Tag: africanews

Vote counting began in Sierra Leone on Saturday following a mostly peaceful general election despite a late start in some polling stations, as the opposition denounced alleged irregularities. President Julius Maada Bio is seeking a second term amid a crippling cost-of-living crisis that sparked deadly riots last year. Twelve men and one woman are vying for the top job, though… Read More

The chief of the rebel Wagner mercenary force will leave Russia and won’t face charges after calling off his troops’ advance on Saturday, Moscow said, easing Russia’s most serious security crisis in decades. The feud between Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin and Russia’s military brass came to a violent head in the past day, with his forces capturing a key army… Read More

The head of the World Food Program (WFP) on Thursday called on the international community to come to the aid of “traumatised and hungry” Somalis, as food insecurity “soars” again in the country hit by armed conflict and drought. “I went to Somalia last month and saw with my own eyes how conflict and climate change are working together to… Read More

Some thirty suspected illegal miners were found dead at the bottom of a disused mine in South Africa, a month after a probable accident, in the small gold-mining town of Welkom, 250 km south of Johannesburg, the government said on Friday. Riddled by endemic unemployment, South Africa is home to thousands of illegal miners, nicknamed “zama zamas”. Some also come… Read More

Unrest in Senegal is having a ricochet effect on the country’s sheep herders ahead of the Muslim holiday, Aid-al-adha, one of two times of the year herders make the most profit. For months, they have been gearing up for the holiday also known as Tabaski, when Muslims traditionally sacrifice a sheep for a family feast. Cheick Ba is among many… Read More

Muslim pilgrims streamed into the holy city of Mecca on Friday ahead of the start of Hajj. Over two million people from 160 countries are expected to gather in the historic city, according to Saudi authorities. This hajj will be the biggest since the requirement for women to be accompanied by male guardians was dropped in 2021. But with the… Read More

Sierra Leonean President Julius Maada Bio cast his vote in the country’s general elections. President Bio is seeking a second term but faces competition from 11 challengers including former minister of foreign affairs and international cooperation Samura Kamara of the All-people’s Congress. President Bio urged citizens to go and vote after he had cast his ballot. “Go out and vote.… Read More

Mounira is barely 40 centimeters tall. Mouth open, cheek flat against her mother’s chest, this baby born almost two months prematurely is growing thanks to the “kangaroo” method, increasingly used around hospitals in Côte d’Ivoire. Her mom Affousata Sidibé is happy with the results of this method. “I’m leaving today. Anyway, I’m happy, very happy. I did a month here… Read More

Sierra Leoneans began voting Saturday in fiercely contested presidential and parliamentary elections amid a cost-of-living crisis that helped spark deadly riots last year. Voting, due to end at 5.00 pm GMT, got off to a late start at Wilberforce Barracks, a voting centre in the capital Freetown. Some 3.4 million people are expected to choose between 13 candidates vying for… Read More

The Russian capital and the regions of Rostov, which borders Ukraine, and Lipetsk announced on Saturday that they were stepping up their security arrangements after the head of Russian paramilitary group, Wagner, accused the Russian army of shelling his fighters. On Friday, Yevgeny Prigozhin said he had ordered to march on the Russian defence ministry and appealed to government soldiers… Read More