A series of explosions hit Burundi’s economic capital, killing at least three people and injuring dozens on Monday evening, police and media reports said, the latest in a string of attacks. The blasts in Bujumbura followed a deadly grenade explosion in a bar in the capital Gitega on Sunday and...
Paul Rusesabagina, the “Hotel Rwanda” hero who became a fierce government critic, was found guilty on Monday on terror charges after what his supporters say was a politically motivated show trial. He was convicted of backing a rebel group blamed for deadly gun, grenade and arson attacks in Rwanda in...
Former President Jacob Zuma’s corruption trial – which has been rescheduled a number of times – is due to resume on Tuesday in a Pietermaritzburg high court. Mr Zuma is facing a string of charges in connection with a multibillion-dollar arms deal in which he is accused of accepting bribes...
The African Union (AU) has appointed Nigeria’s former president Olusegun Obasanjo as its high representative for the Horn of Africa’s region. “This decision is part of the African Union’s drive to promote peace, security, stability and political dialogue all over the Horn of Africa region,” Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chairperson of the...
Private jets filled up the runway of the airport in the northern Nigerian city of Kano as members of Nigeria’s elite and West African dignitaries flew in for the wedding of the president’s son and the daughter of a prominent religious and traditional leader. The marriage of Yusuf Buhari to...
Pope Francis has undergone successful surgery to treat a colon problem at a hospital in Rome, the Vatican says. The 84-year-old “responded well” to the treatment, which was performed under general anaesthesia, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said. It is the first time Pope Francis has been admitted to hospital since...
African leaders gathered in Zambia yesterday for a state memorial service for Kenneth Kaunda, the nation’s founding President and champion of African nationalism. The service was held at the National Heroes’ Stadium in the capital, Lusaka, where the leaders paid tributes to the late leader who was considered as one...
Foreign dignitaries have arrived in Zambia’s capital for Kenneth Kaunda’s state memorial. The patriarch of African independence died at the age of 97 last month. He succumbed to pneumonia. The giant of African nationalism will be remembered by past and present African leaders who will be attending his official memorial...
Details claiming to reveal how little income tax US billionaires pay have been leaked to a news website. ProPublica says it has seen the tax returns of some of the world’s richest people, including Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and Warren Buffett. The website alleges Amazon’s Mr. Bezos paid no tax...
Chief legal officer orders prosecution of anyone who refuses to follow the government’s block on social network. Nigeria’s Attorney General Abubakar Malami has ordered the immediate prosecution of those who try to circumvent the government’s Twitter ban after all mobile operators in the country were ordered to suspend access to...
Belarusian journalist Roman Protasevich, who was arrested in Minsk after being taken off a diverted flight last month, has appeared in a tearful interview on state television. In the interview, he confessed to organising anti-government protests and praised President Alexander Lukashenko. Mr. Protasevich’s family say the interview was conducted under...
The leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), have suspended Mali from all ECOWAS activities. The country’s military leaders have also been asked to hand over power to a civilian transition government headed by the Prime Minister. This was contained in a communique issued after an emergency...
Republicans in the US Senate have blocked a bill to establish a bipartisan commission to investigate the Capitol Hill riot. The measure passed the US House of Representatives last week. Members of ex-President Donald Trump’s party said the riot is already being investigated by congressional panels. Democrats argued that forming...
Mali’s military has seized power for the second time in months, jeopardising a planned return to democracy. Mali is facing chaos and instability once again. The military government has – for the second time in recent months – grabbed power. Leaders who had taken over after the civilian government was...
The boat left central Niger state and was heading to northwest Kebbi state when it split and sank. Dozens of people are missing in northwest Nigeria after an overloaded boat ferrying about 160 passengers sank in the Niger River, according to a local official. The boat left central Niger state...
South Sudan President Salva Kiir is hosting talks between the Sudanese government and the SPLM-North. Sudan’s transitional government and the main rebel group have kicked off a new round of peace talks, officials have said, the latest effort to end a decades-long conflict in the East African country. South Sudan...
We call on the AU to enhance engagement in the Sahel and appoint a new High Representative for Mali. Your Excellency, Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chairperson of the African Union Commission: We write to you as African citizens who have dedicated our lives to a vibrant, self-determining African continent and to...
The United States has deployed extra military resources to protect American and coalition forces withdrawing from Afghanistan. Heavy bombers and fighter jets will be deployed to safeguard troops and civilian contractors. The US and Nato have had a presence in Afghanistan for almost 20 years. US President Joe Biden has...
Near-total disappearance of food sources has created a ‘full-blown nutrition emergency’ in southern Madagascar, World Food Programme warns. Amer Daoudi, senior director of global WFP operations, warned on Friday the lives of Malagasy children are in danger, especially those under five years old whose malnutrition rates have reached “alarming levels”....
The accident occurred as tens of thousands of mainly ultra-Orthodox Jews were participating in an annual event for a religious scholar. Dozens of people have been killed in a stampede at a Jewish pilgrimage site in the north of Israel, rescue services said. Magen David Adom, the Israeli emergency service,...
President Dr Julius Maada Bio has commemorated Sierra Leone’s 60th Independence Anniversary with eight foreign dignitaries and reminded the occasion of the countries’ common interests as well as threats they face in the sub-region. Present at the day’s ceremony were His Excellencies President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo of Ghana, who...
Sudanese Irrigation Minister Yasser Abbas says Ethiopia rejected an invitation to a three-way summit to discuss stalled negotiations over GERD. A Sudanese minister has warned that his country could take legal action against Ethiopia if the latter goes ahead with plans to fill a mega-dam on the Blue Nile without...
Chad’s neighbours and international partners are concerned about the stability of a country at the heart of the fight against armed groups in the region. Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso – The sudden death this week of Chad’s longtime President Idriss Deby has thrown the country, as well as its neighbours and international partners, into...
A US jury has found a former police officer guilty of murder over the death of African-American George Floyd on a Minneapolis street last year. Derek Chauvin, 45, was filmed kneeling on Mr. Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes during his arrest last May. The widely watched footage sparked...
The South African state has abandoned its commitment to human rights to profit from weapons deals. In so doing, it has become complicit in war crimes in Yemen. Democratic South Africa’s commitment to human rights has never been solely inward-looking. Its constitutional order was crafted with a deep awareness of...
