AFP Africa

South Africa Rugby president Mark Alexander on Thursday hailed deceased former Springbok winger Cornal Hendricks as a “remarkable athlete”.The 37-year-old, who scored five tries in 12 Test appearances, died on Wednesday after suffering a heart attack.”We are deeply saddened by the passing of Cornal Hendricks, a remarkable athlete who represented his country in sevens and …

South African rugby mourns death of Cornal Hendricks at 37Thu, 15 May 2025 16:16:53 GMT Read More »

Three years ago, Thomas Kazungu Karisa was struggling to make ends meet as a petrol station attendant in the Kenyan county of Kilifi, when a sudden cash donation changed his life. “My family often went to bed hungry, my children were sent home from school for unpaid fees and I was buried in debt,” said Karisa, …

Can cash handouts replace aid? Kenya offers some answersThu, 15 May 2025 12:01:18 GMT Read More »

At 17, Joyce Malindi won her first beauty contest under the suffocating limits of apartheid South Africa. Fifty-five years later, she was back on the catwalk, silver curls gleaming and brown clogs clicking, in a pageant for grandmothers only.The event in the Tokoza township outside of Johannesburg featured prayers, speeches and a performance against domestic violence, …

Ageless beauty contest: South African grannies strut the catwalkThu, 15 May 2025 11:14:14 GMT Read More »

A mother watched in despair as an excavator demolished her Kinshasa home, part of a campaign to clamp down on unauthorised buildings after deadly floods.Flash flooding in the overcrowded megalopolis, which sits on the banks of the mighty Congo River, killed dozens of people early last month.Authorities have begun demolishing riverside constructions built without permits, …

Kinshasa deploys excavators against illegally built homesThu, 15 May 2025 05:32:56 GMT Read More »

Brazilian Arthur Sales scored twice as Mamelodi Sundowns won 3-0 at Chippa United on Wednesday to clinch an eighth straight South African Premiership title.The South American came off the bench at Buffalo City Stadium in coastal city East London to score the last two goals after 69 and 89 minutes.South African international Iqraam Rayners had …

Brazilian Sales scores twice as Sundowns seal eighth straight titleWed, 14 May 2025 21:20:49 GMT Read More »

An appeals court sentenced Mauritania’s former president Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz to 15 years in prison on Wednesday for abuse of office and illicit enrichment.Aziz, who came to power in a 2008 coup, had appealed his original five-year sentence after his conviction two years ago of using his power to amass a fortune.  The former …

Mauritania ex-leader Aziz jailed on appeal for 15 yearsWed, 14 May 2025 18:02:10 GMT Read More »

A Zimbabwe court released on bail on Wednesday scores of anti-government protesters held in custody since taking part in a demonstration against President Emmerson Mnangagwa six weeks ago.Nearly 100 people were arrested on March 31 at a protest in the capital Harare called by a veteran of the ruling ZANU-PF party who claims Mnangagwa is …

Zimbabwean protesters granted bail after 6 weeks in custodyWed, 14 May 2025 16:17:41 GMT Read More »

Georgiana Viou calls herself a “UFO”, championing free and daring cuisine straddling two continents, from Cotonou’s lively street markets to the kitchens of her Michelin-starred restaurant in Nimes, southern France.In the alleys of the historic Saint-Michel market in Benin’s bustling economic capital, unchanged since her childhood, Viou goes from stallholder to stallholder.At one she buys …

Top chef Georgiana Viou: blending cuisine across continentsWed, 14 May 2025 14:58:57 GMT Read More »

A leading opposition party that dominated Ethiopian politics for decades has been banned from any political activity, the Election Commission said Wednesday, ahead of national elections due next year.The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) has roots that go back a long way in national politics. It led the 1991 revolution that toppled the authoritarian Derg regime …

Ethiopia bans historic Tigrayan opposition partyWed, 14 May 2025 14:44:31 GMT Read More »

From his home in the far north of Ethiopia, Hagos can see Eritrean soldiers positioned on the other side of his town, Alitena, and says all his neighbours fear a full occupation. “The Eritrean army can raid us anytime they choose,” said Hagos, resident of the tiny town of around 3,000 people. Like other locals interviewed for …

Life under Eritrean ‘occupation’ in northern EthiopiaWed, 14 May 2025 09:16:21 GMT Read More »