An observatory station in South Africa is one of the last two to be installed in a now-completed network that allows scientists across the world to monitor the night sky around the clock. The Burst Observer and Optical Transient Exploring System (BOOTES) system relies on automated robotic stations to detect…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
Nigeria is promoting its oil and gas industry during President Buhari’s state visit to Spain, a move that comes as European nations seek to secure resources to replace the now-banned imports of Russian oil. Buhari and representatives of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) have highlighted Nigeria’s energy sector during…
At least 140 people died after a vessel carrying some 200 migrants sank off the Senegalese coast, along an increasingly common West African route that takes them to the Canary Islands, an autonomous region claimed by Spain. It was the deadliest shipwreck so far this year, according to the International…
An investigation into the treatment of Sahrawi activists in Western Sahara, including an incident reportedly captured on video last year, has renewed attention to territorial and self-determination claims that have spanned decades in a North African region Morocco claims as its own. “The video shows more than a dozen policemen…
Lawmakers in Spain have approved a motion that supports a “firm position in defense of the integrity of the land and maritime territory” of the Canary Islands, as Morocco moves to redefine its territorial waters in a way that creates overlap with Spain’s maritime border there. This week’s decision is…
Representatives from across the continent will be in Madrid on Friday as Spain hosts the annual “Africa Forum” in partnership with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Victor Harison, the African Union Commission’s head of economic affairs, will join OECD and Spanish leaders in welcoming remarks delivered ahead of…
Millions of Ethiopians are exposed to fluorosis, a bone disease caused by drinking Rift Valley water tainted with high levels of naturally occurring fluoride. Now scientists say they have a solution, and they found it in another type of abundant mineral in the region called zeolites. On Saturday, the researchers…
Unaccompanied minors aboard the Spanish sea rescue ship Open Arms were permitted to disembark at the Italian port of Lampedusa on Saturday, one day after the head of the rescue organization warned the situation aboard the ship – where migrants have been trapped for two weeks – was rapidly deteriorating….
Tunisians on Saturday bid farewell to President Beji Caid Essebsi, the 92-year-old leader who died Thursday at a military hospital in Tunis following years of service to the North African nation. Essebsi’s state funeral included throngs of people in the streets who came to honor him, lining the route between…
At least 25 people are dead or missing after some passengers in a group of six migrant boats were stranded on the Mediterranean Sea before rescuers reached them off the Spanish coast on Thursday. A spokeswoman for the UN Refugee Agency, UNCHR, said the Spanish Coast Guard found the boats…
Officials in Spain say they’ve arrested 19 people, including an Algerian previously connected with the September 11 attacks in the United States, after breaking up a credit card fraud ring in Madrid. Spain’s National Police said the group created fake credit cards by skimming and cloning them, and were responsible…
The Government of Morocco, under pressure to stem the tide of African migrants crossing into Spain, has established new entry visa rules for travelers from some African nations. Reuters reports that the new requirements apply in up to seven countries that have historically had no visa requirement to visit Morocco….
An international NGO delivering health care across Africa has received a 2018 Princess of Asturius Award from Spain, which was presented by King Felipe VI at a ceremony Friday night in the northern city of Oviedo. Amref Health Africa, which also has an affiliate based in Spain, was awarded the…
Migrants aboard a Mediterranean Sea rescue ship denied entry to Italian ports set sail for Spain at 9 p.m. local time Tuesday night, according to the Sos Méditerranée NGO that operates the ship in collaboration with Doctors Without Borders (MSF). Their departure alongside two Italian military vessels ended a two-day…
Aid workers on the Mediterranean Sea, with more than 600 migrants from Libya aboard the rescue ship Aquarius, continued to search for a solution after Italy refused to accept the ship in one of its ports. The ship, operated by Sos Méditerranée with a medical crew from Doctors Without Borders…