Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | East Africa is bracing for a third outbreak of desert locusts, with billions of the destructive insects about to hatch and threaten food supplies in a region already reeling from damaging rains and the coronavirus pandemic. Spurred by favourable weather conditions, the migratory pests have …
Read More »In Africa, those who beat the virus continue to live under its cloud
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | As coronavirus cases accelerate in Africa, those who recover from the virus find that their struggle is not over as denial of the disease and stigmatisation run deep across the continent. People who have been treated for COVID-19 say they are ostracised in their communities, …
Read More »Evariste Ndayishimiye, Burundi’s new president faces tightrope act
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Burundi’s new President Evariste Ndayishimiye is an army general likely facing a tricky balancing act to bring change to the troubled nation while pleasing the elites who helped put him in power. Ndayishimiye, 52, widely known by his nickname “Neva”, was sworn in on Thursday, two …
Read More »Burundi’s new leader Ndayishimiye promises ‘no change’
Gitega, Burundi | AFP | Burundi’s new president, Evariste Ndayishimiye, took office on Thursday in a colourful ceremony where he vowed to “continue on the path” of his predecessor who died suddenly last week. Elected last month in a disputed vote, Ndayishimiye was meant to take office in August, but …
Read More »UBA Foundation donates books across Africa as it commemorates 2020 International Day of the African Child
Kampala, Uganda | KHISA ISAAC | UBA Foundation, the corporate social responsibility arm of United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, on June.17 joined the rest of the world to celebrate African children in this year’s edition of the International Day of the African Child. June 16 every year has been …
Read More »Burundi’s Ndayishimiye sworn in
Gitega, Burundi | AFP | Burundi’s new president, Evariste Ndayishimiye, took the oath of office at a colourful ceremony in the capital on Thursday, assuming the helm of a troubled nation after the sudden death of his predecessor. Elected in May in a vote disputed by the opposition, Ndayishimiye …
Read More »Drinkers raise a glass in Gabon’s speakeasies despite coronavirus
Libreville, Gabon | AFP | Amanda leans into the fridge, fishes out two ice-cold beers and quickly closes the door after taking a worried glance up and down the street. “No table, just chairs,” she says. The reason for the discretion: her tiny bar is welcoming customers on the sly, defying …
Read More »Burundi’s new president Ndayishimiye to take office
Bujumbura, Burundi | AFP | Burundi’s newly elected president Evariste Ndayishimiye will be sworn in on Thursday, after the sudden death of his predecessor who left him an isolated nation in political and economic turmoil. Ndayishimiye was elected in May in a vote disputed by the opposition, and was meant to …
Read More »S.Sudan leaders reach key deal on control of states
Juba, South Sudan | AFP | South Sudan’s main rivals on Wednesday sealed a deal on control of the country’s 10 internal states, an issue seen as the biggest threat to peace since a unity government was formed in February. President Salva Kiir and former rebel leader and now vice president Riek Machar, whose 2013 …
Read More »Aiming big: Ivory Coast’s ‘Dallas’ pitches for African following
Abidjan, Ivory Coast | AFP | The stakes are big, and so are the egos. Two clans, the Desvas and the Ahiteys, are fighting it out for control of the local cocoa industry… and boardroom thuggery, love, betrayal and guns are the tools of their trade. “Cacao”, an Ivorian TV soap …
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