Tag Archives: Africa

It is not yet time to start vaccinating children against COVID-19, the World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom said on Friday at a media briefing, instead urging countries who have vaccinated their elderly to donate vaccines to other countries. “I understand why some countries want to vaccinate their children and …

The ceremony comes following the bloodiest pre-election crackdown in years and widespread allegations of irregularities. Uganda’s Yoweri Museveni has been sworn in for his sixth term as president, as police surrounded the home of Bobi Wine, his main opposition rival who decried the inauguration as a “sham”. Museveni, who won …

No reason given behind the move that comes just days after the neighbours normalised their diplomatic ties. Kenya has suspended flights to Somalia just days after its neighbour said diplomatic ties between the two countries had been normalised following months of tension. On Tuesday, the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) …

A female peacekeeper from Malawi was killed in an attack by an Islamist militia in eastern Congo’s North Kivu province on Monday morning, the U.N. and the Malawian government said. A local civil rights group said separately that fighters with the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), an Islamist armed group with …

Chad’s military claimed victory on Sunday in its weeks-long battle with northern rebels that led to the death of President Idriss Deby on the battlefield. The rebel group Front for Change and Concord in Chad (FACT) did not respond to a request for comment. The transitional military authorities have previously …

Military authorities had banned the protest called by a coalition of opposition political parties and civil society organizations. Police in Chad’s capital, N’Djamena, have fired tear gas to disperse crowds protesting against a military takeover that followed the death of longtime President Idriss Deby on the battlefield last month. The …

Armed groups displace some 17,500 people in Burkina Faso in recent days, UNHCR says, in an attempt to cause ‘mayhem’. More than 17,500 people in Burkina Faso have been forcefully displaced from their homes in the past 10 days due to a series of attacks by unidentified armed groups that …

Somalia said on Thursday it was restoring diplomatic relations with neighbouring Kenya almost six months after severing ties, accusing Nairobi of meddling in politics. Relations between the countries have also been tense over the ownership of potential oil and gas deposits, some of which lie off the coast of Jubbaland, …

Nigeria will reopen its airports for international flights from Aug. 29, its aviation minister said on Monday. The airports have been closed since March 23 to all but essential international flights as part of the country’s efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Aviation Minister Hadi Sirika said four flights would …

Sudanese security forces fired tear gas to disperse thousands of protesters who gathered on Monday, some burning car tyres, to mark the anniversary of a transitional power-sharing deal with demands for quicker political reform. The agreement set up a precarious alliance of civilian technocrats and military officials following the April …

Militants stormed a high-end seaside hotel in Mogadishu on Sunday, killing at least seven people and injuring more than 20, in the second attack by Islamist insurgents on a highly fortified target in the Somali capital this week. Militant group al Shabaab claimed the attack on the Elite Hotel in …

A ship that has leaked more than 1,000 tonnes of oil in pristine waters off the Mauritius coast has split into two, its Japanese operator said Sunday. The bulk carrier MK Wakashio ran aground on a coral reef off the southeastern coast of Mauritius on July 25 and began oozing …

At least three people died during protests in Ivory Coast on Thursday, police said, as small groups burned makeshift roadblocks in protests against President Alassane Ouattara’s decision to stand for a third term. The West African nation has seen a number of scattered protests since Ouattara announced last week he …

An outcry is rising in Somalia as parliament considers a bill that would allow child marriage once a girl’s sexual organs mature and would allow forced marriage as long as the family gives their consent. The bill is a dramatic reworking of years of efforts by civil society to bring …

At least 10 people died in clashes between protesters and security forces in Ethiopia’s southern region on Monday, health officials said, the latest violence as myriad ethnic groups clamour for more autonomy. The protests were sparked by Sunday’s arrest of local officials and activists seeking a new autonomous region for …

Urgent efforts increased in Mauritius on Monday to empty a stranded Japanese ship of an estimated 2,500 tons of oil before the vessel breaks up and increases the contamination of the island’s once-pristine Indian Ocean coastline. Already more than 1,000 tons of fuel have washed up on the eastern coast …

Six French tourists, their local guide and driver were killed by unidentified gunmen riding motorcycles on Sunday in an area of southwestern Niger home to the last herd of West African giraffes, officials said. “There are eight dead: two Nigeriens including a guide and a driver, while the other six …

Anxious residents of the Indian Ocean island nation of Mauritius have stuffed fabric sacks with sugar cane leaves to create makeshift oil spill barriers as tonnes of fuel leaking from a grounded ship put endangered wildlife in further peril. The government on Saturday declared an environmental emergency as satellite images …

A suicide bombing killed at least nine people and injured nearly 20 Saturday when the bomb-laden car detonated at the gates of a Somali military base, security officials and witnesses said. Security officials said that eight of the people killed were government soldiers and other casualties were family members of …

Ten countries account for 80% of the new coronavirus testing taking place across Africa, a regional body said on Thursday, indicating that little testing is taking place in many countries around the vast continent. COVID-19 confirmed cases across Africa have accelerated and are close to hitting a million this week, …