East Africans are now using an early warning tool powered by artificial intelligence (AI) to help farmers fight off locusts that have devastated crops and communities across the past year. The new tool from Selina Wamucii, a platform that connects farmers and markets across Africa, is called Kuzi, the Swahili…
Five al-Shabaab members have died in an airstrike in Somalia, according to the United States Africa Command. The U.S. strike targeted al-Shabaab leaders near Saaxa Weyne, AFRICOM said. No civilians were injured or killed during the operation. “This strike targeted known al-Shabaab leaders who facilitated finance, weapons, fighters, and explosives….
In the nearly ten years since Recep Tayyip Erdogan made his famous visit to Mogadishu in August 2011, Turkey has rapidly become one of Somalia’s most important (and generous) international benefactors. After Erdogan became the first head of state from outside of Africa to visit Somalia since the country’s disastrous…
A Kenyan arrested in the Philippines has been transferred to custody in the United States, where authorities say he faces terrorism-related charges after planning another September 11-like aircraft attack in the U.S. The U.S. Department of Justice said Wednesday that Cholo Abdi Abdullah, 30, was part of a plot directed by senior…
The head of South Africa’s tax authority (SARS) has warned that it may take years to dismantle the criminal networks that have flourished during the alcohol and tobacco ban implemented as part of the country’s response to coronavirus. SARS Commissioner Edward Kieswetter said that the ban – which was established…
Alexander Nix, a director of companies linked to the former Cambridge Analytica firm and its role in elections in Kenya, Nigeria and other nations, will serve a seven-year suspension from acting as any firm’s director without court permission. The decision announced Thursday by the British government follows a high-profile investigation…
Tanzanians experienced a moderate earthquake on Thursday evening, one day after an unusually strong 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck just off the coast. The new quake, measured at 5.0 magnitude, occurred in the same Indian Ocean spot about 93 kilometers southeast of Dar es Salaam. The United States Geological Survey estimated a…
Senegal’s capital Dakar is facing yet another water shortage, though this time concerns have been exacerbated by the ongoing Covid-19 epidemic and the greater need for personal hygiene. “How do you wash your hands during a coronavirus crisis when the heat is coming?” Papa Mbodj, the father of a 9-month-old…
Kenya will take a seat on the United Nations Security Council, after edging out Djibouti in second-round voting to determine how African nations will be represented in the 15-member body. Nairobi’s successful bid means it will sit alongside Tunisia and Niger, both elected to the two-year terms of nonpermanent members…
The European Union has announced €105.5 million in aid to Horn of Africa nations facing not just the coronavirus pandemic but also ongoing conflict, severe flooding and a months-long locust infestation that has destroyed crops and threatened food security. Somalia and Ethiopia will share €90 million nearly equally, while Kenya…
Leaders of four East African Community (EAC) member nations have agreed to new measures for truck drivers, spurred by the coronavirus pandemic and the frequent crossing of regional borders. The presidents of Uganda, Rwanda, South Sudan and Kenya say they’re coordinating a plan to have drivers tested and certified at…
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…
Conservationists from Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa are among the recipients of this year’s prestigious Whitley Awards, announced Tuesday by the United Kingdom-based sponsor organization. Abdullahi Hussein Ali, above, is the founder of Kenya’s Hirola Conservation Programme, and works with pastoralists and local communities to protect the critically endangered antelope….
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…
New swarms of locusts are coming from Ethiopia and Somalia into Kenya, as the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and its partners continue to fight back against crop destruction in a part of the world where it is least afforded. The FAO said Friday it was…