Burkina Faso’s former president Blaise Compaore, the main accused in a long-awaited trial on the 1987 assassination of his predecessor Thomas Sankara, will boycott the upcoming proceedings, according to his lawyers . In the trial opening on Monday, Compaore and 13 others face an array of charges in the death of Sankara, a charismatic revolutionary…
Thousands of Tunisian demonstrators have gathered in the capital on Sunday to protest against President Kais Saied’s “exceptional measures”. Government critics have described the latest measures as “a coup”. At the end of July Kais Saied’s dismissed the Prime Minister and froze parliament. Many see the president’s latest actions as a return to autocracy and…
Torrential rains cause rivers to flow, deluging home and farms in eight of the country’s 10 states, UN agency says. At least 623,000 people have been affected by widespread flooding in South Sudan since May, with many forced to flee their homes, the United Nations said. Rivers broke their banks following heavy rains, deluging houses…
The 187 victims were freed in Zamfara state, where they had been seized in separate attacks, police say. Nigerian security agents have rescued nearly 200 kidnapped people during raids on camps of criminal gangs in dense forests in the country’s northwest, police said. Heavily armed criminal gangs known locally as bandits have plagued northwest and…
Morocco’s King Mohammed VI on Thursday named a new government led by Aziz Akhannouch, a billionaire tycoon close to the palace who will face pressing economic problems exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic. The 24-member cabinet, formed after Akhannouch’s National Rally of Independents (RNI) trounced incumbent Islamists in elections last month, includes seven women, up from…
The rally stars of bikes, cars and trucks categories were out in force on Thursday, a day before the Rally Morocco in Zagora gets underway – a race that is seen as a key precursor event to the legendary Dakar Rally, which will take place in Saudi Arabia in January 2022. “We (KTM team) are…
The prospect of South Africa potentially hosting the Grand Prix F1 tournament in 2023 has evoked some excitement from young and old racers. However, questions were raised on whether South Africa is ready to accommodate an event of this magnitude. “I think South Africa is more than capable of hosting formula one because it wouldn’t…
Sixteen soldiers were killed and 10 wounded in an attack in central Mali, security and health officials in the war-torn Sahel state said. Mali’s army in a statement said the troops came under heavy gunfire shortly before 11:30 on Wednesday morning. The army blamed the attack on suspected jihadists, and said that after pursuit, 15 of…
Moderna plans to invest about $500 million to build a factory in Africa to make up to 500 million doses of mRNA vaccines each year, including its Covid-19 shot. Moderna’s proposed site will also include bottling and packaging capabilities. The company said it would begin the process of deciding the country and location soon. Moderna…
Pretoria – At least three members of a regional intervention force in Mozambique’s troubled Cabo Delgado province have been killed during clashes with Islamic State-linked insurgents in the area, the Southern African Development Community has said. In a communique following an extraordinary summit of its security troika, SADC on Tuesday said the three members of…