First Independent Mena Newspaper
As the Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins on Monday or Tuesday (11-12 March), depending on the sighting of the new moon, Muslims in parts of Africa are bracing themselves for more subdued celebrations amid soaring food prices and continuing violence in Sudan, Gaza and elsewhere in the continent. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the […]
African countries on Friday (8 March) marked the International Women’s Day by reflecting on the plight of millions of women across the continent, with leaders pledging to reduce gender inequality by empowering women to participate more in the economic sphere and in politics. The 8 March is commemorated globally as International’s Women Day, a day […]
Calls have stepped up asking US President Joe Biden and the Congress to stop helping South Africa’s corrupt ANC leaders, who have betrayed Mandela’s legacy of human rights and social justice. Since the end of Apartheid, save a short bracket under the rule of Mandela, the ANC has led South Africa to more inequality and […]
Italy’s Eni said it found significant reserves of oil and gas offshore Côte d’Ivoire, with a specific well in particular having as much as 1.5 billion barrels of oil equivalent of potential resources. This will be Eni’s second big hydrocarbon discovery off the West African nation over the past few years following on from its […]
South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, three of the largest maize producing countries on the continent, expect their output to slash this year due to a shortage of rainfall. Heatwaves and drought heavily compromised the maize harvest of the three countries as well as smaller producers such as Lesotho and Botswana, according to recent official reports. […]
Rwanda’s ruling party chose President Paul Kagame as its candidate to run for July presidential elections for a fourth seven-year term. Kagame, 66, has fostered his grip on power in Rwanda since his first election as president in 2003. Since then, he has won two other elections with over 90% of the votes. He is […]
The abduction of more than 100 Nigerian school students reportedly occurred in the town of Kuriga in the north-western region. Witnesses stated that armed individuals on motorcycles entered the school’s assembly area around 08:30, taking away students aged between eight and 15, along with a teacher. This incident marks a resurgence in mass abductions of […]
France has said it will keep its 1,000 troops in junta-run Chad amid waning French influence after it was ousted from several African countries over the past few years, just as apparent calm has returned to Chad’s capital N’Djamena following the assassination of an opposition leader. “Of course we will stay” in Chad, said Jean-Marie […]
Senegal’s delayed presidential election will be held on 24 March, the country’s President Macky Sall has announced, following weeks of political turmoil and violent protests calling for an immediate vote. Senegalese voters should finally head to the polls at the end of March, following a string of announcements by the president and government on Wednesday, […]
Junta-led Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger have agreed to create a joint force to battle security threats, most notably long-running jihadist rebellions, across their territories. Violence in the wider Sahel region fueled by the decade-long fight with Islamist groups has worsened since the three countries’ militaries seized power in a series of coups from 2020 […]