AFRICA

Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | Sudanese security agents on Wednesday brought home from Libya seven Sudanese women who they said were members of the jihadist Islamic State group. The seven women, dressed in traditional Sudanese clothes and wearing headscarves, were shown to journalists at Khartoum airport where they were welcomed …

Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | Lassa fever has killed 142 people in Nigeria since the start of the year, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) said on Thursday, reporting a rise of 32 fatalities in a month. “Since the onset of the 2018 outbreak, there have been 142 deaths,” …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | Former South African president Jacob Zuma is to appear in court Friday on 16 corruption charges over a suspect arms deal that dogged much of his rule before he was ousted in February. Zuma will attend the brief preliminary hearing at the Durban High …

Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | Residents queued for hours outside fuel stations in Khartoum on Wednesday as an acute shortage of petrol and diesel hit the Sudanese capital. The drop in supplies came on top of rising food and electricity prices that led to sporadic anti-government protests in January. Long queues …

Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | The UN’s high commissioner for refugees, Filippo Grandi, on Wednesday launched a key visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) ahead of efforts to drum up nearly $1.7 billion (1.38 billion euros) in aid for the troubled country. Grandi will meet with senior officials, …

  Freetown, Sierra Leone | AFP | Sierra Leone’s opposition challenger Julius Maada Bio secured his first term in office as a civilian Wednesday when he was declared the winner of a controversial presidential run-off — but his opponent vowed to contest the result. Bio, a former soldier who briefly …

Freetown, Sierra Leone | AFP | Sierra Leone’s opposition challenger Julius Maada Bio secured his first term in office as a civilian Wednesday when he was declared the winner of a controversial presidential run-off. Bio, a former soldier who briefly led a military junta more than two decades ago, won …

Douala, Cameroon | AFP | Twelve European tourists have been freed after being taken hostage in western Cameroon, where anglophone militants are campaigning for an independent state, the government said on Wednesday. The group of seven Swiss and five Italians “were taken hostage by a band of armed terrorists” in …

Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | The Nigerian central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee will hold its first meeting this year on Wednesday after a political standoff between the executive and the senate prevented a quorum for months. Experts predict that the committee will hold rates at a record high of 14 …

United Nations, United States | AFP | A peacekeeper was killed and 11 others wounded when a UN base was attacked early Tuesday in the Republic, triggering heavy fighting that also left 22 fighters dead. The anti-balaka mostly Christian militia launched the dawn attack on the temporary UN base in …