Africa Business

Algeria on Tuesday denounced a visit by French Culture Minister Rachida Dati to Western Sahara, after Paris recognised Moroccan sovereignty over the disputed territory, as “objectionable on multiple levels”.The vast desert territory is a former Spanish colony largely controlled by Morocco but claimed for decades by the Algeria-backed Polisario Front.Dati, who described her visit as …

Algiers slams French minister’s visit to W. Sahara Read More »

Days after US President Donald Trump froze overseas aid funding, Hellen Anyango anxiously counted her boxes of AIDS treatment drugs, unsure what would happen when they ran out.At the beginning of February, she had only three boxes of the anti-retroviral (ARV) medication left — enough to last her just a week.”If I don’t take them, …

Kenya’s HIV patients victims of US aid freeze Read More »

Traders and travellers packed their belongings and paid their fares early on Tuesday for the long boat journey across eastern DR Congo’s Lake Kivu, the first sailing between the lake’s two main ports for weeks after fighting disrupted the service.Fighting between Rwanda-backed M23 fighters and government forces has raged for months in the towns, villages …

‘So happy’: Relief as boats resume on DR Congo’s war-torn Lake Kivu Read More »

They see themselves as the “bold generation” and the “conscious youth” of the African continent.AFP met six African students from Generation Z who, from Dakar to Nairobi, and Johannesburg to Abidjan, displayed a realistic optimism and a desire to transform their countries.Born just before or after 2000, these students in urban planning, environment, medicine or …

Africa’s ‘bold generation’ see bright future at home Read More »

When healthcare workers in central Mali travel to vaccinate children against measles, they have to negotiate with the jihadists who control some villages threatened by the epidemic.”At first, they categorically refused. They see vaccines as carrying diseases,” said a representative from a Malian NGO, who did not wish to be named for safety reasons.”So it’s …

Jihadist threat hits Sahel vaccine coverage Read More »

Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame has shown his strategic acumen, honed by 30 years of cementing control at home and influence abroad, as conflict flares in the Democratic Republic of Congo.Raised as a refugee, forged by a Ugandan bush war and the horrific Rwandan genocide of 1994, Kagame takes no chances when it come to threats …

Rwanda’s Kagame: a ‘chess-player’ getting his way in DR Congo Read More »

Ephrem Minassie’s voice trembled as he recalled his stints in Eritrean prisons for trying to evade military service and flee the country.He was first arrested in 2001 for daring to complain about his experiences as a soldier in the brutal war against Ethiopia of 1998-2000.He was imprisoned for two months in the punishingly hot Gash …

‘Mouth stuffed to muffle screams’: Eritreans recount prison horror Read More »

Sarah had survived famine, multiple wars and years of displacement in Sudan’s Zamzam camp and never considered fleeing, until a paramilitary attack turned the site into a “killing field”.Last week, shelling and gunfire shook the streets as the Rapid Support Forces, at war with the army for nearly two years, stormed the famine-stricken camp in …

Survivors recount horrific RSF attack on famine-hit Sudan camp Read More »

Two bodies lay on a Bukavu road, lynched by a mob accusing them of taking part in the widespread pillaging of the eastern DR Congo city as it fell to pro-Rwandan forces.Following the city’s seizure by the Rwanda-backed M23 Movement, the crackle of bullets gave way to the sound of sirens on Monday as ambulances made …

East DRC city timidly comes back to life under M23 control Read More »

Muhsin Hendricks, considered the world’s first openly gay imam who was gunned down last weekend in South Africa, stood as a man who valued authenticity — both in action and words. “This is who I am, and if that means I am going to be killed because of my authenticity, then that is how I choose …

Muhsin Hendricks: S.Africa’s gay imam who broke the mould Read More »