By Rédaction Africanews with AP Rwanda will test technology powered by artificial intelligence in more than 50 health clinics as part of a new initiative by the Gates Foundation to support 1,000 clinics across Africa with the aim to improve health care services. The technology is intended to strengthen rather than replace clinical judgment, while improving efficiency within an already stretched health system, Andrew Muhire, a senior official with Rwanda’s Ministry of Health, told The Associated Press on Thursday. Rwanda now has one health care worker for 1,000 patients — far from the globally recommended ratio of 4:1,000. The Gates…
Author: Montage Africa
By Rédaction Africanews with agencies South Africa’s finance minister, Enoch Godongwana, has confirmed that the country will step back from its G20 engagements during the United States presidency of the grouping. Speaking at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos on Thursday, he described the decision as a “temporary setback”. US President Donald Trump said in November that South Africa – which in 2025 became the first African country to chair the forum – would not be invited to US-hosted events. His announcement came after months of escalated tensions between the two nations with Trump falsely claiming there was a…
By Rédaction Africanews and AP Three years on, Khartoum’s Bahri Teaching Hospital is welcoming patients once again, nearly three years after it was wrecked and looted in the early days of Sudan’s war. The hospital, located in the city’s north, was stormed by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in April 2023, just days after fighting erupted between the RSF and Sudan’s army. Looted and heavily damaged, it was forced to shut its doors. “Bahri hospital, like other government buildings and facilities, suffered damage amounting to 70 percent,” said Galal Mostafa, the hospital director. “The hospital is considered a referral centre…
By Dominic Wabwireh with other agencies Mali is experiencing a significant easing of its severe fuel shortage, following the import of over 54 million liters of petroleum products in ten days. This surge in supply marks a critical step toward ending the crisis that has hampered the economy and daily life for weeks. Authorities reported that 1,192 tanker trucks were mobilized in January to resupply the country. This effort included 875 trucks delivering over 40 million liters between January 12-18, and a further 317 trucks bringing in an additional 14.4 million liters shortly after. Impact on stations and queues The…
By Rédaction Africanews Fans planning to attend the 2026 World Cup in the US, Canada, and Mexico may face visa hurdles, but a new system aims to make travel easier. The Fifa Prioritised Appointment Scheduling System (Fifa Pass), announced by US President Donald Trump in November, went live this week. It helps fans from countries whose teams have qualified to get visa appointments faster. The US State Department stressed that a Fifa Pass does not guarantee a visa. All applicants must still pass security checks and meet visa requirements. Fans from countries in the US visa waiver program, including much of Europe, the…
By Rédaction Africanews and AFP After it imposed sanctions on Guinea following the 2021 coup, the African Union has announced it is lifting them. It comes after what the Union described as ‘the successful organisation of the presidential election’ in December. The Union hailed what it referred to as “the positive steps taken in the implementation of the Political Transition Roadmap in the Republic of Guinea which culminated in the successful organization of the presidential election on 28 December 2025”. A civil society group urging the return of civilian rule has denounced the election as a “charade”, while opposition candidates…
By Dominic Wabwireh with AP As the most severe internet blackout in Iran’s history stretches into its third week, activists report the human cost of a brutal crackdown on nationwide protests has climbed to at least 5,002 killed. With information scarce and verification nearly impossible, the outside world is left peering into a fog of violence, contested numbers, and escalating international threats. The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), which provided the grim tally, noted over 26,800 people have been detained. The Iranian government has offered a significantly lower death toll of 3,117, a figure widely doubted given the…
There was a huge plaster on Sarah Peter’s head to staunch the bleeding caused by the blow of a gunman’s weapon. Sarah, not her real name, was in church in a village in northern Nigeria on Sunday morning when attackers raided the compound to abduct the worshippers and take them away on foot. The 60-year-old was whacked on the skull with a rifle to encourage her to move. “Blood was all over,” she said, her fingers brushing the area where the wound was. “I suffered,” she added, clearly still traumatised by what happened three days earlier. “They kept dragging me…
By Dominic Wabwireh with other sources Algeria’s Senate has demanded revisions to a historic law declaring France’s 1830-1962 colonization a crime, creating legislative discord just weeks after the lower house unanimously passed the bill demanding an apology and reparations from Paris. While the lower house’s December 24 vote classified colonization as a crime with “legal responsibility,” the Senate objected to specific articles, particularly around financial compensation. A joint committee must now reconcile the text, as the Senate cannot directly amend the legislation. The disagreement centers on President Abdelmadjid Tebboune’s stated position that Algeria is “not tempted by money” but seeks…
By Rédaction Africanews with AFP They were caught under a barrage of fire and became trapped with “nowhere to go” after their city in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo fell under the M23 armed group’s control a year ago. Around one million Goma residents were holed up in their homes on 26 January last year when the Congolese army and its allies were forced to pull out of the provincial capital. Hundreds of Rwandan soldiers had just poured across the border to fight alongside the M23 in a lightning offensive to seize the lakeside city. Thousands of people were…