Authorities have never announced their deployment and they do not appear in official photographs — but Russian mercenaries in combat fatigues are a daily sight in Equatorial Guinea’s capital Malabo.Their presence, and the lack of transparency about their mission, has annoyed some citizens in this central African country on the Atlantic coast, stricken by poverty …
Russian mercenaries draw suspicion in Equatorial Guinea Read More »
Mulatu Astatke struggled for decades before his name became associated worldwide with a musical genre and he was finally born as the father of Ethio-jazz.Now despite that long journey and his 81 years of age, the Ethiopian music legend cannot even “think about retirement”.A one-man band, equally at home with the vibraphone and the conga, …
Mulatu Astatke: long journey for the ‘father of Ethio-jazz’ Read More »
Ivory Coast’s main opposition party on Thursday formally named its leader Tidjane Thiam as its candidate for the October presidential election.The 62-year-old former Credit Suisse bank chief executive was the only contender for the centre-right Democratic Party (PDCI).Tensions in the wealthy west African country are running high six months from the scheduled polling date.Businessman and …
Ivory Coast opposition names leader as presidential candidate Read More »
Clashes between Sudanese paramilitaries and the army have killed at least 57 civilians in the besieged Darfur city of El-Fasher, medical and activist sources said Thursday, with civilians fearing a looming bloodbath as fighters close in.The local resistance committee, a grassroots aid group, said the civilians were killed on Wednesday in clashes following an artillery …
57 killed in Sudan’s Darfur as trapped civilians fear bloodbath Read More »
Veteran Springbok lock Eben Etzebeth will return to action on Friday after four months out with injuries that included concussion, his Durban-based Sharks team announced on Thursday.The 33-year-old Etzebeth, who has a South African record 131 international caps and is a double World Cup winner, suffered a concussion in the Champions Cup at the beginning …
Etzebeth returns to Sharks lineup after concussion absence Read More »
Joint US-Somalia air strikes and combat killed dozens of Al-Shabaab jihadists attacking a key town and a military base and also destroyed a shipment of weapons, the Somali government said on Thursday.Growing attacks by the Al-Qaeda-linked Islamist group, including one on President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s convoy, are fuelling worries of a jihadist resurgence after militants …
Somalia air strikes, combat kill dozens of jihadists: govt Read More »
Football fans in China were outraged by Zhejiang FC’s decision to go ahead with a league match hours after the death of their Gabon international striker Aaron Boupendza.Police have ruled out foul play in the death of the 28-year-old, who died after falling from the 11th floor of a building in the eastern city of …
Anger as China club plays hours after striker Boupendza’s death Read More »
The way Davido sees it, Nigerian culture is having a moment.”We’re very popular, not only in music,” the 32-year-old Afrobeats star told AFP during a recent interview in Paris, pointing to the film, food and fashion influence his country is increasingly exporting to the rest of the world.Even amid criticism from some that American artists …
Afrobeats star Davido sees Nigeria’s star rising Read More »
When the news came through of yet another massacre in the countryside in Nigeria’s volatile Plateau state, local Christian Jamaima Haruna was terrified for her Muslim husband.The slayings in the Bokkos district left 52 dead — one of two major bouts of suspected intercommunal violence this month, in a state where Muslim herders and mostly …
Nigerian mixed-faith families sense danger as violence flares Read More »
The foreign ministers of Nigeria and Niger held talks Wednesday on cross-border security, terrorism and economic cooperation, despite tensions between the two neighbours since the July 2023 coup in Niger.It comes after Nigeria this month renewed calls for the release of Niger’s deposed president Mohamed Bazoum, who is being held at the presidential palace in …
Nigeria, Niger foreign ministers meet for security talks Read More »
