AFP Africa

When healthcare workers in central Mali travel to vaccinate children against measles, they have to negotiate with the jihadists who control some villages threatened by the epidemic.”At first, they categorically refused. They see vaccines as carrying diseases,” said a representative from a Malian NGO, who did not wish to be named for safety reasons.”So it’s …

Jihadist threat hits Sahel vaccine coverageTue, 18 Feb 2025 06:35:15 GMT Read More »

Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame has shown his strategic acumen, honed by 30 years of cementing control at home and influence abroad, as conflict flares in the Democratic Republic of Congo.Raised as a refugee, forged by a Ugandan bush war and the horrific Rwandan genocide of 1994, Kagame takes no chances when it come to threats …

Rwanda’s Kagame: a ‘chess-player’ getting his way in DR CongoTue, 18 Feb 2025 06:26:54 GMT Read More »

Ephrem Minassie’s voice trembled as he recalled his stints in Eritrean prisons for trying to evade military service and flee the country.He was first arrested in 2001 for daring to complain about his experiences as a soldier in the brutal war against Ethiopia of 1998-2000.He was imprisoned for two months in the punishingly hot Gash …

‘Mouth stuffed to muffle screams’: Eritreans recount prison horrorTue, 18 Feb 2025 06:09:02 GMT Read More »

Sarah had survived famine, multiple wars and years of displacement in Sudan’s Zamzam camp and never considered fleeing, until a paramilitary attack turned the site into a “killing field”.Last week, shelling and gunfire shook the streets as the Rapid Support Forces, at war with the army for nearly two years, stormed the famine-stricken camp in …

Survivors recount horrific RSF attack on famine-hit Sudan campTue, 18 Feb 2025 04:48:25 GMT Read More »

Two bodies lay on a Bukavu road, lynched by a mob accusing them of taking part in the widespread pillaging of the eastern DR Congo city as it fell to pro-Rwandan forces.Following the city’s seizure by the Rwanda-backed M23 Movement, the crackle of bullets gave way to the sound of sirens on Monday as ambulances made …

East DRC city timidly comes back to life under M23 controlMon, 17 Feb 2025 18:33:01 GMT Read More »

Muhsin Hendricks, considered the world’s first openly gay imam who was gunned down last weekend in South Africa, stood as a man who valued authenticity — both in action and words. “This is who I am, and if that means I am going to be killed because of my authenticity, then that is how I choose …

Muhsin Hendricks: S.Africa’s gay imam who broke the mouldMon, 17 Feb 2025 15:40:56 GMT Read More »

The head of the World Health Organization insisted on Monday it was “now or never” to strike a landmark global accord on tackling future pandemics, after the United States withdrew from negotiations.WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said no country could protect itself from the next pandemic on its own — three days after US President …

WHO chief urges pandemic accord action after US withdrawalMon, 17 Feb 2025 15:40:02 GMT Read More »

The head of the World Health Organization insisted on Monday it was “now or never” to strike a landmark global accord on tackling future pandemics, despite the United States withdrawing from negotiations.WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said no country could protect itself from the next pandemic on its own — three days after US President …

‘Now or never’ for pandemic accord, says WHO chief after US pulls outMon, 17 Feb 2025 11:13:33 GMT Read More »

A court in Mauritius on Monday released on bail the island’s former prime minister Pravind Jugnauth in a money-laundering probe after seizing suitcases of cash in raids on his alleged accomplices’ homes.Police detained the 63-year-old along with his wife Kobita Jugnauth on Saturday and questioned them for several hours, police sources told AFP.Kobita Jugnauth was …

Mauritius ex-PM freed on bail in money-laundering probeSun, 16 Feb 2025 20:49:44 GMT Read More »

Columns of M23 fighters allied with Rwandan troops on Sunday entered the centre of another key city in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo as the African Union highlighted growing fears that the strife-torn country could break up.Scores of people have fled since the fighters reached outlying districts of Bukavu, capital of South Kivu province, …

M23 seize key city as fears of DR Congo breakup mountSun, 16 Feb 2025 20:09:14 GMT Read More »