Murchison Falls, Uganda | AFP | The boat edged as close as possible to the deafening surge of water roaring over Murchison Falls, giving tourists a hair-raising shot of one of Africa’s awesome and terrifying natural spectacles. Tens of thousands visit northwest Uganda every year to marvel as the force of …
Read More »Egypt cleans up for return of tourists
Cairo, Egypt | AFP | Hotels have ramped up hygiene, archaeological sites have been sanitised and beaches cleaned up — Egypt is gearing up to welcome back tourists kept away by the coronavirus pandemic. “We are laying the groundwork for tourists from around the world to find this destination … in …
Read More »Nigeria says up to 600 deaths from Kano surge tied to virus
Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | Nigerian authorities have linked the deaths of up to 600 people in the country’s second largest city to coronavirus after probing a surge in fatalities there. Health Minister Osagie Ehanire said 979 people died in April in the northern trading hub in April. A near-quadrupling of the mortality rate prompted …
Read More »Egypt blames Ethiopia for stalling Nile dam talks
Cairo, Egypt | AFP | Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi strongly rebuked Ethiopia on Tuesday, accusing Addis Ababa of stalling negotiations over a mega-dam being built on the Nile and moving ahead with plans to start filling the reservoir before reaching a deal. “A timeline must be set to finish up negotiations, so it does …
Read More »Burundi mourns death of President Pierre Nkurunziza
Bujumbura, Burundi | AFP | Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza has died of heart failure, the government said Tuesday, after the former rebel chief spent 15 often turbulent years in power. An evangelical who believed he was chosen by God to rule the East African nation, Nkurunziza took office in 2005, …
Read More »Burundi’s Pierre Nkurunziza dead
Bujumbura, Burundi | AFP | Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza has died of heart failure, the government said Tuesday. “The Government of the Republic of Burundi announces with great sadness the unexpected death of His Excellency Pierre Nkurunziza, President of the Republic of Burundi… following heart failure on June 8, 2020,” it …
Read More »Trauma lingers from DR Congo’s ‘Six-Day War,’ 20 years on
Kisangani, DR Congo | AFP | Twenty years ago, two East African countries came to blows in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, fighting a “Six-Day War” that the world has now forgotten but whose pain lingers. The anniversary of the battle between Rwanda and Uganda is being recalled internationally by just …
Read More »S.Africa’s radical left takes part in Black Lives protest
Pretoria, South Africa | AFP | Supporters of South Africa’s radical leftwing party, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), protested against racism and police brutality on Monday in solidarity with the global Black Lives Matter campaign. Nearly 200 people carrying placards reading “all lives can’t matter until black lives matter,” picketed the US embassy in Pretoria, chanting “down …
Read More »Africa vs the West: Who will take the WTO helm?
Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | The World Trade Organization on Monday kicked off the process for selecting a new director-general, after its current chief Roberto Azevedo decided to leave a year early. With Azevedo, a Brazilian career diplomat, now set to leave on August 31, the WTO opened a one-month …
Read More »Virus crisis piles pressure on African media
Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | Collapsing revenues, rising layoffs: the coronavirus crisis is battering media outlets across Africa that were already struggling for cash and often facing pressure from hostile authorities. The news of cutbacks was sudden and painful for journalists at two of Nigeria’s most popular independent newspapers when bosses …
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