South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa has thanked his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin for helping to secure the return of 17 South Africans allegedly tricked into joining the Russia-Ukraine war. Last November, the South African government said it had received distress calls from the group of men who had joined mercenary forces in the conflict. The men believed they were going to Russia for bodyguard training but instead ended up on the front line of the war in Ukraine. Ramaphosa’s office confirmed that four of them had returned last Friday, 11 others would be “on their way home soon” and another…
Author: Montage Africa
By Rédaction Africanews with AFP Egypt on Tuesday urged the international community to better support Lebanon’s armed forces as the country moves forward with a plan to disarm the militant group Hezbollah and bring all weapons under state control. Speaking at a preparatory meeting in Cairo ahead of next month’s Paris conference in support of the Lebanese army, Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty praised “the success of the Lebanese army in completing the first phase of the plan”. “This achievement reflects the efficiency of the military institution and requires intensifying international support to complete the remaining phases of the plan,”…
By AFP The number of people in Somalia experiencing crisis-levels of food insecurity has nearly doubled in the past year to 6.5 million people, UN-backed experts warned Tuesday. The Horn of Africa country has been plagued by conflict and suffered two consecutive failed rainy seasons, as well as a drop in the amount of food aid available amid international funding cuts. The population classified as being in a “crisis or worse” situation “has nearly doubled between February–March 2026 to a staggering 6.5 million people since early 2025,” according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification Initiative (IPC), a UN-backed group…
France has returned the historic Djidji Ayôkwé “talking drum” to Côte d’Ivoire, more than a century after colonial troops seized the artifact in 1916. The extraordinary artifact—more than three meters long—was used by the Ebrie tribe to transmit messages over long distances and will be permanently displayed in a new museum under construction in Abidjan. Ivorian Culture Minister Françoise Remarck described the handover ceremony in Paris as an emotional milestone, reflecting growing efforts to reclaim heritage taken during colonial rule. The restitution comes as France prepares new legislation to speed up the return of African artifacts, responding to mounting requests from former…
Intensified drone attacks on the new front line of Sudan’s civil war have led to mass civilian casualties in recent weeks and are increasingly shaping the course of the conflict. The epicentre of the fighting has shifted to the south-central Kordofan region since both sides consolidated their gains in the other main battlefields of this nearly three-year war. The conflict between the Sudanese regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has become one of the deadliest in Africa for civilians and shows no sign of abating despite US-led peace efforts. The near-daily drone strikes have hit targets including…
CANEX Creations Inc. (CCInc), the intellectual property investment subsidiary backed by Afreximbank’s Fund for Export Development in Africa (FEDA), announced its investment in the feature film Clarissa, a Nigerian-produced drama directed by twin filmmakers Arie and Chuko Esiri. The film has been acquired for worldwide distribution by NEON, which will oversee theatrical release in the […] Congo Presidential Election 2026 Africa24 Group Provides Comprehensive Coverage The Republic of Congo will hold its presidential election on March 15, 2026, a vote that represents a significant milestone in strengthening democratic governance, political dialogue, and institutional stability in the country. Discover Congo: https://apo-opa.co/4kPdZqw…
By Rédaction Africanews with AP US President Donald Trump has wrapped up his State of the Union address, promising “our future will be bigger, better, brighter, bolder, and more glorious than ever before.” Trump’s 108-minute speech broke his own record for longest presidential address to Congress. The prior record was his own 100-minute speech last year. President Donald Trump and his administration have been talking about fraud for months in several government programs, saying it’s far worse than previous government reports have found. It has not detailed data showing that to be the case. Trump also blasted Somali involvement in…
Senegal’s Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko has introduced legislation that could double the maximum penalty for same-sex relations, making them punishable by up to 10 years in prison. The proposal was sent to parliament on Tuesday after cabinet approval last week, after a wave of arrests over alleged same-sex relationships, already banned under Senegal law. Addressing lawmakers, Sonko said the bill would punish what it describes as “acts against nature” with prison sentences ranging from five to 10 years, compared with the current one- to five-year terms. “If an act is committed with a minor, it will attract the maximum penalty,”…
By AFP A Senegalese public prosecutor claimed on Tuesday that a student, who protesters have said was killed by the police, in fact died after “jumping from the fourth floor.” The death of medical student Abdoulaye Ba in unclear circumstances on February 9 as police intervened on his university campus in the capital Dakar following several days of student demonstrations has shaken the west African nation. His autopsy report lists several injuries to the chest and skull “complicated by massive internal bleeding,” which the coroner said ruled out “an isolated natural cause.” The students’ collective at the Cheikh Anta Diop…
By AFP France and Algeria agreed on Tuesday to restart security cooperation during a visit to Algiers by French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez, marking the first sign of a thaw in diplomatic ties. After meeting with President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, Nuñez said both sides had agreed to “reactivate a high-level security cooperation mechanism.” The visit took place against a backdrop of thorny relations between France and its former colony, frayed since Paris in 2024 officially backed Moroccan sovereignty over the disputed Western Sahara region, where Algeria supports the pro-independence Polisario Front. Nuñez said Monday had been devoted to working sessions aimed…