AFP Africa

I.Coast opposition joins forces in reform demand before electionMon, 10 Mar 2025 15:47:11 GMT

Twenty-five opposition parties in Ivory Coast announced Monday they had formed a coalition to push demands for electoral reform and political dialogue ahead of an October presidential ballot.The Coalition for Peaceful Alternation in Ivory Coast brings together parties with vastly different ideologies and agendas but the aim of the new grouping is to ensure lasting …

I.Coast opposition joins forces in reform demand before electionMon, 10 Mar 2025 15:47:11 GMT Read More »

83% of USAID programs to be scrapped: RubioMon, 10 Mar 2025 14:51:49 GMT

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday the United States was cancelling 83 percent of programs at USAID, as the Trump administration guts spending not aligned with its “America First” agenda.The US Agency for International Development (USAID) distributes humanitarian aid around the world, with health and emergency programs in around 120 countries, and critics warn …

83% of USAID programs to be scrapped: RubioMon, 10 Mar 2025 14:51:49 GMT Read More »

Major fuel shortage hits black gold producer NigerMon, 10 Mar 2025 12:28:46 GMT

Petrol station attendant Amadou Sani gesticulated to approaching motorists in Niamey to keep going because the garage had no more fuel.Niger has been grappling since the start of the month with an unprecedented shortage of the most widely used petrol in the west African country.”Our tanks have been dry for three days. No-one can say …

Major fuel shortage hits black gold producer NigerMon, 10 Mar 2025 12:28:46 GMT Read More »

Rwanda businesses pay price for DR Congo conflictMon, 10 Mar 2025 06:42:29 GMT

Rwandan truckers and exporters say they are paying a steep price for the conflict in the eastern region of neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo, having to deal with angry locals and fearful customers.Olivier Munyemana, a Rwandan lorry driver, knows the route from the Indian Ocean port of Dar es Salaam to the DRC by heart, …

Rwanda businesses pay price for DR Congo conflictMon, 10 Mar 2025 06:42:29 GMT Read More »

South Africa’s taboo-breaking playwright Athol FugardSun, 09 Mar 2025 16:15:54 GMT

South African writer and theatre director Athol Fugard was acclaimed at home and abroad for plays that exposed the injustices of the apartheid system and challenged its racist taboos, including by putting black and white actors on stage together.Fugard, who died on March 8, aged 92, wrote more than 30 plays over seven decades, his …

South Africa’s taboo-breaking playwright Athol FugardSun, 09 Mar 2025 16:15:54 GMT Read More »

Nigeria seeks to cash in on soaring cocoa pricesSun, 09 Mar 2025 03:03:54 GMT

Booming cocoa prices are stirring interest in turning Nigeria into a bigger player in the sector, with hopes of challenging top producers Ivory Coast and Ghana, where crops have been ravaged by climate change and disease.Nigeria has struggled to diversify its oil-dependent economy but investors have taken another look at cocoa beans after global prices …

Nigeria seeks to cash in on soaring cocoa pricesSun, 09 Mar 2025 03:03:54 GMT Read More »

Protesters rally on International Women’s Day, fearing far rightSun, 09 Mar 2025 02:14:43 GMT

Protesters took to the streets across the world Saturday to mark International Women’s Day, demanding equal pay, political representation and an end to gender-based violence while voicing fears of rising repression.In eastern Ukraine, scores of demonstrators held a minute’s silence to honour women killed defending the country from Russia’s invasion. Many carried banners bearing the …

Protesters rally on International Women’s Day, fearing far rightSun, 09 Mar 2025 02:14:43 GMT Read More »

‘Alarming regression’ in South Sudan, UN warnsSat, 08 Mar 2025 17:31:59 GMT

South Sudan is in “alarming regression” as clashes in recent weeks in the northeast threaten to undo years of progress towards peace, the UN commission on human rights in the country warned on Saturday.A fragile power-sharing agreement between President Salva Kiir and First Vice President Riek Machar has been put in peril by the clashes …

‘Alarming regression’ in South Sudan, UN warnsSat, 08 Mar 2025 17:31:59 GMT Read More »

Women step into the ring at west African wrestling tournamentSat, 08 Mar 2025 11:01:16 GMT

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 tournamentSat, 08 Mar 2025 11:01:16 GMT Read More »