AFP Africa

The world’s most followed TikToker, Khaby Lame, on Friday was named as ambassador for the UN children’s agency as he visited Senegal, where the Italian influencer was born.The 24-year-old holds top spot on the TikTok app, with 162.8 million followers and has risen to fame for his short silent videos mocking the convoluted tutorials of …

TikTok king Khaby Lame joins UNICEF as goodwill ambassadorFri, 31 Jan 2025 18:59:51 GMT Read More »

After seizing the biggest city in eastern DR Congo, the Rwandan-backed armed group M23 was advancing south through a neighbouring province on Friday, as young men volunteered to fight against it alongside the struggling Congolese army.The group took Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, after intense fighting earlier this week and has vowed to …

Rwanda-backed M23 advances in DRC as volunteers rally to fight backFri, 31 Jan 2025 17:40:33 GMT Read More »

In a village nestled in the mountains of northeastern Algeria, locals and visitors gathered under a cold winter sky to celebrate Tamechrit, a centuries-old Berber tradition rooted in sharing.Seeking to preserve a practice that faded during the Algerian civil war of the 1990s, villagers marked Tamechrit with Berber music and food on the occasion coinciding …

Centuries-old Algerian indigenous tradition champions sharingFri, 31 Jan 2025 14:22:31 GMT Read More »

Sudan’s paramilitary commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, in a rare video address on Friday, acknowledged setbacks in the capital Khartoum but vowed to expel the army from the city again.The war since April 2023 between Daglo’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the army has killed tens of thousands of people, uprooted more than 12 million, according …

Sudan paramilitary chief admits setbacks, vows to expel army from KhartoumFri, 31 Jan 2025 12:08:07 GMT Read More »

President Mahamat Idriss Deby on Friday welcomed the “definitive and complete departure” of French forces from Chad which marks the end of France’s last foothold in the wider jihadist-hit Sahel region.After a closed-door military ceremony a day earlier, Deby addressed Chadian forces and diplomats at an event in the capital N’Djamena.The handover of the Kossei …

Chad leader welcomes ‘complete’ departure of French forcesFri, 31 Jan 2025 11:43:36 GMT Read More »

The Rwandan-backed armed group M23 moved south as it closed in on a key military airport in DR Congo on Friday, a day after pledging to take the capital Kinshasa and as international criticism mounted.The group’s capture of most of Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, earlier in the week was a dramatic escalation …

Rwanda-backed M23 advances towards second DR Congo regional capitalFri, 31 Jan 2025 10:00:54 GMT Read More »

Screeching off East Africa’s only ice rink, the skates of Kenya’s Ice Lions scatter frozen chips of ice as they celebrate their first title win in the capital Nairobi.Ice hockey only arrived in Kenya in 2006, after a group of bored Canadians set up the Nairobi rink — but it was not until 2019 that …

Kenya’s Ice Lions skate to win on East Africa’s only rinkFri, 31 Jan 2025 07:42:05 GMT Read More »

Once an emblematic landmark of traditional west African architecture, Dakar’s fondly remembered Sandaga market can now only be marvelled at through old photographs.Sandaga is just one of the many historic buildings in Senegal’s ever-expanding capital victim either to the march of modernisation or the clamour for greater profits from property developers.The distinctive concrete market hall …

Architects race to save historic buildings in Senegal capitalFri, 31 Jan 2025 06:25:09 GMT Read More »

The Rwanda-backed armed group M23 vowed on Thursday to march on the DR Congo capital, Kinshasa, as its fighters made further advances in the mineral-rich east of the country.The group’s capture of most of Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, is a dramatic escalation in a region that has seen decades of conflict involving …

Rwanda-backed force vows to march on capital in DR Congo conflictThu, 30 Jan 2025 19:30:41 GMT Read More »

A court in Benin on Thursday sentenced two former allies of President Patrice Talon to 20 years in jail on charges of “conspiring against the authority of the state”.Neither Olivier Boko, an influential businessman long considered to be Talon’s right-hand man, nor former sports minister Oswald Homeky had lawyers representing them at the trial’s conclusion.Boko, …

Benin court jails two ex-allies of president for 20 yearsThu, 30 Jan 2025 18:31:51 GMT Read More »