AFRICA

Bogota, Colombia | AFP | Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos declared the country’s 50-year conflict with FARC guerrillas “truly over” Tuesday, as the last truckloads of decommissioned weapons rolled away to be melted down. Santos himself shut a padlock on the last lot of decommissioned rifles before it was taken out …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Five police officers were killed Tuesday when their patrol was ambushed by suspected Shabaab Islamists in eastern Kenya, police said, the latest in a string of similar attacks in the area. The attack occurred in Ijara, in the county of Garissa, and led to a firefight …

  Lusaka, Zambia | AFP | Zambian opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema was released from prison Wednesday and treason charges against him were dropped, his party said shortly before his trial was to begin in Lusaka. “Hakainde Hichilema and his 5 co-accused have been released from prison with the treason charge dropped,” …

Freetown, Sierra Leone | AFP | Sierra Leone’s president appealed Tuesday for urgent help for the flood-hit capital of Freetown, where more than 300 people are feared dead, as rescue workers continued a grim search for bodies after one of the worst natural disasters to hit the country. The Red Cross …

Lusaka, Zambia | AFP | Zambian opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema is set to stand trial for treason on Wednesday in a case that threatens to rock a country known for its relative stability. Hichilema, leader of the United Party for National Development (UPND), has been in custody since April over …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP |  Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga is expected to unveil his next move Wednesday to contest a presidential poll he claims was rigged in favour of President Uhuru Kenyatta. The 72-year-old cried foul shortly after vote counting began in last Tuesday’s election, sparking deadly protests in …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Kenya is to launch a bid to host the athletics world championships in 2023 after successfully staging two other international competitions in the last 10 years. No African nation has ever staged the sport’s flagship event, but Kenyan sports minister Hassan Wario said Kenya had shown …

UPDATE: Grace Mugabe accused of assaulting model in S. African hotel Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP |  Zimbabwe’s first lady Grace Mugabe was under investigation by South African police Tuesday after she allegedly used an extension cord to assault a model in a Johannesburg hotel. The alleged attack threatened to …

UPDATE: Kenya’s Odinga delays ‘complex’ decision on vote dispute Nairobi, Kenya | AFP |  Kenya’s opposition leader Raila Odinga is expected to announce his strategy Wednesday for contesting his election loss, having further delayed a decision that could defuse or exacerbate tensions in the country. The 72-year-old insists he is …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP |  The Kenyan government has moved to shut down two rights organisations, one of which said Tuesday that it was contemplating court action over last week’s disputed presidential election. Kenyan Human Rights Commission (KHRC) board member Maina Kiai said it was “no secret” the organisation had …