Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | South Africa’s powerful trade union federation Cosatu, a key coalition partner of the ruling ANC, on Tuesday called for embattled President Jacob Zuma to resign following a deeply unpopular cabinet reshuffle. Union general secretary Bheki Ntshalintshali said it was time for Zuma to “step …
Read More »Strong 6.5-magnitude quake strikes Botswana
Washington, United States | AFP | A strong earthquake with a magnitude of 6.5 struck the southern African nation of Botswana on Monday, US seismologists said. The epicenter of the quake, which hit at 7:40 pm (1740 GMT), was located 238 kilometers (about 150 miles) northwest of the capital Gaborone, the …
Read More »TS&P cuts South Africa’s credit rating to ‘junk’
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | Credit rating agency Standard and Poor’s downgraded South Africa’s rating to junk status on Monday, as the country’s currency continued to slide following a controversial cabinet shuffle. “The executive changes initiated by President Zuma have put at risk fiscal and growth outcomes,” S&P said …
Read More »Tunisia shuts nightclub over call to prayer remix
Tunis, Tunisia | AFP | Tunisian authorities have shut down a nightclub and begun an investigation after a DJ played a remix recording of the Muslim call to prayer, an official said Monday. A video, widely shared online since Sunday, shows clubbers dancing at the weekend to music that includes …
Read More »THE LAST WORD: Africa through North Korean eyes
Why this communist state, with per capita income like ours, manufactures nuclear weapons and satellites while we can’t By Andrew M. Mwenda Last week the U.S. announced its intelligence showed North Korea was planning to test another nuclear weapon. If it does, it will be the sixth nuclear test by …
Read More »Pope Francis calls for peace in DR Congo
Carpi, Italy | AFP | Pope Francis on Sunday called for peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo, urging an end to the bloodshed in the troubled Kasai region. “News continues to arrive of bloody clashes in Kasai in the Democratic Republic of Congo — fighting which drags in victims and …
Read More »‘Executed’ Gambian coup plotters exhumed
jamm Banjul, Gambia | AFP | The bodies of three Gambian coup plotters, including a former US war veteran, have been found using intelligence from members of former leader Yahya Jammeh’s death squad, police told AFP on Saturday. Colonel Lamin Sanneh, who served in Jammeh’s presidential guard, Alagie Nyass and …
Read More »Memorial of South Africa icon turns into anti-Zuma protest
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | A memorial service Saturday for anti-apartheid icon Ahmed Kathrada was transformed into a fierce attack on South African President Jacob Zuma, under fire after a controversial cabinet reshuffle. Party veterans of the ruling ANC, sacked finance minister Pravin Gordhan and Kathrada’s widow lined up to …
Read More »Kenya probes ‘cold-blooded’ police killing
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Kenya’s police chief Saturday ordered an investigation after a video circulated on social media showing a police officer killing a disarmed man in cold blood in front of a crowd of onlookers in Nairobi. “I have ordered thorough investigations on the shooting incident that occurred in …
Read More »S.Africa new finance minister vows to enforce ANC policies
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | South Africa’s new Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba Saturday pledged to implement the policies of the ruling ANC as the party remains deeply divided over the sudden firing of his predecessor. Gigaba on Thursday replaced Pravin Gordhan, ousted in a shock midnight cabinet reshuffle by …
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