South Africa’s hosting of a BRICS summit next week has turned a spotlight on ties between Pretoria and the Kremlin that are cosy and, for some, a puzzle.Moscow and South Africa’s African National Congress forged relations during the Cold War, when the Soviet Union backed the ANC’s fight against apartheid.Those ties remain steely strong despite …

South Africa and Russia, the ‘strange bedfellows’Thu, 17 Aug 2023 05:57:38 GMT Read More »

By 2050 North Africa could become a leading exporter of green hydrogen with Europe its main market, according to a recent report projecting the future of an industry still in its infancy. So-called green hydrogen is set “to redraw the global energy and resource map as early as 2030, creating a $1.4 trillion-a-year market by 2050,” …

Big potential for green hydrogen in North Africa: reportThu, 17 Aug 2023 04:35:42 GMT Read More »

West African military chiefs are set to meet Thursday in Ghana to coordinate a possible intervention aimed at reversing Niger’s coup. Alarmed by a cascade of takeovers in the region, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has decided to create a “standby force to restore constitutional order” in Niger. The meeting of the top brass …

West African military chiefs to meet over Niger coupThu, 17 Aug 2023 02:30:28 GMT Read More »

At least 17 soldiers were killed in a jihadist ambush in Niger, the deadliest attack since military leaders seized power last month, and a reminder of the nation’s deep security crisis as its neighbours prepare to meet on how to reverse the coup.An army detachment was “the victim of a terrorist ambush near the town …

Seventeen troops killed in new Niger attackWed, 16 Aug 2023 19:54:10 GMT Read More »

More than 60 people are believed to have died after a migrant boat from Senegal was found off West Africa’s Cape Verde islands, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said Wednesday.Sixty-three people are thought to have died, while the 38 survivors included four children aged 12 to 16, IOM spokeswoman Safa Msehli told AFP.The long …

Over 60 dead in migrant boat sinking off Cape Verde: UN agencyWed, 16 Aug 2023 19:46:01 GMT Read More »

A prominent radio station in Sierra Leone went off air Wednesday shortly before a pre-recorded interview with the US ambassador highlighting concerns about the general election was due to be broadcast.Radio Democracy 98.1 temporarily went off the airwaves during Wednesday’s breakfast programme, when an interview with US Ambassador David Reimer, recorded a day earlier, was …

S.Leone radio station goes off air before critical US interviewWed, 16 Aug 2023 18:49:10 GMT Read More »

Tripoli’s worst armed clashes in a year have killed 55 people and wounded 146, Libyan media reported Wednesday, after a truce took hold in the capital and air traffic resumed.Fighting raged from Monday night into Tuesday between the influential 444 Brigade and the Al-Radaa, or Special Deterrence Force, two of the myriad of militias that …

Truce holds in Libya after clashes kill 55Wed, 16 Aug 2023 17:44:29 GMT Read More »

Political figures and members of DR Congo’s civil society on Wednesday called for the authorities to scrap emergency measures in two eastern provinces plagued by armed groups.North Kivu and Ituri provinces have been under a “state of siege” since May 2021 under a government initiative aimed at fast-tracking security measures against the groups.Under it, senior …

Calls mount in DR Congo to scrap emergency measures in eastWed, 16 Aug 2023 15:42:10 GMT Read More »

Gun battles between two leading armed groups in the Libyan capital Tripoli have killed 27 people and wounded 106, medics said Wednesday, as a tentative truce took hold.The clashes between the influential 444 Brigade and the Al-Radaa, or Special Deterrence Force, two of the myriad of militias that have vied for power since the overthrow …

Tentative truce in Libya capital after militia clashes kill 27Wed, 16 Aug 2023 12:04:18 GMT Read More »

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 »