Even as the polls closed Sunday in Guinea, where tensions ran high ahead of the contest between President Alpha Condé and challenger Cellou Dalein Diallo, neighboring Côte d’Ivoire saw fatal ethnic clashes ahead of its own bitterly disputed presidential elections. At least two people died in Bongouanou, where members of…
Humanitarian aid workers in Nigeria say that food prices have soared because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the cost is driving hunger in parts of the country that can ill afford yet another challenge. “Everywhere we work the food prices have gone up, in some places they doubled. It means…
Authorities in Guinea confirmed on Friday the death of Colonel Mamady Condé, the head of a special forces battalion who was fatally wounded in an overnight attack on the Samoreyah military camp in Kindia. The statement from Guinea’s Defense Forces said Condé died when a group of armed men opened…
Tanzanian environmental minister Hamisi Kigwangalla visited the scene of a wildfire burning through Kilimanjaro National Park on Wednesday, checking on fire suppression efforts and thanking those battling the flames. Community volunteers have joined professionals in working to put out a fire that TANAPA, the Tanzania National Parks authority, said broke…
Marathon runner Gerima Mustafa of Uganda walked some 664 kilometers across East Africa earlier this year to call attention to threats to the shea nut tree, a source of food, medical products and income for many living from West Africa to Somalia. Now research scientists studying the shea in Burkina…
The 2020 Nobel Peace Prize is awarded to the World Food Program (WFP) for its efforts to fight hunger, thereby improving the prospects for peace in global conflict zones and prevent the use of hunger as a weapon of war. “The coronavirus pandemic has contributed to a strong upsurge in…
A specifics-free statement about “African elections,” issued by the Department of State in the United States, caught some attention Thursday even as the 2020 presidential elections continued to be chaotic in the U.S. itself. The statement from the department led by Mike Pompeo expressed U.S. commitment to free, fair and…
The COVID-19 pandemic is expected to push as many as 150 million more people into extreme poverty by 2021, the World Bank says, marking the first time in 20 years that the number of those in such poverty will rise. The pandemic “compounds the forces of conflict and climate change”…
There’s a prisoner exchange in the works in Mali that would see opposition leader Soumaïla Cissé released, as well as French humanitarian aid worker Sophie Petronin, in exchange for the release of dozens of suspected fighters held by the Malian government. That’s according to Reuters, with the news agency reporting…
There were 20,000 empty chairs set up in view of the White House on Sunday as part of a memorial for those lost to the COVID-19 pandemic, even as President Donald Trump remained in the hospital himself following a positive diagnosis for the virus. The chair represented “a fraction of…
Ghanaian President Nana Akufo Addo was among the world leaders quick to send encouragement to United States President Donald Trump following the news that Trump and his wife, Melania, tested positive for the coronavirus. “My wife Rebecca and I send best wishes,” said Akufo Addo, who was exposed to the…
Human rights campaigners are appealing for calm and restraint in Ethiopia, as the Oromo people celebrate the Irreecha harvest festival this weekend amid ongoing political divisions. “This year’s festival, on October 3 and 4, occurs against the backdrop of escalating tensions and unrest in Oromia,” said Laetitia Bader, the Horn…
A new report from UNCTAD, the United Nations agency on trade and development, finds that African nations are losing an estimated US$88.6 billion every year in illicit financial flows (IFFs) across borders. IFFs are movements of money and assets that are illegal in source, transfer or use. These losses approach…
Malawi MP Jean Sendeza hopes to repatriate the body of her daughter Noria as soon as possible, following a fatal shooting Friday in the United States. “The body is in the hands of police,” Sendeza told local media outlet Nyasa Times. The Malawi Congress Party (MCP) member, who serves as…
Incumbent President Faustin Touadéra announced on Saturday his candidacy in the upcoming December elections, following former Central African Republic (CAR) leader François Bozizé and his own intentions to return to the presidency – an expected development but one that raises tensions in the long-volatile CAR. “It is a heavy responsibility,”…