AFRICA

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | A South African court on Sunday gave the go-ahead for an online auction of rhino horns that has outraged conservationists. South African authorities had moved to ban the three-day auction which they feared would undermine the global ban on rhino trade, refusing to issue a …

Bangui, Central African Republic | AFP | Thirteen people have been killed in a town in Central African Republic, a local doctor said Sunday, as the toll from sectarian violence that has sparked fears of genocide continued to rise. The clashes took place in Bria, in the centre of the country …

Abuja, Nigeria | THE INDEPENDENT |  In his first address since his return from treatment abroad, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has warned about divisive comments on social media. “Nigerians are robust and lively in discussing their affairs, but I was distressed to notice that some of the comments, especially in …

Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Zimbabwe’s vice president has returned home from neighbouring South Africa where he was flown for emergency medical care for suspected food poisoning, a privately-owned newspaper reported Sunday. Emmerson Mnangagwa, 74, who is seen as a favourite to succeed President Robert Mugabe, fell ill at a rally …

‘Raila fatigue’ favours status quo in Kenya election Kenya |  YVONNE ROWA WOODS  | Kenya’s 2017 polls will be remembered as the election of minor gains and confounding contradictions. In the run up to polling, public discontent appeared to have been largely driven by the unprecedented sophistication in graft and …

ALERT: South Africa granted diplomatic immunity to Grace Mugabe Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Zimbabwe’s first lady Grace Mugabe flew home from South Africa on Sunday, state media said, ending a week of confusion over her whereabouts after she allegedly assaulted a model. Mugabe, who had been sought by police for …

Freetown, Sierra Leone | AFP | The death toll from a mudslide and flooding that struck Sierra Leone’s capital Freetown has reached 441, the government said on Saturday. “Four hundred and forty-one corpses (were) buried as at yesterday,” the deputy minister of information and communication, Cornelius Deveaux, told AFP, adding that …

Pretoria, South Africa | AFP | Zimbabwe’s first lady Grace Mugabe failed to appear Saturday at a summit in South Africa attended by her husband, an event overshadowed by her effort to obtain diplomatic immunity over assault allegations. The wife of President Robert Mugabe has not been seen since being accused …

Lagos, Nigeria | AFP |  Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari will return home on Saturday after spending more than 100 days in London receiving treatment for an undisclosed ailment, his office said. The 74-year-old left for the British capital on May 7 with his prolonged absence causing tensions back home where …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Kenya’s opposition filed a petition late Friday at the Supreme Court challenging the conduct and results of last week’s election won by President Uhuru Kenyatta, demanding new polls. Court registrar Esther Nyaiyaki received piles of bound papers from lawyers representing the National Super Alliance (NASA) coalition, …