DOUALA, Cameroon (AFP) — A major fire broke out at a whisky distillery in Douala, spreading to and damaging surrounding buildings, including a school.
Africa
Liberians hail Weah’s presidential victory
by Philippe SIUBERSKI Agence France Presse MONROVIA, Liberia (AFP) — Liberians and international football stars have joined together in celebrating George Weah’s presidential victory in the country’s first democratic transfer of power in decades, as the former striker vowed to usher in a period of change. Idolised in Liberia as “Mister George”, Weah is to be sworn in on January 22, replacing Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who in 2006 took the helm of the West African […]
Gunman kills 9 in Egypt church attack claimed by IS
by Samer Al-Atrush Agence France Presse CAIRO, Egypt (AFP) — A gunman opened fire on a church south of Cairo on Friday, killing at least nine people in the latest apparent jihadist attack on Egypt’s Christian minority. The Islamic State group claimed its “soldiers” carried out the attack on the Saint Mina Coptic church in the district of Helwan, just south of Cairo. Health ministry spokesman Khaled Megahed told state television that the gunman was […]
UN chief congratulates Liberia’s next president
New York, United States | AFP UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday congratulated George Weah on his victory in Liberia’s presidential election and praised the peaceful conduct of the vote. Guterres “applauds all Liberians for the successful completion of the elections process, which was conducted in a peaceful environment,” a statement from the UN chief’s spokesman said. Liberia’s election board certified Weah as the winner of the election on Friday, marking the country’s first peaceful transfer of power after […]
From stardom to politics: some precedents
PARIS, France (AFP) — Former international football star George Weah, who has won Liberia’s presidential run-off, follows several celebrities who have achieved the top job in their countries. However, only one sportsman — Hungary’s double Olympic fencing champion Pal Schmitt — has previously become president. Here are some precedents: US: Reagan and Trump B movie actor Ronald Reagan, who played in Hollywood for more than two decades, was the first cinema star to enter the […]
Innovative medical aid for Gabon’s ‘poorest of the poor’
by Hervé Bar Agence France-Presse LIBREVILLE, Gabon – “Here you’re in the heart of precarious living,” one of Gabon’s first medical responders says in Kolo Ngoum, a grubby shanty suburb of Libreville that has seen no doctors in ages. Residents initially express surprise at the arrival of an ambulance belonging to the SAMU-Social (Service for Urgent Medical Aid), but once they see stethoscopes and other common instruments, they smile with reassurance. “This is a good initiative,” says […]
Ethiopian pop star Teddy Afro delights fans; irks authorities
by Chris Stein Agence France-Presse LEGETAFO, Ethiopia (AFP) – He may be Ethiopia’s biggest pop star but Teddy Afro hasn’t held a concert in his country for years, some of his songs have been effectively banned, and the launch party for his last album was broken up by the police. But sitting in the living room of his spacious house outside the capital, Addis Ababa, the 41-year-old musician is relaxed and says he is focused on […]
Saudi-led strikes on Yemen market kills 14 civilians
ADEN, Yemen (AFP) — Saudi-led air strikes killed 14 civilians in a village market near Yemen’s battleground third city Taez as a nearly three-year bombing campaign intensified, an official and medics said on Wednesday. The Tuesday strikes also killed 11 rebel fighters and wounded 16 civilians, a local official loyal to the Saudi-backed government told AFP. The official, who asked not to be identified, said the strikes were intended as air support for a local […]
Ivorian ex-minister convicted over attack that killed 18
ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (AFP) – A former Ivorian minister was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Tuesday for complicity in a 2012 attack in western Ivory Coast that killed 18 people, including seven UN peacekeepers. Hubert Oulaye, 64, ex-public works minister under former president Laurent Gbagbo, “provided the financial means to establish a rebellion in the west” of the country, the attorney general said. “The accomplice is sometimes more dangerous than the perpetrator,” she added. […]
Vote counting begins in Liberia presidential run-off
by Philippe Siuberski and Zoom Dosso Agence France-Presse MONROVIA, Liberia (AFP) — Vote counting has begun in Liberia following a peaceful run-off election for a new president on Tuesday, pitting former international footballer George Weah against Vice-President Joseph Boakai. Voters have chosen a successor to President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who is stepping down after 12 years as Africa’s first elected female head of state. Results are expected in a few days, in what would be the West […]
Blocked from Europe, migrants settle in Morocco
by Sophie Pons Agence France-Presse RABAT, Morocco (AFP) – Unable to reach Europe in search of a better life, Aliou Ndiaye settled in Morocco instead, giving up on his original goal like thousands of other sub-Saharan African migrants. “Everyone has the right to go to another country to try their luck,” the 31-year-old former fish exporter from Senegal told AFP. “Lots of people are trying to reach Europe, but some end up staying to make a living.” […]
Liberia, scarred by war and Ebola
MONROVIA, Liberia (AFP) – Liberia, which elects a new president in a run-off on Tuesday, is an English-speaking nation in West Africa that still bears the scars of a gruesome civil war and a devastating Ebola outbreak. Here is a snapshot of the country: Oldest republic in Africa In 1822 the United States starts sending freed black slaves to a part of West Africa that eventually becomes Liberia. The new arrivals declare independence in 1847, establishing the […]
