Reuters Africa Top

MAPUTO (Reuters) -Mozambique’s army is fighting Islamist insurgents who launched a major attack on the northern town of Macomia on Friday morning, President Filipe Nyusi said in a televised address. The town is in Cabo Delgado, a gas-rich northern province where Islamic State-linked militants launched an insurgency in 2017. Despite a large security response, there …

Mozambique’s president says northern town under Islamist attack Read More »

By Tannur Anders and Catherine Schenck JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa’s top court began hearing legal arguments on Friday on whether ex-president Jacob Zuma can run for parliament, a case whose outcome will affect a wide open national election on May 29 and could cause security problems if he loses. Zuma, 82, who was forced …

Zuma in court seeking right to run in South Africa’s pivotal election Read More »

By Mahamat Ramadane and Bate Felix N’DJAMENA (Reuters) -Chad’s state election body said on Thursday interim President Mahamat Idriss Deby had won the May 6 presidential election outright with over 61% of the vote, citing provisional results, even as his main challenger declared himself the winner. Chad’s junta has become the first of the coup-hit …

Chad declares interim president Deby winner of disputed vote Read More »

By Camillus Eboh ABUJA (Reuters) – Nigeria’s Senate on Thursday proposed significantly toughening penalties for drug trafficking, making the death penalty the new maximum sentence through a law amendment. The amendment, which is not yet law, replaces life imprisonment, which was previously the harshest punishment. Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country of more than 200 million …

Nigeria’s Senate proposes death penalty for drug trafficking Read More »

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -Relatives of 44 construction workers trapped under a collapsed building in the South African city of George faced a fourth day of anguished waiting on Thursday as heavy machinery worked at the site in a race against time to find any survivors. Of 81 people who were on site when the five-storey private …

Hope fades for 44 trapped in collapsed South African building Read More »