Kenyan writer Makena Onjerika has been named the recipient of the 2018 Caine Prize for African Writing for a short story called “Fanta Blackcurrant.” She accepted the £10,000 prize during an award dinner held Monday evening in London. The story of Meri, a street child in Onjerika’s home city of…
Mark Coetzee, the executive director for the acclaimed Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa in Cape Town, has resigned following “an inquiry into Mr. Coetzee’s professional conduct,” according to the museum’s board of trustees. Coetzee had recently failed to respond to questions about institutional practices at Zeitz MOCAA, according to ArtThrob South…
More than 50 fashion retail brands now have banned the use of mohair as the fallout continues following an investigation into animal cruelty on angora goat farms – the source of the wool – in South Africa. The PETA Asia report that came out two weeks ago stunned consumers with…
Wealthy French businessman Vincent Bolloré, facing charges in a corruption case involving the African countries of Guinea and Togo, publicly denied the allegations in an op-ed piece published Sunday in Le Journal du Dimanche and blamed a condescending attitude toward Africans and stereotypes about African corruption in the case. The…
World Health Organization Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has been named to the 2018 list of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences and joins more than 200 scholars, artists and scientists in this year’s class. The Ethiopian health chief was named an International Honorary Member this week, along with…
Editor’s note: A previous version of this story misidentified the RLB Pentad company in South Africa in connection with the PNet job ad placement. RLB Pentad alerted Africa Times to the name confusion, and the story has since been updated with that information. A South African company’s employment ad seeking…
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday disputed the charge that a Chinese mining company operating in Mozambique has violated environmental laws and harmed the lives of villagers in Nagonha, a coastal town east of Nampula City near the Haiyu corporation’s operations. “I want to point out that this organization…
The UK-based Global Witness NGO has called on the United States to investigate oil major Exxon for its role in a 2013 oil block deal in Liberia, one it says implicates Exxon in corrupt business dealings. A Global Witness investigation released this week charges that Exxon knew that the oil block,…
Eight journalists working for The Nation in Kenya resigned together on Tuesday in a collective decision meant to protest the lack of journalistic freedom, and actions that “suggest state capture” of the media outlet. “Just wanted to say that this was a very hard decision for me, not just because…
Judge Chile Eboe-Osuji of Nigeria has been named the new president of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, for a three-year term that begins immediately. Eboe-Osuji, who said he was deeply honored by his election, has served at the ICC since March 2012 and continues his term through…
“Smooth seas do not make skillful sailors.” “Every adversity carries with it the seed of equal or greater benefit.” Across Africa and the globe, these and countless similar proverbs are used to mean the same thing: Hidden in adversity is opportunity. First, Africa’s challenge in adversity When we talk of…
Dr. Richard Munang is currently the United Nations Environment Africa Regional Climate Change Programme Coordinator.
Veolia, the French multinational firm focused on energy and environmental services, released a message Tuesday urging the public to be careful of “fake news” as its dispute over operations in Gabon deepens. The company, which saw its Société d’Énergie et d’Eau (SEEG) facilities in Libreville seized on February 16, released…
In South Africa, the Anglican Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu has resigned from his position as global ambassador for Oxfam International, the UK-based development and humanitarian aid organization at the center of allegations of sexual misconduct among its relief workers in Chad and Haiti. “The Archbishop is deeply disappointed by allegations…
Former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has been named recipient of the 2017 Mo Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership, the Ibrahim Foundation announced Monday. The prize is a USD$5 million award paid over 10 years with $200,000 annually for life thereafter, with an optional and additional $200,000 per…
UNLEASH is a global innovation lab, bringing together 1,000 young talents from across the world to collaborate on solutions to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Those interested in applying for the program have until February 15 to get their paperwork in. This year’s UNLEASH will be held…