Africa

The regional bloc CCAS, and the country's opposition coalition, have urged international partners to push for a rapid return to civilian rule. Also in this edition: In Democratic Republic of Congo, at least 48 protesters are reported to have been killed in the eastern city of Goma. And finally: In South Africa, the death toll rises to 76 after the devastating Johannesburg fire at an abandoned apartment block that housed dozens of homeless people and squatters.

It has been a month since the military seized power in Niger. The ECOWAS bloc of African states has imposed sanctions, and access to food is getting scarce in the landlocked country. In the city of Tillaberi, people are feeling the effects.

Gabonese hope for jobs, eventual civilian rule following military coup

We bring you reactions from the pan-African and French press after the coup in Gabon and appointment of a general as transitional president. What future awaits the region? Also: one of India's richest families, the Adani Group, is accused of stock market corruption in a damning report. Finally: Japan's prime minister eats fish from Fukushima's radioactive waters to prove that it's... not radioactive!

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Thursday called the more than 70 deaths in an apartment block fire in Johannesburg "a tragedy." Johannesburg officials initially suggested the building had been occupied by squatters, but Ramaphosa said that criminal gangs were exploiting vulnerable families by levy rents on buildings like the one that burnt.

Since 1967, Gabon has been dominated by one family. The Bongos combined their authoritarian power with excessive wealth and tenacious family grievances.

The EU foreign ministers met to discuss ways to help West Africa's ECOWAS regional group handle the military takeover in Niger. The meeting came the junta stripped the French ambassador of diplomatic immunity.

The Russian mercenary outfit Wagner Group is likely to strengthen its activities in Africa despite the death of its leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, analysts predict. The group’s operations may remain under new management or be subsumed into another Russian paramilitary group. But where on the continent does the group operate, and what does it gain by being in Africa?

EU foreign policy chief Borrell said the coup followed "elections full of irregularities." He addressed reporters ahead of an EU meeting with African stakeholders to also discuss Niger's coup.

After Gabon's long-ruling President Ali Bongo Ondimba was re-elected for a third term in a controversial election, members of the local military say they have taken over.

Military officers in oil-producing Gabon said they had seized power on Wednesday, placing President Ali Bongo under house arrest and naming a new leader after the Central African state's election body announced Bongo had won a third term.

At least 63 people were killed and 43 injured in a fire in the central business district of South Africa's biggest city of Johannesburg on Thursday, the municipal government said.