AFP Africa

With an exuberant flourish, Ethiopian artist Fikru Gebremariam slaps bold streaks of paint across the large canvas propped up against a wall in his Addis Ababa studio.The acclaimed 50-year-old painter — whose art hangs in galleries and collections across the world — explains how he honed his now vibrant, abstract style.”My job to just take …

Ethiopian artist Fikru lays bare his emotions on canvasThu, 01 Feb 2024 13:15:56 GMT Read More »

A scrawny chicken squawks loudly as it flies through the air to be snapped up by the “president’s caiman crocodiles” in one of the Ivory Coast capital’s most popular and traditional attractions.Cleopatra is said to have collected holy crocodiles and the Ivorian nation’s capital Yamoussoukro boasts some 300 from the days of president and father …

Ivory Coast’s ‘sacred’ crocs pull in the crowdsThu, 01 Feb 2024 09:19:12 GMT Read More »

Her head severed, her body parts chopped off: Kenyan student Rita Waeni’s gruesome murder last month unfolded like a horror movie. But it felt all too real to the thousands of women who took to the streets on Saturday to protest a national femicide epidemic.At one of the marches in Nairobi’s central business district, protesters brandished placards …

Silence, shame, victim-blaming: Kenya’s femicide epidemicThu, 01 Feb 2024 06:15:45 GMT Read More »

Sudan’s nine-month-old war has so far largely spared the country’s east. But with the frontline inching ever closer, and reports of military training camps across the border in Eritrea, the fragile peace there is in jeopardy. Sudan’s war has already killed thousands, including between 10,000 and 15,000 in a single city in the western Darfur region, …

Creeping war threatens Sudan’s eastern borderThu, 01 Feb 2024 02:30:19 GMT Read More »

The United States on Wednesday implored Sudan’s authorities to let aid into the country, denouncing holdups as the war between rival generals leaves millions in need of help.Samantha Power, administrator of the US Agency for International Development, said that funding for Sudan’s crisis “remains shockingly low,” with around 25 million people, or more than half …

US deplores holdups on aid into SudanWed, 31 Jan 2024 20:32:27 GMT Read More »

The number of people uprooted by the war between rival generals in Sudan is around eight million, the United Nations said on Wednesday.UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi, who is visiting Ethiopia, rallied international donors to open their wallets to fight the crisis, describing the situation as “serious”.”The conflict has increased in intensity and …

Eight million displaced by Sudan war: UNWed, 31 Jan 2024 15:05:54 GMT Read More »

When he was alive, Nigeria’s influential pastor TB Joshua had tens of thousands of followers at home and from overseas who flocked to see his claims of miracle working.But the televangelist, who died suddenly in 2021 at the age of 57, was also accused by critics of abuses and even scamming worshippers.Now his grey stone …

Nigeria pastor abuse claims spotlight divisive church leadersWed, 31 Jan 2024 14:58:15 GMT Read More »

The number of people uprooted by the war between rival generals in Sudan is almost eight million, the United Nations said Wednesday.UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi, who is on a visit to Ethiopia, called for “urgent and additional support to meet their needs”, his agency said in a statement disclosing the numbers.”I heard …

Nearly eight million displaced by Sudan war: UNWed, 31 Jan 2024 12:04:51 GMT Read More »

From Ivory Coast’s remarkable resurrection to heavyweight exits and underdog successes, there may never have been a more unpredictable major international football tournament than the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations.The last 16 concluded on Tuesday with the continent’s top-ranked team, 2022 World Cup semi-finalists Morocco, being dumped out by South Africa after Achraf Hakimi missed …

African heavyweights tumble like dominoes at Cup of NationsWed, 31 Jan 2024 10:57:36 GMT Read More »

At a fertility clinic in Tunis, Bintou Yunoussa hopes doctors can finally help her conceive — one of more than two million foreigners who travel to Tunisia annually for medical procedures.While Tunisians face economic hardships and their government is mired in debt, medical tourism has thrived and authorities are looking to expand the profitable sector …

As Tunisia’s economy falters, medical tourism flourishesWed, 31 Jan 2024 03:10:42 GMT Read More »