Madagascar entire police force suspended

The government in Madagascar has suspended the entire police force in a town in the north east after a riot broke out following the death of young man in police custody.

The 19-year-old died on Saturday after spending a night in a police cell, prompting angry crowds to take to the streets of Maroantsetra.

More than 20 houses were burnt - most of them belonging to the police.

Madagascar's Security Minister has ordered officers stationed in the town to be replaced by others and says there will an internal inquiry into the violence.

'Game of Thrones' new season already a hit on Twitter

The eighth and final season of "Game of Thrones" doesn't start until Sunday, but don't tell Twitter that.

According to the social networking site, there have already been more than 15 million Tweets about the hit HBO series in 2019.

The busiest days on Twitter so far have been March 5, when the new season's trailer dropped, January 14, when the premiere date was announced and April 3, when the show held its red carpet premiere in New York City.

All in all, the fantasy series has racked up more than 200 million tweets since it first premiered in 2011.

Here is some more "GoT" fandom facts provided by Twitter.

Dates "Game of Thrones" most frequently mentioned on Twitter

- August 27, 2017 - "The Dragon and The Wolf"

- April 24, 2016 - "The Red Woman"

- July 16, 2017 - "Dragonstone"

- June 26, 2016 - "The Winds of Winter "

- August 20, 2017 - "Beyond the Wall"

- June 19, 2016 - "Battle of the Bastards"

- March 5, 2019 - Season 8 Trailer Launch

- August 7, 2017 - "The Spoils of War"

- June 14, 2015 - "Mother's Mercy"

- April 12, 2015 - "The Wars to Come"

Countries with the most tweets about "Game of Thrones"

- United States

- Brazil

- Great Britain

- Spain

- France

Most-tweeted characters

- Jon Snow

- Daenerys

- Arya Stark

- Tyrion Lannister

- Cersei Lannister

Most-tweeted episodes of all time

- "The Dragon and the Wolf," August 27, 2017

- "Dragonstone," July 16, 2017

- "Beyond the Wall," August 20, 2017

- "The Winds of Winter," June 26, 2016

- "The Spoils of War," August 6, 2017

The show's seventh season scored the most action with 23 million tweets.
Even the stars of the series have gotten into tweeting about the show and its impact on pop culture.

Sophie Turner portrays Sansa Stark on "Game of Thrones." She got a laugh by coverage of her Halloween party last year, where her fiancé, singer Joe Jonas, came dressed as her character.

"So proud," she wrote, when she re-tweeted a TV guide story about it.

Louisiana officer's son arrested over black church fires

The son of a police deputy has been arrested as the suspect in three fires at black churches in southern Louisiana, officials say.

Holden Matthews, 21, was arrested on Wednesday and charged with three counts of arson on religious buildings.

The burnings did not result in deaths or injuries, but evoked painful memories of the civil rights era.

Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards said the "evil acts" dredged up "a very dark past of intimidation and fear".

The Democrat said the alleged arson was perpetrated by a "depraved individual", adding: "Hate is not a Louisiana value."

Louisiana State Fire Marshal Butch Browning told reporters on Thursday that each of the three counts against the suspect carries a sentence of up to 15 years in prison.

St Landry Parish Sheriff Bobby Guidroz said Mr Matthews' father, sheriff's deputy Roy Matthews, "knew nothing about his son's activity" and "broke down" when he was informed.

The deputy then helped facilitate his son's arrest by getting him to an area where police could detain him "without incident", Sheriff Guidroz said.

Officials said Mr Matthews had complied with police during the arrest. He had no criminal record or history of violence.

The fire marshal said investigators are vetting "several motives", but had learned Mr Matthews was involved with a type of music known as black metal that, he added, had historical associations with church burnings.

His Facebook page lists him as the lead singer and songwriter of a heavy metal band called Vodka Vultures.

Mr Matthews had also commented on posts about neo-Nazi black metal musician Kristian "Varg" Vikernes, who was jailed in 1994 for murder and church burning in Norway, the Daily Beast reported.

Black metal music, an extreme subgenre of heavy metal, often contains references to Satanism and pagan beliefs. Some extremists within the genre, like Vikernes, are also proponents of white nationalism.

"When Matthews was developed as a suspect we saw an immediate threat to public safety," Mr Browning said. "We felt other crimes were imminent."

"There were extraordinary means taken to bring safety to this community," he added, without elaborating.

The fires took place in Opelousas (population 16,000) on 26 March, 2 April and 4 April. The suspect lives in the community.

St Mary Baptist Church, the Greater Union Baptist Church and the Mount Pleasant Baptist Church were razed by the conflagrations.

The FBI is now investigating whether the incidents were "bias-motivated", but would not comment further.

Rev Gerald Toussaint of Mount Pleasant Missionary Baptist Church, speaking on behalf of the targeted churches, said the future was "bright" as the difficult time brought the community together in new ways.

"It started out as a dark moment in our lives, but in the rebuilding process, you're going to see some things in our future that's going to be very bright for our churches."

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) called the church burnings incidents of "domestic terrorism" against people of colour.

Greater Union Baptist Church Pastor Harry Richard told CBS his grandfather helped found the church over a century ago and the fire had damaged his family's history.

"He left a legacy for me, and I was trying to fulfil that to the best of my ability."

State and local police, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) were also involved in the investigation.

Officials said they have no reason to believe the fires are related to another incident of suspected arson on 31 March at a predominantly white church a few hours away from the community.

Jumia: 'Africa's Amazon' in landmark stock market listing- NYSE

Shares in Africa's largest e-commerce firm have debuted on the New York stock market, which could see other tech start-ups on the continent follow suit.

Jumia is listing 17.6% of the company at $14.50 a share, giving the company "unicorn" status - a technology start-up worth $1bn-plus.

It is the first tech start-up from Africa to float on Wall Street.












The so-called "Africa's Amazon" has 4 million customers on a continent where just 1% of retail sales are via online.

Jumia was founded in Lagos, Nigeria, by two French entrepreneurs in 2012 and now offers services to most of the African population, in countries such as South Africa, Tanzania, Egypt and Ivory Coast.

Its largest shareholder is MTN, Africa's biggest telecoms company.

The company said on Friday that the flotation on the New York Stock Exchange would raise $196m (£150m) for shareholders and for future investment. Jumia's financial advisers had been pitching the shares to investors at between $13-$16 each.

Jumia operates in 14 countries, including Kenya, Ghana, Algeria, Angola, and Senegal. The website sells everything from electronics to clothes, and there is a hotel and flight booking site, and a takeaway food delivery platform. In Kenya, Jumia has teamed up with French supermarket giant Carrefour to offer online deliveries.

The company's sales jumped by almost 40% last year to $147.3m.

The BBC's Africa Business Editor, Larry Madowo, said that Jumia was not yet profitable and had accumulated losses of nearly $1bn since it was founded.

Although there are technical and infrastructure hurdles to growing Africa's online retail market, he said a big selling point was that Jumia accepted mobile money payments across a continent where few people have credit or debit cards.

However, he said Jumia faced tougher competition. "Its initial public offering coincides with the launch of a competing app from global logistics provider DHL allowing consumers in 11 African countries to buy directly from global retailers.

"The DHL Africa eShop brings together more than 200 American and British retailers and will deliver directly to homes, something Jumia has struggled with."

Erik Hersman, chief executive of Nairobi-based internet and software firm BRCK, said Jumia's listing sent an important signal to other African start-ups that a major stock market listing was possible.

"It's an important event in the evolution of the African tech scene," he told the BBC last month.

Sudan coup: Military reaches out to protesters

The military leaders who carried out a coup in Sudan on Thursday have sought to reassure people that their only concern is public order.

A spokesman said Sudan's future would be decided by the protesters who took to the streets to demand President Omar al-Bashir's removal.

But protesters remain camped out in the streets of Khartoum, fearing the coup leaders are too close to Mr Bashir.

The military says it will not extradite him on war crimes charges.

Mr Bashir is the subject of two international arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC), which accuses him of organising war crimes and crimes against humanity in Sudan's Darfur region between 2003 and 2008, allegations he denies.

However, he may be put on trial inside Sudan, according to the military council set up after the coup.

Mr Bashir, one of the world's longest-serving leaders until he was ousted on Thursday, is now in custody.

His downfall followed months of unrest which began in December over the rising cost of living. At least 38 people have died in the protests.

What are the military offering the protesters?

The army has said it will oversee a transitional period followed by elections. As part of this, it is imposing a three-month state of emergency, with the constitution suspended.

The military council will be in place for a maximum of two years, it says, but could last only a month if the transition to civilian rule is managed smoothly.

Lt-Gen Omar Zain al-Abidin, who heads the military council's political committee, said on Friday: "The solutions will be devised by those in protest.

"You, the people, will provide the solutions for all economic and political issues. We have come with no ideology, we have come here to maintain order and security to provide the opportunity for the people of Sudan to achieve the change they aspire to.

"We have no ambition to hold the reins of power. We are here to provide an all-inclusive umbrella.

"Our key responsibility is to maintain public order," he added. "We will have zero tolerance for any misdeed in any corner of the country."

Why are protesters so wary?

Thousands remained camped out near military headquarters in the capital on Friday, ignoring a curfew declared by the military.

They are demanding a transition to civilian rule before they return home.

The new military council is headed by Defence Minister Awad Ibn Auf, who was previously regarded as being well placed to succeed Mr Bashir.

During the Darfur conflict, he was head of military intelligence. The US imposed sanctions on him in 2007 in relation to his alleged support for militia blamed for atrocities in Darfur.

Sara Abdeljalil, a member of the Sudanese Professionals' Association (SPA) which has spearheaded the protests, said on Thursday that the new military council was a "continuation of the same regime".

"So what we need to do is to continue the fight and the peaceful resistance," she said.

Reacting to the military's conciliatory statement on Friday, Khartoum resident Tagreed Abdin told the BBC she was not reassured.

"First of all, we don't know who's behind the military council," she said.

"We are used to hearing government double-speak but we need to see if they're really interested in dialogue and listening to the voices of the people."

The ICC's highest-profile fugitive

By Anna Holligan, BBC Hague correspondent

The Sudanese military's refusal to extradite Mr Bashir may be based on self-interest - some of the people still in power might be implicated in the crimes attributed to him, including attempts to destroy two ethnic groups loyal to rebels.

But the military did acknowledge a future civilian government might deal with the matter differently.

Backdoor discussions will be taking place with various international stakeholders to obtain support - and the extradition of this court's most high-profile fugitive could be a powerful negotiation card.

The African Union could be a key player here. It has consistently sought to undermine the ICC's legitimacy.

How did Thursday's coup unfold?

Early on Thursday, military vehicles entered the large compound in Khartoum housing the defence ministry, the army headquarters and Mr Bashir's personal residence.

State TV and radio interrupted programming and Mr Ibn Auf announced "the toppling of the regime". He said Mr Bashir was being held "in a secure place" but did not give details.

Mr Ibn Auf said Sudan had been suffering from "poor management, corruption, and an absence of justice" and he apologised "for the killing and violence that took place".

What is the reaction abroad?

UN Secretary-General António Guterres appealed for "calm and utmost restraint by all" and urged a transition that would meet the "democratic aspirations" of the people. The UN Security Council is to discuss the situation in a closed-door meeting on Friday.

UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said that a two-year military council was "not the answer" and called for a "swift move to an inclusive, representative, civilian leadership".

The African Union condemned the military takeover, saying it was not an appropriate response to the challenges facing Sudan and the aspirations of its people.

Russia, which twice hosted Mr Bashir despite the international travel ban he faced, called for calm.

Sudan's Bashir ousted by military; protesters demand civilian government

President Omar al-Bashir, who ruled Sudan in autocratic style for 30 years, was overthrown and arrested in a coup by the armed forces on Thursday, but protesters took to the streets demanding the military hand over power to civilians.

The ouster of Bashir, 75, followed months of demonstrations against his rule.

In an address on state television, Defence Minister Awad Mohamed Ahmed Ibn Auf, announced a two-year period of military rule to be followed by presidential elections.

He said Bashir was being detained in a “safe place” and a military council would now run the country. He did not say who would head it.

Ibn Auf announced a state of emergency, a nationwide ceasefire and the suspension of the constitution. Seated on a gold-upholstered armchair, he said Sudan’s airspace would be closed for 24 hours and border crossings shut until further notice.

The main organiser of protests against Bashir, the Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA), rejected the minister’s plans. It called on protesters to maintain a sit-in outside the defence ministry that began on Saturday.

Shortly afterwards, thousands of demonstrators packed the streets of central Khartoum, their mood turning from jubilation at Bashir’s expected departure to anger at the announcement of a military-led transition, a Reuters witness said.

“Fall, again!” many chanted, adapting an earlier anti-Bashir slogan of “Fall, that’s all!”.

Sudanese sources told Reuters that Bashir was at the presidential residence under “heavy guard”. A son of Sadiq al-Mahdi, the head of the main opposition Umma Party, told al-Hadath TV that Bashir was being held with “a number of leaders of the terrorist Muslim Brotherhood group”.

Bashir has been indicted by the International Criminal Court in The Hague and is facing an arrest warrant over allegations of genocide in Sudan’s Darfur region during an insurgency that began in 2003 and led to death of an estimated 300,000 people.

Despite the arrest warrant Bashir defied the court by visiting several ICC member states. Diplomatic rows broke out when he went to South Africa in 2015 and Jordan in 2017 and both failed to arrest him.

The downfall of Bashir follows the toppling this month of Algerian strongman Abdelaziz Bouteflika, also following mass protests after two decades in power.

MILITARY RULE AGAIN?

Names of Bashir’s possible successors that have been circulating include the defence minister, an ex-military intelligence chief, also an Islamist, and former army chief of staff Emad al-Din Adawi.

Adawi is said to be favoured by regional neighbours at odds with Bashir over his Islamist leanings.

Omar Saleh Sennar, a senior SPA member, said the group expected to negotiate with the military over a transfer of power.

“We will only accept a transitional civilian government,” Sennar told Reuters.

Kamal Omar, 38, another demonstrator, said: “We will continue our sit-in until we prevail”.

Ibn Auf announced the release of all political prisoners, and images circulated of freed detainees joining the protests.

Troops were deployed in strategic areas of the capital and also stormed the headquarters of Bashir’s Islamic Movement, the main component of the ruling National Congress Party.

In the eastern cities of Port Sudan and Kassala, protesters attacked the offices of Sudan’s intelligence and security service, witnesses said.

FATE UNCLEAR

Bashir, a former paratrooper who seized power in a bloodless coup in 1989, has been a divisive figure who has managed his way through one internal crisis after another while withstanding attempts by the West to weaken him.

Sudan has suffered prolonged periods of isolation since 1993, when the United States added Bashir’s government to its list of terrorism sponsors for harbouring Islamist militants. Washington followed up with sanctions four years later.

A long civil war with southern separatists ended in 2005 and South Sudan became an independent country in 2011.

Since December, Sudan has been rocked by persistent protests sparked by the government’s attempt to raise the price of bread, and an economic crisis that has led to fuel and cash shortages

The unrest escalated since the weekend, when thousands of demonstrators began camping out outside the defence ministry compound, where Bashir’s residence is located.

Clashes erupted between soldiers trying to protect the protesters and intelligence and security personnel trying to disperse them. Around 20 people were killed since the sit-in began.

Activists abroad pressed for Sudan to turn over Bashir to the International Criminal Court.

“Victims of the gravest crimes in Darfur should not have to wait any longer for justice” said Jehanne Henry, associate director at the Africa division of Human Rights Watch.

Pakistan: Deadly explosion rips through Quetta market

At least 16 people have been killed and another 30 wounded as an explosion ripped through a market in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta, police say, the latest attack to target the city's minority Hazara community.

The explosion took place as Hazaras, who are Shia Muslims, were buying vegetables early on Friday morning, Quetta police chief Abdul Razzaq Cheema told Al Jazeera by telephone.

"Members of the Hazara community go to the market every day to shop, and we provide them with a security escort," he said.

"They were at the market as police and [paramilitary] Frontier Corps soldiers patrolled the area. There was a store selling potatoes, and that is where the explosion has taken place."

Images from the scene of the explosion showed blood sprayed across the dirt floor of the market, damaged vehicles and sacks of potatoes split open by the force of the blast.

Cheema said police would not know whether the bomb was planted or a suicide attack until investigating teams, who had cordoned off the site, completed their analysis.

"The bomb appeared to have been set in the potato sacks, but we cannot rule out whether it was a suicide attack just yet," he said.

At least seven members of the Hazara community and one paramilitary soldier were among those killed, he said.

Targeted campaign

Since 2013, more than 509 Shia Muslims - mainly ethnic Hazaras - have been killed in a campaign of targeted shootings and bombings in Balochistan province, according to government data.

The majority of attacks have occurred in the provincial capital, Quetta, where most of the country's roughly 600,000 Hazaras reside.

The city's Hazara residents now live in two heavily protected enclaves on either side of the city, with movement outside of those areas restricted by threats to their lives.

Members of the community say they refrain from engaging in business or education in other parts of the city because of the risks.

Every morning, police guard a convoy that leaves the Hazara enclave to visit markets so that Hazaras may stock up on basic necessities.

This is not the first time vegetable traders have been targeted by attackers.

In October 2017, unidentified gunmen opened fire on a van bound for the fruit and vegetable market, killing the driver and four others, police say.

The attacks have been linked to the far-right Ahle Sunnat Wal Jammat (ASWJ) Sunni Muslim political party, and its associated Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) armed group.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack on Friday. Ghanaweb.