Security forces in Sudan have shot dead at least 50 people in days of protests over fuel subsidy cuts, human rights groups have said. Police fired tear gas to disperse more protesters on Friday, witnesses have told the BBC. Officials say fewer than 29 people have died, and they insist that the subsidy was unaffordable. Protesters […]
A UN-backed special court in The Hague has rejected an appeal against war crimes convictions by lawyers representing former Liberian President Charles Taylor. It ruled that his convictions had been proved beyond doubt. Taylor appeared impassive in court as the judge upheld his convictions and 50-year sentence. He was sentenced in May 2012 for aiding […]
A spokesman for Uganda’s police says officials have bolstered security in all sensitive national installations in the wake of the Nairobi mall attack. Ibin Ssenkunbi says the government has been reassuring the public that it has implemented measures to protect life and property. “We have increased our vigilances and provided security on all vital installations […]
Reuters journalists near the upmarket Westgate complex heard sporadic shots and also heavy bursts of rifle fire and muffled blasts on at least two occasions after daybreak. Kenyan troops moved around outside the building. A Kenyan Red Cross official, Abbas Guled, said there had been clashes inside the building. But there was no indication of […]
Kenyan security forces were locked in a standoff on Sunday with gunmen who killed at least 39 people in an assault at an upmarket shopping mall in Nairobi, where the al Qaeda-linked militants were holding an unknown number of hostages. The Somali Islamist group al Shabaab claimed responsibility for Saturday’s attack on the Kenyan capital’s […]
The African Examiner An unknown number of hostages are being held in a shopping centre in the Kenyan capital Nairobi, after a deadly assault by suspected al-Shabab militants. At least 39 people died when members of the Somali Islamist group stormed the Westgate centre on Saturday. There is now a heavy military presence in and […]
Human trafficking charges against a Saudi princess accused of holding a Kenyan servant as a virtual prisoner in her California home were dismissed by a judge on Friday after prosecutors said they were unable to corroborate the allegations. The 42-year-old princess, Meshael Alayban, smiled broadly as she left the Santa Ana courtroom after the judge […]
Angolan police on Thursday arrested at least three people at a protest in Luanda organised by a youth movement which is calling for President Jose Eduardo dos Santos to quit after 34 years in power. The large police contingent, which was armed with machine guns and pistols and also had dogs, urged foreign journalists to […]
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy (CME) Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has said that a prudent approach would be adopted in implementing the 2014 budget. Okonjo Iweala who said this at a press briefing in Abuja on the state of the economy noted that it was important the country begins to plan its […]
Rwanda’s ruling party held onto power with a widely-expected landslide victory in parliamentary elections, provisional results showed on Tuesday, reinforcing President Paul Kagame’s grip on the country. The National Electoral Commission said Kagame’s Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) had won 76.2 percent of the vote with all ballots counted. Final results are expected on Thursday. Two […]
Two people have been killed by grenade blasts in the Rwandan capital Kigali. The first victim died in an initial attack on Friday in a marketplace in the city which also wounded 14 people, according to police. Another grenade detonated in the same area on Saturday, killing another person and injuring eight. Police say three […]
Amnesty International has denounced the forcible eviction of tens of thousands of homeless people from makeshift camps in the Somali capital, Mogadishu. The human rights group says the process has led to “large-scale human rights abuses” including the killing of two people during protests. Some 370,000 people have been living in the camps, having fled […]
Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has died at the age of 57, state media say, after weeks of speculation about his health. Mr Meles was admitted to hospital in July. The nature of his condition has not been made public. Speculation about his health began when he missed an African Union summit in Addis Ababa […]
The Egyptian capital Cairo is poised for renewed protests as supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi call for marches after Friday prayers. The call comes two days after authorities broke up Muslim Brotherhood protest camps in the Egyptian capital with the loss of at least 638 lives. Egypt is in a state of emergency and police have been authorised […]
Zimbabwe’s election was a “huge farce”, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has said, alleging vote-rigging by rival President Robert Mugabe’s camp. Mr Tsvangirai said Wednesday’s presidential poll was “null and void”. The largest group of election observers described the vote as “seriously compromised” and said up to a million Zimbabweans were prevented from voting. Meanwhile, first […]
Zambia’s former President Rupiah Banda has pleaded not guilty to a charge of abuse of power during his time in office. The charges relate to an oil deal signed with a Nigerian company, which prosecutors say was meant to benefit Mr Banda and his family. “No my Lord, I deny the charge,” Mr Banda […]
