DAKAR (Reuters) – France handed over two military facilities to Senegal on Friday, the French embassy said, the first formal step in ending French military presence in the West African country as the region shifts away from the former coloniser. France set up a joint commission with Senegal last month to organise the restitution of …
NAIROBI (Reuters) -A South Sudanese general and dozens of soldiers were killed on Friday when a United Nations helicopter trying to evacuate them from the northern town of Nasir came under attack, the government said. The United Nations said the incident, which could deal a blow to an already fragile peace process, was “utterly abhorrent” …
General among dozens killed in attack on UN helicopter evacuation in South Sudan Read More »
BISSAU (Reuters) – Guinea-Bissau on Friday set November 23 for its presidential and legislative elections, according to a presidential decree. That was a week earlier than the date of November 30 the presidency previously announced. The opposition has protested against the timetable, saying President Umaro Sissoco Embalo’s mandate expired last month. (Reporting by Alberto Dabo; …
Guinea-Bissau to hold presidential and legislative vote on November 23 Read More »
By Ope Adetayo and Jennifer Rigby NASARAWA, Nigeria (Reuters) -The World Health Organization says it will send leprosy drugs to Nigeria this weekend after resolving testing hold-ups that led to a year-long delay in thousands of patients, including children, getting the medicine they need to prevent disability. Africa’s most populous nation, Nigeria reports over 1,000 …
Nigeria to receive leprosy drugs after a year-long delay Read More »
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa’s defence minister said there was a need to “relook at” a Southern African mission in Democratic Republic of Congo, where troops from several countries including South Africa are deployed to help the country fight Rwanda-backed rebels. “There is an evaluation process underway,” Minister Angie Motshekga told Reuters on Friday, in …
South Africa’s defence minister: Congo troop deployment to be relooked at Read More »
By Tannur Anders JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -South Africa’s rand fell on Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would cut off all federal funding to the country, while the dollar sagged after data showed the U.S. economy created fewer jobs than expected last month. At 1519 GMT, the rand traded at 18.21 against the U.S. …
Rand falls as Trump to cut US federal funding to South Africa Read More »
By Garba Muhammad KADUNA, Nigeria (Reuters) – A Catholic priest was kidnapped and killed in Nigeria’s northern Kaduna state, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) said on Friday, adding that the murder highlighted insecurity in a region where armed groups have continued to target civilians. Reverend Father Sylvester Okechukwu, a priest at a parish in …
Catholic priest abducted, killed in Nigeria, Christian group says Read More »
By Mohamed Ezz FAYOUM, Egypt – Nine Egyptians freed after being held for 19 months by Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces arrived in Egypt to celebrations on Thursday morning as the Sudanese army advanced in Khartoum. “Praise be to God. A new age begins for us today. Our life starts anew from today,” said Ahmed …
Nine Egyptians freed after 19 months in Sudanese captivity Read More »
By Olivia Le Poidevin GENEVA (Reuters) -Conflict in Congo has sent 63,000 refugees fleeing to neighbouring Burundi in its largest such influx in decades, with conditions dire at a crammed stadium camp and many stuck in fields outside, the U.N. said on Friday. About 45,000 displaced people are sheltering in a crowded open-air stadium in …
Congo refugees pour into Burundi, conditions dire, says UN Read More »
By Mark Gleeson CAPE TOWN (Reuters) – Four-times African Footballer of the Year Samuel Eto’o has won the right to be included on the list of candidates for the Confederation of African Football’s elective congress next week after initially being ruled out of the contest. The Court of Arbitration for Sport has upheld an appeal …
Soccer-Eto’o wins appeal to stand as candidate at CAF elections Read More »
