Author: Editorial Staff

FRANCE on Friday accused Russia of proceeding with a ‘seizure of power’ in the Central African Republic (CAR), acknowledging that the CAR’s cooperation with Russian ‘mercenaries’ had prompted Paris to scale down its military support. The French military earlier this month suspended budgetary aid and military cooperation with the CAR, accusing its government of being ‘complicit’ in an anti-French disinformation campaign backed by Russia. The CAR has become a key area in the controversy over the role in Africa of the Wagner mercenary group which is allegedly run by the shadowy businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin, a close confidant of President Vladimir…

ZAMBIA’S Kenneth Kaunda – who died Thursday – was one of a generation of African leaders who led struggles to break free from the continent’s European colonisers. Here are profiles of him and his 10 most prominent peers.  Zambia: Kenneth Kaunda Dubbed the ‘African Gandhi’ for his non-violent independence-oriented activism, he became the first president of independent Zambia in 1964. Describing himself as socialist and with close ties to Moscow, he led the country for 27 years mainly under a single-party system. His poor management resulted in a grave economic and social crisis. After riots in 1991 he accepted free…

TRUECALLER, the world’s most trusted and accurate Caller ID and telephone search engine, is rolling out a new feature to further augment the user experience. The new feature Smart SMS has been introduced based on user feedback and is designed to cater to the evolving needs of our consumers. It offers a host of new services to make day-to-day communication a lot more convenient. Smart SMS is powered by state-of-the-art machine learning models that adapt based on the feedback you give it. It supports users with important messages from banks, billers, travel companies, delivery companies and so much more. Smart…

ETHIOPIA is preparing for national and regional parliamentary elections on Monday that Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has said will be the country’s first free and fair polls after decades of repressive rule. But voting has been delayed in 110 out of 547 constituencies because of violent conflicts and logistical problems and some opposition parties are boycotting the elections over what they describe as harassment of their members. One candidate is contesting the election from jail. Abiy won international plaudits and a Nobel Peace Prize for democratic reforms and for ending two decades of hostilities with neighbouring Eritrea when he was…

WITH a commanding view of the modern buildings sprouting up in the central business district (CBD) of Egypt’s new administrative capital, guests from China and Egypt on Thursday held a topping-out ceremony for the 385-metre-high Iconic Tower, which will be the tallest building in Africa upon completion. ‘This is the most important building in modern Egypt, which marks the latest achievement of our country,’ Egyptian Minister of Housing, Utilities and Urban Communities Essam el-Gazzar said at the ceremony. The Iconic Tower, whose construction started on May 2, 2018, is a composite high-rise building integrating office, hotel, business, sightseeing and other…

WARDENS at Mozambique’s largest women’s prison are forcing inmates into prostitution and punishing those who refuse, according to a local anti-corruption organisation. In a report published Tuesday by the Centre for Public Integrity, guards at the Ndlavela Women’s Prison in Maputo are forcing inmates to have sex with clients for between $50 and $250, cash which the wardens pocketed for themselves. The women are taken out of the prison ‘three or four times a week’ and taken to guesthouses where they are pimped out to clients who were ‘well placed in society,’ the report said. Those who complied were offered…

RWANDAN prosecutors on Thursday requested a life sentence for the man who inspired the film Hotel Rwanda as he faces terrorism charges, while his family asserts that he faces mistreatment and an unfair trial. Paul Rusesabagina (pictured), once praised for saving hundreds of ethnic Tutsis from Rwanda’s 1994 genocide as a hotel manager, faces charges related to attacks by an armed group inside Rwanda in 2018 and 2019. The nine charges include the formation of an irregular armed group, membership in a terrorist group and financing terrorism. Prosecutors seek to link him to activities that killed at least nine people.…

GUNMEN have killed a police officer and kidnapped at least 80 students and five teachers from a school in the Nigerian state of Kebbi, police, residents and a teacher said. The attack is the third mass kidnapping in three weeks in northwest Nigeria, which authorities have attributed to armed bandits seeking ransom payments. Usman Aliyu, a teacher at the school, said the gunmen took more than 80 students, most of them girls. ‘They killed one of the (police officers), broke through the gate and went straight to the students’ classes,’ he told. Kebbi State police spokesman Nafiu Abubakar, said the…

KENNETH Kaunda, Zambia’s founding president and liberation hero, has died at a military hospital in Lusaka where he was being treated for pneumonia, his son, Kambarage, said on Thursday. He was 97. Kaunda ruled Zambia from 1964, when the southern African nation won its independence from Britain, until 1991, and afterwards become one of Africa’s most committed activists against HIV/AIDS. ‘I am sad to inform (members) we have lost Mzee. Let’s pray for him,’ Kambarage said on the late president’s Facebook page. The former president had been feeling unwell and had been admitted to the Maina Soko Medical Centre in…

AUTHORITIES in Ghana are searching for a fake pastor who allegedly defrauded an American woman of $200,000 under the pretext of building a student’s hostel for her at the University of Ghana campus. The cybercrime unit of the Ghana Police Service is urging the public to help apprehend Kwaku Gyasi Solomon, who also uses the pseudonym ‘Pastor Mike’ or ‘Sabruku’ on social media platforms, according to online media outlet Modern Ghana. A reward is being offered for information regarding his whereabouts, authorities said. Solomon reportedly befriended the Columbus, Ohio-based woman through social media platform Facebook. He is also reported to…