A police officer has recalled the moment he was lowered from a helicopter into a crocodile-infested river in South Africa as part of an effort to recover human remains. Captain Johan Potgieter was tasked with capturing a crocodile suspected of eating a businessman who had been swept away by floodwater. “The crocodile itself was lying on an island… there really was no other way to get to it except from the air,” he told the BBC. Since the operation, remains have been found inside the 4.5m (15ft) and 500kg (1,100lb) crocodile. DNA tests are underway to confirm their identity. The…
Author: Montage Africa
By Dominic Wabwireh with AFP Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy returned to the Paris Court of Appeal for the final hearings in the high‑profile case over alleged Libyan financing of his 2007 presidential campaign, again rejecting accusations that he sought funds from Muammar Gaddafi’s regime. Sarkozy, 71, previously told the court there was “not a single cent of Libyan money” in his campaign, reiterating a position he has maintained since the case first emerged. He became the first former president in modern French history to spend time in jail over the affair, serving 20 days of a five‑year sentence before…
By Rédaction Africanews with AFP Civil society groups in Uganda have strongly criticised a proposed “Protection of Sovereignty Bill,” warning it could stifle dissent and harm the economy, as debate intensifies ahead of its presentation in parliament. At a press conference, former cabinet minister Miria Matembe condemned the speed at which the controversial legislation is being pushed forward. “I have never seen such a controversial, widely controversial, rejected bill being rushed to be debated within two days… And you bring a bill that has been controversial and widely rejected.” The draft law would criminalise actions deemed to promote “the interests…
By Rédaction Africanews with AFP, AP A drone launched by Sudan ‘s paramilitary forces targeted the airport in the capital of Khartoum on Monday but was shot down before it could hit the target, airport officials said. Sudan accused Ethiopia of being involved in the assault. It was the latest attack in the deadly war in Sudan, now in its fourth year, which has pushed the country to the brink. The attack came just days after the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces killed at least five people in a drone attack that hit a civilian vehicle on the outskirts of Khartoum…
By Rédaction Africanews with AFP Thousands of pro-government supporters took to the streets of the Congolese capital, Kinshasa, on Monday in support of United States sanctions against Joseph Kabila. Washington blacklisted the former president last week, accusing him of supporting the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels and its political-military arm, the Congo River Alliance (AFC), involved in the conflict in the east of the country. The Treasury Department claimed that, among other things, Kabila has provided them with financial and technological support with the intent to destabilise the Kinshasa government. Violent conflict in the region has resulted in the deaths of thousands…
By Rédaction Africanews with AFP, AP A state-backed Nigerian militia, operating alongside the military, killed scores of ethnic Fulani herders in a raid, local sources have told AFP. The herders were killed in an operation that also involved vigilantes from Benin, just across the border from Niger state, after the herders were accused of being informants for the jihadist group Ansaru, the sources said. The Nigerian vigilantes from Bussa district raided herding Fulani settlements around Kabe, in neighbouring Borgu, in a massacre that also saw sweeping mass arrests, the sources said. On Thursday, security personnel went door-to-door in Fulani herding…
By Rédaction Africanews with AFP Two female opposition lawmakers in Mauritania were sentenced Monday to four years in prison after insulting the president and making claims of racial bias, their lawyers told The Associated Press. The two women, Mariem Cheikh and Ghamou Achour, were accused of describing President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani on social media as the mentor of “apartheid in Mauritania.” The two are members of the human rights group, the Initiative for the Resurgence of the Abolitionist Movement. They were charged last month with “attacking the symbols of the state” and “calling for gatherings with a view to undermine…
By Rédaction Africanews with AP World Health Organization Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, on Sunday attended the opening of a new Ebola treatment centre in the eastern Congolese city of Bunia. The provincial capital of Ituri is the epicentre of the current outbreak of a rare strain of the virus, which is spreading faster than the response despite better-organised health facilities and aid arrivals. Speaking at the opening, Tedros hailed five recoveries from the deadly haemorrhagic virus, the first of which was documented on Friday. “I think four people will be discharged today. And there was one that was discharged…
By Rédaction Africanews and AFP Counting is underway in Guinea after Sunday’s legislative and municipal elections. The vote marks a new step towards the return of democratic rule after the 2021 coup that brought President Mamadi Doumbouya to power. Seven million voters were eligible to elect 147 members of parliament. But turnout was reportedly low in the capital Conakry and the central city of Labe. Most candidates were drawn from the presidential camp after the government dissolved the main opposition parties in March. “I don’t even know who to vote for,” Mariatou Diallo, 18, told AFP as she cast her…
By Rédaction Africanews and AFP As the Democratic Republic of the Congo continues its fight against Ebola, women are on the front line. In the last outbreak, women accounted for two-thirds of cases due to their traditional role in many communities. According to a statement published by UN Women last week, women have been overrepresented in Ebola deaths for the last 50 years. “This was evident during the 2018–2019 Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where women and girls accounted for around two thirds of reported cases,” UN Women warned in its statement. Health workers say…