Tag: africanews

Football supporters jailed, presidential candidates behind bars, human rights activists put on a “terrorist list”… NGOs accuse Egyptian authorities of repression one month into the country’s national dialogue. Cairo inaugurated its long-delayed “national dialogue” on World Press Freedom Day, promising to give a platform to opposition voices that have been largely silenced since President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi took office in 2014.… Read More

31-year-old entrepreneur Mustapha Abubakar Gajibo first converted petrol-powered minibuses into solar-powered electric vehicles, in his workshop of Borno state. He now moved on to full designing and manufacturing of vehicles in his brand-new workshop in Abuja, the federal capital.  Abubaker sought to address two main concerns: the high cost of living and environmental concerns. “What actually motivated me into building… Read More

Pope Francis will skip Sunday’s customary public prayer and blessing, on doctor’s advice. The 86-year-old underwent a three-hour-long operation on Wednesday (June 7), using general anesthesia. Doctors removed increasingly painful scarring that resulted from previous abdominal surgeries as well as repaired a hernia in the abdominal wall, with the insertion of a prosthetic support netting, or mesh. He will therefore… Read More

Shelling and gunfire resumed Sunday (June 11) in the Sudanese capital, at the end of a 24-hour ceasefire that was globally respected according to witnesses. The latest in a series of ceasefire agreements enabled civilians to stock up on essential supplies or flee. Nearly two months into the war between Army general Al Burhane and paramilitary commadner Dagalo, over 1,800… Read More

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, 78, announced on Thursday that he had taken a “forced leave of absence” after testing positive for Covid-19. “Yesterday morning, I noticed symptoms resembling mild flu,” the head of state wrote in a statement, adding that a test had confirmed that he had been infected with the Covid-19 virus. “I have therefore isolated myself… (and) I… Read More

At the edge of an oasis almost engulfed by the dunes, where the rare caravan still passes, is a desert landscape punctured by holes. The salt pans of Kalala, near Bilma in northeastern Niger, were once an essential stop for traders with their swaying lines of camels. Salt digging, carried on from generation to generation, was a thriving business, involving… Read More

The World Food Program (WFP) announced on Friday that it was in turn suspending part of its food aid to Ethiopia due to diversions, the day after a similar announcement by the American government. “We will temporarily cease food aid in Ethiopia, but nutritional assistance to children, pregnant and lactating women, school meals programs and activities to strengthen farmers and… Read More

Burkina Faso’s security services, plagued by recurrent jihadist violence, published a list of 20 “actively wanted terrorists” on Thursday, offering bonuses for their arrest or “neutralization” ranging from 150,000 to 275,000 euros. The individuals, whose portraits have been broadcast on local media, are “actively wanted for participation or complicity in the planning or conduct of terrorist acts”. “If you provide… Read More

Mali’s passenger train service, linking the capital Bamako with the west of the country, resumed commercial operations on Friday (June 9) after a five-year break. The Governor of Kayes, Colonel Moussa Soumare, overjoyed residents and numerous passengers witnessed the inaugural trip of locomotive CC2207 for SOPAFER-Mali. Kayes, which is not fromthe border with Senegal, is a key trading hub. After… Read More

One week after the end of a deadly unrest that shook Senegal, the country still counts its losses. Volunteers and staff from Dakar’s Cheikh Anta Diop University are trying to salvage what can still be out of some 200,000 university archives. Youths armed with Molotov cocktail allegedly set ablaze the building. “…. until proven otherwise, students came and… Read More