AFP Africa

The historic Ethiopian town of Lalibela was rocked by the sound of heavy artillery on Wednesday as federal government troops fired towards areas where local militias were believed to be hiding, residents said.Lalibela, a UNESCO World Heritage site, lies in the region of Amhara, which has for months been the scene of fighting between the …

Ethiopia’s Lalibela rocked by artillery fire: residentsThu, 21 Sep 2023 17:16:30 GMT Read More »

Kenyan police said Thursday they had learned from their “mistakes” as the nation commemorated the 10th anniversary of a bloody siege at an upmarket shopping centre in the capital Nairobi.In all, 67 people were killed and more than 200 wounded after gunmen from Somalia’s Al-Shabaab jihadist group stormed the Westgate mall, spraying bullets and hurling …

Kenya marks 10 years since mall massacreThu, 21 Sep 2023 15:08:09 GMT Read More »

Senegalese President Macky Sall said Thursday a diplomatic solution in Niger was “still possible” nearly two months after a military coup toppled its democratically elected president.The West African regional bloc ECOWAS, of which Senegal is a member, has threatened to intervene militarily if diplomatic pressure to return Niger to civilian rule fails.President Mohamed Bazoum was …

Diplomatic solution in Niger ‘still possible’: Senegal presidentThu, 21 Sep 2023 14:56:41 GMT Read More »

The head of the Central African Republic on Thursday accused the West of triggering the migration crisis on his continent by pillaging its natural resources through slavery and colonization.Taking the podium at the United Nations General Assembly, Faustin Archange Touadera addressed the migrant crisis on the Italian island of Lampedusa, where thousands of African migrants …

African leader blames West’s ‘plundering’ of continent for migrant crisisThu, 21 Sep 2023 14:55:31 GMT Read More »

Springbok scrum-half Faf de Klerk said Thursday his teammates are “well prepared and eager” to get on with this weekend’s eagerly awaited Pool B encounter with Ireland in Paris.Defending champions South Africa opened their World Cup account with a hard-fought 18-3 win over Scotland and followed that with a 76-0 demolition of Romania. Ireland, meanwhile, have …

South Africa ‘eager’ for Ireland crunch: De KlerkThu, 21 Sep 2023 12:29:54 GMT Read More »

In the photo that got him arrested, Gift Ostallos Siziba is sporting wide sunglasses and the jersey of his favourite football team, Zimbabwe’s Highlanders.”We fear fokol” (slang for “nothing”) read the caption the opposition lawmaker posted on social media this month, as the squad from Bulawayo readied to face its bitter rivals, the Dynamos. After the …

Zimbabwe opposition faces wave of arrests after disputed voteThu, 21 Sep 2023 10:40:29 GMT Read More »

Lines of hundreds of trucks stretch back many kilometres close to Benin’s northern border with Niger, their cargo wasting and their drivers going broke after weeks stranded at the closed frontier. Almost two months since a coup ousted Niger’s president, the trucks blocked in Malanville at Benin’s border are the most striking symbol of the fallout Niger’s …

After Niger coup, sanctions pain strikes at shutdown Benin borderThu, 21 Sep 2023 08:34:05 GMT Read More »

The president of the Democratic Republic of Congo on Wednesday called for a speedy withdrawal of a key UN peacekeeping mission that has been in the nation for nearly 25 years.”It is time for our country to take full control of its destiny and become the main actor in its own stability,” Felix Tshisekedi told …

DR Congo calls for swift withdrawal of UN peacekeepersThu, 21 Sep 2023 01:02:32 GMT Read More »

Italy’s prime minister on Wednesday urged the United Nations to launch a “global war without mercy” against migrant smugglers, after a surge of arrivals on the island of Lampedusa.Addressing the UN General Assembly, right-wing prime minister Giorgia Meloni said that Italy, which next year heads the Group of Seven wealthy democracies, was ready to lead …

Italian PM urges UN to wage ‘war without mercy’ on migrant traffickingThu, 21 Sep 2023 00:37:15 GMT Read More »

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday told world leaders the climate crisis had “opened the gates to hell” during a summit where leading polluters China and the United States were conspicuously absent.The talks were partly overshadowed by an announcement from Britain — also not present — that it was rolling back policies that would help …

Climate crisis has ‘opened the gates to hell’, UN chief tells summitWed, 20 Sep 2023 21:11:05 GMT Read More »