JOHANNESSBURG – South African Nobel Prize-winning author Nadine Gordimer has died in Johannesburg aged 90. The writer, who was one of the literary world’s most powerful voices against apartheid – died at her home after a short illness, her family said. She wrote more than 30 books, including the novels My Son’s Story, Burger’s Daughter and…
FREETOWN – High numbers of new cases of the Ebola virus are being reported in Sierra Leone and Liberia, with 19 deaths over three days this week, the UN’s World Health Organization (WHO) says. Such figures showed that it was a race against time to control the epidemic in Sierra Leone, medical charity MSF said….
BUJUMBURA – Burundi’s lower house of parliament has passed a bill intended to curb the country’s “proliferation of churches”. A government survey last year found there were 557 denominations practising in the small Central African state. New regulations would require churches to have at least 500 members and a proper building. Evangelical churches mushroomed during…
ABUJA – More than 60 women and girls are reported to have escaped from the Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram, security sources say. They were among 68 abducted last month near the town of Damboa in north-eastern Borno state. But some women who made it home said they feared other escapees had been recaptured, villagers…
ARUSHA – Eight people have been injured in a bomb blast at a restaurant in the Tanzanian town of Arusha, officials have said. Police said an improvised explosive device was thrown through the window of the Indian restaurant frequented by tourists and wealthy locals. The northern town is a gateway for tourists visiting Mount Kilimanjaro…
CAIRO – Egypt’s President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi has said he wishes the three al-Jazeera journalists imprisoned last month had never been put on trial, reports say. Peter Greste, Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed were sentenced to between seven and 10 years in jail after being found guilty of aiding a “terrorist group”. Mr Sisi was…
ABUJA – Three women have been arrested in Nigeria for recruiting female members for the Islamist militant group, Boko Haram, the country’s military says. The women are said to have targeted widows and young girls, promising them marriage to Boko Haram members. The militant group now has a female wing, the military says. Boko Haram…
ABUJA – A Nigerian man detained in a hospital psychiatric ward because he did not believe in God has been freed, a humanist charity has said. Mubarak Bala was released because of a doctors’ strike which has seen many patients discharged, the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU) said. He was held against his will…
KAMPALA – Ugandan police have stepped up security in the capital Kampala following a “specific threat” of a planned attack on its main international airport. The airport security office said the attack – planned for Thursday evening – could not be “taken lightly”. The US advised its citizens to review plans to travel through Entebbe…
JOHANNESBURG – South Africa’s largest union is going ahead with plans to picket the country’s main energy supplier. This is despite a court order barring it from undertaking strike action at the firm. The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) went on strike on Tuesday to demand higher wages. Part of the demand…
