THE AFRICAN

Harare - A Zimbabwean opposition leader and her entourage were Thursday attacked with stones by suspected ruling party activists in Harare, her party said. Joice Mujuru, a former vice president of the country who is now leader of the National People's Party (NPP), and her supporters were pelted while on the campaign trail. Zimbabwe is due to hold general elections before July - the first polls since independence hero Robert Mugabe was ousted after 37 years in power. Mujuru is one of the prominent contenders. Mujuru was hit on the cheek with a stone and later addressed a rally in the working class suburb of Glen Norah after she received medical treatment, her spokesperson said. Mujuru "was going to address a rally ...she passed through a shopping centre and when people realised it was her, they came out of the shops to cheer her", Jeffryson Chitando told AFP. "She got out of her car and greeted the people, and that is when Zanu-PF (activists) started thro...

Bashu - John Osang arrived in Nigeria at dawn on the verge of collapse, wearing just shorts and flip-flops after two fevered days running through the jungle from Cameroonian soldiers. He said he had no other choice. The soldiers were on the hunt for English-speaking separatists. People were being killed. Since December, troops had occupied Bodam, located on the border with Nigeria, pushing ahead with a crackdown on an independence movement that has taken up arms against the Cameroon state. "The soldiers are looking everywhere for Ambazonia fighters," said the exhausted 19-year-old, referring to the name the separatists have given their putative state. "They looted the houses, broke the doors, took our mattresses, televisions and generators. There's nothing left," said Osang, his arms lined with deep scratches from the bush. For two months, Osang hid in a cassava plantation a few kilometers  from home with his sick mother and older brother. But as ...

Geneva - At least 90 people were feared drowned after a smuggler's boat mostly carrying Pakistani migrants capsized off Libya's coast early Friday, the UN's migration agency said. Ten bodies have washed ashore near the Libyan town of Zuwara following the tragedy in the early morning, said International Organization for Migration spokeswoman Olivia Headon, citing information from its partner agencies. Eight were believed to be Pakistani, and two Libyans. "We are told that two survivors swam to shore, and one person was rescued by a fishing boat," Headon said by phone from Tunisia's capital to reporters at the UN in Geneva. "We are working to get more details on the (capsizing) and where the survivors are so that we can assist them better." Source: news24

All 955 workers from a gold mine in South Africa have been safely brought back to the surface. They had been trapped underground since a power cut struck on Wednesday night, and back-up generators failed to work. "Everybody's out," said James Wellsted, a spokesman for the operating firm Sibanye-Stillwater. He said there were "cases of dehydration and high blood pressure but nothing serious", and the mine would re-open on Monday. The BBC's Pumza Fihlani in South Africa says there were scenes of jubilation as the miners were brought to the surface in the morning. South Africa is a leading gold producer, but safety in the industry is often questioned. The Beatrix mine is in Welkom town, about 290km (180 miles) south-west of Johannesburg. It is owned by Sibanye-Stillwater mining firm. It has 23 levels, going down to 1,000 metres (3,280 ft) below ground. The accident is thought to have occurred when a storm knocked over an electricity pylon close...

Government in Kenya has arrested Miguna Miguna, the other legislator that actively participated in the illegal ‘swearing in’ ceremony of opposition leader Raila Odinga. The self-styled National Resistance Movement ( NRM ) General Miguna Miguna was arrested on Friday morning, shortly after he raised the alarm on a police raid at his home. The National Resistance Movement is the resistance wing of the opposition National Super Alliance Coalition ( NASA ). The Director of Criminal Investigations George Kinoti confirmed that he was arrested for administering an illegal oath and being a member of  NRM , an organisational that has been declared ‘criminal’. “He publicly declared that he is the general of  NRM , which is already declared a proscribed group. By the time he declared publicly, there was a gazette notice by the minister. How can we let it go? We are law enforcers,” said Kinoti. Kinoti added that Miguna told ‘people to burn portraits of a democratically elec...

Bamako - Islamic militants stormed an army camp in northern Mali early on Saturday, killing at least 14 soldiers in the worst attack on security forces in the West African country in more than a year, the army said. Army spokesperson Colonel Diarran Kone confirmed the attack in the Timbuktu region and said the bodies of 17 assailants remained at the scene. The base was again under the control of the Malian military, he said. Mali recently marked the five-year anniversary of a French military mission to oust Islamic extremists from power in the major towns of the north. That operation, however, merely dispersed the jihadists into the surrounding desert. In the years since they have launched frequent attacks on the Malian military as well as UN peacekeeping forces trying to stabilize the country. Last January, at least 54 people died in the eastern city of Gao in the bombing of a camp that housed hundreds of former fighters from armed groups. The former fighters, who were sign...

A Nigerien court jailed nine soldiers for between five and 15 years on Friday for an attempted coup against President Mahamadou Issoufou two years ago, a court document showed. In December 2015, the government said it had foiled a coup and arrested people planning to use aerial firepower to seize control of Niger, a largely desert West African nation, a major uranium producer and Western ally against Saharan jihadists. In the judgment read out by Judge Ibrahim Daoudika, the suspected ringleader, General Salou Souleymane, got 15 years, as did two others. Six co-conspirators received sentences ranging from five to 10 years, and another three accused were acquitted. Issoufou was elected in 2011, one year after a coup. He was re-elected in February 2016 with 92.5 percent of the vote, after the opposition coalition boycotted the polls. “This is not what we expected, but the court is sovereign and it judged that they conspired against the state,” lawyer Nabara Ycouba told a news con...

A group of European tourists have been robbed and sexually assaulted while driving through the Casamance region of southern Senegal, officials say. Armed men stopped the car as it was in the town of Diouloulou and assaulted three of the four tourists. Earlier this month, 14 people were killed in Casamance, which has been hit by a 35-year separatist rebellion. But security had improved in recent years and tourists had started to return to the picturesque region. Tourism is one of Senegal's biggest foreign-exchange earners and  violent attacks on tourists are not common . The four Europeans were being driven through Casamance near the border with The Gambia when they were stopped at an improvised road block. They were then attacked by three men, at least one of whom was armed, according to local reports. They also made off with 4,400 euro ($5,480; £3,850) and 315,000 CFA francs ($595; £420). One of the tourists is currently undergoing medical examinations following t...

In his first speech in six years, the president of the  Democratic Republic of Congo  has confirmed his country will hold elections. Joseph Kabila  said polling will go ahead, even though voting has already been postponed twice. He also denied accusations that his security forces are cracking down on protesters who are calling for him to step down. Al Jazeera's Catherine Soi reports from Nairobi, Kenya. Source: Aljazeera 

At least 30 refugees and migrants have drowned off the coast of Aden, Yemen , after their boat capsized, the United Nations  has reported. The UN's migration and refugee agencies said on Friday that the boat, overcrowded with at least 152 Somalis and Ethiopians, had departed from the Al Buraiqa coast in Aden on January 23.  The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and UNHCR said the vessel was believed to have been operated by "unscrupulous smugglers" who were trying to bring refugees and migrants to Djibouti "while trying to extort more money from them". In a statement, the UN said the boat had capsized "amid reports of gunfire being used against the passengers". Of all passengers on board, 101 were Ethiopian, and 51 were Somali.  "As we have been saying for almost five years now, the preservation of human life is our utmost priority everywhere," IOM Director William Lacy Swing said. "Yemen is no exception; w...

Tear gas was fired at the protesters in the capital, Kinshasa (Reuters)  At least five people have been killed in widespread protests in the Democratic Republic of Congo, United Nations sources say. Protesters are demanding that President Joseph Kabila - whose expected term of office expired more than a year ago - should step down. Police have used teargas to disperse protesters in the capital, where UN peacekeepers have been deployed. Similar demonstrations three weeks ago led to a number of deaths. A spokesman for the UN mission to the country said 33 people were injured in Sunday's clashes and that dozens had been arrested. Jean-Baptise Sondji, a former minister, told AFP a 16-year-old girl had died in the protests. "An armoured car passed in front of the church. They began firing live bullets... a girl who was at the left side door of the church was hit," he said. The widespread marches had been called for by the country's Catholic Church, whi...

At least five people have been killed in northern Ethiopia after security forces fired on a crowd at a religious festival who were reportedly shouting anti-government slogans. Many more were injured in the incident in the town of Waldiya. Angry protesters have blocked roads and businesses are closed. There have been nearly three years of opposition demonstrations in Ethiopia. On Wednesday, hundreds of activists were released from jail. The deaths happened during the second day of Epiphany celebrations commemorating the baptism of Jesus. Dozens of people are reportedly receiving hospital treatment after the shooting. Anti-government demonstrators in Ethiopia have been calling for political and economic reforms and an end to state corruption and human rights abuses. Among the suspects released from detention by the government on Wednesday was prominent opposition leader Merera Gudina, who spent more than a year in detention. At the beginning of January, Prime Minst...

Social Media users claimed that sexual assault is common at the  kenyatta National Hospital (photo credit: GETTY IMAGES ) Kenya's health minister has ordered an investigation into claims new mothers were sexually assaulted at a flagship hospital in the capital Nairobi. Social media posts alleged that male staff members targeted the women when they went to feed their babies. The Kenyatta National Hospital said the reports were "untrue" and denied any assaults took place. Its CEO, Lily Koros, has asked anyone with evidence to pass it to the hospital or the police. A post about the assaults first appeared on a Kenyan Facebook page called Buyer Beware, prompting more users to allege that sexual assault was common at the hospital. One poster said that she knew of a woman who had given birth to twins via Caesarean and was attacked on her way to see them. The woman scared the attackers away by screaming, she said. Health Minister Cleopa Mailu said he wanted a...

Ghana's Aviation Minister Cecelia Dapaah has warned British Airways (BA) it could face sanctions, after reports of bed bugs on some of the airline's flights into the country. A British newspaper reported this week  that a BA flight to Accra was grounded at London's Heathrow Airport for four hours, after the insects were found crawling on the seats. British Airways, which has a monopoly on direct flights between the UK and Ghana, has issued a statement saying such incidents were extremely rare, and a specialist team had taken immediate steps to resolve the issue. It told the BBC that Ghana remained an important destination for the company 

Emmerson Mnangagwa indicated he wants to resolve disputes with the West and open Zimbabwe up to foreign investment Zimbabwe   will hold elections in four or five months,   the new president announced on Thursday,  a sign the country ruled for decades by autocratic leader   Robert Mugabe   is on the path towards true democracy . However, the announcement came as the main opposition party accused President  Emmerson Mnangagwa 's government of secretly deploying thousands of soldiers in rural areas to help sway the election in his favour. The elections will be the first not involving Mugabe since Zimbabwe's independence from Britain in 1980. Voting  for the presidency, parliament, and local government will be peaceful, Mnangagwa said. "Zimbabwe is going for elections in four to five months' time and we have to preach peace, peace and peace because we know it is good for us and we have no doubt that we will have peaceful elections," Mnang...

Kidnappers have abducted two Americans and two Canadians in the northern Nigerian state of Kaduna, killing two police officers, a police spokesman said on Wednesday. Kidnappings are rife in Nigeria, where domestic security is weak, though they overwhelmingly target other Nigerians. However, abductions of foreigners are not uncommon. The foreigners were ambushed by unknown gunmen on their way from the town of Kafanchan in Kaduna state to the capital Abuja, Mukhtar Aliyu, a spokesman for the Kaduna state police, said by telephone. Kafanchan is about 3-1/2 hours’ drive northeast of Abuja. “The two police escorts attached to them engaged the kidnappers in a fierce gun battle, which resulted in the unfortunate death of the two police officers,” Aliyu said. The United States embassy in Nigeria declined to comment. Global Affairs Canada is aware of the reports of the kidnapping of two Canadian citizens and consular officials in Nigeria are in contact with local authorities to gat...

Albuquerque — Authorities in the US state of New Mexico say key Zimbabwean opposition leader Roy Bennett has been killed in a helicopter crash. State Police Lieutenant Elizabeth Armijo confirmed Bennett's death on Thursday, a day after a helicopter carrying him and five others went down in a mountainous rural area of northern New Mexico. Obert Gutu, spokesman for the MDC-T opposition party, said the loss of Bennett, a white man who spoke fluent Shona and drew the wrath of former President Robert Mugabe, was tragic. Gutu says Bennett's wife, Heather, also died. The crash killed five and injured a sixth person aboard. The helicopter went down about 6 p.m. Wednesday near the Colorado state line. Armijo said no additional information was immediately available about the circumstances of the crash.

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is in the last days of her reign as Africa’s first democratically elected female president. She has, however, set a political battle for her days out of office. According to her spokesman Jerolinmek Piah, Sirleaf regarded the Unity Party (UP) decision to expel her as illegal and that she will return to the party to seek redress after she hands over power on January 22. Sirleaf will pass on the presidential baton to former world footballer of the year, George Weah, who beat Sirleaf’s deputy, Joseph Nyuma Boakai, in a poll run-off in December 2017. The duo entered the run-off after the October 8 polls failed to register an outright winner. The 79-year-old was on January 14 thrown out of the UP on whose ticket she won two mandates in 2006 and 2011. The executive committee accused Sirleaf of not backing the vice-president leading to the loss of power. Sirleaf after the first round refuted allegations by her party that she had interfered with the electoral p...

Huge crowds welcomed Mr merera home Jailed Ethiopian opposition leader Merera Gudina has been freed after more than a year in detention. The leader of the Oromo Federalist Congress was released on Wednesday morning and allowed to go home, where he was welcomed by thousands of people. He has been in prison since December 2016 and was facing charges, including association with terrorist groups. The Ethiopian government announced on Monday that it would drop charges against more than 500 suspects. Human rights groups have long accused Ethiopia of refusing to allow opposition groups to operate freely. The government has denied holding any political prisoners but says the releases will foster national debate and "widen the political sphere". Those being freed will first undergo two days of "rehabilitation training", the government says. At the beginning of January, Prime Minster Hailemariam Desalegn announced the government would close Maekelawi - a de...