AFP Africa

Niger’s military rulers have expelled three Chinese oil executives from the country and closed down a Chinese-run hotel, media reports and an official decree indicated Friday.Several Nigerien media reported that authorities had given two days’ notice to leave the country to the Chinese managers from the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), which is drilling for …

Niger expels three Chinese oil executives: reportsFri, 14 Mar 2025 11:13:50 GMT Read More »

Three decades after Formula One engines last roared on African tarmac, South Africa is mounting a bid to organise a new Grand Prix and bring the world championship back to the continent.Competition to host the high-octane spectacle is between two tracks: a street circuit in Cape Town and the less picturesque but historic Kyalami race …

S.Africa bids for first African F1 grand prix in 30 yearsFri, 14 Mar 2025 08:52:37 GMT Read More »

From insomniacs to party-goers, doting couples, tired paramedics and Johannesburg’s golden youth, The Pantry, a petrol station doubling as a gourmet deli, has become unmissable on the nightlife scene of South Africa’s biggest city.Open 24 hours a day, the establishment which opened three years ago is a haven for revellers looking for a midnight snack …

Inside The Pantry: South Africa’s nightlife and diversity collideFri, 14 Mar 2025 07:09:10 GMT Read More »

Mine shafts snake under the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo’s mountains, but instead of the Congolese government their rich veins are making a mint for the Rwanda-backed M23.In the tracts of land the M23 has seized following its 2021 resurgence in the eastern DRC, an area mineral-rich yet scarred by decades of conflict, the armed …

East DR Congo mines mint Rwanda-backed M23’s fortuneFri, 14 Mar 2025 07:08:00 GMT Read More »

Legs taut, backs bent at the waist, the wrestlers slowly stretched out their arms towards each other, searching for a grip while trying to avoid becoming exposed themselves.In a flash it was all over — a tangle of grappling, pushing and jostling that ended with the Beninese fighter tossed to the ground by her Nigerian …

Women step into the ring at west African wrestling tournamentFri, 14 Mar 2025 07:07:28 GMT Read More »

With his paintings of Ivory Coast’s street kids, Aboudia has taken his teenage misfit mutiny to the very top, becoming one of the world’s bestselling artists along the way.”When I was a teenager I wanted to paint but my father didn’t want me to,” Aboudia told AFP, remembering how artist was a synonym for “loser” …

Ivorian painter Aboudia takes teen rebellion to top of the art worldFri, 14 Mar 2025 06:33:54 GMT Read More »

The Rwanda-backed M23 armed group cautiously welcomed Thursday the prospect of direct negotiations with the Congolese government to end the conflict in the volatile eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.Since its 2021 resurgence the M23 has been fighting the Congolese army there, seizing swathes of the DRC’s mineral-rich territory in a region plagued by decades of …

Rwanda-backed M23 welcomes talks to end DR Congo conflictThu, 13 Mar 2025 19:42:06 GMT Read More »

The European Union and South Africa vowed to deepen cooperation at a summit on Thursday as both grapple with aid and trade threats from the new US administration.European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen also plans to mobilise a 4.7-billion-euro ($5 billion) investment package in South Africa that includes funding for a transition to clean …

EU, South Africa leaders vow deeper ties amid US threatsThu, 13 Mar 2025 17:49:33 GMT Read More »

Clashes between rival factions in the Ethiopian region of Tigray have raised the spectre of a new war between Ethiopia and Eritrea, analysts and residents said Thursday.International powers and the United Nations have expressed concern and called for “urgent dialogue” to de-escalate the tensions. Ethiopia’s most northerly region, bordering Eritrea, saw a devastating war between 2020 …

Fears grow of renewed conflict in Ethiopia’s TigrayThu, 13 Mar 2025 17:47:09 GMT Read More »