Bamako: At least two soldiers and two UN peacekeepers were killed in separate attacks in Mali on Monday, the army and the UN mission said. Militants attacked Malian troops posted in the northern region of Gao early in the morning, the army said, three days after another clash left at least 27 soldiers dead and…
Reports from Nigeria’s north-western state of Kebbi say gunmen on motorbikes killed at least 63 people in Zuru area in a Sunday night attack. A village head in Takita, Umaru Garba, told the BBC that all those killed were members of vigilante groups who were chasing after the gunmen. The incident is one of the…
A group of Tanzanian students fleeing the conflict in Ukraine have arrived in Russia. The students were studying at Sumy State University in northeastern Ukraine when the fighting started. The city lies about 48km from the border with Russia. “The journey was tough because it involved both going by car and on foot. So we…
Sanctions against Zimbabwe are to stay in place because the US believes the ruling party undermines the country’s democratic processes. Zanu-PF has called the sanctions vindictive because of Zimbabwe’s land reform programme from the turn of the millennium. The sanctions fly in the face of President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s efforts to charm the American government. The…
Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi appointed former energy minister Max Tonela as his new finance minister He takes over as finance minister while Mozambique is in talks with the International Monetary Fund about a new economic program As mineral resources and energy minister, Tonela was responsible for the development of Mozambique’s natural-gas resources as a growing…
Burkina Faso strongman Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba on Thursday named economist Albert Ouedraogo the new prime minister of the West African country. The 53-year-old Ouedraogo, whose appointment came in a decree signed by President Damiba, has headed a consulting and auditing firm since 2007. “The new prime minister has solid experience in the field of public…
Moroccan journalist and rights activist Omar Radi has been sentenced on appeal to six years in prison on espionage and rape charges. Radi, a 35-year-old freelance journalist known as a vocal critic of the authorities, has insisted on his innocence throughout his two-year-long trial. “My only fault is to have demanded independent justice,” Radi said…
Senegal’s foreign ministry has said a Facebook post by Ukraine’s embassy that called on Senegalese volunteers to enlist in the fight against Russia was illegal. In a statement, the ministry said recruitment of volunteers, mercenaries and other foreign fighters was illegal in the country and punishable by law. Ukrainian ambassador Yurii Pyvovarov was summoned to…
The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) celebrated its 50 birthday at a special session in Kenya’s capital Thursday, calling for more action worldwide to overcome climate change, biodiversity loss, and rising levels of pollution and waste. On Wednesday, the agency passed a key resolution to start negotiating an international treaty to ban plastic pollution. Speaking at…
A number of Tanzanians who were in Ukraine when the hostilities broke out had by early Wednesday managed to escape into neighbouring countries with some making it back home using their own means. This came as the Tanzanian government continued to strategise on coordinated evacuation measures in partnership with other Southern Africa Development Cooperation (SADC) member…