All eyes are on the skies as space debris from China’s Tianhe-Long March rocket launch edges closer to a fall from orbit, with parts of the African continent still within the range of places that could be affected by any rocket debris that falls to earth. The latest update from…
Increasing rainfall linked to climate change is a main factor causing the water level of Lake Tanganyika to rise, with Burundi – one of four African nations bordering the lake – taking the hardest hit. More than 30,000 people have now been affected, with the rising waters forcing people from…
Ugandan officials say they’ve confirmed the first case of a COVID-19 variant that emerged in India and has contributed to that nation’s overwhelming coronavirus outbreak. The Ministry of Health confirmed the presence of the B.1.617 variant on Thursday, noting that it was identified in travelers who returned from India to Kampala…
The Eritrean government acknowledged for the first time Friday that its troops are active in the Tigray conflict zone in northern Ethiopia, in a letter from Sophia Tesfamariam, the Eritrean ambassador to the United Nations. Tesfamariam wrote the letter in response to last week’s U.N. Security Council meeting, in order…
As with so many other facets of global wealth (and health) inequality, the rollout of the four Covid-19 vaccines produced by Western pharmaceutical companies and approved by American and European health officials – the “Big Four” of Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, Oxford/AstraZeneca, and Johnson & Johnson – has quickly became yet another…
The explosive La Soufrière volcano in the Caribbean continues to affect the atmosphere over the African continent, with enormous sulfur dioxide (SO2) plumes stretching across the Atlantic Ocean. Experts including Mark Parrington, a senior scientist with Europe’s Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service, are sharing forecast and model images that show the…
Nigeria announced the appointment of a new police chief on Tuesday, following a jailbreak in Imo State that allowed more than 1,000 inmates to escape. Usman Alkali Baba will serve as the Acting Inspector-General of Police, moving from his current position as deputy inspector general. He replaces Mohammed Abubakar Adamu,…
Pope Francis delivered his Easter message on Sunday with a reminder of the hope amid troubled times that is the heart of the resurrection message celebrated by Christians around the world. “The Easter message does not offer us a mirage or reveal a magic formula. It does not point to…
The mummies of King Ramses II, Queen Hatshepsut and 20 other ancient royals were the highlight of Egypt’s celebrations on Saturday in honor of the opening of the main hall of the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (NMEC) in Cairo. The mummy parade wound through the streets from Tahrir Square…
The head of Africa’s Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday that ongoing delays in receiving Astra Zeneca vaccines from India pose a threat to controlling the COVID-19 pandemic in the face of emerging variants. John Nkengasong says any interruption would definitely impact the ability to continue vaccinating people….
Humanitarian workers in Mozambique say thousands of people fleeing the violence in Cabo Delgado province are arriving in other parts of the country, while still others escape across the border into Tanzania. So far there are 3,300 people seeking assistance, according to an update from UNOCHA, the United Nations agency…
The African forest elephant has been added to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, following the announcement Thursday that new genetic evidence means it will be treated as a distinct species separate from the African savanna elephant. The forest elephant, Loxodonta cyclotis, is now considered critically endangered because of the…
A container ship traveling through the Suez Canal got stuck on Tuesday, blocking traffic through the critical route and creating a bottleneck for dozens of other vessels. The Panamanian-flagged ship, operated by the Evergreen Line, appeared to be heading from the Chinese port of Ningbo to Rotterdam, with other stops…
Authorities in the Republic of Congo say Denis Sassou N’guesso, the country’s longtime ruler, is set for victory in elections held Sunday. Henri Bouka, head of the country’s electoral commission, told local media the results in one district of Brazzaville reflected an overwhelming majority for the 77-year-old Sassou N’guesso, who…
Samia Suluhu Hassan, the vice president of Tanzania, was sworn in as president on Friday following the death of John Magufuli. The 61-year-old Suluhu served as acting president since Wednesday, when she announced to the nation that Magufuli had died. Magufuli, 62, had long suffered a heart condition for which…