AFP Africa

Mathias Azonnoudo, a 50-year-old farmer in Benin, was taking a break sitting on a large pile of freshly picked cotton, which the government hopes will feed the country’s nascent textile revolution.Azonnoudo and other farmers in the West African country have benefited from a recent uptick in demand for cotton, with the government seeking to launch …

Benin seeks home-grown cotton ‘revolution’Sat, 01 Feb 2025 06:26:41 GMT Read More »

The Rwandan-backed M23 group on Friday advanced south after seizing the biggest city in mineral-rich eastern DR Congo, in violence that according to the United Nations has killed at least 700 people in less than a week.The M23 took Goma, capital of North Kivu province, after intense fighting this week and has pushed further, vowing …

Rwanda-backed M23 pushes on in DR CongoFri, 31 Jan 2025 20:44:10 GMT Read More »

A Swiss court convicted Trafigura and three people linked to the commodities trading firm of corruption in Angola, in what campaigners hailed Friday as a “historic” first in Switzerland.A Trafigura statement expressed disappointment at the ruling and said it was reviewing judgment. The lawyer for one former director with the company said he would appeal …

Swiss court convicts Trafigura of corruption in AngolaFri, 31 Jan 2025 20:06:28 GMT Read More »

Wearing T-shirts and flip-flops, scores of young men lined up outside a stadium in eastern DR Congo on Friday, ready to take on the latest armed group to unleash bloodshed and terror in this violence-scarred, mineral-rich corner of Africa.”I am ready to die for my country,” said Juvenal Bahati Muhigirwa Ndagano as he waited to …

Volunteers in east DRC line up to join fight against M23Fri, 31 Jan 2025 19:39:59 GMT Read More »

The world’s most followed TikToker, Khaby Lame, on Friday was named as ambassador for the UN children’s agency as he visited Senegal, where the Italian influencer was born.The 24-year-old holds top spot on the TikTok app, with 162.8 million followers and has risen to fame for his short silent videos mocking the convoluted tutorials of …

TikTok king Khaby Lame joins UNICEF as goodwill ambassadorFri, 31 Jan 2025 18:59:51 GMT Read More »

After seizing the biggest city in eastern DR Congo, the Rwandan-backed armed group M23 was advancing south through a neighbouring province on Friday, as young men volunteered to fight against it alongside the struggling Congolese army.The group took Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, after intense fighting earlier this week and has vowed to …

Rwanda-backed M23 advances in DRC as volunteers rally to fight backFri, 31 Jan 2025 17:40:33 GMT Read More »

In a village nestled in the mountains of northeastern Algeria, locals and visitors gathered under a cold winter sky to celebrate Tamechrit, a centuries-old Berber tradition rooted in sharing.Seeking to preserve a practice that faded during the Algerian civil war of the 1990s, villagers marked Tamechrit with Berber music and food on the occasion coinciding …

Centuries-old Algerian indigenous tradition champions sharingFri, 31 Jan 2025 14:22:31 GMT Read More »

Sudan’s paramilitary commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, in a rare video address on Friday, acknowledged setbacks in the capital Khartoum but vowed to expel the army from the city again.The war since April 2023 between Daglo’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the army has killed tens of thousands of people, uprooted more than 12 million, according …

Sudan paramilitary chief admits setbacks, vows to expel army from KhartoumFri, 31 Jan 2025 12:08:07 GMT Read More »

President Mahamat Idriss Deby on Friday welcomed the “definitive and complete departure” of French forces from Chad which marks the end of France’s last foothold in the wider jihadist-hit Sahel region.After a closed-door military ceremony a day earlier, Deby addressed Chadian forces and diplomats at an event in the capital N’Djamena.The handover of the Kossei …

Chad leader welcomes ‘complete’ departure of French forcesFri, 31 Jan 2025 11:43:36 GMT Read More »

The Rwandan-backed armed group M23 moved south as it closed in on a key military airport in DR Congo on Friday, a day after pledging to take the capital Kinshasa and as international criticism mounted.The group’s capture of most of Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, earlier in the week was a dramatic escalation …

Rwanda-backed M23 advances towards second DR Congo regional capitalFri, 31 Jan 2025 10:00:54 GMT Read More »