AFRICA

Maseru, Lesotho | AFP | Lesotho Prime Minister Thomas Thabane is expected on Friday to be charged with the murder of his estranged wife, who was gunned down two days before his inauguration in 2017, police said Thursday. The news came as Thabane announced he would step down on July …

Khartoum, Sudan | THE INDEPENDENT | The Regional Nile Day 2020 celebrations are set to take place in Khartoum on February 22. At least 500 Nile Basin citizens and friends of the Nile are expected to participate in the celebrations, according to the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) that is organising the …

Paris, France | AFP | Switching in old age from a bland, unvaried diet to a Mediterranean mix of fresh veggies, fruits and fish restores a balance of intestinal bacteria linked to good health, researchers said Tuesday. In a clinical trial with 612 volunteers aged 65 to 79 across five European …

Paris, France | AFP | The world is failing to protect children from the health dangers posed by climate change and poor diet, a landmark UN report said Wednesday, warning that every child is under “immediate threat”. According to more than 40 of the world’s pre-eminent child and adolescent health experts, …

Niamey, Niger | AFP |  Fifteen women and five children were trampled to death on Monday in a stampede for food and money for refugees in southeast Niger, a regional governor said. The accident occurred at a youth and culture centre in Diffa, the main town of a region of the …

AIT-BEN-HADDOU, Morocco | AFP |  Millions worldwide may have seen the desert fortress in the hit fantasy series “Game of Thrones”, but fewer know they can visit the Moroccan village of Ait-Ben-Haddou. The fortified old settlement at the foot of the majestic Atlas mountains enchanted audiences in the HBO series and …

Kampala, Uganda | AFP | Ugandan university student Linette Kirungi was on her way to class when she heard footsteps behind her. The next thing she felt was liquid on her face — then burning agony. She had just turned down a marriage proposal from her ex-boyfriend. He responded by throwing …

Dakar, Senegal | AFP |  Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Sunday that the United States favoured a “collective” approach with its allies when deciding on troop numbers deployed in Africa against jihadist insurgents. “We’ll get it right, we’ll get it right collectively, I’m convinced of that,” Pompeo told reporters …

Juba, South Sudan | AFP |  South Sudan rebels rejected on Sunday a peace offer by President Salva Kiir to return to a system of 10 states, paving the way for a unity government. The rejection by rebel chief Riek Machar dashes hopes of breaking a deadlock and ending a six-year …

Cape Town, South Africa | AFP |  South Africa’s announcement that it will open up electricity generation to other players, effectively breaking Eskom’s monopoly, has been welcomed by many, especially the mining industry, a key sector in Africa’s most industrialised economy. President Cyril Ramaphosa in his annual state of the nation …