AFRICA

Paris, France | AFP | President Joseph Kabila and his family in the Democratic Republic of Congo have created a personal economic empire worth hundreds of millions of dollars, the Bloomberg News agency reported Thursday. “Together the Kabilas have built a network of businesses that reaches into every corner of …

Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | Authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo have ordered that social networks including Facebook and WhatsApp be blocked soon before President Joseph Kabila’s mandate expires, three internet providers said Thursday. Congo’s telecoms regulator issued an order, seen by AFP, demanding that providers cut access …

United Nations, United States | AFP |  Incoming UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday announced the appointment of Nigeria’s Environment Minister Amina Mohammed to be the UN’s number two official and tapped two other women for key leadership posts. Guterres has made gender parity a priority of his tenure which …

Foreign Affairs Minister Sam Kutesa has called for international partnerships with Uganda’s Settlement Transformation Project (2016-2021) that aims to achieve self-reliance and local settlement of refugees. The Ugandan programme, officials say, aims to promote social development in the refugee hosting areas as a durable solution to challenges related to refugees, while protecting …

Juba, South Sudan | AFP | President Salva Kiir called Wednesday for a “national dialogue” to end the three-year-long civil war in South Sudan. In a speech to parliament, Kiir, whose wrangling for power with his former deputy Riek Machar plunged the world’s newest nation into a brutal, destructive and …

Fans of Group D, which comprises Egypt, Ghana, Uganda and Mali, will have to travel by boat or plane to the centre of the country’s oil and timber industries. Libreville, Gabon | AFP | Gabon insists it is ready to host the African Cup of Nations despite concern about the …

Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari proposed Wednesday a multi-billion dollar jump in spending designed to lift the nation out of the “most challenging economic situation” in its history. He pitched his NGN 7.3 trillion budget ($23 billion) proposal for 2017 — a 20 percent boost over …

  MUGABE: Positions in the party are not jumped upon. People rise slowly Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP |  Zimbabwe’s ageing President Robert Mugabe on Wednesday criticised ruling party officials for allegedly “bickering” over positions of power and jostling to succeed him. “Positions in the party are not jumped upon. People …

UN chief urges Gambia military to end takeover of election commission United Nations, United States | AFP |  UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday condemned the military takeover of Gambia’s independent electoral commission, calling on the army and police forces to immediately leave the IEC’s offices. The seizure of …

South Africa’s Steinhoff and Shoprite to form retail giant Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP |  South African retail giants Steinhoff International and supermarket group Shoprite Holding Wednesday said they were in talks to merge their African operations to form a single company worth over $14 billion. The companies said in …