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(Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday Washington was “very concerned” about what he called credible reports that Rwanda has provided support to M23 rebels in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo. Blinken, speaking during a visit to Kinshasa ahead of a trip to Rwanda, called on all parties to halt …

U.S. ‘very concerned’ about reports Rwanda backing rebels in Congo, Blinken says Read More »

KINSHASA (Reuters) – A former right-hand man of Democratic Republic of Congo’s president and now opposition leader, Jean-Marc Kabund, was arrested on Tuesday, his lawyer said, during controversy over a remark about his onetime boss. The former vice president of parliament and current lawmaker had a falling out with President Felix Tshisekedi earlier this year, …

Congo arrests opposition leader Kabund Read More »

By Joseph Akwiri and Duncan Miriri MOMBASA, Kenya (Reuters) – As Kenyans await the outcome of Tuesday’s election, they are wondering if Martha Karua might be their first female vice president, becoming the highest ranking woman in the history of a country where female candidates are often physically attacked. Giant billboards adorn the capital Nairobi …

Kenyans ponder a first female vice president as results awaited Read More »

By Camillus Eboh ABUJA (Reuters) -Nigeria has arrested five suspects in an Islamist militant attack in a Catholic church that killed 40 people in early June, Chief of Defence Staff General Leo Irabor said on Tuesday. Nigerian authorities have said they suspect insurgent group Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) carried out the massacre of …

Five suspects arrested in Nigeria Catholic church massacre Read More »

By Ayenat Mersie KIAMBAA, Kenya (Reuters) – One inked fingernail and old burn scars: the story of Kenya’s past election traumas and current hopes is written on the skin of Philip Wangoi’s hands.      At 16, he was badly burned in a church set aflame during the post-election violence that rocked Kenya after the disputed 2007 elections. More than 1,200 people …

Old scars and new hopes as Kenya votes and holds its breath Read More »

By Seun Sanni IBADAN, Nigeria (Reuters) – Stacks of hairy yams line a market in Ibadan, where traders haggle over quality and price before loading them into cars for the last mile to Nigerian consumers. Nearby, a man navigates heavy traffic with a hand cart piled high with the tubers. Yams – pounded into paste, …

Sequencing West Africa’s “yam belt” for food security Read More »