AFP Africa

South Africa’s finance minister unveiled Wednesday a budget with a smaller increase in value-added tax than previously proposed, but it was immediately rejected by a key party in the unity government.Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana presented the revised budget to parliament three weeks after his first version was withheld at the last minute because it included …

S.Africa revised budget gets booed despite smaller tax hikeWed, 12 Mar 2025 14:17:59 GMT Read More »

Former Cameroon star Samuel Eto’o was elected to the CAF executive committee by acclamation in Cairo on Wednesday as he was the lone candidate from the central Africa region.The 44-year-old became eligible only last week after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) overturned a CAF ban on the ex-Barcelona, Inter Milan and Chelsea forward.His …

Former star Eto’o elected to CAF executive by acclamationWed, 12 Mar 2025 10:37:01 GMT Read More »

A peace deal between authorities and gangs in Nigeria’s Kaduna state has put a dent in deadly attacks and kidnappings — a welcome respite in the country’s battered northwest, though the agreement remains on shaky ground.Kaduna is one of several states in the northwest and centre of the country that have for years been terrorised …

Deal with bandits brings uneasy peace in Nigeria’s Kaduna stateWed, 12 Mar 2025 07:30:09 GMT Read More »

Mine shafts snake under the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo’s mountains, but instead of the Congolese government their rich veins are making a mint for the Rwanda-backed M23.In the tracts of land the M23 has seized following its 2021 resurgence in the eastern DRC, an area mineral-rich yet scarred by decades of conflict, the armed …

East DR Congo mines mint Rwanda-backed M23’s fortuneWed, 12 Mar 2025 06:14:21 GMT Read More »

Pope Francis remains stable after almost four weeks in hospital with pneumonia, the Vatican said on Tuesday, declining to speculate on when he might go home, the day after doctors indicated he was no longer in danger.The 88-year-old head of the world Catholic Church has been in Rome’s Gemelli hospital since February 14 with pneumonia …

Pope ‘stable’, out of imminent danger as talk turns to return homeTue, 11 Mar 2025 19:22:31 GMT Read More »

Mozambique’s main opposition figure Venancio Mondlane said on Tuesday he was questioned for 10 hours by prosecutors without being informed of what accusation lay behind the interrogation.Speaking to the media in the capital Maputo, Mondlane, who claimed victory in October’s contested election, added that he had been placed under judicial supervision. “Unfortunately, we spent all those …

Mozambican opposition leader questioned for 10 hoursTue, 11 Mar 2025 18:53:57 GMT Read More »

Ghana’s new government on Tuesday announced it was scrapping several Covid-era taxes introduced in an effort to secure IMF financing, citing the economic hardship placed on ordinary citizens.Five taxes deemed “nuisance levies” by the current government — including a one-percent levy on mobile money transfers and a value-added tax on motor vehicle insurance — are …

Ghana scraps IMF-linked ‘nuisance’ taxesTue, 11 Mar 2025 16:18:55 GMT Read More »

The Trump administration’s sweeping foreign aid cuts will send tuberculosis cases and deaths soaring around the world, humanitarian workers have warned.One told AFP that people are already dying from a lack of treatment in the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).The United States has long been the biggest funder for the global fight against tuberculosis …

‘Getting scary’: US aid cuts undermine global fight against TBTue, 11 Mar 2025 15:08:00 GMT Read More »

Pope Francis was reported to be in good spirits on Tuesday, a day after the Vatican indicated he was out of danger and could be discharged in the near future after almost one month in hospital with pneumonia.The 88-year-old head of the world Catholic Church has been in Rome’s Gemelli hospital since February 14 with …

Pope appears out of danger, talk turns to return homeTue, 11 Mar 2025 14:20:04 GMT Read More »

A bus overturned in an area of Johannesburg near South Africa’s main airport early on Tuesday, killing at least 16 people, city officials said, with dozens more injured.The bus was carrying more than 50 people to work when it crashed on a busy road near Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport, officials said.The Road Traffic Management …

South Africa bus crash toll climbs to 16Tue, 11 Mar 2025 12:25:09 GMT Read More »