Abidjan, Ivory Coast | AFP | A thousand artists from over 50 countries will gather in Ivory Coast on Saturday for a week-long festival of African music, theatre, dance, comedy, slam poetry and storytelling. The 10th edition of the biannual Market for African Performing Arts, known by its French initials as …

Port Louis, Mauritius | AFP | Mauritian President Ameenah Gurib-Fakim is to resign after becoming embroiled in a financial scandal, Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth announced on Friday. Gurib-Fakim, who is the only female head of state in Africa, has been accused of using a bank card provided by an NGO to …

Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | The UN human rights chief said Friday that Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who has launched profanity-laced diatribes against United Nations rapporteurs, needs “psychiatric evaluation”. Listing some of Manila’s actions against UN envoys, including filing terrorism charges against one, rights chief Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein said …

Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday met with Zimbabwe’s new President Emmerson Mnangagwa and discussed possible military co-operation as well as plans to boost economic ties. Lavrov, who is on a tour of Africa, is the first high-profile Russian official to visit Zimbabwe since veteran …

Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | DR Congo President Joseph Kabila has promised to have “constructive dialogue” with mining companies worried over plans to hike taxes on so-called strategic metals, a category expected to include the booming market for cobalt and copper. Kabila on Tuesday held more than seven hours of …

MIDRAND, SOUTH AFRICA | THE INDEPENDENT | The Secretary General of the Inter Parliamentary Union (IPU) has called on African legislators to use their constitutional mandate to prioritise issues of food security and malnutrition, which he said was on the increase in the continent. Speaking to MPs at a high level …

Freetown, Sierra Leone | AFP | Sierra Leone’s election chief called for patience on Thursday as ballots from its general election are counted, with tensions high after a police raid on an opposition leader’s home. More than 3.1 million Sierra Leoneans were eligible to cast their ballots for a new president, …

Conakry, Guinea | AFP | Guinean President Alpha Conde will carry out a “major cabinet reshuffle”, his office said Thursday, following weeks of strikes and demonstrations in the country after disputed local elections. Conde will install ministers “who listen to the people,” a statement said. It was released after Conde was …

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | AFP | Washington’s top diplomat began his first Africa tour Thursday by meeting with the African Union chief, who said the continent had moved on from a reported insult by President Donald Trump. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and AU commission chairman Moussa Faki Mahamat discussed security …

COMMENT | LINUS BLOMQVIST | As global demand for seafood increases alongside population and income growth, fish farming has become more necessary than ever, despite its negative environmental externalities. But how can the aquaculture industry achieve long-term sustainability, both in terms of conservation and energy usage? Demand for seafood is skyrocketing, …