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BANGUI – Deadly clashes broke out in Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic (CAR), after a Muslim motorbike taxi driver was killed. About 20 people have been killed with at least 100 others wounded in the violence. UN peacekeepers took up positions as the fighting spread from the city’s only Muslim neighbourhood to…

CAIRO – Egypt’s president has pardoned two of the three Al Jazeera TV journalists convicted of broadcasting false news. A presidential spokesman told AFP news agency that Mohammed Fahmy, a Canadian, and Baher Mohamed, an Egyptian, were on a list of 100 prisoners to be released. Mohamed did not appear to be on the list…

BRAZAVILLE – Congo-Brazzaville’s leader has said he will hold a referendum on whether to change the constitution to allow him to stand for a controversial third term. “I decided to give the people a direct voice,” said President Denis Sassou Nguesso, 72, who has ruled for more than 30 of the past 35 years. The…

OUAGADOUGOU – Burkina Faso’s army has given the coup leader an ultimatum to surrender or face an assault, as its troops reach the capital, Ouagadougou. Negotiations between army chiefs and the presidential guard are under way to avert bloodshed, security sources said. Gen Gilbert Diendere seized power last week after opposing moves to integrate the…

NAIROBI – Public schools in Kenya have been shut by the government in response to the three-week teachers’ strike. A Kenyan court has ordered a pay rise of at least 50%, but the government is challenging this. President Uhuru Kenyatta said that teachers are well paid already and a salary increase would damage government finances….

OUAGADOUGOU – Burkina Faso’s interim President Michel Kafando has been freed and is in good health, the new junta leaders say. However, Prime Minister Isaac Zida, who was also detained when the presidential guard stormed a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, remains under house arrest. The African Union has suspended Burkina Faso and threatened sanctions unless…

OUAGADOUGU – Presidential guard officers in Burkina Faso have seized power in a coup, with reports of more than 10 deaths amid protests in the capital, Ouagadougou. A close ally of former President Blaise Compaore has been named the country’s new leader, state television reports. French President Francois Hollande condemned the coup in the former…

CAIRO – Egypt’s government has resigned and the country’s oil minister has been asked to form a new cabinet within a week, the office of President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi has said. No official reason was given for the government’s resignation. However, a senior source was quoted as saying the aim was to reshuffle the cabinet…

BUJUMBURA – The spokesman for a party in Burundi opposed to President Pierre Nkurunziza’s third term has been shot dead in the capital, Bujumbura. Patrice Gahungu, from the Union for Peace and Development (UPD), was targeted by unidentified gunmen as he drove home late on Monday, police say. The leader of the same small opposition…