Africans

PM Modi's visit to Nigeria is part of his three-nation tour, which will also take him to Brazil and Guyana from November 17 to 21

Twenty-nine children could be facing the death penalty in Nigeria after they were arraigned Friday for participating in a protest against the country's record cost-of-living crisis. Four of them collapsed in court due to exhaustion before they could enter a plea. A total of 76 protesters were charged with 10 felony counts, including treason, destruction of property, public disturbance and mutiny, according to the charge sheet seen by The Associated Press. According to the charge sheet, the minors ranged in age from 14 to 17 years old. Frustration over the cost-of-living crisis has led to several mass protests in recent months. In August, at least 20 people were shot dead and hundreds more were arrested at a protest demanding better opportunities and jobs for young people. The death sentence was introduced in the 1970s in Nigeria, but there have been no executions in the country since 2016. Akintayo Balogun, a private lawyer based in Abuja, said the Child Rights Act does not allow

Finance Minister Sitharaman participated in the G7 African Ministerial Roundtable on Saturday (local time), the Ministry of Finance stated

President Droupadi Murmu on Thursday hailed the Indian community in Malawi as a "living link" between the two nations, praising their contributions to the African country's society and economy while urging their participation in India's developmental journey. Murmu arrived here earlier in the day on the final leg of her three-nation visit to Africa. Addressing the Indian diaspora at a reception here, the president said the "Indian community in Malawi is a living link between the two countries", her office shared in a post on X. "She appreciated their contribution to the society and economy of Malawi. She urged them to take part in the developmental journey of India," it said, sharing some photographs of the event. Murmu also emphasised the Indian government's commitment to the welfare of its nationals living abroad. "The welfare of our countrymen living outside India is the top priority of our government. We are committed to working with our partners across the world to address th

The social media ads promised the young African women a free plane ticket, money and a faraway adventure in Europe. Just complete a computer game and a 100-word Russian vocabulary test. But instead of a work-study programme in fields like hospitality and catering, some of them learned only after arriving on the steppes of Russia's Tatarstan region that they would be toiling in a factory to make weapons of war, assembling thousands of Iranian-designed attack drones to be launched into Ukraine. In interviews with The Associated Press, some of the women complained of long hours under constant surveillance, of broken promises about wages and areas of study, and of working with caustic chemicals that left their skin pockmarked and itching. To fill an urgent labor shortage in wartime Russia, the Kremlin has been recruiting women aged 18-22 from places like Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, South Sudan, Sierra Leone and Nigeria, as well as the South Asian country of Sri Lanka. The drive is expanding

China and Africa account for one-third of the world population, without our modernisation, there will be no global modernisation, Xi said

Mpox, also known as monkeypox, is a viral disease that causes painful skin boils as well as fever, headache, and muscle aches. It is spread by close contact between people

Associations of tea producers in Asia and Africa have flagged concerns over the global mismatch of demand and supply and called for an early restoration of equilibrium, according to a statement issued by a planters' body on Friday. In a meeting of the stakeholders of the global tea industry, recently held in Dubai, the associations also addressed the issue of quality and long-term sustainability of the sector. Indian Tea Association (ITA) chairman Hemant Bangur said that the global tea industry is facing a demand-supply mismatch as production continues to outpace demand. Representatives of ITA, East African Trade Association (EATTA), independent tea producers' body of Kenya, and tea associations of Malawi, Bangladesh and Uganda attended the meeting. They voiced concern over stagnating consumption demand in Europe and Asia, the ITA said in a statement. Bangur said, "Africa with its growing population and rising income has the potential to become one of the largest markets for black

French President Emmanuel Macron joined several African leaders on Thursday to kick off a planned $1 billion project to accelerate the rollout of vaccines in Africa, after the coronavirus pandemic exposed gaping inequalities in access to them. The launch of the African Vaccine Manufacturing Accelerator, which will provide financial incentives to vaccine manufacturers, offered a momentary break for Macron from domestic political concerns as a legislative election looms on June 30 and July 7. Many African leaders and advocacy groups say Africa was unfairly locked out of access to COVID-19 treatment tools, vaccines and testing equipment that many richer countries bought up in huge quantities after the pandemic was declared in 2020. WHO, advocacy groups, the European Union and others want to help Africa get better prepared for the next pandemic, which many health experts say is inevitable. When the coronavirus pandemic began, South Africa was the only country in Africa with any abilit

The Sudanese government has accused the United Arab Emirates of fuelling the 14-month war in the African country by providing weapons to a rival paramilitary force. The UAE dismissed the allegation as "ludicrous," calling "a shameful abuse by one of the warring parties". The clash came during a UN Security Council meeting at which Assistant Secretary-General Martha Pobee warned that atrocities are being committed along ethnic lines in Sudan's western Darfur region. She urged an immediate cease-fire in the North Darfur capital, El Fasher, which is besieged by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, "to prevent further atrocities, protect critical infrastructure, and alleviate civilian suffering". Sudanese Ambassador Al-Harith Mohamed accused the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces of "destructively launching" its war with the Sudanese military and attacking civilians, aided by weapons from the UAE. He said that Sudan has evidence of the UAE supplying weapons and that the government wil

Ramaphosa won 283 of the votes cast by members of National Assembly on Friday night, and Economic Freedom Fighters leader Julius Malema 44

Radisys Corp., a unit of Ambani-controlled Reliance Industries Ltd., will provide key network infrastructure, applications and smartphones for Ghana-based Next-Gen InfraCo

Flooding and heavy rains in Kenya have killed at least 70 people since mid-March, a government spokesperson said on Friday, twice as many as were reported earlier this week. The East African country has seen weeks of heavy rains and severe flooding in Kenya's capital, Nairobi, as well as in the country's western and central regions. Kenya's government spokesperson Isaac Mwaura on Friday refuted claims that hundreds of people have died in the ongoing flooding and said the official tally now stands at 70. Five bodies were retrieved on Friday from a river in Makueni county, east of the country, after a lorry they were travelling in was swept off a submerged bridge, local station Citizen TV reported. Another 11 were rescued. Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua said on Friday at a news briefing that the government had set aside 4 billion Kenya shillings (USD 29 million) for emergency relief efforts, but did not provide further details. More than 130,000 people are currently affected with

As 72-year-old Nonki Kunene walks through the corridors of Thabisang Primary School in Soweto, South Africa, she recalls the joy she and many others felt 30 years ago when they voted for the first time. It was at this school on April 27, 1994 that Kunene joined millions of South Africans to brave long queues and take part in the country's first democratic elections after decades of white minority rule which denied Black people the right to vote. However, as the country gears up for celebrations Saturday to mark 30 years of freedom and democracy, much of the enthusiasm and optimism of that period has subsided as Africa's most developed economy faces a myriad of challenges. Like many things in South Africa, the school that Kunene remembers has changed, and what used to be a school hall has now been turned into several classrooms. I somehow wish we could go back to that day, because of how excited I was and the things that happened thereafter, said Kunene, referring to Nelson Mandela

The year-old war in Sudan between rival generals vying for power has sparked a crisis of epic proportions fuelled by weapons from foreign supporters who continue to flout UN sanctions aimed at helping end the conflict, the UN political chief said on Friday. This is illegal, it is immoral, and it must stop, Undersecretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo told the UN Security Council. Sudan plunged into chaos in mid-April 2023, when long-simmering tensions between its military, led by Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary commanded by Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo broke out into street battles in the capital, Khartoum. Fighting has spread to other parts of the country, especially urban areas and the western Darfur region, DiCarlo painted a dire picture of the war's impact over 14,000 dead, tens of thousands wounded, looming famine with 25 million people in need of life-saving assistance, and over 8.6 million forced to flee their homes. Mohamed Ibn Chambas, chair of th

In a deepening crackdown, Mali's ruling junta on Thursday banned the media from reporting on activities of political parties and associations, a day after suspending all political activities in the country until further notice. The order, issued by Mali's high authority for communication, was distributed on social media. The notice said it applied to all forms of the media, including television, radio, online and print newspapers. Mali has experienced two coups since 2020, leading a wave of political instability that has swept across West and Central Africa in recent years. Along with its political troubles, the country is also in the grip of a worsening insurgency by militants linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group. The scope of the ban or how it would be applied in practice was not immediately clear. It was also not known if journalists would still be allowed to report on issues such as the economy, which are closely tied to politics and who would monitor their work. Th

India is deploying 15-16 new attaches to countries such as Poland, Armenia, Tanzania, Mozambique, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Ivory Coast, and the Philippines

Delicately and with intense concentration, Zanyiwe Ncube poured her small share of precious golden cooking oil into a plastic bottle at a food aid distribution site deep in rural Zimbabwe. I don't want to lose a single drop, she said. Her relief at the handout paid for by the United States government as her southern African country deals with a severe drought was tempered when aid workers gently broke the news that this would be their last visit. Ncube and her 7-month-old son she carried on her back were among 2,000 people who received rations of cooking oil, sorghum, peas and other supplies in the Mangwe district in southwestern Zimbabwe. The food distribution is part of a program funded by American aid agency USAID and rolled out by the United Nations' World Food Programme. They're aiming to help some of the 2.7 million people in rural Zimbabwe threatened with hunger because of the drought that has enveloped large parts of southern Africa since late 2023. It has scorched the cr

Former South African president Jacob Zuma has been disqualified as a candidate in South Africa's general elections scheduled for May 29 due to his criminal record, the Electoral Commission (IEC) said on Friday. Zuma, who was recalled by his own African National Congress (ANC) in February 2018 for refusing to step down, was sentenced to 15 months in jail in 2021 by the highest judicial body in South Africa, the Constitutional Court after he earlier walked out of hearings at the Commission of Enquiry into State Capture. The ANC recalled Zuma after huge public outcries about his alleged closeness to the now self-exiled Gupta family who looted billions from state-owned enterprises such as Eskom. These entities are now financially crippled, leading to embattled electricity supplier Eskom being unable to meet the power needs of the country and the rail infrastructure inoperable. The Guptas are believed to be in Dubai and South Africa is seeking their extradition to face trial here. Zuma

The announcement, made on Friday, sets the stage for Faye's inauguration, slated for April 2nd