THIS STORY IS BREAKING, PLEASE CHECK BACK FOR UPDATES The President of Burkina Faso Roch Marc Christian Kaboré was arrested on Monday and was detained in a barracks in Ouagadougou, a day after mutinies in military camps in this country plagued by jihadist violence. “President Kaboré, the head of parliament (Alassane Bala Sakandé) and ministers…
Thousands of years of volcanic activity has caused a massive accumulation of methane and carbon dioxide to dissolve in the depths of Kivu, one of Africa’s great Rift lakes. If triggered, a so-called limnic eruption would cause “a huge explosion of gas from deep waters to the surface” resulting in large waves and a poisonous gas…
CAPE TOWN (Reuters) – The World Bank has approved a loan of $750 million to South Africa linked to COVID-19, aiming to help protect the poor and support economic recovery from the pandemic, the National Treasury said on Friday. The continent’s second largest economy, South Africa has been hit hard by four waves of infection…
Demonstrations planned for Saturday prohibited for ‘security reasons’; last protest in November turned violent. Authorities in Burkina Faso’s capital, Ouagadougou, have banned an anti-government protest planned for Saturday, two months after another rally turned violent. The demonstration, called by a civil society movement called Sauvons le Burkina (Save Burkina), was prohibited for “security reasons”, Christian…
Scientists say the plant enset, an Ethiopian staple, could be a new superfood and a lifesaver in the face of climate change. The banana-like crop has the potential to feed more than 100 million people in a warming world, according to a new study. The plant is almost unknown outside of Ethiopia, where it is…
At least 17 people have been killed in a huge explosion near a mining town in western Ghana, officials say. Police say a vehicle carrying mining explosives collided with a motorcycle near the town of Bogoso. Images shared by local media showed a large plume of black smoke rising above destroyed buildings and scattered debris…
As relations between France and Mali sour rapidly, Paris is wondering whether it is time to stop providing military backup to a country run by a junta that has defied the international community. France, which first deployed troops in the West African country nine years ago to fight a jihadist insurgency, has spent around €880…
Egypt’s win over Sudan also sent five other countries, including Ivory Coast, through to AFCON last-16. Seven-time champions Egypt clinched a place in the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) last-16 by defeating neighbours Sudan 1-0, a result which sent five other countries, including Ivory Coast, through as well. Meanwhile, Nigeria finished Group D with a…
Fifty-six women were repeatedly raped during a three-day mutiny at Kasapa jail in Lubumbashi in September 2020. Ten convicts have been handed 15-year jail terms for the rape of dozens of female inmates at a prison in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, lawyers said. Fifty-six women were repeatedly raped during a three-day mutiny at…
Antonio Guterres says delighted to hear of ‘a demonstrable effort to make peace’ in Ethiopia following conversation with AU envoy. United Nations chief Antonio Guterres has said there is a “real opportunity” for an end to more than 14 months of fighting between government and Tigrayan forces, following a call with the African Union’s special envoy. Guterres’s…