Noisy motorbikes pass through the streets, and in the market, customers saunter between the stands.It seems like just another day in Timbuktu — the northern Malian city whose name resonates from the Sahel’s glorious past to its jihadist-torn present.Behind the scenes, though, many people here are worried as Mali’s ruling junta tussles with the UN …

Timbuktu ponders its future after Mali and UN bustupThu, 22 Jun 2023 10:20:32 GMT Read More »

The graveyards of Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, are as bleak as they are notorious.Lying neglected between piles of rubbish and weeds are tombstones that may have been used for animal sacrifice, or graves that have been ripped open.Repelled one day by what he saw at a cemetery in Nagrin, a district in the …

Reborn graveyard is life’s achievement for Burkina manThu, 22 Jun 2023 09:51:23 GMT Read More »

Alie used to work eight hours a day driving a commercial tuk-tuk, known locally as a keke, in Sierra Leone’s capital Freetown, but as fuel prices soar, he now finds himself working 18-hour days just to make ends meet. “Everything is uphill — there are no jobs, and (problems with) the electricity and water supply,” the …

Food prices, freedoms concern S.Leone’s young votersThu, 22 Jun 2023 06:56:21 GMT Read More »

Just a day before he was due to release his manifesto, Sierra Leonean presidential contender Samura Kamara was busy writing in depth about the West African country’s justice system.Hunched over his computer, he was bashing away at what looked like an endless block of dense text. Often described as a meticulous technician, Kamara, 72, is standing …

The technocrat ready to be Sierra Leone’s ‘CEO’Thu, 22 Jun 2023 06:45:46 GMT Read More »

In a leafy suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa, green leaves adorn the walls of a school where students learn how to grow cannabis — but smoking pot is banned.The teaching aims to dispel stigma around marijuana, says Linda Siboto, the co-founder of the institution, which styles itself as Africa’s first cannabis academy.”It’s important for us …

Cannabis academy bets on South Africa pot revolutionThu, 22 Jun 2023 06:08:22 GMT Read More »

At the very last second, the Lagos professional gamer wins his battle of “Street Fighter”, sending the crowd into roars of joy, a scene unimaginable a few years ago in Nigeria, where the eSports is now in full bloom.In a room decked out in futuristic decor in an upscale district of Nigeria’s economic capital Lagos, …

Nigeria struggles with dream to rule Africa’s eSportsThu, 22 Jun 2023 04:08:30 GMT Read More »

The Sudanese capital was again under fire Wednesday, after the latest breached ceasefire between warring generals ended without any sign of an end to more than two months of war.An immense fire had already engulfed the intelligence service’s headquarters in the capital Khartoum on Tuesday evening, with each side accusing the other of attacking it …

Sudan no closer to peace as another breached truce endsWed, 21 Jun 2023 19:59:14 GMT Read More »

The trial of Guinea’s former dictator Moussa Dadis Camara for a 2009 massacre was on Wednesday once again adjourned after several weeks of delays, an AFP correspondent saw.The case was postponed to July 10 because of a prison wardens’ strike, meaning the accused was absent, and follows a boycott by solicitors over their conditions.Camara and …

Massacre trial of Guinea ex-dictator Camara delayed againWed, 21 Jun 2023 19:22:26 GMT Read More »

Security forces clashed with protesters supporting Sierra Leone’s main opposition party in the capital Freetown Wednesday, with tear gas fired and rocks thrown in response, three AFP journalists saw.The opposition All People’s Congress (APC) had called for “peaceful” nationwide protests ahead of general elections on Saturday.The party called for the demonstrations over what it says …

Opposition protest turns violent ahead of Sierra Leone electionWed, 21 Jun 2023 18:29:17 GMT Read More »

Under the watchful eye of Daniel Tagoe, a coach from Ghana, around 30 children wearing blue and yellow kits learn to play football in a village outside the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek.One of several West African players living in Kyrgyzstan, 37-year-old Tagoe says he dreams of developing a football culture in the poor Central Asian country.”My dream …

West African football coach dreams big in KyrgyzstanWed, 21 Jun 2023 18:09:46 GMT Read More »