AFP Africa

Army strongmen who have seized power in coups across Africa’s Sahel region since 2020 have ramped up pressure on foreign mining companies in the name of greater control over their countries’ riches.Niger’s nationalisation of the local branch of French uranium giant Orano on Thursday is the latest such measure by the junta and its allies …

Sahel juntas pile pressure on foreign mining firmsFri, 20 Jun 2025 19:08:44 GMT Read More »

Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni hosted European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen in Rome on Friday for a summit aimed at boosting African economies in a bid to curb illegal migration to the bloc.Meloni, whose far-right Brothers of Italy party has prioritised cutting irregular immigration, has launched a 5.5-billion-euro ($6.3-billion) plan targeting 14 countries …

Meloni trumpets plan to boost African economies at EU summitFri, 20 Jun 2025 15:57:52 GMT Read More »

The family of Zambia’s late president, Edgar Lungu, announced on Friday that he will be buried in South Africa after a row with the Zambian government over its plans for a state funeral.Lungu’s family on Wednesday stopped his body from being repatriated from South Africa, where he died in hospital on June 5, after it emerged …

Zambian ex-president to be buried in South Africa after funeral rowFri, 20 Jun 2025 15:36:08 GMT Read More »

The hosts of the most recent UN climate talks are worried international lenders are retreating from their commitments to help boost funding for developing countries’ response to global warming.This anxiety has grown as the Trump administration has slashed foreign aid and discouraged US-based development lenders like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund from …

World Bank and IMF climate snub ‘worrying’: COP29 presidencyFri, 20 Jun 2025 13:27:06 GMT Read More »

A leading Rwandan opposition figure and a rare  critic of President Paul Kagame’s iron-fisted rule has been arrested, the country’s investigative agency said Friday.Victoire Ingabire’s detention follows a court appearance on Thursday in the capital Kigali for questioning in connection with a trial of nine people accused of attempting to learn how to overthrow the …

Leading Rwandan opposition figure detainedFri, 20 Jun 2025 07:27:47 GMT Read More »

Julie, a transgender woman, fled Uganda after her own family had her house burned down, but her initial hopes of finding refuge in neighbouring Kenya are fading. “My brothers incited villagers to attack me. I was physically assaulted several times,” said the 32-year-old. AFP is only using her first name to protect her.One night in April …

Kenya, precarious refuge for LGBTQ UgandansFri, 20 Jun 2025 06:09:33 GMT Read More »

As they zigzagged from one machine to another in the searing African sun, the workers were covered in black soot.But the charcoal they were making is known as “green”, and backers hope it can save impoverished Chad from rampant deforestation.Chad, a vast, landlocked country of 19 million people perched at the crossroads of north and …

Chad hopes ‘green charcoal’ can save vanishing forestsFri, 20 Jun 2025 05:53:20 GMT Read More »

Zambia’s president cut short a period of national mourning for his predecessor Edgar Lungu on Thursday after the late leader’s family refused to allow the body to be repatriated, escalating a row over his funeral.Lungu, president from 2015 to 2021, died in hospital in neighbouring South Africa two weeks ago and his body was due …

Zambia lifts mourning for late president in funeral rowThu, 19 Jun 2025 19:55:29 GMT Read More »

Ivory Coast’s two main opposition parties on Thursday announced a “common front” to demand that their leaders, banned from October presidential polls, be allowed to stand.Ivory Coast’s political climate has been tense for several weeks after courts excluded several opposition figures from the October 25 election, in which President Alassane Ouattara is expected to seek …

Main Ivorian opposition parties form common poll frontThu, 19 Jun 2025 17:34:17 GMT Read More »

With the rise of a paramilitary force that analysts say is controlled by the Kremlin, Russia is openly expanding its state military footprint in Africa, after years of distancing itself from mercenaries deployed on the continent to support pro-Russian rulers.Russia is using the Africa Corps force to increase its influence in particular in francophone west …

Russia steps out from shadows in Africa with state paramilitaryThu, 19 Jun 2025 16:22:41 GMT Read More »