Reuters | @SABCNews Niger’s junta said that it was open to talks to resolve a regional crisis caused by last month’s military coup, while Russia and the United States called for a peaceful resolution. Western powers and democratic African governments have called for the coup leaders to reinstate ousted President Mohamed Bazoum, who they have detained since…
Tim CocksReuters KEY POINTS China, India, Brazil, S.Africa heads to meet, Putin absent Expansion to include Global South nations high on agenda Some 40 countries interested in joining BRICS seek to woo African nations with aid, trade JOHANNESBURG, Aug 17 (Reuters) – BRICS leaders meet in South Africa next week to discuss how to turn a loose…
By AFP West African military chiefs are set to meet on Thursday in Ghana to coordinate a possible intervention aimed at reversing Niger’s coup. Alarmed by a cascade of takeovers in the region, the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) has decided to create a “standby force to restore constitutional order” in Niger. The meeting…
By Joe Inwood, Suzanne Leigh, and Christy Cooney BBC News More than 60 people are feared dead after a boat carrying migrants was found off Cape Verde in West Africa. Thirty-eight people, including children, were rescued, with footage showing them being helped ashore, some on stretchers, on the island of Sal. Almost all those on…
By Afolake Oyinloye and Agencies NIGERIA The biggest economy in Africa, Nigeria has been trying to increase its reserves and stop the decline of its currency, which has fallen to record lows on the black market two months after trading restrictions were loosened on the official market. Following a meeting with President Bola Tinubu to…
By Afolake Oyinloye and Agencies DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO The former director-general of the Congolese Institute for Nature Conservation (ICCN), Cosma Wilungula, and two other former officials of this public institute in the DRC have been placed on the US sanctions list, according to a press release published on Wednesday. Cosma Wilungula and two of…
By AFP Police in Zimbabwe said they arrested 40 members of the leading opposition party for blocking traffic and disrupting order during a campaign event on Tuesday, a week ahead of national elections. The southern African country heads to the polls on August 23 to elect the president and legislature in what analysts expect to…
By AFP US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Rwanda’s leader on Tuesday and pressed for a de-escalation after a new flare-up in tensions with the Democratic Republic of Congo. Kinshasa’s military late last month accused Rwandan forces of entering its troubled border area, a claim denied by Kigali, which has also been accused of…
By Steve Swann BBC News The leaders of a global wildlife trafficking gang have been convicted after a four-year investigation and a trial in Nigeria. They pleaded guilty last month to smuggling the scales of endangered African pangolins. These “top-of-the-pyramid” traffickers were responsible for half the illegal trade in pangolin scales. This is the story…
By Chris Vallance BBC News A firm which was contracted to moderate Facebook posts in East Africa has said with hindsight it should not have taken on the job. Former Kenya-based employees of Sama – an outsourcing company – have said they were traumatised by exposure to graphic posts. Some are now taking legal cases…