By Agencies Congo-Brazzaville’s 82-year-old President Denis Sassou Nguesso says he is preparing the ground for a new generation of leaders as he seeks re-election in the March 15 presidential poll. In an interview in the southern city of Dolisie, Sassou Nguesso said the current leadership is laying the foundations for young people to eventually take over. “We want young people to understand that all the work we are doing is also to prepare the conditions for their arrival, because we will not remain in power forever and their turn will come,” he said. “We were young as well, like them.…
Author: Montage Africa
By Rédaction Africanews with AFP Amid growing concern among European leaders about wavering US commitments to help defend the continent, France said it will increase the size of nuclear arsenal for the first time in decades. Speaking at a submarine base in Brittany on Monday, President Emmanuel Macron said faced with geopolitical upheaval “fraught with risks”, it will also intensify nuclear weapons cooperation with eight European allies. Macron added that France will no longer disclose figures relating to its nuclear arsenal, unlike what may have been done in the past. “So, to be free, one must be feared, and to…
By Africanews Large crowds of Iranian people gathered at Tehran’s Enqelab Square on Sunday morning to mourn Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in U.S.-Israeli attacks on Saturday. The Iranian government announced a 40-day mourning period after the country’s state media confirmed the leader’s death on Sunday. Several Iranian senior officials, including Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Abdolrahim Mousavi, Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh, Secretary of the Defense Council Ali Shamkhani, and Mohammad Pakpour, chief commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, were also killed in the strike. The mourners, some crying, were in grief and…
US actor Michael B Jordan has scored a surprise win at the Actor Awards, formerly known as the Screen Actors Guild Awards, giving him a surge of momentum in the final weeks before the Oscars. He was named best actor for his role in vampire horror Sinners, which also scored the top prize of the night – best ensemble cast. “I don’t even know where to begin, I wasn’t expecting this at all,” Jordan said in his speech, adding that he felt “so honoured and privileged” to have been nominated. Accepting the best ensemble prize, his co-star Delroy Lindo said…
Paul Battison Kenya’s Brigid Kosgei set a new course record with a commanding victory at the Tokyo Marathon. The 32-year-old finished in 2:14:29 – more than two minutes ahead of Ethiopia’s Bertukan Welde, who was second in 2:16:36. Welde’s Ethiopian compatriot Hawi Feysa came third in 2:17:39. The previous course record was 2:15:55 – set by two-time Tokyo winner Sutume Asefa Kebede in 2024. Kosgei, who won marathon silver for Kenya at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, is planning to represent Turkey at the 2028 Los Angeles Games. “We have a lot of athletes in Kenya,” said Kosgei. “I want…
At least 55 Ghanaians have been killed fighting in the war in Ukraine, with two others currently held as prisoners of war, Ghana’s foreign affairs minister says. On a trip to Kyiv, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa said that about 272 Ghanaians are believed to have been lured into the conflict since 2022, citing Ukrainian authorities. Ablakwa described the figures as “depressing and frightening,” saying Ghana “cannot turn a blind eye to these heartbreaking statistics”. He did not say whose side the Ghanaians had been fighting on but Ukraine’s foreign minister said on Wednesday that more than 1,700 people from 36 countries…
By Africanews with AFP Belgium’s special forces boarded and seized an oil tanker from the “shadow fleet” Russia uses to circumvent Western sanctions over the war in Ukraine, in an overnight operation announced Sunday. The Belgian government said the “vessel from Russia’s shadow fleet” was intercepted in the North Sea, with aerial support from French military helicopters. Defence Minister Theo Francken said the tanker was escorted to the port of Zeebrugge after being intercepted in Belgium’s exclusive economic zone. Prosecutors identified the ship, which was said to be on its way back to Russia, as the “Ethera”. A spokeswoman for…
By Africanews with AP The head of Haiti’s National Police told The Associated Press on Friday that authorities are still working on a plan to safely hold general elections this year as promised by the government despite persistent gang violence. André Jonas Vladimir Paraison, who became the department’s interim head in August 2025, said he could not provide more details but would release more information soon. “We ourselves play our part, putting ourselves at the forefront where situations become heated, to see if we can contain what we can cover up or what we must clean up, and allow Haiti…
By Africanews with Malaika Élysée For years, the Amani Festival has come to define Goma’s cultural scene. But not this year. The emblematic event has found a new, temporary home. Due to insecurity, the 11th edition of Amani festival will be held in Lubumbashi, southern DR Congo from April 10 to 12, 2026. “We are aware that there are several constraints the festival would face if it were organized in Goma, notably cancellations by artists who cannot travel to a zone that is not under Kinshasa’s control. So we believe this is among the reasons why the festival has been…
By Rédaction Africanews and Agencies The intensifying military action in the Middle East will have serious consequences for Africa, the West African economic community ECOWAS has said in a statement. ECOWAS joins the African Union in expressing deep concern over the conflict, which began when Israel and the United States launched strikes against Iran early on Saturday. The ensuing instability will impact global energy markets, trade and food supply chains, especially for Africa and other vulnerable regions, ECOWAS said. Senegal’s Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko has also warned of serious economic disruptions for the African continent. With 30 to 40 percent…