Kigali, Rwanda | AFP | A group of 66 African refugees and asylum-seekers have arrived in Kigali from Libya, the UN said, the first in what could be thousands of people being helped to flee the conflict-torn country. The move follows a pledge by President Paul Kagame in 2017 to …
Read More »Africa, Kenya hail return of legendary Safari Rally to WRC
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta on Friday hailed a decision by the International Automobile Federation (FIA) to include the country’s fabled Safari Rally in the world championships from next year. Kenya has worked hard to get its rally back onto the world circuit after it fell …
Read More »Morocco makes headway against HIV but stigma remains
Casablanca, Morocco | AFP | In Morocco, the struggle against HIV has been so successful in recent years that campaigners worry about losing funding for combatting the virus, but for people living with the disease it remains a heavy stigma. In Casablanca, a group therapy workshop offers HIV patients a rare …
Read More »Cameroon’s Silicon Mountain tech startups struggle with insurgency
Buea, Cameroon | AFP | Hi-tech promoters had big dreams for Silicon Mountain in Cameroon, where a broad plateau was seen as perfect for startup ventures, but their hopes have been shattered by a separatist struggle. Entrepreneurs in the tech village wanted to launch new technologies and make Cameroon a market …
Read More »Burundi senate chief recorded offering money to kill ex-soldier
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Burundi’s senate president has come under fire over recorded remarks of him placing a price on the head of a man accused of training militias at the height of the country’s 2015 political crisis. In comments recorded earlier in September, verified by AFP Thursday, senate chief …
Read More »ZIMBABWE: Robert Mugabe will be buried at home village
Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Zimbabwe announced on Thursday that ex-president Robert Mugabe would be buried at his home village in Zvimba as requested by his family. The government said the family of the former leader, who died in Singapore on September 6 aged 95, “has expressed its desire to …
Read More »Flee or die: The cruel choice in jihad-hit Burkina Faso
Yagma, Burkina Faso | AFP | “We have nothing,” says Belen Boureima, a 74-year-old farmer, as his weathered face contemplates the scrap of land in the remote village he and his family must now call home. “But it’s better to be alive here than to stay in Djibo and die.” …
Read More »Egypt detains more than 1,000 after anti-Sisi protests: NGOs
Cairo, Egypt | AFP | Egyptian authorities have arrested more than 1,000 people, rights groups said Wednesday, broadening a crackdown that has seen prominent critics detained after rare protests calling for the ouster of general-turned-President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. The wave of arrests comes ahead of a “million-man march” Friday called for …
Read More »Using Argentine know-how to grow crops in Uganda
Bueno Aires, Argentina | WORLDCRUNCH.COM | Argentina is known for its large-scale, high-tech and export-driven farming sector. But now, some of its engineers are using their expertise to improve the practices of small-scale, peasant farmers — in Africa. Such is the case of Juan Francisco Acutain and Francisco Podestá, who are …
Read More »Sisi, Egypt’s undisputed leader
Cairo, Egypt | AFP | Since ascending to power in 2014, Egypt’s general-turned-president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has imposed himself as an uncontested leader, stamping out opposition despite criticism by rights groups. His government has taken no chances and arrested over 600 people after hundreds of Egyptians protested his rule last week. …
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