Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | Can Lagos hold back the waves? Sprawled around a lagoon, Nigeria’s frenetic economic capital faces a threat from the Atlantic on its doorstep. The ocean has pounded the soft, sandy shoreline on a timescale far surpassing human history — but now its waves spell a major …
Read More »UNDP partners with TEF to empower 100,000 young entrepreneurs in Africa
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the global development network of the United Nations, has partnered with the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) — Africa’s leading philanthropy committed to empowering entrepreneurs — to train, mentor and financially support 100,000 young entrepreneurs in Africa over 10 …
Read More »Internet on mobile services restored in Sudan
Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | Mobile internet services were restored across Sudan Tuesday following a court order, weeks after the ruling generals imposed a blockade in the wake of a brutal crackdown on protesters. Demonstrators were violently dispersed on June 3 by men in military fatigues, who stormed a weeks-long protest …
Read More »Grief-struck families of Sudan’s revolution seek justice
Al-Rimela, Sudan | AFP | Amidst mounds of sand capped by hand-written signs naming the dead, Khadom embraces the tomb of her son, one of the more than 200 killed in Sudan’s months-long turmoil. It was an April morning when a freshly-shaven Al-Moez drank his tea before heading out to the …
Read More »Kinshasa governor campaigns against rowdy nights and ‘filth’
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | The long, loud nights of Kinshasa’s street life are set to be shortened by the new governor of DR Congo’s unruly capital, as part of a city-wide crusade against “dirtiness”. In less than a month, the bars spilling out on to the city’s highways and …
Read More »Calls for unity in Ethiopia’s Tigray as anti-Abiy sentiment swells
Mekele, Ethiopia | AFP | In his cramped studio, Ethiopian reggae singer Solomon Yikunoamlak plucks his guitar and reads over his latest ballad, a strident call for unity in his native Tigray during a time of national upheaval. It is unusual material for an artist who rose to fame singing love …
Read More »‘Terminator’ warlord guilty of Congo atrocities
The Hague, Netherlands | AFP | International Criminal Court judges on Monday convicted a Congolese rebel chief nicknamed “Terminator” of war crimes including massacring civilians and sexual enslavement, in a badly-needed victory for prosecutors in The Hague. Bosco Ntaganda forces carried out horrific attacks including one in a banana field that …
Read More »Behind Russia’s growing influence in Africa
Why the new development could be bad news for the US, Europe and India Kampala, Uganda | ISAAC KHISA | As Russia’s President, Vladimir Putin, hosts more than 50 African presidents for the first-ever Russia-Africa Summit in Sochi on Oct. 24, top on the agenda will be how to sustain …
Read More »Nigeria’s Nollywood film industry reels in foreign investors
Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | Nigeria’s film industry, dubbed Nollywood, has long kept viewers entertained with tales of romance and riches, and now foreign investors are increasingly looking for a part of the action. US giant Netflix, France’s Canal+ and China’s StarTimes are among those making moves in the globe’s second …
Read More »African leaders set to sign landmark trade deal at AU Summit
Niamey, Niger | AFP | African leaders will meet Sunday in Niger for the African Union (AU) summit, to sign a landmark free trade agreement, and to discuss looming security and migration crises on the continent. In a “historic” moment for the 55-member bloc, according to its chairman Moussa Faki, heads …
Read More »