AFP Africa

A leading opposition party that dominated Ethiopian politics for decades has been banned from any political activity, the Election Commission said Wednesday, ahead of national elections due next year.The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) has roots that go back a long way in national politics. It led the 1991 revolution that toppled the authoritarian Derg regime …

Ethiopia bans historic Tigrayan opposition partyWed, 14 May 2025 14:44:31 GMT Read More »

From his home in the far north of Ethiopia, Hagos can see Eritrean soldiers positioned on the other side of his town, Alitena, and says all his neighbours fear a full occupation. “The Eritrean army can raid us anytime they choose,” said Hagos, resident of the tiny town of around 3,000 people. Like other locals interviewed for …

Life under Eritrean ‘occupation’ in northern EthiopiaWed, 14 May 2025 09:16:21 GMT Read More »

One evening in December 2011, five armed men arrived in a vehicle, fired at the Mauritanian gendarmerie post at Adel Begrou, and kidnapped a gendarme before escaping across the nearby border into Mali.It was the last attack attributed to jihadists in Mauritania, more than 13 years ago.But over that time, jihadist attacks have increasingly plagued …

Stability holds in Mauritania as jihadists ravage SahelWed, 14 May 2025 05:43:16 GMT Read More »

Banele Phaladi wolfed down a thin slice of bread and kissed his mother goodbye before walking around the dilapidated streets of Alexandra township to his colourful classroom at the Kgololo Academy.At this elite primary school in one of the most destitute areas of Johannesburg, classes are small, teachers enthusiastic, and every child is known by …

Ambitious school grows hope in poverty-stricken S.African townshipWed, 14 May 2025 05:37:09 GMT Read More »

The White House questioned Tuesday the humanitarian commitment of the influential Episcopal Church after it refused to comply with a federal directive to help resettle white Afrikaners granted refugee status by the Trump administration.Trump ran on an anti-immigrant platform and essentially halted refugee arrivals in the United States after taking office, but made an exception …

White House slams Episcopal Church’s refusal to resettle white South AfricansTue, 13 May 2025 22:22:41 GMT Read More »

Ghana’s President John Mahama on Tuesday urged global firms to ramp up crude oil production in the West African nation before the global shift to renewable energy renders the resource worthless.He warned that Ghana risks seeing its oil resources stuck in the ground if drilling is not fast-tracked while demand still exists.Many countries have pledged …

Ghana president tells firms to pump oil ‘like there’s no tomorrow’Tue, 13 May 2025 18:04:50 GMT Read More »

Mali’s military government on Tuesday dissolved the west African country’s political parties, according to a presidency decree, the latest attempt to clamp down on the opposition since the junta seized power.Opposition parties have feared the move for weeks, banding together into a hundred-party coalition to demonstrate in an rare act of open defiance since back-to-back …

Mali dissolves political parties in blow to junta criticsTue, 13 May 2025 17:00:28 GMT Read More »

Benin on Tuesday received from a Finnish museum a sacred “katakle” three-legged stool, symbol of the African nation’s artistic wealth looted by French colonial troops in the late 19th century.The stool was the missing piece from 27 items of cultural treasure from the royal palaces of Abomey, inhabited by the kings of the west African …

Finland returns sacred stool looted by France to BeninTue, 13 May 2025 16:15:39 GMT Read More »

Mali’s military ruler on Tuesday approved a bill revoking the country’s political parties charter, which the opposition sees as a step towards its dissolution, according to a presidency decree.The suspension of the charter, which regulates the functioning, creation and financing of political parties, marks a new act of repression of dissenting voices in the west …

Mali junta chief approves step towards restricting political partiesTue, 13 May 2025 15:30:53 GMT Read More »

Coach Shukri Conrad said on Tuesday that South Africa’s players must prioritise the World Test Championship final over the closing stages of the Indian Premier League.Conrad said there was an agreement that South Africa’s players would return from India on May 26 –- the day after the original date of the IPL final.This would enable …

Test final must trump IPL, says South Africa coachTue, 13 May 2025 13:40:35 GMT Read More »