LUBUMBASHI – The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Zambia on Tuesday announced the reopening of a border post that had been closed after a trade dispute between the two African nations. On Sunday, Zambia closed a crossing along the south-eastern border of DRC following a decision by the Congolese authorities to ban the importation...
DAR ES SALAAM – Tanzanian police have detained leading opposition figures, including Chadema party leader Freeman Mbowe and his deputy Tundu Lissu, and rounded up several hundred youth supporters on the eve of a planned rally, a move condemned by rights activists on yesterday as “troubling”. Mbowe was arrested yesterday in the southwestern city of...
NAIROBI – Ethiopian Airlines has signed a deal for the design of a new US$6 billion airport described as the biggest in Africa, state media reported. The new hub will be able to handle 100 million passengers a year once completed in five years, Ethiopian Airlines chief executive Mesfin Tasew was quoted as saying at...
CARACAS – There is no evidence that Venezuela’s electoral system was the targetof a cyber-attack during elections held last month, the head of the Carter Centre’s observation mission told AFP, confirming figures that gave the opposition candidate a victory. On election night, the president of Venezuela’s National Electoral Council (CNE), Elvis Amoroso, declared president Nicolas...
HOUSTON – A Utah man was executed yesterday for the 1998 murder and sexual assault of his ex-girlfriend’s mother, the second execution this week in the United States. “The execution warrant for Taberon Dave Honie has been carried out,” the Utah Department of Corrections said. The execution of Honie (48) is the western state of...
DETROIT – Some 14 000 ecstatic voters packed a Philadelphia arena on Tuesday to see their favourite candidate. The next day in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, a line of thousands bound for a political rally there stretched more than half a mile. Such impressive numbers have been common at Donald Trump campaign events. However, these boisterous,...
JOHANNESBURG – South Africa’s national beauty pageant was thrown into turmoil on Wednesday after the government accused the mother of a contestant, who suffered a torrent of online abuse over her Nigerian heritage, of fraud and identity theft. Chidimma Adetshina (23) has been the subject of vicious, xenophobic attacks on social media since she was...
NAIROBI – Four senior African politicians from Djibouti, Kenya, Madagascar and Mauritius have thrown their hats into the ring to take over the African Union’s top post. The pan-continental body, which has 55-member states, will hold elections to choose the successor to Moussa Faki Mahamat, chair of the African Union Commission. This year, the role...
HONG KONG – Most stock markets fell yesterday after a sell-off on Wall Street, with analysts warning the volatility that has roiled markets this week still has some time to run as traders fret over the global economy. Data showing last Friday that fewer US jobs than expected were created in July continues to reverberate,...
BEIJING – China will impose fresh controls on chemicals used to make the synthetic opioid fentanyl after several rounds of talks between Beijing and Washington aimed at cracking down on the deadly trade. Beijing’s decision to impose controls on the three chemicals used in the production of the drug represented a “valuable step forward”, the...