US director Wes Anderson brought his latest A-list cast led by Benicio del Toro to the Cannes film festival on Sunday, ramping up the star power as the competition reaches the halfway mark.Anderson’s typically whimsical “The Phoenician Scheme”, which also finds roles for Tom Hanks, Scarlett Johansson and Kate Winslet’s daughter, Mia Threapleton, is in …
Wes Anderson and his A-list cast dazzle at Cannes Read More »
Martha Karua, a lawyer and presidential candidate in Kenya, said Sunday she had been expelled from Tanzania, where she had been due to attend the trial of a prominent opposition figure facing treason charges.Karua, a former justice minister who has been vocal about “democratic backsliding” in East Africa, said her deportation was a sign that …
Kenyan presidential candidate and lawyer deported from Tanzania Read More »
Since the inhabitants of Jemna in southern Tunisia wrested control of their 100-year-old palm grove from the state during the 2011 Revolution, residents say their lives have radically improved.The desert town — where the palms produce some of the North African country’s finest dates — ejected businessmen tied to the old regime when the uprising …
Tunisian ‘revolution oasis’ palm grove thrives on self-rule Read More »
It has taken nearly 80 years, but a Nigerian movie will finally be screened in a hallowed official slot at the Cannes film festival Sunday.After decades of being written off for its cheap and cheerful crowd-pleasers, Nollywood — the frenetic film industry based in Lagos which churns out up to five films a day — …
Nigeria’s Nollywood finally makes it into Cannes arthouse film fold Read More »
Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence startup has blamed an “unauthorized modification” for causing its chatbot Grok to generate misleading and unsolicited posts referencing “white genocide” in South Africa.The chatbot, developed by Musk’s company xAI, ignited controversy this week by answering multiple user prompts with right-wing propaganda about the purported oppression of white South Africans.”How many times …
Musk’s xAI blames ‘unauthorized’ tweak for ‘white genocide’ posts Read More »
Chad’s former prime minister and opposition leader Succes Masra was arrested early Friday accused of inciting hatred in connection with deadly clashes in the southwest, the public prosecutor said.Masra, who served as premier from January to May last year, faced off against President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno in presidential elections a year ago.One of Deby’s …
Chad’s ex-prime minister arrested for ‘inciting hatred’ Read More »
The leader of Ivory Coast’s main opposition party on Friday called for an “inclusive, transparent and credible” presidential election, although he is barred from standing due to a dispute over his nationality.The west African country must show that it has reached “a sufficient level of political maturity to stop excluding presidential candidates”, Tidjane Thiam said …
Ivory Coast opposition leader calls for ‘credible’ vote Read More »
Twin jihadist attacks across Lake Chad killed at least 22 people in Nigeria, sources told AFP Friday, with Boko Haram killing more than a dozen civilians and Islamic State West Africa Province raiding a military base.The attacks come as Nigeria’s embattled northeast — facing an insurgency that since 2009 has killed 40,000 and displaced two …
Jihadists kill troops, fishermen in northern Nigeria Read More »
Gabon’s former leader Ali Bongo Ondimba, who was detained after being ousted in a 2023 coup, has been released and has gone to Angola with his family, the Angolan presidency said Friday.Bongo, whose family ruled oil-rich Gabon for 55 years, had been under house arrest in the capital Libreville since being overthrown in August 2023.His …
Gabon’s ousted leader and family ‘released’ and in Angola Read More »
South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa travels to the United States next week to meet Donald Trump in a bid to rescue deteriorating relations with a vital and increasingly critical trade partner.Ramaphosa will need to work his skills as a negotiator when he sits down with Trump Wednesday — and an invitation for the US president …
Ramaphosa’s talks with Trump chance to reset tattered ties Read More »
