AFRICA

Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Zimbabwe was plunged into grief Thursday following the death of veteran opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, roundly praised as a hero, champion of democracy and symbol of resistance who will be hard to replace. The former trade union stalwart who posed the most formidable challenge to …

  Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | AFP | Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn resigned Thursday after long-running political turmoil, an unprecedented move in the vast East African country. The decision by Hailemariam, in power since 2012, comes after months of escalating anti-government protests and signs of growing splits within the country’s ruling …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | Senegalese singer Baaba Maal is quitting his role as global ambassador for Oxfam over the British charity’s handling of sexual misconduct allegations concerning its staff, the BBC reported. “What has happened on a human level is disgusting and heart-breaking,” he told BBC Newsnight late …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | South African President Jacob Zuma has resigned from office with immediate effect, ending a controversial and turbulent period in the country’s political history. Zuma, 75, has been in power since 2009 and faced numerous allegations of corruption. Here are five of his biggest scandals: …

Cape Town, South Africa | AFP |  South Africa’s new president, Cyril Ramaphosa, on Thursday used his first speech in office to vow to fight government corruption, in a direct reference to accusations levelled against his predecessor Jacob Zuma. “Issues to do with corruption, issues of how we can straighten …

Cape Town, South Africa | AFP |  South Africa’s parliament will elect Cyril Ramaphosa as the country’s new president on Thursday, the ruling ANC party said, after Jacob Zuma resigned in a late-night television address. The African National Congress (ANC), which has a large majority in parliament, said it would …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Separatist campaigners on the East African island of Zanzibar have appealed to a regional court to challenge the legality of its union with mainland Tanzania, they said Thursday. Rashid Salum Adiy, head of the Zanzibar Rights of Freedom and Autonomy (Zarfa) organisation, a group not …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | The normally calm and often jovial Jacob Zuma is a former herdboy who fought in the anti-apartheid struggle and clung on to the presidency for as long as he could, despite a string of scandals. Now aged 75, he survived by building a network …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | South Africa readied to welcome wealthy former businessman Cyril Ramaphosa as its new president Thursday after scandal-tainted Jacob Zuma resigned under intense pressure from his own party. Zuma announced he had stepped down in a late-night television address in which he took some digs …

Tripoli, Libya | AFP | At least 19 migrants were killed on Wednesday and more than 100 injured when the truck transporting them crashed in Libya, a hospital said. Over 300 migrants, mostly Eritrean and Somali nationals, were on board the vehicle which overturned near the town of Bani Walid. …