AFP Africa

A Rwandan court on Wednesday found opposition leader and dissident Victoire Ingabire   ineligible to run in the July presidential polls because of previous convictions for terrorism and genocide denial.A fierce critic of Rwanda’s long-ruling President Paul Kagame, Ingabire spent eight years in prison before receiving a presidential pardon in 2018 that cut short her 15-year …

Rwanda court upholds election ban on opposition politicianWed, 13 Mar 2024 20:28:54 GMT Read More »

Nigeria’s president has ordered security forces not to pay a ransom for the release of more than 250 school pupils seized by gunmen last week, the country’s information minister said on Wednesday.Relatives say the kidnappers have demanded a large payment for the return of the students abducted from their school in Kuriga village in northwestern …

Nigeria vows not to pay ransom to school students’ kidnappersWed, 13 Mar 2024 17:24:49 GMT Read More »

Gunmen have abducted dozens of people from a northwestern Nigerian village, according to two local representatives and a UN source, just days after the kidnapping of more than 250 pupils from a school in the same region.Criminal gangs often carry out mass kidnappings in northwest Nigeria, targeting schools, villages and highways where they can quickly …

Dozens abducted in new Nigeria kidnapping: sourcesWed, 13 Mar 2024 11:27:35 GMT Read More »

The UK government said Wednesday it was considering a scheme to send rejected asylum seekers to Rwanda voluntarily and will reportedly pay them up to £3,000 ($3,800) to make the move.The plan, an extension of existing voluntary returns arrangements, comes as ministers struggle to kickstart separate controversial proposals to deport other migrants to the east African …

UK mulls plan to pay migrants to move to Rwanda voluntarilyWed, 13 Mar 2024 10:56:27 GMT Read More »

Anger is mounting in some Johannesburg districts left without water for more than a week, fewer than three months before general elections marked by voter discontent with South Africa’s failing infrastructure.With power cuts and potholes already part of daily life, recent water shortages have increased the frustration of many over poor service delivery — a …

Water cuts add to frustrations ahead of S.Africa voteWed, 13 Mar 2024 10:24:53 GMT Read More »

Sudan this week entered its second straight Ramadan in the throes of a deadly war that has left much of the country gripped by the spectre of famine.”Ramadan? We’ve been doing that for months!” said Khartoum resident Othman Idriss, referring to the daytime fast observed by the faithful during the Muslim holy month.”We have been …

Famine stalks Sudan in second Ramadan plagued by warWed, 13 Mar 2024 09:31:11 GMT Read More »

A cacophony of horns and cheers erupted as the only woman standing in Senegal’s presidential election emerged from the sunroof of her SUV in the outskirts of the capital Dakar.Anta Babacar Ngom was on her third day of the campaign trail and, like the other 18 candidates in the race, she has less than two weeks …

Senegal candidate Anta Babacar Ngom runs fast-track campaignWed, 13 Mar 2024 07:20:52 GMT Read More »

Students were just about to settle into their classes after singing Nigeria’s national anthem when the gunshots rang out. Then chaos erupted.It was around 8:00 am on Thursday when dozens of gunmen dressed in military uniforms rode on motorbikes into the school grounds in Kuriga, a quiet agrarian village 100km outside the northwestern Nigerian city …

Gunshots, then chaos before Nigeria students’ kidnappingWed, 13 Mar 2024 02:39:00 GMT Read More »

The number of children worldwide who died before age five reached a record low in 2022, the United Nations said in a report published Tuesday, as for the first time fewer than five million died.According to the estimate, 4.9 million children died before their fifth birthday in 2022, a 51 percent decrease since 2000 and …

Childhood deaths at record low, but progress ‘precarious’: UNWed, 13 Mar 2024 00:24:59 GMT Read More »

Life-saving food aid in Chad for hundreds of thousands of refugees from war-torn Sudan will grind to a halt in April without international funding, a United Nations agency warned Tuesday. The UN World Food Programme (WFP) is appealing for $242 million in donations to continue supporting 1.2 million Sudanese refugees, as the approaching rainy season threatens to cut …

Sudanese refugees face ‘all-out catastrophe’ in Chad as funds dry up: UNTue, 12 Mar 2024 16:33:21 GMT Read More »