AFP Africa

US President Donald Trump has moved to cut nearly $5 billion of congressionally-approved foreign aid, the White House said Friday — raising the likelihood of a federal shutdown as Democrats oppose the policy.The $4.9 billion in cuts target programs of the Department of State and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Trump wrote …

Trump moves to cut more foreign aid, risking shutdownFri, 29 Aug 2025 20:32:41 GMT Read More »

After weeks of violent protests, a leading rights activist and former chief justice have emerged as presidential contenders — but can they succeed in the bare-knuckle world of Kenyan politics?President William Ruto has seen his popularity plummet since coming to power in 2022 over continued economic stagnation, corruption, police brutality and abductions targeting government critics. Ruto …

Kenya’s deadly protests spur outsiders into election battleFri, 29 Aug 2025 10:17:36 GMT Read More »

When cell phone and internet networks went down across nine states in Nigeria earlier this summer, leaving millions without service, telecoms officials pointed to an increasingly familiar culprit: vandalism.Destruction of telecoms infrastructure is rife in Africa’s most populous country, from jihadist groups aiming to create communications blackouts to outright theft of cables and parts, as …

Vandalism hobbles Nigeria’s mobile telephone servicesFri, 29 Aug 2025 07:21:07 GMT Read More »

As patients enter a major Abidjan hospital, a large sign informs them that Ivory Coast’s universal health insurance will cover some of their medical expenses.But although the healthcare coverage has been available for six years, many Ivorians still have not signed up for it — and those that have often don’t bother trying to use …

Mistrust undermines Ivory Coast’s universal healthcare dreamFri, 29 Aug 2025 06:42:04 GMT Read More »

After trading run-ins with the former government for the corridors of power, Senegal’s dynamic duo of President Bassirou Diomaye Faye and Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko enjoyed a year-long honeymoon.Yet recent attempts at projecting a friendship refreshed have failed to dispel doubts that the west African country’s top political double act, whose rise to power fanned …

‘If I were president’: Cracks appear in Senegal’s top political double actFri, 29 Aug 2025 06:35:00 GMT Read More »

Group of 20 president South Africa announced Thursday it had commissioned a Nobel laureate-led team to tackle global inequality and poverty, a push that could revive calls to tax the rich. The six-member team, led by Nobel laureate economist Joseph Stiglitz, will analyse the impact of wealth and income inequality, and offer practical policy solutions to …

G20 chair S.Africa seeks to tackle poverty with inequality panelThu, 28 Aug 2025 16:16:32 GMT Read More »

In a Sudanese city long besieged by paramilitary forces, the war has taken an even more violent and terrifying turn, leaving residents facing hunger and death with little chance of escaping.The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), at war with the regular army since April 2023, has launched its fiercest assault to date on El-Fasher, the …

Besieged Sudan city faces fiercest paramilitary assault yetThu, 28 Aug 2025 15:14:52 GMT Read More »

A prominent French sports journalist sentenced to seven years in prison in Algeria at the end of June is in “fighting mood” but feels “isolated”, his parents told AFP after visiting their son earlier this month.Christophe Gleizes, who is being held in the city of Tizi Ouzou, is being detained against the background of escalating …

French sports journalist ‘isolated’ in Algeria prisonThu, 28 Aug 2025 10:02:17 GMT Read More »

Its modern architecture complemented by latticework inspired by local Yoruba textiles, Alara, west Africa’s first fashion and design “concept store”, is an imposing sight in Lagos, Nigeria’s bustling economic capital.Founder Reni Folawiyo is now 10 years into forging what she calls “Afro-lux”, Alara serving as a homebase for designs that “play between tradition and modernity”, …

Nigerian designer pushes ‘Afro-lux’ onto the global fashion sceneThu, 28 Aug 2025 06:27:31 GMT Read More »

Kaizer Chiefs and Mamelodi Sundowns drew 0-0 on Wednesday in the first high-profile match of the South African Premiership season, which failed to match expectations. A sell-out 75,000 crowd came to Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg to watch two of the three most popular clubs in the country.But they left disappointed after a cagey clash that …

Dull deadlock between Kaizer Chiefs and Mamelodi SundownsWed, 27 Aug 2025 21:21:25 GMT Read More »