AFRICA

Siliana, Tunisia | AFP | Around 40 young Tunisian volunteers gather on a bare hill in the central region of Siliana. Their weekend mission — revive a burned forest by planting Aleppo pine shoots. Hamdi, from the eastern city of Sfax, gets straight to work after travelling 250 kilometres (150 miles) …

Dakar, Senegal | AFP | Hundreds of children in the Sahel were killed, maimed or forcibly separated from their parents last year, the United Nations said Tuesday, as a jihadist conflict rages across the region. In Mali alone, 277 children were killed or maimed during the first nine months of 2019, …

Benue, Nigeria | AFP |  Government worker Iorliam Shija sits in one of the ramshackle bars along the banks of the Benue river in central Nigeria sipping from a gourd filled with frothy burukutu. The vinegary alcoholic beverage has been made here for generations from the fermented grains of sorghum and …

Cybercriminals from hacking group Silence one of the most sophisticated threat actors | BRENDYN LOTZ | A number of worrying notifications from banks in the Sub-Saharan Africa region have cybersecurity experts concerned that Silence has arrived on the continent. Silence Group is an organization of cybercriminals that has been active …

Britain’s pledge to turbo-charge relations with continent must compete with China Kampala, Uganda | RONALD MUSOKE | The first ever UK-Africa Investment Summit held in London on Jan. 20 is being seen for what it was; a copycat of what development experts refer to as “Africa-Plus One Summits” where several …

Maiduguri, Nigeria | AFP |  The bus driver sensed straight away that he and his six passengers were in trouble when the gunmen, dressed in Nigerian army uniforms, stopped their vehicle at a checkpoint. They were on the main road connecting the city of Maiduguri in volatile northeast Nigeria with the …

Lagos, Nigeria | AFP |  The lagoon waters at the port entrance to Lagos, Nigeria’s economic capital, are usually teeming with small fishing boats. But the bustling waterfront slums of Lagos are now quiet after the navy evicted tens of thousands of residents from their homes in recent weeks. The evictions …

Banjul, Gambia | AFP | Hundreds of Gambians marched Saturday in the outskirts of the capital Banjul, demanding justice for sweeping rights abuses and murder they suffered under former dictator Yahya Jammeh’s 22-year rule. Jammeh ruled Gambia with an iron fist but fled in January 2017 after losing a presidential election …

Luanda, Angola | AFP |  Allegations of corruption swirling around his predecessor’s daughter have set a crucial test for Angolan President Joao Lourenco in his vow to reform a country rich in oil and tainted by graft. Isabel dos Santos, the 46-year-old billionaire daughter of ex-president Jose Eduardo dos Santos, is …

Masisi, DR Congo | AFP | In eastern DR Congo, thousands have fled violence to camps in the remote mountain forests where they battle cholera, hunger and misery in a forgotten humanitarian disaster. Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has long struggled with violence from several militia groups, a legacy of the …