AFP Africa

The US government’s giant humanitarian agency closed its headquarters to staff Monday amid moves by Elon Musk, the world’s richest person and President Donald Trump’s controversial aide, to seize control in actions decried by critics as “plain illegal.”Workers at the US Agency for International Development (USAID) were told to stay out of its Washington office …

Democrats blast Musk as US aid agency HQ shuttersMon, 03 Feb 2025 20:58:33 GMT Read More »

Elon Musk, the world’s richest person and President Donald Trump’s controversial close advisor, said Monday the giant USAID humanitarian agency will be “shutting down” as part of his radical — and critics say unconstitutional — drive to shrink the US government.Hours later, Secretary of State Marco Rubio indicated it was not disappearing but would come …

Musk says Trump ‘shutting down’ US aid agencyMon, 03 Feb 2025 18:26:28 GMT Read More »

President Cyril Ramaphosa vowed Monday to continue providing support to the Democratic Republic of Congo in the face of nationwide calls to withdraw troops following the death of 14 South African soldiers. Rwanda-backed M23 fighters have made substantial gains in the eastern DRC, taking the major city of Goma last week and vowing to march across …

S.Africa says ‘will not let up’ support for DR CongoMon, 03 Feb 2025 15:53:49 GMT Read More »

The conflict between Rwanda-backed forces and the DR Congo is often presented as a struggle to control the valuable minerals that power global electronics. But the focus on “conflict minerals” may obscure other drivers of the violence in one of the world’s most volatile regions. DRC and Rwanda together supply around half the world’s coltan, the metallic …

The role of minerals and tech firms in the DR Congo conflictMon, 03 Feb 2025 14:13:43 GMT Read More »

President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday rejected Donald Trump’s assertions that South Africa was “confiscating” land and said he was ready to explain his government’s land reform policy to his US counterpart.Trump’s intervention into one of South Africa’s most divisive debates on social media Sunday was widely dismissed as incorrect and even “misinformation”, with the leftist …

S.Africa president rejects Trump’s land ‘confiscation’ accusationsMon, 03 Feb 2025 14:09:05 GMT Read More »

Nigerian afrobeats star Tems has won her second Grammy with her hit “Love Me JeJe”, seeing off a line-up heavily dominated by Nigerian artists vying for “Best African Musical Performance”.The song, which beat four others by star afrobeats performers, has notched up some 20 million views on YouTube.In her acceptance speech at the 67th annual …

Nigeria’s Tems wins Grammy in field dominated by afrobeatsMon, 03 Feb 2025 13:05:31 GMT Read More »

US President Donald Trump announced he was cutting off all future funding to South Africa for “confiscating” land and “treating certain classes of people very badly,” an accusation his South African counterpart rejected on Monday.The land issue in South Africa has long been divisive, with efforts to redress the inequality of white-rule drawing criticism from …

Trump accuses South Africa of ‘confiscating’ land, cuts fundingMon, 03 Feb 2025 12:01:23 GMT Read More »

Once crowded with white makeshift huts, the huge Kanyaruchinya camp for displaced people on the outskirts of Goma, in war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo, looked eerily empty on Sunday.Since Goma was taken by Rwanda-backed M23 fighters earlier this week, some 100,000 internally displaced people have left the jam-packed hillside where they had set up several …

DR Congo: near Goma, displaced people begin long journey homeMon, 03 Feb 2025 10:52:02 GMT Read More »

With a Mediterranean coastline, natural thermal springs, clement weather and affordability, Tunisia has become the world’s second-largest destination for seawater-based treatments known as thalassotherapy.Now, it is setting its sights on overtaking France to claim the top spot.”The main advantage of Tunisia is its coast and thalassotherapy,” compared with neighbouring countries, said Mario Paolo, an Italian, …

Tunisia sets sights on becoming world’s top seawater therapy spotMon, 03 Feb 2025 02:55:31 GMT Read More »

US President Donald Trump on Sunday asserted South Africa was “confiscating” land and “treating certain classes of people very badly” as he announced he was cutting off all future funding to the country pending an investigation.The land issue in South Africa has long been divisive, with efforts to redress the inequality of white-rule drawing criticism …

Trump accuses S.Africa of ‘confiscating’ land, cuts fundingMon, 03 Feb 2025 01:37:08 GMT Read More »