Nigerians will begin their observance of Ramadan on Thursday, following an announcement from the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) and its National Moon Sighting Committee that the crescent moon was observed, marking the start of the holy month of fasting and prayer. “May Allah make it a blessed…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
The death toll following tropical storm Freddy has risen to at least 447 in hard-hit Malawi, where President Lazarus Chakwera has declared a two-week period of mourning and closed schools in affected areas through the end of the month. Another 282 people were still missing as of Saturday, according to…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
Tropical storm Freddy continues to impact Malawi with flooding rains and mudslides that have claimed some 200 lives, although some improvement in storm conditions is forecast by Wednesday evening. “However, the threat of flooding remains high in some areas,” warned the country’s Department of Climate Change and Meteorological Services in…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
Tropical Cyclone Freddy has made its second landfall in Mozambique, hitting the Zambezi region with extreme rainfall and winds as agencies in neighboring Malawi keep a close eye on the forecast track. The storm’s winds measured at least 150 kilometers per hour as it approached the mainland. Météo France, reporting…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
At 32 days, Tropical Cyclone Freddy has now become the longest-lived tropical storm ever recorded, with impacts that still haven’t quit as it makes another pass at Madagascar and Mozambique following its long journey across the entire Indian Ocean. The storm’s winds measured 150 kilometers per hour at about 9:30…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
African leaders are celebrating news of successful negotiations for a High Seas Treaty, the long-awaited United Nations agreement to protect global oceans and ecosystems through international cooperation. The treaty, approved by delegates to the Intergovernmental Conference on Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ), follows years of talks that…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
Opposition leaders in Nigeria have disputed the results of an election that placed Bola Ahmed Tinubu into the presidency, following an early-morning announcement of the final results by Mahmood Yakubu of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress (APC) party candidate supported by outgoing President Muhammadu…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
Authorities in Mozambique say excessive rainfall from the remnants of Tropical Storm Freddy continue to threaten the southern African nation, with the National Institute of Meteorology (INAM) forecasting rains of 200 millimeters through Monday in the Gaza, Manica, Inhambane, and Sofala. The storm’s landfall on Friday followed two weeks of…
Nigerians headed to the polls on Saturday to vote in record numbers in the country’s presidential elections, with no clear favorite among the top candidates vying to replace outgoing President Muhammadu Buhari. The earliest results began to come in but it was far too soon to project a winner in…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
Tropical cyclone Freddy made landfall on Madagascar Tuesday evening, arriving just north of Mananjary around 7:20 p.m. local time with damaging winds, heavy rain and seas reaching heights of more than six meters. Winds had weakened to 110 kilometers per hour (kph) with 155 km/h winds near the storm’s center,…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
An observatory station in South Africa is one of the last two to be installed in a now-completed network that allows scientists across the world to monitor the night sky around the clock. The Burst Observer and Optical Transient Exploring System (BOOTES) system relies on automated robotic stations to detect…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
Equatorial Guinea has confirmed its first-ever outbreak of Marburg virus disease, with at least nine fatalities that have forced a lockdown in Nsok Nsomo and the Kie Ntem district near the border with Gabon and Cameroon. Officials with the World Health Organization (WHO) said samples were taken from those infected…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
In Equatorial Guinea, there’s not yet a confirmed diagnosis of the suspected hemorrhagic fever illness that has claimed up to 20 lives and forced a lockdown in the Nsok Nsomo and Kie Ntem districts near the border with Gabon and Cameroon. Health officials on Sunday were still waiting for laboratory…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
African leaders offered condolences and pledged their assistance, as rescuers in Turkey and Syria continued to search through the rubble for survivors following the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that leveled wide swaths of the region. The initial quake, with an epicenter near Nurdaği, was followed by dozens of aftershocks that leveled buildings…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
Pope Francis completed a week-long visit to Africa in Juba on Sunday, celebrating Mass with a call to peace and praise for the courage of the South Sudanese people. “When our strength seems paltry before the magnitude of our problems and the blind fury of violence, we Christians are able…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times