AFP Africa

Soaring numbers of tourists and expanding research projects are increasingly polluting Antarctica, scientists warned Wednesday, a fresh blow for one of Earth’s most pristine environments already threatened by human-driven climate change.In Antarctic areas where humans have been active, the concentration of fine particles containing heavy metals is 10 times higher than it was 40 years …

Surging tourism is polluting Antarctica, scientists warnThu, 21 Aug 2025 03:32:25 GMT Read More »

Tunisian mother Mouna Jebali had long used a flat iron to straighten her thick hair, but with women everywhere challenging the stigma around natural looks, she has finally learned to love her curls.To help her make what she called the “transition” to wearing her hair curly, she visited the North African country’s first beauty salon …

‘Curly is beautiful’: Tunisian women embrace natural hairThu, 21 Aug 2025 01:26:40 GMT Read More »

On the streets of Sudan’s capital Khartoum, builders clear rubble from houses pockmarked with bullet holes, haul away fallen trees and repair broken power lines, in the city’s first reconstruction effort since war began over two years ago.Fighting between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which broke out in April 2023, has …

Sudanese lay first bricks to rebuild war-torn KhartoumThu, 21 Aug 2025 01:09:52 GMT Read More »

Faced with climate change diminishing farmers’ yields, Nestle announced Wednesday that it was working on a technique to produce chocolate by using up to 30 percent more of the cocoa fruit.Chocolate is traditionally made using only cocoa beans taken from inside the pod, meaning that a large amount of the fruit — including the pulp, …

Nestle unveils method to boost cocoa yields as climate change hitsWed, 20 Aug 2025 12:41:58 GMT Read More »

Rights groups on Wednesday accused the Rwanda-backed M23 militia of abuses in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, with Human Rights Watch alleging its fighters carried out ethnically targeted “mass killings”.Both the M23 and the Wazalendo, a disparate collection of militias loyal to the Congolese government, were responsible for rights abuses including gang rapes and …

Rights groups accuse DR Congo militia of rapes, ethnic massacresWed, 20 Aug 2025 10:59:40 GMT Read More »

World champions South Africa will play Japan at Wembley on November 1 the first time they have met in England since the Japanese recorded one of the greatest upsets in Rugby World Cup history in 2015.Japan, then as now coached by Eddie Jones, overcame the Springboks 34-32 in an absolute thriller of a match in …

World champions Springboks to play Japan at WembleyWed, 20 Aug 2025 10:40:34 GMT Read More »

Japan hosted African leaders on Wednesday for a three-day development conference, offering itself as an alternative to China as the continent reels from a debt crisis exacerbated by Western aid cuts, conflict and climate change.Attendees at the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) included Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa, William Ruto …

Japan hosts African leaders for development conferenceWed, 20 Aug 2025 06:47:49 GMT Read More »

Recent clashes in Somalia’s semi-autonomous Jubaland region are alarming experts, exposing cracks in the country’s federal system and creating an opening for extremist militant group Al-Shabaab to gain ground.Following years of conflict, Somalia is a loose federation of five semi-autonomous member states — Puntland, Jubaland, Galmudug, Hirshabelle and South West — that maintain often fractious …

Somalia-Jubaland power struggle benefits Al-Shabaab militantsWed, 20 Aug 2025 06:08:53 GMT Read More »

Mali’s civilian ex-prime minister Choguel Kokalla Maiga, dismissed in November after he criticised the junta, was charged Tuesday with embezzlement of public funds and remanded in custody following a hearing before the country’s Supreme Court.Plagued by jihadist and separatist violence, Mali has been led by the military since back-to-back coups in 2020 and 2021.Maiga is …

Former Mali PM Choguel Kokalla Maiga charged with embezzlement, imprisonedTue, 19 Aug 2025 20:53:22 GMT Read More »

A record 383 aid workers were killed last year, the United Nations said Tuesday, branding the figures and lack of accountability a “shameful indictment” of international apathy, and warning that this year’s toll was equally grim.The 2024 figure was up 31 percent on the year before, the UN said on World Humanitarian Day, “driven by …

Record number of aid workers killed in 2024, UN saysTue, 19 Aug 2025 16:11:14 GMT Read More »