Associated Press

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will visit South Africa next month, the African country’s presidency announced Friday. “President Zelensky will be visiting South Africa on the 10th of April,” presidency spokesman Vincent Magwenya told AFP. The visit “is a continuation of ongoing engagements” on “an inclusive peace process” between Russia and Ukraine, he said. South African […]

Namibia’s Vice President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah could become the country’s first female president if she wins the presidential election Wednesday. At least 1.4 million people, or about half of the population, have registered to vote in the elections, with 15 political parties running for president and seats in the National Assembly. Results from special early polls […]

The man who was arrested for attacking the Comoros president with a knife on Friday has been found dead in prison, the authorities there say. The attack took place during a funeral for a well-known religious leader and injured President Azali Assoumani’s hand. National prosecutor Ali Mohamed Djounaid said that after being arrested the attacker […]

The number of children who died in a fire in a school dormitory in central Kenya has risen to 21, the government spokesperson said Saturday. Officials began removing the bodies of the children as they tried to account for the dozens of boys still missing. Journalists were moved to wait outside the Hillside Endarasha Primary […]

KIGALI, Rwanda — President Paul Kagame has won 99% of the vote in provisional results from Monday’s presidential election in Rwanda, electoral authorities said, an outcome that was widely expected as the country’s long-time ruler aims to extend this three-decade grip on power. Kagame’s opponents — Frank Habineza of the Democratic Green Party of Rwanda […]

DAKAR, Senegal — A Boeing 737-300 plane carrying 85 people caught fire and skidded off a runway at Senegal’s main airport, near the capital of Dakar. Ten people were injured in the crash, including the pilot, the country’s transport minister said Thursday. Passengers were evacuated from the burning aircraft at Blaise Diagne International airport and […]

South Africa’s foreign minister says her country’s citizens who fight in the Israeli armed forces or alongside them in Gaza will be arrested when they return home, deepening the rift between the nations after South Africa lay accusations of genocide against Israel at the United Nations’ top court. Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor made the comment […]

 A South African soldier deployed in Congo has shot dead a colleague and then turned the gun on himself, authorities said Saturday. The South African National Defense Force, which oversees the country’s armed forces, said the soldier used his official service weapon. It said it had convened a board of inquiry to work with the […]

HARARE, Zimbabwe — A Zimbabwean opposition activist slain nearly two years ago was finally buried Saturday at an event marked by a low turnout and clashes between members of the main opposition party, highlighting its decline. Moreblessing Ali, 46, a member of the opposition Citizens Coalition for Change, or CCC, was abducted in May 2022 […]

An Australian tourist reported missing late last week in Zimbabwe near Victoria Falls already had been missing for nearly a week before that, according to new information released Monday by national park officials. The 67-year-old tourist, whose name has not been released, was reported missing Friday in the area near the Zimbabwe Victoria Falls National […]

MOSCOW, Russia – President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Russian scientists were close to creating vaccines for cancer that could soon be available to patients. Mr. Putin said in televised comments that “we have come very close to the creation of so-called cancer vaccines and immunomodulatory drugs of a new generation”. “I hope that […]

Pope Francis has formally approved allowing priests to bless same-sex couples, with a new document explaining a radical change in Vatican policy by insisting that people seeking God’s love and mercy shouldn’t be subject to “an exhaustive moral analysis” to receive it. The document from the Vatican’s doctrine office, released Monday, elaborates on a letter […]

FREETOWN, Sierra Leone — Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio declared a nationwide curfew Sunday after gunmen attacked the military’s main and largest barracks in the West African nation’s capital, raising fears of a breakdown of order amid a surge of coups in the region. The unidentified gunmen attacked the military armory within the Wilberforce […]

HARARE, Zimbabwe — Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa hailed “excellent” relations with China as he delivered for the first time a State of the Nation address at a new multimillion-dollar parliament building gifted by the Asian economic giant. China funded and constructed the imposing and spacious $200 million, six-story parliament building in Mt. Hampden, about 18 […]

BRISBANE, Australia (AP) – Shakib Al Hasan and his Bangladesh players hugged, traded high-fives, and shook hands with their Zimbabwe rivals as they walked off the field Sunday to celebrate what they thought was a narrow Super 12 win in the Twenty20 World Cup. Back-to-back stumpings by wicketkeeper Nurul Hasan on the last two balls […]

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Zimbabwe’s president on Friday officially opened a ruling party congress that is set to renominate him as the party’s presidential candidate for next year’s election, but soaring inflation and a government crackdown on dissent are fueling tensions in the southern African nation.The ruling ZANU-PF party on Saturday will officially nominate President […]

World-renowned author Tsitsi Dangarembga was found guilty Thursday of promoting public violence in her home country of Zimbabwe for participating in a largely peaceful antigovernment protest in 2020 that called for reforms. She was fined around $120 and given a six-month suspended jail sentence. Dangarembga and another woman, Julie Barnes, were arrested after walking down […]

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia on Friday will formally annex occupied parts of Ukraine where it held Kremlin-orchestrated “referendums” in which it claimed that residents had voted overwhelmingly to live under Moscow’s rule. The Ukrainian government and the West have denounced the ballots as illegal, forced and rigged. Russian President Vladimir Putin will attend a […]

A UN nuclear watchdog team set off on an urgent mission on Monday to safeguard the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia atomic power plant at the heart of fighting in Ukraine, a long-awaited trip the world hopes will help avoid a radioactive catastrophe. The stakes couldn’t be higher for the International Atomic Energy Agency experts, who will visit […]

CHAPLYNE, Ukraine — The death toll from a Russian rocket attack on a train station and the surrounding area as Ukraine celebrated its Independence Day climbed to 25, including at least two children, Ukrainian authorities said Thursday. Russia said it targeted a military train and claimed to have killed more than 200 Ukrainian reservists. The […]

South African workers on Wednesday demonstrated against the country’s rising cost of living including record-high fuel prices and increased costs for basic foods. About 1,000 workers marched to the Union Buildings, the seat of government in the capital Pretoria, calling for President Cyril Ramaphosa’s government to contain rising prices. South Africa’s economy is still reeling […]

Zimbabweans voted Saturday in key parliamentary and municipal by-elections seen as a test for President Emmerson Mnangangwa’s ruling party in next year’s general polls. The polls had generated so much interest in the run-up that Mnangangwa led various campaign rallies to shore up support for his ZANU-PF candidates. But only short queues were seen in […]

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Zimbabwe has launched a new COVID-19 vaccination campaign that includes jabbing children aged 12 and above to rescue a drive faltering due to vaccine hesitancy and complacency. This week schools in the southern African country have become vaccination zones with children in school uniforms lining up to get the injections. Many […]

The former president of Mali Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, who took office in an election held following a destabilising coup only to be ousted in another military takeover nearly seven years later, has died aged 76. Mr Keita, known to Malians by his initials IBK, had been in declining health since his forced resignation in August […]