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Zuma's dilemma: AU summit or ANC policy conference
Johannesburg - President Jacob Zuma faces a somewhat sticky dilemma as he sits down to do his diaries for the next two months.
Should he slip out of the ANC’s policy conference at the beginning of July to attend the African Union Head of States summit in Addis Ababa – and risk losing some crucial survival battles back home?
Or should he ditch the AU summit and convince his deputy, Cyril Ramaphosa, to stand in for him on the continental platform – and risk giving Ramaphosa an opportunity to connect with new friends ahead of the ANC’s elective conference in December to lobby them for support to replace Zuma in the top spot?
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Lesotho election 'likely to deliver uneasy coalition'
Maseru - The southern African mountain kingdom of Lesotho holds a snap election on Saturday, with experts predicting another fractious coalition government, unlikely to tackle its dire levels of HIV-Aids and unemployment.
The vote is the third general election since 2012 in the country known as Africa's Switzerland where years of political in-fighting have stymied attempts to fight poverty.
Lesotho, with a population of about two million people, is surrounded by South Africa, which relies on it for essential water supplies to Johannesburg and other cities.
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Mozambique heist: Gunmen in security guard uniforms 'raid cash-in-transit truck'
Beira - A gang of robbers dressed in security guard uniforms raided a cash-in-transit truck outside a bank in Mozambique's coastal city of Beira, shooting and seriously injuring a guard, it's been reported.
The truck had just pulled up to deliver cash to the main Beira branch of Millennium-BIM around lunchtime on Tuesday when the robbers opened fire, according to a report from news websiteClubofMozambique.com, citing Mozambique's AIM news agency and the TVM television network.
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Ivory Coast army chief meets mutineers in their barracks
Bouak - Ivory Coast armed forces chief Sekou Toure met on Wednesday with troops who had mutinied over pay, in a bid to heal deep rifts in the military.
Journalists were allowed to briefly enter the barracks in the city of Bouake, the focal point of a revolt which left four people dead and nine injured, according to government figures.
After the talks, which were closed to the press, Toure said his message had been that the armed forces had to end the current three-way split between the 8,400 former rebels who have been integrated into the army; regular troops loyal to ex-president Laurent Gbagbo; and those supportive of current President Alassane Ouattara.
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44 migrants, including babies, die in Niger desert
Niamey - At least 44 migrants, including women and babies, were found dead after their vehicle broke down in the desert of northern Niger while on the way to Libya, local officials said on Thursday.
"The number of migrants who died in the desert is 44 for now," said Rhissa Feltou, the mayor of Agadez, a remote town on the edge of the Sahara that has become the smuggling capital of Africa.
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