Paris (AFP) - Four Moroccan cities, led by Marrakesh, ranked among the top 10 African cities for quality of life in a new survey published Tuesday. Marrakesh, nicknamed the Ochre City for the walls surrounding its old medina district, clinched the top ranking, with three other Moroccan cities -- Casablanca, Rabat and Fez -- in the top 10. T ...

Algiers (AFP) - Speculation mounted Tuesday over Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's health and political future after acute bronchitis forced the 79-year-old to postpone a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Merkel had been due to meet him Monday as part of efforts to push North African countries to reduce the flow of migrants a ...

Luanda (AFP) - An official investigation into a stampede that killed at least 17 fans at a football match in Angola has blamed security measures and crowd control, the national football federation said Tuesday. Several witnesses accused the police of provoking panic by attempting to disperse crowds outside the ground in the northern town of Uige ...

Accra (AFP) - Ghana 39;s President Nana Akufo-Addo said Tuesday that he inherited an economy reeling from huge fiscal deficits, rising inflation and high unemployment despite an IMF programme designed to stimulate growth. Ghana, once hailed as a regional growth model, was forced to turn to the International Monetary Fund in 2015 under th ...

Abidjan (AFP) - The trial opened Tuesday in Ivory Coast of 10 men, mainly soldiers, accused of kidnapping and killing four men from the Novotel hotel in Abidjan in April 2011. All the defendants are present, the presiding judge Mourlaye Cissoko announced. They all have a lawyer. The case is expected to shed light on the abduction and murd ...

Restrata, a global leader in safety and security consultancy and training services, is warning of the continued need for improved hotel security to protect employees and guests from future terror attacks across the Middle East and North Africa. In a newly launched white paper, the firm addresses how the hospitality industry should step up ...

Paris (AFP) - French President Francois Hollande called Tuesday on Britain to accept its responsibility to take in stranded under-age migrants stuck in France who wish to join up with family in the UK. The issue has been a constant irritant between the two countries, made worse by Britain's decision this month to end an arrangement to take in ...

Press freedom has come under severe attack in West Africa as security agencies, particularly the police, appear to be on rampage against journalists and media workers. In a space of 38 days (January 5- February 12, 2017), 30 media workers have been arrested, detained and/or assaulted by security forces, prompting fears that the gains that have been ...

Lagos (AFP) - Nollywood film The Wedding Party has shown Nigerian cinema at the top of its game, with its success at the box office taking it to new audiences across Africa and the world. The country may well be in recession but Nollywood, which churns out some 2,000 films a year and is the world's second-biggest film industry outside India, h ...

United Nations (United States) (AFP) - Almost 1.4 million children suffering from severe malnutrition could die this year from famine in Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen, the UN children's agency said Monday. In Yemen, where war has been raging for nearly two years, 462,000 children are suffering from acute malnutrition while 450,000 chil ...

Conakry (AFP) - At least six people died during violent protests in the Guinean capital Monday, as people demonstrated over teachers' strikes that have closed schools for the past three weeks, government sources said. At least 30 people were also wounded, including members of the police force in Conakry, the government said in a statement. A ...

Miami (AFP) - Poachers are killing elephants for their ivory at an alarming rate in the central African nation of Gabon, leading to a loss of 80 percent of the population in the last decade. Some 25,000 elephants have been slaughtered in Minkebe National Park, an area that had been considered a sanctuary, said the report in the journal Current B ...

Johannesburg (AFP) - South Africa sports minister Fikile Mbalula Monday denied a Confederation of African Football statement that President Jacob Zuma was backing incumbent Issa Hayatou in the CAF leadership race. A CAF statement made the claim after its president met Zuma at the weekend ahead of the African Super Cup match in Pretoria between M ...