nine years after construction began on the 55-kilometre …
Read More »Liberia struggles with past as UN peacekeepers exit
Monrovia, Liberia | AFP | As UN peacekeepers leave Liberia after 14 years, headway in reforming the security forces is being undermined by lack of progress in tackling the country’s traumatic legacy of war crimes, officials say. Liberia’s 1989-2003 conflict killed around a quarter of a million people, while government forces …
Read More »Botswana president steps down with 57-date ‘farewell tour’
Serowe, Botswana | AFP | President Ian Khama of Botswana this week wrapped up a national “farewell tour” before he stands down on Saturday in a power transfer designed to stress his statesmanship and the country’s stability. Khama has visited all of Botswana’s 57 constituencies since December, bidding a long goodbye …
Read More »Kenya expels opposition firebrand Miguna Miguna, again
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | An outspoken member of the opposition alliance was Wednesday expelled from Kenya for the second time in two months, his lawyer told AFP. Miguna Miguna, a firebrand member of the National Super Alliance (NASA) coalition, was forced onto an international flight to Canada last month. …
Read More »Trump says ‘good chance’ Kim will give up nukes
Washington, United States | AFP | US President Donald Trump, who has agreed to meet with Kim Jong Un, said Wednesday there is a now a good chance the North Korean leader will give up his country’s nuclear weapons. “For years and through many administrations, everyone said that peace and …
Read More »Mozambique makes ‘big strides’ in long-stalled talks
Maputo, Mozambique | AFP | Mozambique’s three main political parties agreed Tuesday to go ahead with constitutional reforms that will decentralise power as part of efforts to consolidate peace between the government and former rebels. “We have made significant strides,” said Margarida Talapa of the ruling Frelimo party after it …
Read More »UN strengthens role of DR Congo mission in elections
United Nations, United States | AFP | The UN Security Council on Tuesday tasked its huge peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo with helping to prepare elections meant to end President Joseph Kabila’s rule. The council unanimously adopted a resolution presented by France that renews the mandate for …
Read More »Ethiopia’s ruling party picks ethnic Oromo, Abiy Ahmed, as PM
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | AFP | Ethiopia’s ruling coalition on Tuesday elected as leader Abiy Ahmed, from the country’s largest ethnic group the Oromo, paving the way for him to become prime minister, state media reported. As the leader of the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), Abiy is set …
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