Africa (except North Africa)

LIBREVILLE, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- Raymond Ndong Sima, Gabonese transitional prime minister, on Saturday published the list of 26 members of his government.

According to the list, this transitional government is made up of 26 ministers, including the head of the transitional government. Key government positions were held by new figures, including Murielle Minkoue Epse Mintsa, minister of institutional reform.

ANTANANARIVO, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- Madagascan Foreign Minister Yvette Sylla hailed "dynamic and fruitful" cooperation between Madagascar and China at a reception to celebrate the 74th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China in the capital Antananarivo on Thursday.

LIBREVILLE, Gabon (AP) — Gabon’s ousted President Ali Bongo Ondimba, who has been under house arrest since he was deposed last week, is free Thursday and can embark on a medical trip, the country’s new military leaders said.

Ondimba is “free to move given his state of health,” Col. Ulrich Manfoumbi, spokesman for the transition committee, said on state television a day earlier. “He can, if he wishes, go abroad to carry out his medical checks.”

GOMA, Congo (AP) — Two high-ranking military officers in northeast Congo were arrested Monday for taking part in a crackdown on protests last week that left 43 people dead and another 56 severely injured, authorities said.

Interior Minister Peter Kazadi said police arrested Commanders Mike Mikombe and Donat Bawili, who respectively headed the Republican Guard unit and the Congolese armed forces regiment in Goma, the eastern city where the violence unfolded.

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — When Gabon’s longtime leader was detained in the latest coup in Africa last week, France condemned the takeover but did little to intervene — despite having hundreds of troops in the country. It was a striking break from the past.

African and French observers say that France, under pressure, is finally shedding its postcolonial tradition of “Françafrique” — an unflattering term that smacks of paternalistic influence and quiet deal-making among elites — as its economic and political powers wane and an increasingly self-confident Africa looks elsewhere.

HARARE, Sept 3 (NNN-IRIN) – Zimbabwe’s President-elect, Emmerson Mnangagwa, is set to be sworn in tomorrow, for his second term in office, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister, Monica Mutsvangwa, announced last night.

The inauguration ceremony will be held at the 60,000-seater National Sports Stadium in the capital Harare, Mutsvangwa announced, in a press release.

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Much of the world takes daily weather forecasts for granted. But most of Africa’s 1.3 billion people live with little advance knowledge of what’s to come. That can be both deadly and expensive, with damage running in the billions of dollars.

JOHANNESBURG, Sept 2 (Reuters) - South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa on Saturday urged authorities to enforce regulations preventing city residents from unlawfully occupying apartment blocks, after scores died in a fire in a Johannesburg building that was occupied illegally.

The fire, which killed more than 70 people, has highlighted a housing crisis in a city that is one of the world's most unequal and where poverty and unemployment are widespread.

"Local government has to enforce the laws," Ramaphosa said at a governing African National Congress party event.

ABUJA, Sept 2 (Reuters) - President Bola Tinubu has ordered a recall of Nigeria's ambassadors the world over with immediate effect, his spokesman said on Saturday.

"The president is determined to ensure that world-class efficiency and quality, will henceforth, characterize foreign and domestic service delivery to citizens, residents and prospective visitors alike," presidential spokesman Ajuri Ngelale said.

MOGADISHU, Sept. 2 (Xinhua) -- The Somali National Army and international partners on Saturday killed 20 al-Shabab militants during an operation in the lower Shabelle region of southern Somalia, an official said.

Abdirahman Yusuf Al-Adala, deputy minister of information, culture and tourism, said that the joint forces hit the militants in their hideout during the dawn operation.

A military offensive against the militants has been intensified in central Somalia, Al-Adala added.