Africa

Egypt court upholds Mubarak jail sentence

Egypt’s top appeals court upheld on Saturday a three-year prison sentence for ousted president Hosni Mubarak and his two sons for corruption. It was not immediately clear, however, how long Mubarak would remain in detention. Both of his sons were set free in October with time served taken into account.

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Egypt's first parliament in 3 years convenes

Cairo – Egypt’s first legislature in more than three years, a 596-seat chamber packed with supporters of President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, has convened. The assembly, elected in November and December, is also the first elected chamber since el-Sisi, as military chief, led the ouster of President Mohammed Morsi in 2013 following …

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Sudan security forces break up West Darfur protesters

Khartoum – Sudanese security forces in West Darfur’s state capital on Sunday dispersed protesters who had gathered outside government buildings, with rebels claiming four demonstrators were killed but officials saying there had been no casualties. The unrest began after a group of people rallied outside the West Darfur government secretariat …

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UN pulls DRC troops from Central Africa mission

New York – The UN has asked the Democratic Republic of Congo to repatriate its peacekeepers from the Central African Republic after they failed to meet UN standards, a spokesman said Friday. The Congolese troops serving in the MINUSCA force underwent two reviews by UN peacekeeping officials who found that …

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Sisi discusses national security with General Intelligence Service officials

  The Egyptian president visited the Egyptian General intelligence Service headquarters to discuss the latest regional developments and their impact on Egypt. Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi visited Tuesday afternoon the Egyptian General Intelligence Service headquarters in Cairo where he held a meeting to discuss the latest regional developments and their …

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Tunisia extends emergency for 2 months

Tunisia’s government has extended a state of emergency imposed after a November suicide bombing, from December 24 to Feruary. 21. The state of emergency grants the presidency and armed forces more powers and suspends some rights. The statement said the decision to extend it was made after consultations with the …

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Germany to send up to 650 soldiers for Mali, Iraq

The German Cabinet has approved plans to send up to 650 soldiers to Mali, boosting its presence in the UN peacekeeping mission in the West African country which is beset by militant violence. It also agreed to increase the numbers of soldiers training Kurdish Peshmerga forces in northern Iraq to …

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Algerian troops kill 109 militants in 2015

Algerian army troops killed as many as 109 militants and arrested 36 others in 2015, according to an annual report released by Defense Ministry on Sunday. “As part of the fight against terrorism, the National People’s Army eliminated 109 terrorists and arrested 36 others,” the report said, adding that 18 …

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DRC rebels attack UN peacekeepers

Kinshasa – At least 25 people have been killed – including seven civilians hacked to death – in an overnight attack by the Ugandan rebels in an eastern town of Democratic Republic of Congo, according to the Congolese army. Clashes broke out in Eringeti, 55 km north of the regional …

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Niger 'winning the war' against Boko Haram – army chief

Niamey – Niger is “in the process of winning the war” against Boko Haram jihadists who have staged attacks from neighbouring Nigeria since February last year, the army chief, General Seini Garba, said on Tuesday. Boko Haram, which pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group in March, has stepped up …

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