When extremists attacked a Côte d’Ivoire checkpoint last month at the border with Burkina Faso, killing several Ivorian military personnel, the incident underscored growing concern that the threat of West Africa’s armed groups was creeping into yet another nation. At least 30 suspected militants including Burkinabe leader Ali Sidibe were…
President Alassane Ouattara was on hand Friday for services to honor Amadou Gon Coulibaly, the former prime minister of Côte d’Ivoire who died on July 8. Coulibaly was buried in his family hometown of Korhogo following a week of national mourning. He was 61, and had recently returned from France…
The African Development Bank Group on Wednesday announced the creation of a US$10 billion COVID-19 response package to assist regional member countries in fighting the coronavirus pandemic. The bank, based in Abidjan, says this is the latest measure to support the pandemic response and will be the institution’s primary channel…
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in South Africa has risen to 17, with news that a 32-year-old man in Free State is the first person to become ill through known community contact. The man was in contact with a Chinese businessman, according to the South African ministry of health….
President Alassane Ouattara of Côte d’Ivoire announced Thursday he will not seek a third term, ending speculation in the uneasy West African nation as it moves toward October 2020 elections. The 78-year-old Ouattara, who has been in power for a decade, added that he wants to see a transfer of…
Dr. John Nkengasong, director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, said Tuesday there are no confirmed coronavirus cases as yet on the continent, though authorities have now activated the emergency operations center and are actively working with China and other international bodies to respond to the outbreak….
President Alassane Ouattara of Côte d’Ivoire promised Tuesday that the country’s October 2020 elections will be “democratic, transparent and peaceful,” though the West African nation is increasingly troubled over the targeting of political opponents and Ouattara’s own intentions regarding any third term. Ouattara, speaking at Chatham House in London, addressed…
A Colombian company is partnering with the United Nations children’s agency, UNICEF, to convert recycled plastics from Côte d’Ivoire into modular bricks that will be used to build school classrooms in the West African nation. “This factory will be at the cutting edge of smart, scalable solutions for some of…
At least 74 people were arrested Thursday night in France after fans of the Algerian team, celebrating the quarterfinal victory in the African Cup of Nations, vandalized shops along the Champs Elysees in Paris and wreaked havoc in Marseille and beyond. Interior minister Christophe Canister confirmed the arrests as he…
Two human rights and environmental advocacy groups warn that implementing a new forestry policy in Côte d’Ivoire – however valuable in fighting deforestation – could cause evictions of some of the 1.5 to 2 million cocoa farmers living in protected forests and parks there, and in neighboring Ghana. The policy…
A sharply divided United Nations Security Council discussed the political crisis in Venezuela during an emergency meeting called by the United States on Saturday, with the council’s African members pressing for a national dialogue and respect for Venezuelan sovereignty rather than the forced removal of President Nicolás Maduro. The contentious…
From flooding to drought, countries across the African continent experience climate change in environmentally and economically diverse settings – but what do its citizens really think about it? The Ghana-based Afrobarometer research organization checked in with five different countries for their 2018 reports, from West Africa to the south, and…
At least 18 people have died in flash flooding that hit in and around the capital city of Abidjan in Côte d’Ivoire on Tuesday, according to emergency personnel. Video from Côte d’Ivoire shared on social media appeared to show streets that turned into swollen and raging rivers, sweeping vehicles away…
The political opposition in Côte d’Ivoire has responded quickly to the news that President Alassane Ouattara is not ruling out a third term in 2020, a comment the 76-year-old leader made during an interview with Jeune Afrique and reported by AFP and other international media. Ouattara told the French news…
The African nations on the United Nations Security Council voted in favor Tuesday of Russia’s resolution on the chemical weapons situation in Syria which – along with one introduced by the United States – failed to pass. It was the latest in the long struggle to achieve consensus and act…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times