AFP Africa

A Tunisian court has handed down jail sentences of up to 66 years to multiple defendants, including prominent opposition figures, in a mass trial criticised by rights groups.The trial, decried by a defence lawyer as a “masquerade”, is of unprecedented scale with around 40 defendants including vocal critics of President Kais Saied.A prosecutor cited on …

Tunisia opposition figures get jail terms in mass trialSat, 19 Apr 2025 15:48:00 GMT Read More »

Hundreds of thousands of Sudanese civilians, who had already endured months of famine, have fled in “disastrous conditions” after paramilitaries overran their camp in Darfur, medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said Friday.”We are treating children who were literally dying of thirst on their journeys,” MSF project coordinator Marion Ramstein said from the small town …

Sudan camp assault survivors in ‘disastrous conditions’: MSFFri, 18 Apr 2025 17:48:45 GMT Read More »

Artists, entertainers and government officials are among two dozen high-profile figures summoned by Senegal’s justice system in recent days for allegedly misusing public funds intended for the country’s Covid-19 response.The 1 trillion-CFA-franc ($1.7-billion) fund issued by the Senegalese state and donors between 2020 and 2021 was supposed to reinforce the healthcare system, support households and …

High-profile Senegalese suspected of misusing Covid-19 fundsFri, 18 Apr 2025 16:25:37 GMT Read More »

The deaths of three Tunisian sixth-formers in a school wall collapse in the small inland town of Mezzouna has fuelled anger over underinvestment and neglect in the nation’s hinterland.Since Monday’s accident, angry residents have blocked roads leading to the town’s National Guard post with burning tyres, as young men clashed repeatedly with security forces.”We’re asking …

Deadly Tunisia school wall collapse sparks outcry in nation’s hinterlandFri, 18 Apr 2025 15:15:37 GMT Read More »

It had been nearly two years since AFP journalist Abdelmoneim Abu Idris Ali set foot in his home in war-torn Khartoum, after the sound of children playing in the street gave way to the fearsome fire of machine guns.Sudan’s once-peaceful capital awoke to the sound of bombs and gunfire on April 15, 2023 as war …

‘War has taken everything’: AFP reporter returns home to KhartoumFri, 18 Apr 2025 06:55:43 GMT Read More »

Along one of the many dirt tracks leading into Kenya’s Kakuma refugee camp there is a large hidden compound, where inside, twice a week, adolescent girls gather to learn taekwondo, the martial arts lessons offering a safe space in the often chaotic settlement.Kakuma is Kenya’s second-largest refugee camp, home to over 300,000 people — from …

‘Defend ourselves’: Refugee girls in Kenya find strength in taekwondoFri, 18 Apr 2025 06:40:29 GMT Read More »

Authorities have never announced their deployment and they do not appear in official photographs — but Russian mercenaries in combat fatigues are a daily sight in Equatorial Guinea’s capital Malabo.Their presence, and the lack of transparency about their mission, has annoyed some citizens in this central African country on the Atlantic coast, stricken by poverty …

Russian mercenaries draw suspicion in Equatorial GuineaFri, 18 Apr 2025 05:48:10 GMT Read More »

Mulatu Astatke struggled for decades before his name became associated worldwide with a musical genre and he was finally born as the father of Ethio-jazz.Now despite that long journey and his 81 years of age, the Ethiopian music legend cannot even “think about retirement”.A one-man band, equally at home with the vibraphone and the conga, …

Mulatu Astatke: long journey for the ‘father of Ethio-jazz’Fri, 18 Apr 2025 05:24:53 GMT Read More »

Ivory Coast’s main opposition party on Thursday formally named its leader Tidjane Thiam as its candidate for the October presidential election.The 62-year-old former Credit Suisse bank chief executive was the only contender for the centre-right Democratic Party (PDCI).Tensions in the wealthy west African country are running high six months from the scheduled polling date.Businessman and …

Ivory Coast opposition names leader as presidential candidateFri, 18 Apr 2025 03:30:02 GMT Read More »

Ivory Coast’s main opposition party nominated former minister and businessman Tidjane Thiam as its candidate on Thursday, ahead of an October presidential election.The 62-year-old former Aviva and Credit Suisse executive was the only contender for the centre-right Democratic Party (PDCI).Tensions in the wealthy west African country are running high six months from the scheduled polling …

Opposition leader in I.Coast named election candidateThu, 17 Apr 2025 19:30:57 GMT Read More »