Kenya’s debt level has reached record highs despite President William Ruto’s vow to tame the country’s appetite for loans, treasury figures show.Total public debt rose by a record 1.56 trillion shillings ($10.8 billion) in the financial year ended June 30 to 10.1 trillion shillings ($70.75 billion), breaching a debt ceiling of 10 trillion shillings, according to …

Kenya’s debt rises to historic high: treasuryWed, 16 Aug 2023 10:20:31 GMT Read More »

For desperate Syrians, a WhatsApp message saying “I want to go to Europe” can be all they need to start a treacherous journey to Libya and then across the Mediterranean.Twelve years after conflict broke out when President Bashar al-Assad repressed peaceful pro-democracy protests, Syrians are still trying to escape a war that has killed more …

Syria to Libya to the EU: how people-smugglers operateWed, 16 Aug 2023 07:09:34 GMT Read More »

Gun battles between two leading armed groups in the Libyan capital Tripoli have killed 27 people and wounded 106, a toll update from the Emergency Medicine Centre said Wednesday.The centre, which provides emergency services in the west of Tripoli, published the “provisional” toll on its Facebook page overnight.The clashes between the influential 444 Brigade and …

Clashes between rival factions in Libya capital kill 27: medicsWed, 16 Aug 2023 07:05:48 GMT Read More »

Hundreds of Tunisians joined an interfaith ceremony outside the capital where the sermons urged tolerance in the face of rising anti-immigrant sentiment. During the Feast of the Assumption ceremony in Tunis’ La Goulette suburb on Tuesday, Catholic and Muslim participants marched behind a Madonna statue as it was carried to the town hall. There, the archbishop of …

Tunisian interfaith procession calls for tolerance instead of hateWed, 16 Aug 2023 04:39:42 GMT Read More »

Rights campaigners have urged Tanzania to release three people, including a former legislator, saying they could face treason charges for criticising a deal with an Emirati company to manage the country’s ports.Amnesty International said Willibrod Slaa — a former parliamentarian and diplomat — and two activists were arrested at the weekend after speaking out publicly …

Rights groups urge Tanzania to free critics of UAE port dealTue, 15 Aug 2023 17:58:09 GMT Read More »

Niger’s military-appointed prime minister made an unannounced visit to neighbouring Chad on Tuesday as West African states set talks for mulling possible military intervention to reverse his country’s coup and the United States and Russia urged a diplomatic solution to the crisis.Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine, a civilian appointed by the military rulers who ousted Nigerien …

Niger PM in Chad as US, Russia urge diplomatic option in crisisTue, 15 Aug 2023 17:51:29 GMT Read More »

Gun battles between the two leading armed groups in Tripoli killed two people and forced the closure of the Libyan capital’s only civilian airport, officials said on Tuesday.Libya has seen more than a decade of stop-start conflict since the 2011 NATO-backed revolt that toppled strongman Moamer Kadhafi, with a myriad of militias forming opposing alliances …

Clashes in Libya capital kill two, shut airportTue, 15 Aug 2023 17:15:54 GMT Read More »

South Africa will send an understrength team to New Zealand for two World Test Championship matches in February, following the release on Tuesday of the fixtures for its domestic SA20 franchise competition.Cricket South Africa chief executive Pholetsi Moseki confirmed to AFP on Tuesday that no players contracted to the six SA20 franchises would travel to …

South Africa to send below-strength Test team to New ZealandTue, 15 Aug 2023 15:46:05 GMT Read More »

An al-Qaeda-linked jihadist group has claimed responsibility for an attack that wounded members of the UN’s peacekeeping force in Mali, which is pulling out of the country, monitors said.At least four members of MINUSMA were hurt on Sunday when they came under attack on a road in northern Mali between Timbuktu and Ber, according to …

Al-Qaeda-linked group claims Mali attack on UN troopsTue, 15 Aug 2023 15:04:13 GMT Read More »

Gunfighting between the two leading armed groups in Tripoli killed two people and forced the closure of the Libyan capital’s only civilian airport, officials said on Tuesday.The clashes between the influential 444 Brigade and the Al-Radaa Force, or Special Deterrence Force, erupted on Monday night and carried over into Tuesday, an interior ministry official said.”Tensions …

Clashes in Libya capital kill two and shut airportTue, 15 Aug 2023 13:08:19 GMT Read More »