Tag Archives: Africa

Suspected Islamist militants killed at least 22 civilians with knives and machetes in an overnight raid on villages near the town of Beni in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, a local official said on Wednesday. The attack comes more than three weeks after the government declared martial law in …

A boat ferrying about 200 people capsized in the northwestern Nigerian state of Kebbi on Wednesday, though the number of casualties remains unclear, said a spokesman for the state’s governor. Such incidents are not uncommon in Nigeria, with track records of overloading and poor maintenance and safety, though the number …

Mali’s interim president and prime minister resigned on Wednesday, two days after they were arrested by the military, an aide to the vice president said, deepening a political crisis and potentially setting up a standoff with international powers. President Bah Ndaw and Prime Minister Moctar Ouane were taken to a …

Zuma accuses lawyers of working ‘to bolster a narrative’ as trial begins over $2.5bn arms deal Jacob Zuma, the former president of South Africa, accused prosecutors of seeking to malign a political leader rather than find the truth as he denied charges of corruption at the first major hearing of …

More than 20,000 people are homeless and 40 still missing in the aftermath of a volcanic eruption in eastern Congo that killed dozens and continues to cause strong earthquakes in the nearby city of Goma, the United Nations said on Wednesday. Saturday’s eruption sent rivers of lava streaming down the …

Eritrean and Ethiopian soldiers forcibly detained more than 500 young men and women from four camps for displaced people in the town of Shire in the northern region of Tigray on Monday night, three aid workers, and a doctor told Reuters. The soldiers arrived at around 11 p.m. and loaded …

For more than a decade, Nigerian security services and their international supporters have struggled to end Boko Haram’s brutal reign of terror over northeastern Nigeria. But few observers of the conflict are celebrating – even though it appears increasingly likely that Abubakar Shekau, the Islamist extremist movement’s notoriously violent leader, …

Ethiopia’s government protests restrictions imposed by Washington over alleged human rights abuses in the Tigray region. Ethiopia has accused the United States of meddling in its affairs after Washington announced restrictions on economic and security assistance over alleged human rights abuses during the conflict in the northern Tigray region. US …

Tens of thousands of residents had fled Goma in panic while hundreds were left homeless. Continuing tremors have shaken the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s city of Goma, unnerving families still reeling from a volcano eruption at the weekend that destroyed nearby villages, displaced thousands, and killed at least 20 …

Nigeria’s economy grew 0.5% in the first quarter, lifted by higher crude production and oil prices, the country’s statistics office said on Sunday, as activities slowly gain momentum after the gradual easing of coronavirus lockdowns. Africa’s largest economy, exited its second recession since 2016 in the fourth quarter, despite a …

The Democratic Republic of Congo has initiated evacuation measures in the eastern city of Goma, which sits dangerously close to the erupting Mount Nyiragongo. The flowing lava has been destroying roads and houses on its path. “The evacuation plan for the city of Goma has been activated,” Communications Minister Patrick …

The incident occurred as the plane was landing at Kaduna airport ‘due to inclement weather, the army says. Nigeria’s top-ranking army commander Lieutenant General Ibrahim Attahiru and other military officers have been killed when their plane crashed in the country’s north, according to officials. The incident on Friday occurred “due …

The head of France’s armed forces has slammed a UN report into an airstrike in central Mali which killed 19 civilians, saying it was biased and delegitimized the operations of the French-led Barkhane force there. “Very clearly this (report) comprises an attack on the French army, the Barkhane operation (and) …

Ethiopia’s twice-delayed national and regional elections will now take place on June 21, but security and logistical problems will delay voting still further in some areas, organisers said on Thursday. The announcement that officials had been unable to hold voter registration in some hotspots thrusts a spotlight on the frequent …

Nigerian Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau has been seriously wounded after trying to kill himself to avoid capture during clashes with rival ISIS-allied militants in the north of the country, two intelligence sources said on Thursday. Shekau’s Boko Haram faction and fighters from the Islamic State West Africa Province had …

Health authorities in Malawi have incinerated 19,610 expired doses of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine, saying it will reassure the public that any vaccines they do get are safe. It is the first African country to publicly do this. The World Health Organization initially urged countries not to destroy expired doses …

Hope and excitement gripped the Munsieville care home in the South African mining city of Krugersdorp on Monday, when people over the age of 60 were called to receive the COVID-19 vaccine for the first time. “It’s going to change our country for the better,” Caroline Nicholls, 64, a judge, …

Uganda said on Monday it had agreed with neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to share intelligence and coordinate a new push by Kinshasa to combat Islamist rebels blamed for worsening violence in Congo’s east. The move came a week after Congolese officials said the two countries would set up …

Trinidad and Tobago will impose a state of emergency from midnight to contain an increase of COVID-19 cases and related deaths, Prime Minister Keith Rowley said on Saturday. Rowley also imposed a curfew from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. local time, with some exceptions to essential services including the energy …

The election board says delays in opening polling stations and voter registration have pushed back the voting day. Ethiopia has delayed its national election again after some opposition parties said they would not take part and as a conflict in the country’s Tigray region means no vote is being held …