Niger braced Friday for a weekend of planned anti-French rallies as tensions mount between the country’s new military rulers and its traditional ally.A coalition of civil society groups opposed to the presence of French forces in Niger has called a three-day sit-in, starting Friday.The protest, organised by the M62 grouping, is set to take place …

Niger set for rallies to demand French troops leaveFri, 01 Sep 2023 14:32:00 GMT Read More »

Kenya next week hosts a flagship climate conference designed to showcase Africa as a potential powerhouse for green energy, in the first of a flurry of big meetings ahead of crunch UN talks. With the world far adrift of its goal of slashing carbon emissions and communities battered by extreme weather events, the November climate summit …

African climate summit seeks to showcase green power potentialFri, 01 Sep 2023 12:13:36 GMT Read More »

Search dogs looked for bodies on Friday in a Johannesburg building that went up in flames killing dozens and forcing South Africa to confront an illegal housing “crisis”.At least 74 people including 12 children died as fire ripped through the five-storey building in the early hours on Thursday.Authorities asked relatives to go to a morgue …

Deadly blaze in Joburg prompts debate over ‘hijacked’ buildingsFri, 01 Sep 2023 10:39:19 GMT Read More »

Hundreds of thousands of people fleeing Sudan’s war have crossed into Chad to find themselves in overcrowded camps, sweltering in plastic huts and awaiting healthcare that never comes.One of them, Adam Bakht, is an elderly man with a sparse beard who said he counts “diabetes, asthma and allergies” among his ailments.But he has received only …

Sudan refugees stranded without healthcare in ChadFri, 01 Sep 2023 03:55:34 GMT Read More »

Siya Kolisi had difficulty speaking immediately after his Springbok team completed an emphatic 35-7 demolition of New Zealand’s All Blacks in their final warm-up match before the Rugby World Cup.It was not because he was choked up with emotion. He simply could not be heard above the cheers of South African supporters at London’s Twickenham …

‘International rugby icon’ Kolisi defies odds after horror injuryFri, 01 Sep 2023 02:29:54 GMT Read More »

A fire that ripped through a five-storey building taken over for illegal housing has killed 74 people including 12 children in central Johannesburg, South African authorities said Thursday.Another 61 people were injured and received hospital treatment in what was one of the deadliest fires worldwide in recent years.Bodies were discovered piled up at a security …

Fire engulfs illegal Johannesburg housing block killing 74Fri, 01 Sep 2023 01:47:47 GMT Read More »

At least 48 people have been killed in a crackdown on an anti-UN protest in eastern DR Congo, according to sources and official documentation reviewed by AFP on Thursday, raising a previously reported death toll.On Wednesday, Congolese soldiers stopped a religious sect from holding a demonstration against United Nations peacekeepers in the city of Goma. Some …

48 killed in east DR Congo anti-UN rally crackdownThu, 31 Aug 2023 22:43:53 GMT Read More »

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu on Thursday floated the idea of a transition back to democracy in neighbouring Niger similar to the nine-month period his country underwent in the late 1990s.The Economic Community of West African States has imposed sanctions on Niger after troops ousted President Mohamed Bazoum in a coup on July 26 and the bloc threatened …

Nigeria president suggests nine-month transition for Niger juntaThu, 31 Aug 2023 22:35:07 GMT Read More »

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, head of the West Africa bloc ECOWAS, on Thursday suggested a nine-month transition back to democracy for Niger’s new regime in the bloc’s first apparent timeline since the July coup.The Economic Community of West African States has imposed sanctions on Niger after troops ousted President Mohamed Bazoum on July 26 and …

W.Africa bloc chief sees 9-month transition for Niger juntaThu, 31 Aug 2023 19:28:55 GMT Read More »

The general who overthrew Gabon’s 55-year Bongo dynasty will be sworn in on Monday as transitional president, the army said, as the opposition called for its candidate to be recognised as the winner of weekend elections.The military sought to reassure donors they would “respect all commitments” at home and abroad and “phase in” transitional institutions, …

Gabon strongman to be sworn in as president, opposition seeks vote winThu, 31 Aug 2023 19:10:30 GMT Read More »