The Russian news agency TASS reports that Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of the Wagner Group paramilitary organization, was listed as a passenger aboard a downed flight on Wednesday in which there were no survivors. “An investigation has been launched into the crash of the Embraer aircraft that occurred tonight in the…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
Friday’s landmark ruling on abortion rights in the United States, one that overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling to protect abortion access at the federal level, saw three U.S. Supreme Court justices dissent. And in that dissent, they noted how the U.S. reversal runs counter to abortion legislation in…
Trade in elephant ivory has come to an end in the United Kingdom, following the announcement of a near-total ban that’s meant to put a stop to both legal and illegal trafficking in ivory. Britain’s ban, which took immediate effect Monday, covers ivory of any age rather than restricting the…
President Isaias Afwerki, authoritarian leader of Eritrea, defended both Russia and China while holding the West responsible for the situation in Ukraine, during a speech marking Independence Day in the Horn of Africa nation. Afwerki, in office since 1991—a tenure that places him among Africa’s longest-running leaders—drew parallels to his…
Africa’s struggle with the coronavirus, including the lack of COVID-19 vaccine access, was the focus of a blistering Amnesty International report released Tuesday. Just 8% of the 1.2 billion people on the continent were vaccinated by the end of 2021, with multiple waves of the pandemic having a “devastating impact”…
In keeping with its annual tradition, China’s foreign minister will make his first visits to the African continent at the start of the new year. Foreign Minister Wang Yi will begin his journey in Eritrea on January 4. He’ll continue on to Kenya and then the Indian Ocean island nation…
African internet growth depends on greater engagement, not AFRINIC The Supreme Court of Mauritius recently lifted a freeze on the bank accounts of African regional internet registry (RIR) AFRINIC, but the firm, one of the world’s five IP distributors, remains entangled in a legal imbroglio that has led some commentators…
A draft version of the decisions on climate change made at COP26 in Scotland was released Wednesday, with much of the emphasis placed on the needs of developing nations—and the admission that so far, wealthier countries have failed at their commitments. The draft document registers the regret “that the goal…
By Ousmane Diagana On the shores of the coastal Senegalese city of Saint Louis, climate change is no longer a distant threat. It is already a current issue impacting its people. Hundreds of them have had to flee the devastating effects of rising sea levels and erosion, losing their livelihoods,…
China reaffirmed its commitment to the African continent on Monday, with foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin citing an increase in direct investment, and advances in medicine and other sectors. “Over the past 20 years, the flow of China’s direct investment in Africa has been growing by more than 25 percent…
In 2026, Senegal will become the first country in Africa to host an Olympic event, when the Summer Youth Olympics will take place in Dakar. Initially set for 2022, the world’s most important sporting tournament for teenagers has been pushed back on account of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. While regrettable,…
With what is now the perhaps unavoidable 2°C in global warming, and as early as 2050, southern Africa will see increases in drought and dangerous fire weather with impacts to agriculture, forestry, health and ecosystems. North Africa will see dry conditions too, as will the western Sahel region. If there’s…
South Africa is the latest nation to bid farewell to one of its high-level ministers because of COVID, as President Cyril Ramaphosa announced Thursday the death of longtime African National Congress member Jackson Mthembu. The 62-year-old Mthembu, above, an ANC national executive committee member with a legacy of anti-apartheid and…
A new program in the United States will require nonimmigrant visitors from 23 foreign countries – most of them African – to post a US$10,000 bond when applying for travel visas. The U.S. pilot program targets citizens of nations with high visa overstay rates, according to the U.S. Department of…
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…