AFP Africa

A two-week humanitarian truce began between Kinshasa and M23 rebels on Friday in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s war-scarred east.  The United States announced the truce on Thursday, a day before it was due to begin, and expressed hope for a permanent ceasefire. The truce has not yet been publicly mentioned by anyone in DR …

M23 rebels, DRC begin two-week ‘humanitarian truce’Fri, 05 Jul 2024 18:31:30 GMT Read More »

An American on trial over an alleged coup bid in DR Congo told a court on Friday that he had been forced into participating by his father who led the plot and was later killed. The alleged coup bid struck on May 19 when armed men attacked the home of Economy Minister Vital Kamerhe before raiding …

DR Congo ‘coup’ suspect says forced into it by fatherFri, 05 Jul 2024 18:29:41 GMT Read More »

Refugees and migrants face extreme violence, abuse and exploitation on land routes crossing Africa to get to the Mediterranean, with far more believed to be dying there than at sea, a UN-backed report said Friday.Nearly 30,000 migrants have been declared dead or missing attempting to cross the Mediterranean to Europe in the past decade.But it …

Migrants face ‘unimaginable horrors’ crossing Africa says UNFri, 05 Jul 2024 08:35:48 GMT Read More »

Cable car, urban rail link or ring road — Kinshasa has big plans for alleviating its traffic chaos but for now, travelling into the megacity remains a daily headache for millions of people.Viviane Yuka leaves for work at 5:00 am every day to battle through the Congolese capital’s clogged-up streets where motorbikes, packed buses and …

Kinshasa, a megacity of traffic jams, potholes, transit chaosFri, 05 Jul 2024 05:46:28 GMT Read More »

Zimbabwe and India will be looking to the future when they start a five-match Twenty20 international series at the Harare Sports Club on Saturday.Outgoing Indian coach Rahul Dravid described India’s win in the T20 World Cup in Barbados last Saturday as the end of “a journey of two years”.With the next T20 World Cup scheduled …

Zimbabwe, India look to future in T20 seriesFri, 05 Jul 2024 03:39:23 GMT Read More »

Nearly 90 migrants bound for Europe perished when their boat capsized earlier this week off the coast of Mauritania, the state news agency and a local official said Thursday, while dozens more remain missing.”The Mauritanian coast guard recovered the bodies of 89 people aboard a large traditional fishing boat that capsized on Monday July 1 …

89 migrants dead at sea off Mauritania: news agencyThu, 04 Jul 2024 22:04:15 GMT Read More »

Rummaging in the darkness of a tiny mud and thatch home in eastern Sierra Leone, ecologist James Koninga plucks a metal rat trap from under a collapsed bedframe.The 62-year-old belongs to a group of researchers tracking the deadly Lassa fever, a viral haemorrhagic illness endemic in several West African countries and transmitted by infected rats. Koninga …

Decade since Ebola, Sierra Leone fights another deadly feverThu, 04 Jul 2024 06:59:35 GMT Read More »

Twenty-five soldiers accused of “fleeing the enemy” while fighting M23 rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo were sentenced to death Wednesday during a one-day trial, according to their lawyers. A total of 31 defendants, including 27 soldiers and four of their civilian wives, appeared before the Butembo garrison military court in North Kivu province, near …

DR Congo sentences 25 soldiers to death for ‘fleeing the enemy’: lawyerWed, 03 Jul 2024 22:23:02 GMT Read More »

The Kenyan presidency said Wednesday it had ordered a review of salary increases for public servants in an apparent move to defuse tensions after a wave of sometimes deadly anti-government protests.Public anger is running high over what protesters see as rampant government extravagance in the face of the economic hardships and high cost of living …

Under-fire Kenya govt says to review state salary hikesWed, 03 Jul 2024 20:05:57 GMT Read More »

An attack blamed on jihadists in central Mali killed more than 20 civilians on Monday, two local officials said, in the latest killings in the troubled Sahel region.Mali has for over a decade been ravaged by jihadists and other armed groups, with the centre of the West African country becoming a hotbed of violence since …

Suspected jihadist attack in Mali kills more than 20 civiliansWed, 03 Jul 2024 16:53:25 GMT Read More »