AFP Africa

Southern Africa’s desert nation of Namibia swears in its first woman president Friday after Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah won elections last year that extended the ruling party’s 35-year grip on power. Nandi-Ndaitwah, 72, will become one of the few women leaders in the region when she is inaugurated at a ceremony to be attended by heads of states …

Namibia to inaugurate its first woman presidentFri, 21 Mar 2025 06:11:46 GMT Read More »

All 19 of the world’s glacier regions experienced a net loss of mass in 2024 for the third consecutive year, the United Nations said on Friday, warning that saving the planet’s glaciers was now a matter of “survival”.Five of the last six years have seen the most rapid glacier retreat on record, the UN’s World …

World’s glacier mass shrank again in 2024, says UNFri, 21 Mar 2025 01:12:31 GMT Read More »

Algerian prosecutors have requested a 10-year prison sentence for French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal, accused of undermining the country’s territorial integrity, local media reported Thursday.Sansal, a prominent figure in North African modern francophone literature, is known for his criticism of Algerian authorities as well as of Islamists.The 80-year-old was detained in November upon arrival at Algiers …

Algeria prosecutors seek 10 years’ jail for writer Boualem Sansal: mediaThu, 20 Mar 2025 23:25:07 GMT Read More »

Kirsty Coventry became the first woman and first African to be elected president of the International Olympic Committee on Thursday and set her sights on confronting the dual unpredictability of geopolitical intrigue and US president Donald Trump.The 41-year-old two-time Olympic swimming champion from Zimbabwe is the youngest person to hold the most powerful position in …

Groundbreaking IOC chief Coventry confronts global intrigue and TrumpThu, 20 Mar 2025 23:19:22 GMT Read More »

Former Manchester United assistant coach and South Africa star Benni McCarthy debuted as Kenya boss with a 3-3 draw against Gambia in a World Cup qualifying thriller on Thursday.  After a dour first half in which Musa Barrow missed a Gambian penalty, the Group F clash sprang to life and ended with William Wilson levelling …

Dramatic McCarthy debut as Kenya snatch World Cup drawThu, 20 Mar 2025 21:43:56 GMT Read More »

Charles Kibaki Muchiri traced the water trickling across the surface of the Lewis Glacier with his fingers, illustrating how quickly climate change is melting the huge ice blocks off of Africa’s second-highest mountain. For nearly 25 years, the affable 50-year-old guide has been taking hikers to the peaks of Mount Kenya, nearly 5,000 metres (16,400 feet) …

‘It was beautiful’: Mount Kenya’s glaciers melting awayThu, 20 Mar 2025 17:43:37 GMT Read More »

The Rwanda-backed M23 armed group has taken control of the mining hub of Walikale in DR Congo, local sources said Thursday, despite attempts to broker a ceasefire this week. The seizure of the town of around 60,000 people late on Wednesday marks the farthest west the anti-government group has advanced into the interior of the Democratic …

M23 fighters seize key DR Congo town despite ceasefire bidThu, 20 Mar 2025 17:32:43 GMT Read More »

Zimbabwean Kirsty Coventry became the first woman and African to be elected president of the International Olympic Committee on Thursday, declaring it to be an “extraordinary moment”.At 41, the two-time Olympic swimming champion is also the youngest person ever to be elected to the most powerful position in sports governance.The Zimbabwean Sports Minister succeeds Thomas …

Kirsty Coventry elected first woman president of Olympic movementThu, 20 Mar 2025 16:02:03 GMT Read More »

Kirsty Coventry says she has “learned the best lessons by failing” and the Zimbabwean swimming great’s mantra appears to have served her well after she became the first woman and African to be elected president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).”Everything’s scary. Embrace that. You have to fail,” Coventry told the swimming team at her …

Out of Africa: Hard knocks the spur for history-making CoventryThu, 20 Mar 2025 15:31:07 GMT Read More »

Armed men shot and killed four people at a taxi rank in central Johannesburg on Thursday, South African police said, reporting a similar shooting near the city the day before that killed three others.The shootings are believed to be linked to rivalries between taxi associations, police said, with assassinations and violence marking the competitive and …

Seven killed in S.Africa shootings linked to taxi rivalryThu, 20 Mar 2025 12:07:44 GMT Read More »