UN chief seeks to streamline troubled Mali peacekeeping missionTue, 13 Jun 2023 14:39:54 GMT

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called Tuesday for maintaining but streamlining a peacekeeping mission in troubled Mali, whose military leaders have clashed with the West and turned to Russia.In a report to the Security Council, which will vote June 29 on extending one of the most dangerous UN missions, Guterres called for a “reconfiguration” of the …

UN chief seeks to streamline troubled Mali peacekeeping missionTue, 13 Jun 2023 14:39:54 GMT Read More »

John Fru Ndi, long-term opponent to Cameroon’s Biya, dead at 81Tue, 13 Jun 2023 10:11:27 GMT

John Fru Ndi, a long-time opponent of autocratic Cameroonian President Paul Biya, has died aged 81 after a long illness, his party said on Tuesday.The leader and founder of the Social Democratic Front (SDF), the main opposition party in parliament, died shortly before midnight on Monday, it said.Fru Ndi challenged Biya, who has ruled the …

John Fru Ndi, long-term opponent to Cameroon’s Biya, dead at 81Tue, 13 Jun 2023 10:11:27 GMT Read More »

South Africa in the spotlight over terror fundingTue, 13 Jun 2023 07:33:45 GMT

South Africa has never been touched by Islamist attacks. Its three-decade-old democracy is solid, and its financial system is respected.Yet experts say the continent’s most industrialised nation is now a nerve centre for jihadist financing in Africa. “South Africa is open hunting ground,” Pretoria-based counter-terrorism expert Jasmine Opperman told AFP. Islamist financiers gather money in the country …

South Africa in the spotlight over terror fundingTue, 13 Jun 2023 07:33:45 GMT Read More »

Minnows Central African Republic share spotlight with giants MoroccoTue, 13 Jun 2023 07:07:25 GMT

Star-stacked Morocco and minnows Central African Republic (C.A.R.) are 111 places apart in the world rankings, but they will share the Africa Cup of Nations matchday five qualifying limelight this week. While Morocco visit South Africa for a first competitive outing since their 2022 World Cup heroics, C.A.R. hope to beat Angola and reach the African …

Minnows Central African Republic share spotlight with giants MoroccoTue, 13 Jun 2023 07:07:25 GMT Read More »

Up in smoke: S.Africa destroys 20 mn smuggled cigarettesMon, 12 Jun 2023 18:26:23 GMT

South Africa, which is battling a scourge of cigarettes trafficking, on Monday began incinerating 20 million illicit cigarettes smuggled into the country through its border with neighbouring Zimbabwe.The South African Revenue Service (SARS) said that the contraband of 20 million cigarettes, valued at more than $2.3 million, and smuggled into the country between February and …

Up in smoke: S.Africa destroys 20 mn smuggled cigarettesMon, 12 Jun 2023 18:26:23 GMT Read More »

46, including children, killed in ‘vile attack’ in east DR CongoMon, 12 Jun 2023 16:44:21 GMT

At least 46 people, half of them children, were killed in a militia attack on a camp for displaced people in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where civilians are suffering increasing violence.A militia group involved in numerous brutal ethnic killings in the area attacked the camp in northeastern Ituri province overnight Sunday to Monday, Richard …

46, including children, killed in ‘vile attack’ in east DR CongoMon, 12 Jun 2023 16:44:21 GMT Read More »

Air force chief appointed chairman of Ethiopian AirlinesMon, 12 Jun 2023 16:39:50 GMT

Ethiopia has appointed the head of the country’s air force, Lieutenant General Yilma Merdassa, as chairman of national carrier Ethiopian Airlines, the company announced on Monday.While commander of Ethiopia’s air force, Yilma served on the company’s board of directors “for the last two and half years,” before assuming his new role on June 8, the …

Air force chief appointed chairman of Ethiopian AirlinesMon, 12 Jun 2023 16:39:50 GMT Read More »

Nigeria’s president urges patience after fuel subsidy upheavalMon, 12 Jun 2023 09:31:03 GMT

Nigeria’s new president Bola Tinubu on Monday urged Nigerians to accept more sacrifice in return for later investments after his government ended a long-standing fuel subsidy in a measure that has spiked petrol, transport and food prices.Elected in February in a highly contested vote, Tinubu in his first day in office last month called for …

Nigeria’s president urges patience after fuel subsidy upheavalMon, 12 Jun 2023 09:31:03 GMT Read More »

Dogs die as South Africa snake antivenom shortage bitesMon, 12 Jun 2023 06:50:19 GMT

Zarza, a much-loved Staffordshire terrier, ended up at a South African animal hospital with a bite from a Mozambique spitting cobra on her snout. The snake’s powerful venom can stop the breathing muscles from working, but normally the bites are treatable with an antidote.The problem, say South African veterinarians, is that they currently have virtually no vials …

Dogs die as South Africa snake antivenom shortage bitesMon, 12 Jun 2023 06:50:19 GMT Read More »

Bodies and burial as Sudan fighting resumes after brief truceMon, 12 Jun 2023 00:07:45 GMT

Mourners gathered to bury the dead and bodies lay in a Khartoum hospital Sunday as deadly shelling and gunfire resumed after the end of a 24-hour ceasefire in Sudan.Fighting has raged in the northeast African country since mid-April, when army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid …

Bodies and burial as Sudan fighting resumes after brief truceMon, 12 Jun 2023 00:07:45 GMT Read More »