Africa Features Headlines International

Mali: Russia’s Lavrov holds talks with junta leaders as UN mission’s HR chief expelled

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrived in Mali Tuesday (7 February) for talks with its junta leaders who only two days earlier ordered the rights chief with the UN peacekeeping mission in the country to leave for expressing views against Russia’s Wagner Group in Mali. Lavrov’s visit of fewer than 24 hours will be his […]

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Angela Merkel to receive Félix Houphouët-Boigny-UNESCO Peace Prize in Yamoussoukro

Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel is expected to receive Wednesday February 06 in the Ivorian capital of Yamoussoukro the Félix Houphouët-Boigny-UNESCO Peace Prize which she was awarded last year. Audrey Azoulay, Director of UNESCO and Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara will hand the award to the former German state woman during a ceremony, the state-run news […]

Africa Features Headlines International

Pope Francis urges South Sudan to end “blind fury of violence”

Pope Francis has ended his peace mission to South Sudan with an impassioned plea urging the people to resist the “venom of hatred” to achieve the peace, forgiveness and prosperity that have eluded them through years of bloody ethnic conflicts. Reconciliation and mutual forgiveness for past wrongs — these were the main themes woven in […]

Africa Features Headlines International

UN peacekeeper killed in attack in DRC as East Africa leaders renew call for ceasefire

A United Nations peacekeeper from South Africa was killed in an attack on a helicopter in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Sunday (5 February), just as East African regional leaders have renewed their call for an immediate ceasefire by all sides involved in the bloody conflict. The UN aircraft came under fire during […]

Africa Features International

Pope Francis condemns ‘brutal atrocities’, ‘poison of greed’ fueling conflict in DRC

Pope Francis on Wednesday (1 February) slammed “brutal atrocities, which bring shame upon all humanity” and denounced the “poison of greed” for mineral resources driving conflict in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as he began a visit there a day earlier. The 86-year-old Francis is the first pontiff to visit Congo since John Paul II […]

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UN experts call for war crimes probe into Wagner group, gov’t forces in Mali

UN experts on Tuesday (31 January) called for an independent investigation into possible war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by Russian private military contractor Wagner Group and government forces in Mali. This comes just days after the US formally designated (26 January) Russia’s Kremlin-affiliated Wagner Group as a transnational criminal organization responsible for widespread […]

Business Features Finance Headlines

Africa-China trade in 2022 surges, dwarfing commerce with US

Africa’s bilateral trade with China surged to a record high in 2022, highlighting how Beijing’s commercial influence over the continent continues to dwarf that of the United States. Beijing’s push to promote imports from Africa and rising commodity prices pushed trade up 11% to $282 billion last year. China’s exports to Africa were $164.49 billion, […]

Africa Features Headlines International

Burkina Faso: dozens of soldiers, civilians killed in jihadist-hit north

At least 28 people, including soldiers and civilians, have been killed in two separate attacks by rebel fighters in northern Burkina Faso, a regional governor and the army said in separate statements. The army said on Monday (30 January) that a combat unit in Falagountou, in the country’s north near its border with Niger, came […]

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Namibia rhino poaching surges to record level, blame on cross-border syndicates

The number of endangered rhinos poached in Namibia reached the highest level on record in 2022, as twice as many animals — 87 compared to 45 — were killed in 2021, official government data showed on Monday (30 January). Africa’s rhino population has been decimated over the decades to feed demand for rhino horn, which, […]

Africa Features International

Belarusian president visits fellow Russia ally Zimbabwe

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko arrived in Harare to pomp and fanfare on Monday (30 January) for a two-day visit and talks with his Zimbabwean counterpart, Emmerson Mnangagwa, aimed at cementing economic and political ties between the two countries that are both close allies of Russia. Mnangagwa and hundreds of singing and cheering ruling party supporters […]