By AFP Ethiopians went to the polls on Monday with the Prosperity Party (PP) of incumbent Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed set for a landslide win. In power since 2018, Abiy is criticised for growing authoritarianism and a crackdown on dissent, in contrast to his early years in power when he won the Nobel Peace Prize for mending relations with neighbouring Eritrea. Opposition parties and analysts fear this election will be even less open than previous votes with the opposition in disarray and the country facing multiple internal conflicts and ethnic divisions. The election is “likely to be among the least competitive of the seven national…
Author: Montage Africa
Meji Alabi has directed some of the biggest selling music artists on the planet: Beyoncé, Burna Boy, Davido and Stormzy. But nothing prepared the Grammy Award-winning director for his new documentary on Nigeria’s civil war. Warning: This article contains details some readers may find disturbing. Surviving Biafra: Voices from the Nigerian Civil War, produced by BBC Africa Eye, includes previously unseen footage taken on the front line of the devastating war that lasted from 1967 until 1970 when ethnic tensions threatened to tear apart the young West African nation. “It was very much an eye opener for me. I just…
South Africa’s sports minister has said his nation was “being made to look like fools” after its football team was delayed travelling to Mexico ahead of the World Cup due to visa issues. Gayton McKenzie demanded an explanation from South Africa’s football association (Safa) as to why this had happened, adding: “Action must be taken against those responsible for this mess.” Safa admitted the team had “experienced challenges regarding visas for some players and officials” but did not give further details. McKenzie later confirmed all the players had received permission to travel and would be leaving for the international tournament…
Makuochi Okafor A retired senior Nigerian military officer and his wife have been kidnapped by armed men in north-west Nigeria, the army has confirmed. Maj Gen Rabe Abubakar, who had a high-profile job as military spokesman between 2015 and 2017, was abducted from his car on Saturday while travelling in Katsina state. Efforts are now under way to rescue the couple and track down their captors, military spokesman Gen Michael Onoja told the BBC. The kidnapping highlights the continuing security challenges facing parts of north-west Nigeria, where criminal gangs known locally as “bandits” frequently carry out kidnappings for ransom, as…
Health authorities in Brazil are monitoring two patients for possible Ebola infection in the country’s two biggest cities, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. A man, 37, from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) “exhibited symptoms such as fever”, São Paulo’s state government said. In Rio state, the health department said it had activated safety protocols after a Belgian man who arrived from Uganda showed “viral symptoms such as cough, chills and diarrhoea”. The test results for both patients should become available next week. If confirmed, they would be the first infection cases outside Africa since the outbreak…
By Rédaction Africanews with AFP Thousands of people paid tribute to Mali’s slain defence minister, Sadio Camara, in a ceremony held under tight security in the capital, Bamako, on Thursday. Camara was killed as a result of a car bomb blast at his home in Kati on Saturday, which also killed his wife and two granddaughters. The attack was part of two-days of coordinated strikes by jihadist militants and their Tuareg separatist allies on military positions across the country. Dressed in combat fatigues, junta leader Assimi Goita paid tribute to Camara by bowing before his coffin. Camara’s relatives and friends…
By Rédaction Africanews with AFP US aid cuts to Africa marked the death blow of an “outdated” development system and should push the continent to take charge of its own services, the heads of the World Health Summit said Wednesday. The overriding theme of the three-day summit in Nairobi, attended by 15 African health ministers and thousands of NGO and academic delegates, was “health sovereignty” for the continent, which sees an opportunity in the loss of donor funding. Massive aid cuts by Western donors, especially United States President Donald Trump’s decision to scrap the $40bn-a-year USAID agency, have been highly…
By Rédaction Africanews with Agencies Search and rescue operations were underway in western Uganda on Wednesday after a boat capsized on the Nguse river, with at least 20 people feared dead. More than 30 people were on board when the vessel went down the previous evening. Eight survivors have been found and are receiving medical treatment. Authorities have urged victims’ relatives to come forward. Marine police in Kigadi district have launched an inquiry into the cause of the accident. They said possible factors include overloading, night travel and the boat’s condition. According to media reports, the locally made canoe capsized…
By Rédaction Africanews with AFP United States Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau reiterated Washington’s support for Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara in Rabat, urging a “swift” resolution to a conflict that has been ongoing since 1975. The US reaffirmed its support for Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara on Wednesday during a meeting between Landau and Nacer Bourita, Morocco’s Minister of Foreign Affairs. Morocco is pushing an autonomy proposal for the region that would give Western Sahara autonomy over social and economic policy, budget and taxation, while Rabat would retain control over foreign relations, the judiciary and currency. The United…
By Africanews with AFP The ruling junta in Burkina Faso has tightened security in the capital Ouagadougou in the wake of coordinated attacks in its neighbour and ally Mali, security sources told AFP on Wednesday. On Tuesday, Burkina Faso’s security ministry announced the launch of an operation aimed at strengthening security across the country and called for vigilance. It also called on people to report any suspicious behaviour, particularly around sensitive infrastructure such as military barracks, airports, administrative buildings and other installations of national importance. “A major security operation has been deployed in Ouagadougou and in other parts of the…