AFRICA

Maputo, Mozambique | AFP | Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi vowed Wednesday to introduce constitutional changes to decentralise power as part of peace efforts between his Frelimo party and the opposition Renamo group. Renamo rebels fought a 16-year war against the ruling Frelimo party until 1992, and unrest again boiled over …

Beijing, China | AFP | The African Union’s chairman dismissed during a visit to Beijing on Thursday a French newspaper report alleging that China had spied on the continental body as “lies” intended to derail cooperation. The report published by Le Monde in January claimed technicians at the AU’s Chinese-built …

Kano, Nigeria | AFP | Six children drowned when two boats collided and capsized in northwest Nigeria, the emergency services said on Wednesday. A passenger boat on the River Niger collided head-on with another vessel carrying onions to a market in the fishing town of Yauri in Kebbi state on …

Conakry, Guinea | AFP | A Guinean minister and the international community appealed for calm on Wednesday after seven people were killed, including five young children, in violence linked to fraud allegations that marred local elections at the weekend. Sunday’s vote was the first of its kind since the end …

Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | The UN mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (Monusco) on Wednesday urged a fair trial for an army officer who deserted and is accused of rebellion. “We are calling for the holding of a fair trial for Mr (John) Tshibangu,” Monusco spokeswoman Florence …

Pyeongchang, South Korea | AFP | International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach said on Wednesday that Africa could host the Olympics for the first time as early as 2032. It came after the IOC approved plans to target Africa to host the fourth Summer Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in …

Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Ailing Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai on Wednesday appointed one of his three deputies to take charge of the party while he undergoes cancer treatment in neighbouring South Africa. Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Tsvangirai’s spokesman Luke Tamborinyoka said in a statement the former …

Cape Town, South Africa | AFP | South Africa’s deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa on Wednesday vowed a “speedy resolution” to talks on the future of embattled leader Jacob Zuma, expected to step down after mounting political turmoil. President Zuma is under growing pressure to quit in favour of Ramaphosa, his deputy …

Cape Town, South Africa | AFP | South Africans were facing political uncertainty on Wednesday after the ruling ANC party cancelled a meeting that could have removed embattled President Jacob Zuma from office. Zuma is under growing pressure to resign in favour of his deputy and African National Congress party …

Holot Detention Centre, Israel | AFP | At a detention centre in Israel’s Negev desert, African migrants facing deportation say they would rather be imprisoned than sent to a country they know nothing about. “I won’t go there,” Abda Ishmael, a 28-year-old Eritrean, said in excellent Hebrew outside Holot, an …