Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy has been sentenced to five years in prison after being found guilty of criminal conspiracy in a case related to millions of euros of illicit funds from the late Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi. The Paris criminal court acquitted him of charges of passive corruption and illegal campaign financing. The […]

The Japan International Cooperation Agency has cancelled its ‘JICA Africa Hometown’ initiative, citing “misunderstandings and confusion” over the programme. JICA announced the withdrawal in a statement on its website on Thursday, weeks after reports claimed Japan would create a special visa category for Nigerians who wished to relocate to Kisarazu, a city designated as “hometown” […]

Systemic racism against Africans and people of African descent in criminal justice systems around the world is pervasive and deeply entrenched, a group of UN experts said Wednesday. The UN International Independent Expert Mechanism to Advance Racial Justice and Equality in Law Enforcement published a new report that identifies 12 key elements needed for criminal […]

Paris has suspended counter-terrorism cooperation with Mali and ordered two Malian diplomats to leave after the arrest of a French envoy in Bamako, a French diplomatic source told AFP on Friday. Authorities in the West African nation said last month that a French national had been arrested on suspicion of working for Paris’s intelligence services, […]

French protesters were on Thursday staging a day of nationwide protests and strikes in a show of anger over President Emmanuel Macron’s austerity policies, causing widespread disruption. Public transport stalled, schools closed down and tens of thousands of people took to the streets for demonstrations marked by sporadic clashes with the police. Prime Minister Sebastien […]

Britain on Thursday returned the first migrant to France under a new “one-in, one-out” deal, both governments confirmed, as London bids to curb highly contentious cross-Channel small boat arrivals. “A man who arrived in the UK by small boat in August was removed on a commercial flight this morning,” the UK interior ministry said. The […]

Malawi voted in general elections Tuesday, with the incumbent president and his predecessor vying for a second chance to govern the largely poor southern African nation, battered by soaring costs and fuel shortages. Thousands of people waited under trees or outside schools at outdoor polling stations across the mostly rural country for a vote focused […]

Kazakhstan has banned forced marriages and bride kidnappings through a law that came into effect Tuesday in the Central Asian country, where the practice persists despite new attention being paid to women’s rights. Forcing someone to marry is now punishable by up to 10 years in prison, Kazakh police said in a statement. “These changes […]

Bangladesh’s interim government said on Monday that political parties had largely agreed in principle on a sweeping reform charter, but remain divided over how it should be implemented. The South Asian nation of 170 million people has been in political turmoil since Sheikh Hasina was ousted as prime minister by a student-led revolt in August […]