CAPE TOWN, South Africa — South Africa’s third-largest political party said it will boycott President Cyril Ramaphosa’s annual speech to Parliament on Thursday because its fiery leader and five other top party officials have had their lawmaker status suspended for disrupting last year’s event when they rushed the stage where Ramaphosa was standing. The Economic … Read more
ACCRA, Ghana – ECOWAS flag with member flags at the second extraordinary summit on the political situation in Burkina Faso, in Accra, Ghana, on February 3, 2022. Photo by NIPAH DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images Three West African countries currently under the rule of military juntas have announced plans to exit the Economic Community of West … Read more
MILAN — Authorities in Rome have arrested 14 migrants from nine countries for alleged involvement in unrest in a repatriation center following the death of a migrant from the African nation of Guinea, police said Monday. After the body was discovered Sunday morning, migrants in the center began setting mattresses on fire and throwing objects … Read more
PRETORIA, South Africa — South African election officials have visited prisons across the country as part of an ambitious project to register at least 100,000 inmates to vote in this year’s national election. The country’s constitution guarantees every adult citizen the right to vote — meaning there are no restrictions on prisoners taking part in … Read more
SAINT LOUIS, Senegal — As a young geologist working for Senegal’s state-owned petroleum company in the 1990s, Macky Sall was charged with prospecting for oil and gas in this West African nation. For years, he and his colleagues came up empty. But more than two decades later, after Sall was elected to be Senegal’s president, … Read more
ABUJA, Nigeria — Monthslong tension between three coup-hit countries in West Africa and the regional bloc known as ECOWAS boiled over when the nations announced their immediate withdrawal from the bloc and accused it of a lack of support and “inhumane” coup-related sanctions. In their joint statement on Sunday, the juntas of Niger, Mali and … Read more
Young South African speedster Kwena Maphaka made headlines after a sensational win for the hosts against West Indies in the second game of the U19 World Cup 2024 at Potchefstroom on Friday, January 19. Producing sensational figures of 5/38, Maphaka was deservingly adjudged the Player of the Match. The way he celebrated his wickets went … Read more
KAMPALA, Uganda — African leaders on Friday criticized Israel for its military campaign in Gaza and called for an end to the fighting that continues take its toll on mostly civilians. The African Union Commission Chairman Moussa Faki Mahamat described the war in Gaza as immoral and unacceptable. “We demand an immediate end to this … Read more
Last year presented a tough period for African tech startups. Venture capital was hard to bag (as predicted earlier), bridge and down rounds became the norm, and news of fire sales, layoffs and startup closures reverberated across the continent. With the overall amount of VC funding raised in Africa dipping significantly across the year, according … Read more
PRETORIA, South Africa — South African athlete Oscar Pistorius has been released from prison on parole and is now at home, South Africa’s Department of Corrections said Friday. The department gave no more details of Pistorius’ release. The announcement came at around 8:30 a.m., indicating corrections officials had released the world-famous double-amputee Olympic runner from … Read more