Ivorian-French banker Tidjane Thiam was Friday elected leader of the main opposition Democratic Party of Ivory Coast, a victory which puts him in position to contest the next presidential election in 2025.Thiam, a former boss of banking giant Credit Suisse, won very comfortably with 96.5 percent of the vote against 3.2 percent for his rival …

Banker Thiam elected leader of Ivory Coast oppositionSat, 23 Dec 2023 02:42:40 GMT Read More »

French police were questioning two men Friday a day after officials grounded a Nicaragua-bound plane carrying more than 300 Indian passengers over suspected “human trafficking,” prosecutors said.The Airbus A340 had flown in from the United Arab Emirates on Thursday, landing at Vatry airport in eastern France for a technical stopover.It was held by French authorities …

Two held after France grounds plane over suspected ‘human trafficking’Fri, 22 Dec 2023 22:35:52 GMT Read More »

Initial results from a presidential poll in DR Congo began to trickle in on Friday after shambolic elections spread over several days which the authorities deemed successful.The central African nation’s electoral commission, Ceni, announced results for Congolese voters living in South Africa, Belgium, France, Canada and the United States. The results represent a minuscule proportion of …

Initial DR Congo results trickle in after chaotic electionsFri, 22 Dec 2023 21:15:22 GMT Read More »

Senegal’s supreme court on Friday confirmed a prison sentence handed down to the mayor of Dakar, convicted of killing a man during a wave of political violence in 2011. However Barthelemy Dias, a fierce opponent of President Macky Sall, will not be jailed, as his sentence was covered by the pre-trial detention he served. The sentence upheld …

Senegal’s supreme court upholds jail term for Dakar mayorFri, 22 Dec 2023 19:51:29 GMT Read More »

Initial results from a presidential poll in DR Congo were expected Friday after shambolic elections spread over several days which the authorities deemed successful.The poor but mineral-rich central African nation held four concurrent polls on Wednesday to elect the president, lawmakers for national and provincial assemblies as well as local councillors. President Felix Tshisekedi is running …

DR Congo awaits results after chaotic voteFri, 22 Dec 2023 17:11:08 GMT Read More »

The last French troops withdrew from Niger on Friday, in the latest blow to more than a decade of French anti-jihadist operations in west Africa’s Sahel region.The French exit leaves just hundreds of US military personnel and a number of Italian and German troops remaining in the country.France announced it would pull out its roughly …

Last French troops bow out of NigerFri, 22 Dec 2023 14:42:51 GMT Read More »

Zambia’s President Hakainde Hichilema on Friday blamed private creditors for holding up a long-sought debt restructuring deal for the first African nation to default after the Covid pandemic.Zambia, which had $18.6 billion in debt when it defaulted in 2020, struck an agreement in principle in October with foreign lenders. Hichilema said about 98 percent of official …

Zambia president blames private creditors for debt deal delaysFri, 22 Dec 2023 14:02:19 GMT Read More »

A Belgian court on Friday sentenced a Rwandan former militia leader to life in jail for dozens of murders and rapes committed during the 1994 genocide. Seraphin Twarhirwa, 66, was found guilty of directly participating in or overseeing the atrocities by Hutu Interahamwe militiamen in Kigali during the slaughter of Tutsis and moderate Hutus 30 years …

Belgium jails Rwandan for life over 1994 genocideFri, 22 Dec 2023 13:56:03 GMT Read More »

The last French troops withdrew from Niger on Friday, marking an end to more than a decade of French anti-jihadist operations in west Africa’s Sahel region, AFP saw and Niger’s military announced.The French exit from Niger leaves hundreds of US military personnel, and a number of Italian and German troops, remaining in the country.”Today’s date …

Last French troops bow out of Africa’s SahelFri, 22 Dec 2023 10:52:07 GMT Read More »

Former South Africa Test captain Dean Elgar announced Friday that he will retire from international cricket after a Test series against India starting next week. The 36-year-old, who has hit more than 5,000 Test runs including 13 centuries, will play his last Test at the Newlands ground in Cape Town starting January 3.”As they say, ‘all …

S. Africa’s Elgar to end international careerFri, 22 Dec 2023 09:08:22 GMT Read More »