Key elections are looming in DR Congo, where political tensions combined with a security crisis and economic woes are creating a powerful and troubling brew. Sub-Saharan Africa’s biggest country votes on December 20 for the presidency, the national legislature, provincial assemblies and local councils. The complex ballot will be a crucial test of stability in […]

UN envoy Abdoulaye Bathily said Monday that a deal between Libyan rival camps over long-delayed elections contained “politically contested issues” that could spark a new crisis in the divided country. Presidential and parliamentary elections were due to be held in Libya in December 2021 but were never organised as differences between rival administrations persisted on […]

Ugandan police said Monday that 20 people had been arrested for suspected collaboration with the notorious militia group blamed for last week’s grisly attack on a school near the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo. “Twenty arrests have been made of suspected collaborators, suspected ADF collaborators,” police spokesman Fred Enanga told a press conference, […]

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has appointed new military and security chiefs in the latest in a flurry of key decisions after being sworn in last month. Tinubu, 71, took over from Muhammadu Buhari on May 29 following victory in elections in February whose results are being challenged in court by opposition parties. Replacing key staff […]

South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday hailed an African mission to broker peace in Ukraine as “historic” upon returning from talks in Kyiv and Saint Petersburg that however did not yield any immediate results. DIARISE | When is the next long weekend in South Africa? The high-profile delegation met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday before flying to Russia to speak […]

Nigeria’s central bank has abolished the country’s multiple exchange rate system and effectively floated the naira currency, the bank said, as new President Bola Ahmed Tinubu revamps the country’s monetary policies. Economists, the World Bank and IMF had long urged Nigeria to abandon the complex exchange mechanism and capital controls put into place under former President Muhammadu […]

Cape Town Spurs were promoted to the South African Premiership on Wednesday 13th June 2023 after drawing 0-0 away to demoted Maritzburg United in the final play-off. Spurs topped the table with 10 points thanks to three solitary-goal victories before defying a second-half onslaught from a Maritzburg team backed by a capacity 12,000 crowd. ALSO […]

South Africa rugby director Rassie Erasmus said on Wednesday that injured Springboks captain Siya Kolisi will definitely miss the Rugby Championship in July, but may play in pre-World Cup matches the following month. ALSO READ: Siya Kolisi to the rescue? SA wants star to pay ‘flirty’ student’s fees “We are aiming to get Siya involved in the warm-up […]

Slapped with massive fines in the European Union for violating data protection laws, Meta is fighting on another front in Kenya, where content moderators, responsible for reviewing violent and hateful posts, have sued the social media giant. THREE COMPLAINTS AGAINST META Since May last year, three lawsuits have been filed against Meta and California-based Sama, […]

South African lawmakers on Tuesday voted in favour of a controversial new law which aims to provide free universal health care, but which critics fear may not be sustainable. A fund to be established under the law, which still has to be passed by the upper house of parliament, before being signed into law by […]

At the edge of an oasis almost engulfed by the dunes, where the rare caravan still passes, is a desert landscape punctured by holes. The salt pans of Kalala, near Bilma in northeastern Niger, were once an essential stop for traders with their swaying lines of camels. Salt digging, carried on from generation to generation, […]

The White House said Tuesday it shared concerns over South Africa’s relationship with Russia after lawmakers called for the longtime US partner’s expulsion from a major trade pact. Four senior members of the US Congress across party lines asked whether South Africa should remain in the African Growth and Opportunity Act, or AGOA, which offers duty-free […]

South Africa, which is battling a scourge of cigarette trafficking, on Monday 12th June, 2023 began incinerating 20 million illicit cigarettes smuggled into the country through its border with neighbouring Zimbabwe. The South African Revenue Service (SARS) said that the contra band of 20 million cigarettes, valued at more than $2.3 million, and smuggled into […]

An employee with the World Health Organization was among those killed in the weekend siege of a beachside hotel in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu, the head of the UN health agency said on Sunday 11th June, 2023. The siege left six civilians dead and another 10 wounded, according to police. “I’m heartbroken that we have lost […]

The Ethiopian government on Saturday 10th June, 2023 criticised a move by two major aid organisations to halt the sending of food assistance to the country after discovering it was being diverted from those o need it. The Ethiopian government’s spokesman Legesse Tulu told journalists the decision by USAID and the World Food Programme (WFP) […]

More than four years ago, African countries gave the ceremonial push to a deal to scrap internal trade barriers — a historic scheme that would create a continent-wide single market worth trillions of dollars. But African business leaders say cross-border trade remains entangled in customs duties, administrative hurdles and varying national regulations. Costs and delays […]

Injury-plagued utility back Francois Steyn was the big-name omission from the 40-man Springbok training squad named on Saturday for next month’s Rugby Championship. Steyn, now 36, was a key figure in the Springboks’ 2019 Rugby World Cup triumph in Japan as well as the 2007 victory in France. His chances of becoming a champion for a third time appear to […]

The US halts food aid to Ethiopia, citing “a widespread and coordinated campaign” to divert donated supplies from the needy. USAID halted food aid to Ethiopia Thursday 8th June, 2023, citing “a widespread and coordinated campaign” to divert donated supplies from the needy as Addis Ababa vowed to hold perpetrators to account. “We made the […]

A top United Nations official said Wednesday 7th June, 2023, during a visit to DR Congo, that peacekeepers should withdraw from the conflict-torn central African country “as quickly as possible” yet responsibly. Addressing reporters in the capital Kinshasa, UN Under-Secretary-General for peacekeeping operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix, also warned that the Congolese state had to step up […]

New Zealand announced a ban on disposable vapes Tuesday, tightening the nation’s chokehold on smoking as it also phases in a near-total prohibition on tobacco sales. Disposable vapes — defined as those without removable or replaceable batteries — will be banned from August, Health Minister Ayesha Verrall said. “Too many young people are vaping, which is why […]

German police said they smashed a human trafficking network Wednesday accused of smuggling hundreds of people in “inhumane” conditions. German police said they smashed a human trafficking network Wednesday accused of smuggling hundreds of people in “inhumane” conditions, with six suspects arrested in raids across Germany, Romania and Bulgaria. The suspects are believed to have trafficked […]