AFP Africa

Suspected intercommunal violence in Nigeria’s north-central Plateau state earlier this week has killed more than 40 people, officials told AFP on Friday. Attackers struck multiple villages Wednesday in the religiously and ethnically mixed state, where land disputes between Muslim Fulani herders and mostly Christian farmers are known to descend into deadly violence.As of Friday morning, Bokkos …

Intercommunal violence kills dozens in central NigeriaFri, 04 Apr 2025 17:17:35 GMT Read More »

Nigerian and South African music achieved unprecedented growth last year on Spotify, earning record-breaking royalties, the audio streaming platform said on Friday.Led by international superstars such as Nigerian afrobeats giants Burna Boy and Ayra Starr, and South Africa’s Grammy award-winning singer Tyla, African music genres have earned fast-rising popularity in recent years.Spotify’s 2024 report “has unveiled …

Nigerian, S. African music saw ‘extraordinary growth’ in 2024: SpotifyFri, 04 Apr 2025 17:14:48 GMT Read More »

In what one opposition leader dubbed a historic show of protest, hundreds demonstrated in capital Bangui on Friday against precarious living conditions and to urge Central African Republic President Faustin Archange Touadera not to seek a third term.”This hasn’t happened in more than 20-25 years,” said Martin Ziguele, president of one of the main opposition parties, …

C.Africa rally demands Touadera not seek a third termFri, 04 Apr 2025 17:04:03 GMT Read More »

An elderly war veteran who addresses his supporters on social media wearing a military uniform has become a symbol of resistance to Zimbabwe’s authoritarian regime as the political opposition lies in tatters.Blessed Geza, also known as “Bombshell”, is attracting a healthy following via straight-talking online pronouncements that are introduced with a Maoist anthem from the …

The ageing war veteran standing up to Zimbabwe’s presidentFri, 04 Apr 2025 10:56:30 GMT Read More »

The dancers shake their hips, kicking their feet to the beat of the age-old “dance of the caterpillars”, typically performed in the south where the insects are gathered for food.Three times a week the National Ballet rehearses traditional dances of the many ethnic groups making up the Central African Republic (CAR).”The creations they ask of …

In war-scarred Central African Republic, ballet keeps ethnic heritage aliveFri, 04 Apr 2025 06:00:01 GMT Read More »

When listeners in northern Nigeria tuned into Voice of America last month, they found music playing in place of their regular broadcast — a telltale sign, historically, that soldiers had seized telecoms offices, and even the government.”Was there a coup in the US?” Babangida Jibrin, a VOA journalist, recalled one worried listener asking, as he …

‘Cut off’: US-backed radio goes off air in rural west AfricaFri, 04 Apr 2025 05:39:21 GMT Read More »

In a sunlit shack on the outskirts of Lesotho’s capital Maseru, 34-year-old Lieketseng Lucia Tjatji sits under a black cloth pegged to a tin wall and emblazoned with the head of a lion. To her left, a wooden table is weighed down by containers of roots, powders and dried herbs, remedies she now offers to HIV …

‘Don’t want to die’: Lesotho HIV patients look to traditional medicineFri, 04 Apr 2025 05:26:49 GMT Read More »

The small African kingdom of Lesotho said Thursday it would “urgently” send a government delegation to the United States to plead its case after Washington imposed 50-percent tariffs on its imports, the highest for a single nation.Other African countries hit with President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal tariffs” above the new baseline rate of 10 percent include …

Lesotho hardest hit as new US tariffs rattle AfricaFri, 04 Apr 2025 00:25:37 GMT Read More »

Three  journalists arrested over criticism of Burkina Faso’s military government junta have appeared in a video, saying they are at the front line to “cover the reality” of the battle against jihadist attacks.The government last week dissolved the Burkina Journalists’ Association (AJB), a day after police arrested its president, Guezouma Sanogo, and his deputy, Boukari …

Detained Burkina journalists seen at anti-jihadist front lineThu, 03 Apr 2025 20:03:57 GMT Read More »

US President Donald Trump in March ridiculed Lesotho as a place “nobody has ever heard of” and then this week hit the tiny African kingdom with the highest of his reciprocal trade tariffs for any single nation.Here are some things to know about the country sometimes called  the Switzerland of Africa because of its mountainous …

Lesotho, Africa’s ‘kingdom in the sky’ jolted by TrumpThu, 03 Apr 2025 16:53:55 GMT Read More »