Senegal is experiencing Internet and social media service interruptions as protests over the sentencing of opposition leader Ousmane Sonko continue. Users of Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, Instagram, YouTube, Telegram and other services found their access restricted beginning Thursday, according to digital rights monitor NetBlocks. Data for mobile provider Orange (Sonatel) as…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
Namibian authorities have reported a fatal case of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) and said they’re following at least 27 contacts for possible exposure, with two dozen health workers counted among them. The male patient fell ill in Gobabis, a town not far from Namibia’s eastern border with Botswana, according to…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
A delegation of African leaders plans a peace mission with Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine, according to South African President Cyril Ramphosa. The delegation will include six African nations: Zambia, Senegal, Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda and Egypt, in addition to South Africa, Ramaphosa said….
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
In Senegal, opposition leader Ousmane Sonko says he’s been summoned to appear in court five different times since March and now wants assurances of his safety before he appears again, citing a lack of trust in the courts. Sonko on Monday received a six-month suspended sentence and US$336,000 fine on…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
Authorities in Senegal are reporting a case of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF), a disease transmitted by ticks and infected animals that results in death in up to 40% of cases. The Ministry of Health of Senegal said the case was confirmed in a 35-year-old butcher living in Guédiawaye, just northeast…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
The Democratic Republic of Congo has expelled Rwandan ambassador Vincent Karenga, the latest move in escalating tensions between the neighboring Central African nations. Karenga was told to leave by Tuesday following the capture of Kiwanja and Rutshuru, towns in the volatile eastern DR Congo, by March 23 (M23) rebels over…
The African nation of Chad has one of the world’s lowest rates for electricity access, but new investment in renewables is expected to reverse the situation, beginning with a solar plant expected to be fully operational in early 2023. Just 8% of Chad’s population had electricity in 2019, with access…
China hosted Wednesday’s meeting on security among BRICS nations, with South Africa, Russia, Brazil and India attending the virtual session led by Yang Jiechi, director of China’s foreign affairs commission. Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping expressed mutual solidarity on political issues including China’s proposed Global…
Amina Mohammed, the deputy secretary general of the United Nations, plans to arrive in Côte d’Ivoire on Saturday ahead of a key meeting on desertification and land use in Abidjan. The meeting, the 15th Conference of the Parties to the Convention to Combat Desertification (COP15), is considered to be a…
President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine has again reached out to the African Union (AU) for support in his nation’s war with Russia, calling his Senegalese counterpart, Macky Sall, on Monday to discuss the crisis. Zelensky said he provided an update to Sall, the current president of the AU, on the…
Nigeria has thus far avoided much of the international discourse on Russia and Ukraine, but the country’s foreign minister is engaging in diplomatic efforts at home and has called for an end to the fighting. “We support every effort being made to stop the aggression and Russian troops to return…
President Emmanuel Macron of France, joined by the leaders of Ghana and Senegal, made the long-awaited announcement on pulling out troops from Mali on Thursday. “In the Sahel as in the Gulf of Guinea, the expectations of our partners have changed,” said Macron. “The sensitivity of public opinion in the…
Parts of West Africa can expect improved Internet access in the near future, following a deal between the Kenya-based Intersat and European provider Eutelsat. The delivery of Internet services will rely on the Eutelsat Konnect satellite, which was launched two years ago. The COVID-19 pandemic originally delayed progress on its…
Akinwumi Adesina, head of the African Development Bank (AfDB), says he was in the VIP lounge of Dakar’s Blaise-Diagne International Airport with Senegal’s economic minister this week when another African dignitary walked in. The surprise guest was Moussa Faki Mahamat, head of the African Union Commission. What followed, the AfDB…
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…