AFRICA

Bani Walid, Libya | AFP | For migrants who escape torture and starvation at the hands of people traffickers, a “Safe House” in an oasis town offers a rare commodity in Libya: shelter and medical care. Bani Walid, on the edge of the desert 170 kilometres (110 miles) southeast of …

Kano, Nigeria | AFP | Nigeria’s former Arsenal striker Nwankwo Kanu led a team of African all-stars in a charity football match on Thursday, to raise money for people displaced by the Boko Haram insurgency and highlight their plight. Kanu, Senegal’s El-Hadji Diouf, Fabian McCarthy of South Africa and Cyrille …

United Nations, United States | AFP | The UN Security Council warned Thursday of “cost and consequences” for any side in South Sudan that blocks a new regional peace initiative set to open next week in Ethiopia. In a unanimous statement, the council said a high-level forum organized by the …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP |  Nelson Mandela’s family has expressed “indignation and dismay” at allegations that officials stole and misspent $22 million intended for the anti-apartheid icon’s memorial events after his death in 2013. The country’s anti-corruption watchdog last week said it had uncovered evidence that millions of dollars …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP |  Kenyan security forces raped, beat and assaulted civilians during violence in recent elections, Human Rights Watch said Thursday. “There was widespread sexual violence against women and girls, and sexual attacks on men,” HRW said, in a report titled, “They were men in uniform.” The violence, …

Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP |  Zimbabwe’s former president Robert Mugabe, 93, who was ousted from power last month, has flown to Singapore for a medical check-up, his ex-spokesman said Thursday. Mugabe and his wife Grace have not been seen in public since he was forced to resign after a military …

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | AFP | The United States on Wednesday said it was “troubled and saddened” by clashes in Ethiopia that local reports said has left at least 18 people dead. The violence was reported to be most intense in the eastern town of Chelenko, near the volatile border between …

Bukavu, DR Congo | AFP | A dozen militiamen in eastern DR Congo were jailed for life Wednesday for raping about 40 children, including a baby, in what was judged a crime against humanity. The defendants were said to belong to a militia group called “Djeshi ya Yesu” — meaning “Army …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza has launched a campaign to promote a referendum to change the constitution that could see him rule until 2034. “It’s the day you’ve been waiting for,” Nkurunziza told a crowd of thousands of farmers in the central Gitega district on Tuesday, threatening …

Washington, United States | AFP | US forces in Somalia conducted an air strike Tuesday against a bomb-laden vehicle outside Mogadishu that was deemed an “imminent threat” to the capital, officials said. The strike occurred about 65 kilometers (40 miles) southwest of Mogadishu and comes after as many as 512 people …