AFP Africa

Togo’s opposition on Thursday called for a three-day mass protest to demonstrate against the government’s decision to delay this month’s legislative elections.Tensions between President Faure Gnassingbe’s government and the opposition have heightened following parliament’s approval of a contested constitutional reform critics say is a bid to keep Togo’s leader in power.The presidency announced Wednesday that …

Togo opposition calls for protests over election delayThu, 04 Apr 2024 21:42:12 GMT Read More »

Somalia on Thursday ordered the expulsion of Ethiopia’s ambassador and announced the recall of its own envoy to Addis Ababa, accusing its neighbour of “bluntly interfering” in its internal affairs.The diplomatic moves come as Somalia continues to seethe over a maritime deal Ethiopia signed with the breakaway region of Somaliland in January — ratcheting up …

Somalia expels Ethiopia ambassador over ‘interference’Thu, 04 Apr 2024 16:40:39 GMT Read More »

President Emmanuel Macron believes France and its Western and African allies “could have stopped” Rwanda’s 1994 genocide but did not have the will to halt the slaughter of an estimated 800,000 people, mostly ethnic Tutsis, the presidency said on Thursday. In a video message to be published on Sunday to mark the 30th anniversary of the …

Macron believes France, allies ‘could have stopped’ Rwanda genocideThu, 04 Apr 2024 16:26:31 GMT Read More »

The resounding electoral triumph of Senegal’s youngest-ever president has shone unflattering light on other African states where ageing autocrats have held sway for decades.Anti-establishment candidate Bassirou Diomaye Faye, 44, swept to victory in Dakar on a promise of major reform, backed by a new generation of voters and politicians.Faye and his mentor and now prime …

Senegal’s stunning election spotlights Africa’s ageing autocratsThu, 04 Apr 2024 15:29:14 GMT Read More »

South Africa’s former parliament speaker was charged with corruption and money laundering Thursday, piling new pressure on the governing African National Congress (ANC) party ahead of elections in May.Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, who resigned her speaker post Wednesday, appeared before a court in Pretoria after she turned herself in to police and was formally arrested.”Charges against Ms …

S.Africa’s ex-parliament speaker charged in graft probeThu, 04 Apr 2024 12:51:06 GMT Read More »

Togo’s opposition demanded the withdrawal of a contested constitutional reform on Thursday after the government delayed this month’s legislative elections to give lawmakers more time to review the amendment.The reform allowing the National Assembly to elect the president directly triggered opposition fears over attempts to keep President Faure Gnassingbe in power longer.Togo’s presidency late on …

Togo opposition demands withdrawal of reform after election delayThu, 04 Apr 2024 11:55:20 GMT Read More »

Stranded abroad by almost a year of war, Saudi Arabia’s swelling Sudanese community are drawn to Riyadh’s “Little Khartoum” where they can eat, pray and console each other about the conflict ravaging their country.During the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, Sudanese men, some in traditional robes and turbans, gather daily for the fast-breaking iftar evening meal …

War-stranded Sudanese find solace in Saudi’s ‘Little Khartoum’Thu, 04 Apr 2024 10:00:38 GMT Read More »

South African footballer Luke Fleurs was shot dead by robbers in Johannesburg in the latest incident to shock the crime-ridden nation, police and his club said on Thursday.Fleurs, 24, a defender with Johannesburg’s popular Kaizer Chiefs team, was gunned down Wednesday night as he refilled his car at a gas station in a northwestern suburb …

South Africa’s Kaizer Chiefs footballer Luke Fleurs shot deadThu, 04 Apr 2024 09:56:55 GMT Read More »

South Africa’s former parliament speaker was arrested Thursday as part of a graft inquiry, the latest scandal to hit the governing African National Congress (ANC) party ahead of elections in May.Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, who resigned her speaker post Wednesday, was formally detained after handing herself in to police near Pretoria, prosecutors said.  The ANC veteran was …

S.Africa’s ex-parliament speaker arrested in graft probeThu, 04 Apr 2024 08:41:28 GMT Read More »

On sketch pads or computer tablets, a group of young Rwandan artists painstakingly recreate portraits of victims of the 1994 genocide for their loved ones.The illustrators — like the majority of Rwanda’s population — were not even born when the 100-day killing spree by Hutu extremists was unleashed against the Tutsi minority 30 years ago …

Young Rwandan artists keep the memory of genocide victims aliveThu, 04 Apr 2024 08:35:55 GMT Read More »