AFP Africa

Ivorian women who are beaten or intimidated by their partners are gaining independence and self-esteem in the country’s only refuge to offer integrated support for domestic abuse victims.As well as housing them, the Akwaba Mousso refuge is unique in bringing together doctors, midwives, psychologists, social workers and lawyers to treat and support those in need.The …

Ivory Coast women gain safety, self-esteem at unique refugeThu, 07 Mar 2024 17:19:15 GMT Read More »

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called Thursday for warring parties in Sudan to agree to a ceasefire during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, warning that the country’s humanitarian crisis is reaching “colossal proportions.””In just days, the holy month of Ramadan will commence. So from this chamber today, I am making an appeal. I call on …

UN chief calls for Ramadan ceasefire in SudanThu, 07 Mar 2024 15:28:17 GMT Read More »

Controversial plans to send migrants from the UK to Rwanda will return to the House of Commons this month after parliament’s upper chamber recommended several changes to the scheme, the government announced on Thursday.Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s flagship plan to “stop the boats” of asylum seekers crossing the Channel from France has suffered 10 defeats …

UK Rwanda migrants bill set for parliamentary ‘ping-pong’Thu, 07 Mar 2024 15:15:11 GMT Read More »

M23 rebels seized more territory on Thursday as clashes went on for a third day in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo forcing ever more people to flee their homes, local residents and officials said.The United Nations reported Wednesday that “more than 100,000” people had been displaced this week, most from around the …

DR Congo rebels capture more territoryThu, 07 Mar 2024 15:12:30 GMT Read More »

One leading opposition figure faces a trial for defamation and an MP sits in jail over an alleged coup attempt in the Central African Republic where politicians who do not support the government are muzzled, face threats and say they feel abandoned by the West.President Faustin Archange Touadera won a 2016 election during a lull …

Muzzled and threatened, Central African opposition struggles to surviveThu, 07 Mar 2024 14:38:03 GMT Read More »

Senegal on Thursday looked set to elect a new president at the end of March and  ease the crisis triggered by the delay to the presidential poll, but the exact date of the vote remained uncertain.President Macky Sall plunged Senegal into one of its worst crises in decades with his last-minute postponement of the election, …

Senegal moves towards certainty for presidential voteThu, 07 Mar 2024 12:02:30 GMT Read More »

It’s been two weeks since the lifting of tough sanctions on military-ruled Niger, but the pace of economic recovery is slow and the generals have shown no inclination to re-open the border with Benin and seek a diplomatic settlement with neighbouring nations.Barricades initially put up in anticipation of an armed intervention by regional bloc ECOWAS …

Niger isolated and suspicious despite end of sanctionsThu, 07 Mar 2024 11:05:49 GMT Read More »

A rare early work by Vincent van Gogh and a record-selling masterpiece by Wassily Kandinsky will be up for sale when one of the world’s largest art fairs opens its doors this weekend.From Saturday until March 14, visitors at The European Art Fair, better known as TEFAF, will be able to marvel at a treasure …

Van Gogh, Kandinsky stars of the show at Dutch art fairThu, 07 Mar 2024 10:17:49 GMT Read More »

Like many in Senegal’s isolated deaf community, 52-year-old Mame Massar Faye has always struggled to vote by himself. “It was often complicated,” he explained to AFP through a sign language interpreter, “because each time I had to ask for help”.”I didn’t even understand certain terms” relating to the voting process, he signed.But stepping into the bright …

Deaf voters find way to polls as Senegal grapples with political crisisThu, 07 Mar 2024 09:29:29 GMT Read More »

Under the blazing Kenyan sun, Maasai women patrol the vast plains in the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro, determined to tackle poachers and patriarchal prejudices.As the unarmed members of Team Lioness move stealthily across the land bordering the famous Amboseli National Park in southern Kenya, one of them signals to the others to stop.Just then, a …

Women rangers fight poachers and prejudice in KenyaThu, 07 Mar 2024 07:35:15 GMT Read More »