Africa

A female soldier has been arrested in Nigeria for accepting a marriage proposal while on duty, an army spokesman has said, accusing her of breaching the military’s code of conduct by “indulging in romance while in uniform”. A video emerged last week of the soldier accepting a ring from a …

Prominent Egyptian activist Alaa Abdel Fattah was sentenced to five years in prison on Monday, after being tried on charges of spreading fake news, Reuters agency reports. Two other persons including blogger Mohamed Ibrahim and lawyer Mohamed El-Baqer, who faced the same charges, were sentenced to four years. Abdel Fattah’s …

The U.S. government on Friday has imposed sanctions on Ali Darassa, the leader of the Union for Peace in the Central African Republic (UPC), whose forces are accused of murder, torture, rape and kidnapping. The United States, the United Nations and human rights groups have accused UPC fighters of killing …

A man has been shot dead and many others wounded in Sunday’s protests against Sudan’s military leaders in the capital Khartoum and other cities, medics aligned with the protest movement said on Monday. Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets of the Sudanese capital, Khartoum on Sunday to …

Federal troops in Ethiopia have recaptured the historic city of Lalibela, famed for its rock churches, state media reported on Sunday, showing pictures of the deputy prime minister visiting the site. It was unclear when government forces recaptured the town, which has spiritual significance for millions of Ethiopian Orthodox Christians …

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has returned to work on Monday, a week after testing positive for COVID-19, his office said. President Ramaphos tested positive for COVID-19 on December 12 and received treatment for mild symptoms. “The President has returned to duty and will chair the final cabinet meeting for …

The United Nations Human Rights Council has ordered an international investigation into human rights violations and further atrocities in the Ethiopian Tigray region. The Friday session, which was requested by the European Union, said violations committed during more than a year of conflict might amount to war crimes. A 100-page …

South African government said it is donating nearly two million doses of Johnson & Johnson vaccine to other African countries through African Vaccination Acquisition Trust (AVAT), to curb the spread of the virus. According to president Cyril Ramaphosa, the donation is a sign of solidarity to other African countries. “This …

Islamist militants are blamed of beheading a church leader in the Macomia district of the gas-rich northern Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado, local media reported. Last Wednesday, a resident of Nova Zambézia village went to the district police command, carrying a bag that contained a human head belonging to her …

Fewer people infected with the Omicron variant of coronavirus appear to die or require hospital treatment than in earlier waves of the disease, South African health officials as confirmed. The South African health Minister Joe Phaahla said the data did not mean that Omicron was less virulent, but rather that …