AFRICA

Bunia, DR Congo | AFP | A first group of around 600 people who fled deadly violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo in early February returned to their homes in the northeast on Tuesday, authorities said. They returned voluntarily, said Laurent Chelo, secretary general of the social affairs ministry. …

Niamey, Niger | AFP | More than five million children were vaccinated against polio in Niger last month, the UN said Tuesday, adding that the number was higher than the target. The drive was broadened to include children in refugee camps whose parents had fled the Boko Haram insurgency in …

Kano, Nigeria | AFP | Nigeria is facing calls to establish how many of the missing Chibok schoolgirls are still alive, after claims that nearly 100 of them may have lost their lives in captivity. Parents of the missing girls and supporters gathered in the small town in remote northeast …

Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | A photograph of a man with an assault rifle in front of cattle is frequently used to illustrate Nigerian media stories about bloody clashes between farmers and herders. Another shows men armed with machetes on the rampage. The issue with both is they have nothing …

Johannesburg, South Africa | South African officials on Monday raided a Johannesburg property belonging to the Guptas, a wealthy business family at the heart of graft allegations against former president Jacob Zuma. The Hawks police investigative unit and the tax service descended on the Guptas’ heavily protected compound in the …

Tripoli, Libya | AFP | The number of migrants detained in Libya has dropped by four-fifths since May 2017, a senior government official told AFP on Monday. General Mohammad Bishr, head of a government department set up to tackle clandestine migration, said the number of migrants held by authorities had …

Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | The Democratic Republic of Congo on Monday sacked more than 250 magistrates who did not have a law degree or were accused of corruption. President Joseph Kabila has “sanctioned more than 200 individuals who do not fulfil the conditions to function as magistrates,” Justice …

Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Zimbabwe will attend a Commonwealth summit this week in London as an observer, an official said Monday, underlining the country’s international re-engagement since President Robert Mugabe’s fall. Mugabe angrily pulled Zimbabwe out of the Commonwealth bloc in 2003 after its membership was suspended over violent …

Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | Military top brass from across Africa on Monday kicked off a conference co-hosted by the United States aimed at boosting cooperation between countries fighting extremist groups. The African Land Forces Summit brings together “land force chiefs from across Africa for candid dialogue” to improve security, …

Monrovia, Liberia | AFP | With one Liberian newspaper facing a $1.8 million defamation case and a BBC journalist fleeing the country, there has been no honeymoon period for the press under the new government of President George Weah. Accused of wanting to muzzle the media, the former footballer-turned-politician has …