AFP Africa

France’s Eiffel Tower that had been closed for five days by a strike will reopen Sunday after    the monument’s management announced a deal had been struck with unions. The stoppage since Monday at one of the world’s best-known tourist sites was the second within two months in protest at what unions say was insufficient investment.The tower’s …

Eiffel Tower to reopen Sunday as strike endsSat, 24 Feb 2024 13:01:34 GMT Read More »

South Africa’s ruling ANC kickstarts its election campaign Saturday for polls on May 29, facing its worst result ever amid high unemployment, a sluggish economy and a challenge from its former leader.President Cyril Ramaphosa and his embittered predecessor, Jacob Zuma, are expected to address rival events in the eastern KwaZulu-Natal province, a key electoral battleground. In …

South Africa’s ANC kicks off election season as Zuma lurksSat, 24 Feb 2024 02:35:34 GMT Read More »

Most candidates in Senegal’s delayed presidential election and a large civil society collective said Friday they would refuse to take part in talks proposed by President Macky Sall to decide a date for the vote he postponed earlier this month.Sall has faced growing calls to set a date for the presidential election after his abrupt …

Senegal candidates, civil society reject president’s dialogue bidFri, 23 Feb 2024 17:27:14 GMT Read More »

Top athletes, dignitaries and hundreds of mourners paid their last respects on Friday to Kenya’s world marathon record-holder Kelvin Kiptum in the nation’s athletics heartland where he was born, trained and died.Kiptum, a 24-year-old father of two, was killed in a late-night car crash on February 11, just months after shattering the marathon record in …

Kenya bids solemn farewell to marathon sensation KiptumFri, 23 Feb 2024 14:53:51 GMT Read More »

A Tunisian imam expelled from France for alleged hate speech said on Friday he would take legal action in a bid to overturn the decision.Mahjoub Mahjoubi, from the town of Bagnols-sur-Ceze in the south of France, denounced his removal as “arbitrary”.The 52-year-old was arrested and then deported to Tunisia on Thursday, where he arrived shortly …

Tunisian imam expelled by France says to appeal decisionFri, 23 Feb 2024 13:13:06 GMT Read More »

Under the midday sun in northern Nigeria, three sisters trek across the border on their way to a wedding in Niger, carrying their babies on their backs. The 1,000-mile (1,600-kilometre) frontier has officially been closed since August last year, when West African leaders imposed sanctions on Niger following a military coup that ousted president Mohamed Bazoum.The …

Nigerians suffer along troubled border with NigerFri, 23 Feb 2024 07:57:31 GMT Read More »

After more than six months behind bars, 34-year-old Mohamed Sy has just been granted his freedom — one of hundreds of detained opposition members and activists suddenly released after weeks of political upheaval in Senegal.Much to his surprise, Sy’s friends, family and neighbours have welcomed him home as a hero.”People congratulate me or offer me …

Senegal’s newly freed opponents ready to resume the fightFri, 23 Feb 2024 07:36:45 GMT Read More »

The Tunisian town of Haffouz lies in an impoverished region known for high rates of joblessness and suicide, but every Friday traditional music and techno beats lift spirits in a dilapidated classroom.  Local children and teenagers come together in the afternoon to compose and rehearse music for a creative break from their bleak surroundings in the …

Music beats the blues in Tunisian youth projectFri, 23 Feb 2024 07:24:12 GMT Read More »

Kenya’s world marathon record-holder Kelvin Kiptum will be laid to rest Friday in the nation’s athletics heartland after the 24-year-old died in a car accident.President William Ruto and World Athletics head Sebastian Coe are expected to be among the mourners at the funeral in the Rift Valley where Kiptum was born, trained and died.The father …

Kenyan marathon sensation Kiptum to be laid to restFri, 23 Feb 2024 03:56:24 GMT Read More »

Senegal’s President Macky Sall said Thursday his mandate would end as planned on April 2, but left open the new date for a presidential election which he postponed earlier this month.Sall has faced a clamour to set a date for the vote after his abrupt delay to the February 25 election triggered weeks of crisis.Amid …

Senegal’s Sall leaves open date for delayed presidential electionThu, 22 Feb 2024 21:38:10 GMT Read More »