AFRICA

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | South Africa’s economy unexpectedly contracted in the first quarter of this year, pushing the continent’s most advanced economy into its first recession since 2009, according to official statistics released Tuesday. The data, which also showed unemployment hitting a 14-year high, are expected to pile more …

United Nations, United States | AFP |  The United States on Monday urged the United Nations to establish a special investigation into the murder of two UN experts who had been gathering evidence of mass graves in the Democratic Republic of Congo. US Ambassador Nikki Haley, in Geneva for meetings …

EU to give 50 million euros for African force in Sahel Bamako, Mali | AFP |  The EU is giving 50 million euros to set up a joint African military force in the Sahel region to fight jihadists, the bloc’s foreign affairs chief said Monday. The funds will help pay …

Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP |  A man and a teenager went on trial in a military court in Democratic Republic of Congo on Monday, accused of killing two UN experts in March, their lawyer said. Evariste Ilunga, a 16-year-old student, and Mbayi Kabasele, 30, who sells palm oil, are …

Monrovia, Liberia | AFP |  The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) said it has extended the mandate of its military mission in The Gambia. The force, consisting mainly of soldiers from neighbouring Senegal, was first sent to the small country in January to compel longstanding president Yahya Jammeh …

How Zuma has brought South Africa’s democracy and Mandela’s “miracle” from honour to shame! THE LAST WORD | By Andrew M. Mwenda Last week I was in South Africa and listened to the disaster bad leadership can inflict on a country. President Jacob Zuma and his confederates have indulged in …

Monrovia, Liberia | AFP | Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday joined West African leaders at a summit in Liberia, where they hailed peacekeeping efforts in the region but warned about threats to stability. Netanyahu, who had visited east Africa in July 2016, vowed that they had “no better …

Banjul, Gambia | AFP |  A Gambian protester died of gunshot wounds Saturday, the day after being shot as supporters of former Gambian leader Yahya Jammeh clashed with West African forces. Gambian information minister, Demba Ali Jawo, told AFP that a group of people had protested on Friday in Jammeh’s …

Kampala City ?? 2  ?? Rivers United 1: A brace from Derrick Nsibambi ⚽ ??? spurs KCCA FC  Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | Derrick Nsibambi bagged a brace as Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) of Uganda beat Rivers United of Nigeria 2-1 on Saturday in a CAF Confederation Cup clash. The win lifted …

Kabila says he never ‘promised’ to hold elections in DR Congo Berlin, Germany | AFP |  Congolese President Joseph Kabila on Saturday said he had never “promised anything” about whether to hold elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo, seeming to back away from a deal to hold a vote …