AFRICA

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | AFP Armed men from South Sudan have killed around 140 people and kidnapped a number of others in a cross-border raid into Ethiopia, the Ethiopian government said Sunday. Ethnic Murle gunmen “attacked near Gambella and killed close to 140 people. They also abducted some of them,” …

Banjul, Gambia | AFP | A senior figure in Gambia’s main opposition has died in custody after leading a protest for electoral reform and the resignation of strongman President Yahya Jammeh, his party and a rights group said Saturday. Solo Sandeng, who had recently been promoted to organising secretary of …

On the occasion of the 22nd commemoration of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, at the UN headquarters in New York, on Monday, Frida Umuhoza, a survivor and author of “Frida: Chosen to Die, Destined to Live,” gave an emotional testimony of her personal experience of the Genocide.  …

Kigali, Rwanda | AFP A Rwandan court on Friday sentenced former politician Leon Mugesera to life in prison for inciting the 1994 genocide. Judge Antoine Muhima said Mugesera had taken part in “public incitement to commit genocide” as well as inciting torture and ethnic hatred, though he was found not …

Juba, South Sudan | AFP On a dusty patch of earth cut into thick bush on the outskirts of South Sudan’s capital, hundreds of rebel soldiers who took part in a more than two-year civil war have set up a new base. The camp is basic: a few blue tents …

Paris, France | AFP | The ICC’s failure to try top Kenyan leaders for crimes against humanity in the country’s worst violence since independence spells “doom” for global efforts to fight impunity, former Kenyan leader Raila Odinga told AFP. Despite this setback, African countries must not quit the International Criminal …

Blantyre, Malawi | AFP Malawian President Peter Mutharika on Wednesday declared a state of national disaster due to food shortages caused by drought, in the latest sign of alarm over a hunger crisis across southern Africa. Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia are all suffering food supply problems, while South Africa …

Nairobi, KENYA | AFP | Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said Monday he will give priority to pass a new anti-doping law to beat a deadline and ensure the east African track giants compete at the Rio Olympics. The second World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) deadline for Kenya to tighten its anti-doping …

Freetown, Sierra Leone | AFP | Sierra Leone called Sunday for increased vigilance to prevent a resurgence of the Ebola virus after new cases in neighbouring Liberia and Guinea, but cautioned against shutting off borders between the west African states. The alert came after the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed …

Kariba, Zimbabwe | AFP Lake Kariba on the Zambezi River border between Zimbabwe and Zambia used to be dotted with hundreds of commercial fishing rigs, while local fishermen in small makeshift boats would catch enough bream for their livelihood. Now the fishermen are standing on shore praying for rain as …