by Phil HAZLEWOOD / Ola AWONIYI Agence France Presse ABUJA, Nigeria (AFP) — Nigeria’s electoral watchdog on Saturday postponed presidential and parliamentary elections for one week, just hours before polls were due to open. The two main political parties swiftly condemned the move and accused each other of orchestrating the delay as a way of manipulating the vote. Voting had been due to start at nearly 120,000 polling stations in Africa’s most populous nation at […]
Africa
Bomb hidden in corpse kills Burkina Faso army doctor
OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso (AFP) — A bomb hidden in a corpse dressed in military uniform killed an army doctor and wounded two police officers in northern Burkina Faso, a security official told AFP on Thursday. Soldiers and police were sent to inspect the male body after it was discovered abandoned on a road in the town of Djibo near the border with Mali, according to the source. The doctor “died in the explosion of […]
23 feared dead in flood at disused Zimbabwe gold mine
HARARE, Zimbabwe (AFP) — At least 23 illegal gold miners were feared dead in Zimbabwe on Thursday after water flooded two disused shafts in a mining town 145 kilometres (90 miles) south-west of the capital Harare. Rescuers were trying to use pumps to extract water in the search for survivors and bodies at the site near the town of Kadoma. “We heard from their colleagues that at least 23 people are trapped in the mine […]
Death toll now 15 after Nigeria election stampede: hospital
by Joel Olatunde AGOI Agence France Presse PORT HARCOURT, Nigeria (AFP) — Fifteen people were killed in a stampede at an election campaign rally by President Muhammadu Buhari in southern Nigeria, health officials said Wednesday. In a separate incident on the campaign trial, jihadists in the northeast of the country attacked a convoy carrying a powerful state governor, killing four people. The deaths are the latest to overshadow Saturday’s elections, in which Buhari is seeking […]
Thousands protest against job losses in South Africa
DURBAN, South Africa (AFP) — Thousands of South African workers staged nationwide demonstrations on Wednesday to protest high unemployment and government policies that they say have failed to create jobs and are deepening poverty. Workers dressed in red t-shirts, showing their loyalty to the trade union movement, gathered in the southeastern port city of Durban, Johannesburg and other locations for open-air rallies three months ahead of the country’s general election. Companies in South Africa, […]
11 injured in ‘governor convoy attack’ in Cameroon
DOUALA, Cameroon (AFP) — At least 11 people have been wounded in an attack on the convoy of the governor of the English-speaking region of southwestern Cameroon, sources said Tuesday. Armed men attacked the convoy of South West governor Bernard Okalia Bilai, who was traveling with a military escort from the regional capital Buea to Kumba, about 70 kilometers (45 miles) north. “There were eleven wounded. Several were seriously injured by bullets,” said a member […]
Powerful explosion in busy market in Somali capital: police
MOGADISHU, Somalia (AFP) — A powerful blast rocked a busy market Monday in the Somali capital, which is regularly targeted by Al-Shabaab Islamists, police said. “There was a strong explosion at the Hamarweyne market,” said police officer Ibrahim Mohamed. “We have no details for now but the area where the blast happened is a densely populated market.” Mohamed said the market was near Mogadishu’s municipality buildings. The Al-Qaeda affiliated group was largely driven out of Mogadishu […]
Mnangagwa returns to Zimbabwe after protest crackdown
HARARE, Zimbabwe (AFP) — Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa has landed back in Harare, state television said Tuesday, after cutting short a foreign tour over nationwide protests that were met with a brutal security crackdown. Police and soldiers launched a large-scale operation against suspected protestors, activists and organizers of the strike last week, which was triggered by a sharp rise in fuel prices. At least 12 people were killed and 78 treated for gunshot injuries, according […]
Zimbabwe blocks social media as crackdown intensifies
HARARE, Zimbabwe (AFP) — Zimbabwe on Friday blocked most social media as international criticism mounted of a ruthless security crackdown after anti-government protests. Police and soldiers have been accused of indiscriminately dragging people from their homes and beating them. Several hundred people have been arrested and doctors say they have treated scores of victims for serious gunshot injuries. The United Nations human rights office on Friday urged Harare to “stop the crackdown”, voicing alarm over […]
Six suspects in court over Nairobi hotel attack
NAIROBI, Kenya (AFP) — Six suspects, including a Canadian national, appeared in a Kenyan court on Friday in connection with a radical Islamist attack on a Nairobi hotel complex that left 21 dead. A magistrate granted a request from the prosecution to detain four men and one woman for 30 days while investigations continue. A sixth suspect will be held until next week. The suspects are accused of “possible involvement” in the almost 20-hour siege […]
‘Total internet shutdown’ in Zimbabwe: provider
HARARE, Zimbabwe (AFP) — Zimbabwe imposed a “total shutdown” of the internet on Friday, a major provider told customers, after protests early this week triggered a ruthless security crackdown. The internet had been partially restored after a first shutdown started on Tuesday. “We were served with another directive for total shutdown of the internet until further notice,” Econet, the country’s biggest provider, said in a text message on Friday. “Our lawyers advised we are required […]
Kenya police scour rubble as hotel attack toll jumps to 21
by François AUSSEILL and Fran BLANDY Agence France Presse NAIROBI, Kenya (AFP) — Kenyan police scoured the rubble of a Nairobi hotel complex for more victims Wednesday as the death toll from a jihadist attack jumped to 21 and mourners began to bury the dead. President Uhuru Kenyatta had earlier announced the end of a 20-hour operation at the DusitD2 complex which saw hundreds of people rescued and all five jihadists “eliminated”. The bloody assault […]