Niger’s new junta on Monday accused France of seeking to “intervene militarily” to reinstate deposed President Mohamed Bazoum, as tensions soared with the former colonial power and its neighbours.France hit back in the evening with Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna denying the charges and adding it was still “possible” to restore Bazoum to power.And in a …

Niger junta says France plotting to ‘intervene militarily’Mon, 31 Jul 2023 22:08:30 GMT Read More »

Leading Senegalese opposition figure Ousmane Sonko on Monday was charged with fomenting insurrection and his party dissolved, prompting clashes between protesters and police.Sonko, a presidential candidate and President Macky Sall’s fiercest critic, has faced a string of legal woes, which he claims have been designed to keep him out of politics.His sentencing in absentia to …

Senegal opposition figure Sonko charged and detained: lawyerMon, 31 Jul 2023 21:21:09 GMT Read More »

Leading Senegalese opposition figure Ousmane Sonko on Monday was charged with fomenting insurrection and his party dissolved, stoking concerns about further unrest two months after fatal clashes.Sonko, a presidential candidate and President Macky Sall’s fiercest critic, has faced a string of legal woes, which he claims have been designed to keep him out of politics.His …

Senegal opposition figure Sonko charged and detained: lawyerMon, 31 Jul 2023 17:47:16 GMT Read More »

Thousands of Ugandans on Monday thronged the palace grounds of the country’s largest kingdom Buganda, defying rain as they danced and ululated to mark 30 years since the coronation of King Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II.Dressed in traditional attire — with men wearing a white tunic called a “kanzu’ and women donning “bitenge” dresses — the …

Ugandans celebrate 30 years since Buganda king’s coronationMon, 31 Jul 2023 16:05:33 GMT Read More »

After bust-ups with Mali and Burkina Faso, France is now watching its relationship with Niger spiral downwards following the Sahel’s third military takeover in as many years.The same scenes that have played out in Niger since the July 26 coup have been eerily witnessed in its two neighbours, where elected leaders were tossed aside in …

France, Niger on familiar path to breakup in coup-prone SahelMon, 31 Jul 2023 15:43:20 GMT Read More »

Senegalese opposition figure Ousmane Sonko on Monday was charged with fomenting insurrection, three days after being arrested at his home, one of his lawyers told AFP. Sonko, a fierce critic of President Macky Sall, “was charged and placed in custody” after appearing before a judge, lawyer Ousseynou Ngom told AFP.The public prosecutor on Saturday anounced seven new …

Senegal opposition figure Sonko formally charged and detained: lawyerMon, 31 Jul 2023 15:41:00 GMT Read More »

In the unbearable midday heat, a Libyan patrol near the border with Tunisia comes across a black African man collapsed on the reddish-brown desert sand.He is barely breathing, and officers try to revive him, gently, with a few drops of water on his lips.The man is just one among hundreds of migrants arriving daily in …

Migrants between life and death in Tunisia-Libya desertMon, 31 Jul 2023 14:14:39 GMT Read More »

Nigerien participants in the Francophone Games, which have kicked off in DR Congo’s capital, have been left struggling after a putsch in their home country last week.Gathering athletes and artists from mostly-French speaking states, the Games are being held for the first time in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s capital Kinshasa, the world’s largest French-speaking …

Putsch throws Niger team at Francophone Games into disarrayMon, 31 Jul 2023 01:25:23 GMT Read More »

African leaders on Sunday gave the junta in Niger one week to cede power or face the possible use of force, and slapped financial sanctions on the putschists, after the latest coup in the jihadist-plagued Sahel region raised alarm on the continent and in the West.In the third coup in as many years to fell …

Africa leaders give Niger junta week to cede powerSun, 30 Jul 2023 23:44:53 GMT Read More »

The Central African Republic voted on Sunday in a referendum on a new constitution that would allow President Faustin-Archange Touadera to seek a third term in a country which has endured several coups.In 2020 Touadera won a second five-year term, after a vote interrupted by several incursions by armed rebel groups. He also had to …

CAR votes on new constitution as Touadera eyes third termSun, 30 Jul 2023 20:23:34 GMT Read More »