Election officials in Mauritania say the nation’s historic presidential election has gone smoothly, despite concern about the potential for fraud voiced by some opposition candidates. Mohamed Vall Ould Bellal, president of the Independent National Electoral Commission, said there were no problems while promising transparency and the rule of law will…
The African union for sports journalists, following the lead of its Algerian counterparts, spoke out Friday against a decision to prevent Nazim Bessol – the journalist who reported the link between the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and French company Tactical Steel – from covering the African Cup of Nations…
Officials with UNICEF, the United Nations children’s agency, warned Friday that conditions in Cameroon’s Anglophone regions continue to deteriorate with 1.3 million people now needing humanitarian aid. The armed violence and attacks have forced 450,000 people from their homes, about half of them internally displaced children, said UNICEF spokesman Toby…
Officials in the United States have announced the 26 new members of the President’s Advisory Council on Doing Business in Africa (PAC-DBIA), which will serve the council’s third term through 2021. The appointments were announced by U.S. Department of Commerce Deputy Secretary Karen Dunn Kelley, left, during a U.S.-Africa Business…
Eighteen members of the Islamic State affiliate active in Niger have been killed in a 10-day operation completed by the Nigerien military in partnership with France, Mali and the United States. That’s according to defense minister Moutari Kalla in Niamey, who announced the results of the ACONIT operation in a…
The Gambia was never the only nation where fraudulent claims to cure HIV infection were promoted, but the actions of former president Yahya Jammeh made it one of the most egregious examples. The harms caused by Jammeh’s herbal-based Presidential Alternative Treatment Program (PATP), launched in 2007, are now the focus…
West Africans are losing the income and food security linked to their fishing trade because of fishmeal and fish oil exports, most of which is going to Asia and the European Union while leaving communities on the continent behind. That’s according to a new Greenpeace report that says the three…
As African ministers prepare for next week’s meeting in Beijing – a follow-up to last September’s Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit – a new World Bank report warns that nations participating in China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) will need significant policy reforms to truly benefit from the BRI…
A new report on the world’s refugees finds the number of people fleeing their homes because of conflict, persecution or other harrowing circumstances exceeded 70 million in 2018 – and it’s the highest level in almost 70 years. That’s according to UNHCR, the United Nations refugee agency, which released its…
The Human Rights Watch organization has called for an independent investigation into the death of former Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi, who collapsed during a court appearance in Cairo on Monday. Morsi had just finished statements to the court when he lost consciousness, according to Egyptian media. He was rushed to…
Population trends continue to put a number of African nations at the top of countries seeing the biggest increases by 2050, according to “The World Population Prospects 2019: Highlights” report released Monday by the United Nations. Nigeria, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Egypt all are among the…
Namibia’s government plans to auction off some of the wildlife living in its national parks because of the severe drought affecting the southwest African nation – a drought that has left them without water and vegetation to sustain them. Stanley Simataa, the country’s information minister, made the announcement during a…
Investigative journalists whose work focused on what really happened to United Nations experts Zaida Catalán of Sweden and American Michael Sharp in the Democratic Republic of Congo have won top honors from the Investigative Reporters & Editors (IRE) organization for their work. The “Deceptive Diplomacy” reporting, which won in the…
When it comes to the critical role of remittances, it’s hard to overstate the impact in African nations and the trend only continues to grow. For Gambians, such remittances – money sent home to families from loved ones working abroad – accounted for 15.1 percent of GDP in 2018. That’s…
Opinions were sharply divided on Burundi during discussions at the United Nations Security Council on Friday, as the nation’s security status was evaluated with an eye toward 2020 presidential elections. President Pierre Nkurunziza has said he will not run again, but his 2015 decision to force a third term and…