From Tunisia to Morocco, sun-baked North Africa has embarked on a building spree of plants that purify sea and wastewater as climate change intensifies droughts in the water-scarce region.Across the Maghreb region, which takes in parts of the Sahara desert and is plagued by scorching summer heat, countries are banking on new desalination plants and …

Drought-hit N.Africa turns to purified sea and wastewaterThu, 27 Jul 2023 09:32:16 GMT Read More »

Niger’s President Mohamed Bazoum on Thursday defiantly vowed to protect “hard-won” democratic gains after he was detained by elite troops who declared they had taken power in the troubled West African nation.Bazoum was confined in Niamey on Wednesday by members of his presidential guard, who hours later announced that “all institutions” in the country would …

Detained Niger president defiant after coup bidThu, 27 Jul 2023 07:51:12 GMT Read More »

On the road linking Niger’s capital Niamey with the south of the country, illegal fuel warehouses have closed and intrepid black-market touts waving petrol canisters at passing cars have become an endangered species.The reason? Neighbouring Nigeria has scrapped its subsidies for petrol — a move that tripled domestic prices and ended the fat profits that smugglers …

Nigeria’s end to petrol subsidies hits Niger black marketThu, 27 Jul 2023 07:16:29 GMT Read More »

Voters in the flashpoint Central African Republic will cast their ballot Sunday on a controversial plan to change the constitution, opening the door to a third term by President Faustin Archange Touadera.One of the poorest and most troubled countries in the world, the land-locked nation has been gripped by conflict and political turmoil for more …

Troubled C.Africa set to vote on contested constitution changeThu, 27 Jul 2023 07:12:41 GMT Read More »

Soldiers claim to have overthrown Niger’s government following an apparent coup in the West African nation on Wednesday when members of the Presidential Guard detained President Mohamed Bazoum.Members of the elite guard sealed off access to the president’s residence and offices in the capital Niamey, and after talks broke down, “refused to release” him, a …

Niger soldiers claim to have overthrown presidentThu, 27 Jul 2023 05:36:04 GMT Read More »

The Russian president will on Thursday host leaders of African countries for a summit in his native Saint Petersburg, as the continent braces for the consequences of Moscow’s withdrawal from the Ukraine grain export deal.Isolated on the international scene since launching a full-scale military intervention in Ukraine, Vladimir Putin still has support in several African …

Putin hosts African leaders in Russia after grain deal exitThu, 27 Jul 2023 04:35:32 GMT Read More »

As Sahel countries such as Mali and Burkina Faso fell to military junta rule in recent years, Niger’s Mohamed Bazoum stood as one of the region’s few remaining pro-Western, democratically elected leaders.He came to power in 2021 — the country’s first president to do so in a peaceful transition — and later called that a …

Mohamed Bazoum: Niger president never far from coup threatThu, 27 Jul 2023 03:27:18 GMT Read More »

African migrants pleaded to be saved from a desert zone between Libya and Tunisia on Wednesday, weeks after Tunisian authorities allegedly dumped dozens of them there with nothing.”We are dying. We are dying by the minute,” a Nigerian who wanted to be identified only by his first name, George, told AFP.”Please, I’m begging you. Take …

‘We are dying’: Migrants’ plea from Libya-Tunisia borderThu, 27 Jul 2023 00:08:55 GMT Read More »

An attempted coup was under way Wednesday in the fragile state of Niger, where members of the Presidential Guard detained President Mohamed Bazoum, triggering a standoff with the army, sources said.The head of the West African bloc ECOWAS said Benin President Patrice Talon was heading to Niger on a mediation bid after the region was …

‘Coup attempt’ in troubled Niger as president held by guardsWed, 26 Jul 2023 21:11:45 GMT Read More »