AFP Africa

Commonwealth announces Ghana foreign minister as new secretary generalFri, 25 Oct 2024 23:34:06 GMT

The 56-nation Commonwealth announced Ghana’s foreign minister Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey as the new secretary general of the organisation as a rancorous summit concluded in Samoa on Saturday.The voluntary association of sovereign states is mostly made up of former British colonies.Botchwey was one of three candidates vying for the post, all who have backed calls for …

Commonwealth announces Ghana foreign minister as new secretary generalFri, 25 Oct 2024 23:34:06 GMT Read More »

Kickboxing takes Senegal by storm despite tight fundsFri, 25 Oct 2024 17:24:42 GMT

Senegal’s new world kickboxing champion Mouhamed Tafsir Ba smashes an uppercut into the punching bag in a dilapidated room in a military barracks. Bare-chested, muscles glistening with sweat, he works on the bag, delivering punches at a dizzying speed.This is the punishing regime that helped Ba win the -90kg category at the World Association of …

Kickboxing takes Senegal by storm despite tight fundsFri, 25 Oct 2024 17:24:42 GMT Read More »

Covid lessons learned? UN summit mulls plan for healthy planet, and humansFri, 25 Oct 2024 17:18:08 GMT

The Covid-19 and Ebola outbreaks brought into stark relief the harms that can come to humans if we interfere too much with nature, placing ourselves in contact with animals carrying unknown pathogens.At the COP16 biodiversity summit in Cali, Colombia, experts and activists have urged world leaders world to learn the lessons from the estimated seven …

Covid lessons learned? UN summit mulls plan for healthy planet, and humansFri, 25 Oct 2024 17:18:08 GMT Read More »

Mozambique protests turn violent over disputed voteFri, 25 Oct 2024 16:36:41 GMT

Mozambique’s capital Maputo awoke to wreckage and mobile internet cuts on Friday as protests overnight turned violent following the ruling party Frelimo’s re-election after 49 years in power.Hundreds of opposition supporters demonstrated, rejecting what they called a ballot “stolen” by a “corrupt” electoral commission, which on Thursday announced that Frelimo’s candidate Daniel Chapo had won …

Mozambique protests turn violent over disputed voteFri, 25 Oct 2024 16:36:41 GMT Read More »

IMF raises concerns about effects of Sudan conflict on neighborsFri, 25 Oct 2024 14:30:13 GMT

The war in Sudan is likely to cause heavy economic damage in neighboring countries, the IMF’s deputy director for Africa, Catherine Pattillo, told AFP. “What is going on there for the people in Sudan is just so heart wrenching and devastating. For all of the neighboring countries too,” she said in an interview in Washington ahead …

IMF raises concerns about effects of Sudan conflict on neighborsFri, 25 Oct 2024 14:30:13 GMT Read More »

Uganda court sentences former LRA commander to 40 yearsFri, 25 Oct 2024 10:27:47 GMT

A Ugandan court on Friday sentenced former Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) commander Thomas Kwoyelo to 40 years in prison after a landmark war crimes trial over his role in the group’s two-decade reign of terror.It was the first time a member of the feared organisation — which waged a two-decade rebellion against President Yoweri Museveni …

Uganda court sentences former LRA commander to 40 yearsFri, 25 Oct 2024 10:27:47 GMT Read More »

Tunisian freediver Walid Boudhiaf eyes records and developing the sportFri, 25 Oct 2024 07:37:38 GMT

Tunisian freediver Walid Boudhiaf, the Arab world’s only international champion in the sport and a one-time world record holder at 150 metres, is eyeing new achievements and hopes to expand the sport in his home country, where “thousands practise it without even realising”.During a recent visit to Tunisia, the 46-year-old, who spends half the year …

Tunisian freediver Walid Boudhiaf eyes records and developing the sportFri, 25 Oct 2024 07:37:38 GMT Read More »

Commonwealth struggles to overcome splits over brutal pastFri, 25 Oct 2024 04:37:05 GMT

Britain’s King Charles deflected calls to atone for his country’s colonial past Friday, as a summit of Commonwealth allies turned into a factious debate about the legacy of slavery and empire.Leaders from the 56-nation Commonwealth — made up mostly of British ex-colonies — gathered for a summit in Samoa, hoping to prove the bloc is …

Commonwealth struggles to overcome splits over brutal pastFri, 25 Oct 2024 04:37:05 GMT Read More »

Mozambique’s ruling party re-elected, opposition holds protestsThu, 24 Oct 2024 19:37:36 GMT

Mozambique’s ruling party was declared to have won disputed presidential and parliamentary elections by a landslide on Thursday as opposition supporters held scattered protests in several cities that resulted in at least one death. Daniel Chapo from the Frelimo party, which has been in power for half a century, took nearly 71 percent of the votes …

Mozambique’s ruling party re-elected, opposition holds protestsThu, 24 Oct 2024 19:37:36 GMT Read More »