Another locust outbreak is threatening southern Africa, this time with the potential to affect some 7 million people in four more countries. Botswana has seen smallholder farmers lose entire crops, with the growing region of Pandamatenga and its key sorghum crops at risk as the country seeks to step up…
Africans celebrated the end of wild poliovirus on the continent on Tuesday, making good on an international promise that dates to 1996 and the Nelson Mandela era. “This is a momentous milestone for Africa. Now future generations of African children can live free of wild polio,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti,…
African leaders joined their counterparts from across the globe on Wednesday as they extended condolences and assistance to the people of Lebanon following Tuesday’s massive explosion in Beirut. President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa, current holder of the African Union presidency, expressed concern for the many Lebanese families who lost…
There has been little progress in the stalemate over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), according to the Ethiopian government as it continues lengthy and oft-contentious negotiations with Egypt and Sudan. Ethiopia’s foreign ministry said Tuesday that the three nations have been unable to resolve their differences over access to…
Human rights activists are pressing Ethiopian authorities to properly investigate the shooting of a popular Oromo singer whose death has sparked protests in parts of the country. Hachalu Hundesa, who spoke out publicly last week on the tense political situation in Ethiopia, was shot around 9:30 p.m. Monday in Addis…
Opposition leaders in Ethiopia warn of the potential for additional unrest following parliament’s decision to allow Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to remain in office beyond the end of his term. A joint statement from the Oromo LIberation Front (OLF) and Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC) followed Wednesday’s decision to keep Abiy…
The plane that crashed in Somalia last week while delivering humanitarian supplies to support the coronavirus pandemic response was accidentally shot down by Ethiopian forces, according to statements from AMISOM and the Ethiopian military. The African Express 711 aircraft was flying from Baidoa to a camp at Bardale, according to…
Ethiopian officials announced new measures to control the COVID-19 outbreak on Monday, as the country’s ministry of health confirmed a new case and a number of African governments enacted more strict controls amid a rising case count. All large gatherings or events are forbidden for the next two weeks, and…
There are now at least 229 positive cases of the novel coronavirus on the African continent, according to health officials, with the first confirmed cases in Equatorial Guinea, Mauritania, Rwanda and Seychelles among them. The Department of Health on Seychelles said two of its citizens returned to the Indian Ocean…
There are now at least 159 positive cases of the novel coronavirus on the African continent, according to health officials, with the first confirmed cases in Ethiopia and Kenya among them. The Ethiopian case involves a 48-year-old Japanese citizen who traveled from Burkina Faso on March 4 but is isolated…
Ethiopia’s withdrawal from United States-led negotiations over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam project have led to much speculation over what happens next if a deal falls through, and some are fearing the worst now that talks appear to have completely collapsed. “Ethiopia has a general election later this year, which…
The locust swarms wreaking havoc in the Horn of Africa have now spread across the Arabian Peninsula and into Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and the southwest coast of Iran, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). They’re also affecting Red Sea nations, as well as those already hardest…
United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo praised Ethiopia’s progress on important economic reforms, but said there is much work to do on regional security as well as the unresolved impasse over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) project. Pompeo made his remarks during a press conference Tuesday alongside Ethiopian…
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….
As China’s coronavirus spreads across the nation and into other countries, The World Health Organization said Thursday it has again postponed a decision on a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) while awaiting additional information. The PHEIC is a designation for an “extraordinary event” with the potential for international…