ABUJA – Nigerian police have banned public protests in the capital Abuja for the release of more than 200 schoolgirls seized by Islamist militants in April. Abuja police commissioner Joseph Mbu said the rallies were “now posing a serious security threat”. Nigeria has seen almost daily rallies calling for the government to take firmer action…
FREETOWN- A British firm has evacuated “non-essential” personnel from Sierra Leone following an outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus. The first company to go public on such a move, London Mining said production at its Marampa mine was unaffected. It said it was working with local and international agencies to monitor the situation. The incurable…
JOHANNESBURG – South Africa’s economy shrank by an annualised rate of 0.6% in the first three months of the year, the worst quarterly performance in five years, official data has shown. The contraction, which was bigger than analysts expected, was largely due to a slump in mining activity, the figures from Statistics South Africa showed….
CAIRO – The Egyptian government has announced a plan to monitor social media for potential terrorist activity – to the alarm many in the country. “We are being watched” is one of the top trending hashtags in Egypt right now. It’s been used more than 46,000 times on Twitter since Saturday. It comes in response…
LILONGWE – Peter Mutharika has been sworn in as Malawi’s president after the High Court rejected a request for a recount following allegations of vote-rigging. The leader of the Democratic Progressive Party urged the 11 other presidential candidates to “join me in rebuilding the country”. Outgoing President Joyce Banda had alleged ballot fraud but has…
LAGOS – Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan has vowed to wage a “total war” against militant Islamist group Boko Haram. Speaking on the the 15th anniversary of the end of military rule, he said “international terrorism” threatened Nigeria’s democratic gains. Boko Haram has waged an increasingly bloody insurgency since 2009 to create an Islamic state in…
CAIRO – Former military chief Abdul Fattah al-Sisi has won an overwhelming victory in Egypt’s presidential election, according to provisional results. He gained more than 93% of the vote with ballots from most polling stations counted, state media say. Turnout is expected to be about 46% – far lower than Mr Sisi was hoping for…
CAIRO – Egyptians are going to the polls on the final day of voting in the country’s presidential election. Former army chief Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, who deposed Islamist President Mohammed Morsi last year, is standing against left-wing candidate Hamdeen Sabahi. Mr Sisi is forecast to win the presidential election – the second in two years…
LILONGWE – Malawi’s High Court has rejected a decision by President Joyce Banda to annul this week’s general election – in which she was a candidate. Ms Banda had earlier said Tuesday’s vote had been marred by rigging, multiple voting and computer-hacking. She said a new vote should be held within 90 days but she…
PRETORIA – South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma has been sworn into office for a second term, following his party’s victory at the polls. The African National Congress (ANC) won a commanding victory in the general election on May 7. More than 4 000 guests and several heads of State attended the ceremony in Pretoria. Neither…
