Chad’s junta-appointed prime minister announced Sunday that he would contest presidential elections set for May 6, just days after incumbent General Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno announced his own candidacy.Succes Masra, a former opposition leader, returned from exile and signed a reconciliation deal with Deby Itno before becoming premier this year.The opposition says Masra’s candidacy is a …

Junta-nominated Chad PM says to run for presidentSun, 10 Mar 2024 17:35:10 GMT Read More »

South Africa’s opposition Inkatha Freedom Party gathered a huge crowd of supporters for the spectacular launch of its general election campaign Sunday, filling a stadium in the heartland of its Zulu base.The Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban was packed to hear party leader Velenkosini Hlabisa unveil the IFP manifesto, but the impressive show of force …

Inkatha launches South Africa vote campaign in Zulu heartlandSun, 10 Mar 2024 17:25:47 GMT Read More »

Students were just about to settle into their classes after singing Nigeria’s national anthem when the gunshots rang out. Then chaos erupted.It was around 8:00 am on Thursday when dozens of gunmen dressed in military uniforms rode on motorbikes into the school grounds in Kuriga, a quiet agrarian village 100km outside the northwestern Nigerian city …

Gunshots, then chaos before Nigeria students’ kidnappingSun, 10 Mar 2024 09:26:06 GMT Read More »

Campaigning got underway in a festive atmosphere on Saturday for Senegal’s March 24 presidential election, after weeks of turmoil caused by its delay, as one of the leading contenders met voters.Khalifa Sall, a former mayor of Dakar, toured different neighbourhoods of the capital in the evening, greeting several hundreds of his supporters.”I am delighted after …

Contenders launch campaigns for Senegal’s delayed presidential pollSat, 09 Mar 2024 21:05:48 GMT Read More »

Campaigning got underway Saturday for Senegal’s March 24 presidential election, after weeks of turmoil caused by its delay, as one of the leading contenders met voters.Khalifa Sall, a former mayor of Dakar, toured different neighbourhoods of the capital in the evening, greeting several hundreds of his supporters.Of the 19 presidential candidates, he is seen as …

Campaigning starts for Senegal’s March 24 presidential voteSat, 09 Mar 2024 19:53:20 GMT Read More »

Rwanda’s ruling party on Saturday picked President Paul Kagame as its candidate for the July election, teeing up a contest widely expected to return the longtime leader to office for a fourth seven-year term.The 66-year-old has ruled over the landlocked African nation for decades, winning the presidency in elections in 2003, 2010 and 2017 — …

Rwandan ruling party picks Kagame as presidential candidateSat, 09 Mar 2024 19:22:30 GMT Read More »

After Yegebal Ayalew immigrated with her son from Ethiopia to Israel in 2012, she watched him thrive in their new home only to lose him in Hamas’s October 7 attack.Now, as she mourns the slain 21-year-old soldier she tearfully described as “respectful to all”, she has just one wish for Israeli authorities: that they facilitate …

Ethiopian-Israelis tout ‘sacrifice’ in Gaza warSat, 09 Mar 2024 15:18:08 GMT Read More »

The holy fasting month of Ramadan begins early next week in Nigeria, with the worst economic crisis in a generation leaving many in Africa’s most populous Muslim country struggling to buy food.With food inflation at around 35 percent, worshippers taking part in Friday prayers at the central mosque in Lagos told AFP they were barely …

Soaring food prices dampen Ramadan spirits in NigeriaSat, 09 Mar 2024 11:51:55 GMT Read More »

Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Friday sent troops to rescue more than 250 pupils kidnapped by gunmen from a school in the country’s northwest in one of the largest mass abductions in three years.The Kaduna state attack was the second mass kidnapping in a week in Africa’s most populous country, where heavily armed criminal …

Nigeria sends troops to rescue more than 250 kidnapped studentsSat, 09 Mar 2024 05:31:40 GMT Read More »

Tunisians are bracing themselves for more subdued celebrations during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan as an economic crisis grips the North African country.In past years “you wouldn’t have been able to set foot in the market because it was so crowded”, vegetable merchant Mohamed Doryi told AFP.”That’s not the case today,” said the 69-year-old, who …

Tunisian economic crisis mutes build-up to RamadanSat, 09 Mar 2024 02:31:08 GMT Read More »