Africa - Page 11

The results of the South African experiment are in, and they are conclusive: democratic socialism has failed, at least in a diverse society with a recent history of conflict.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni responded to criticism of his country’s draconian new laws against same-sex relationships by urging other African leaders to join him in resisting “the promotion of homosexuality.”

The Premium Times of Nigeria reported on Monday that a panel investigating human rights violations in the insurgent-plagued northeast has heard testimony from 50 witnesses on abuses perpetrated by the Nigerian military, including mass abortions and the murder of children.

Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the son of Ugandan strongman President Yoweri Museveni and a general in the Ugandan Army, said on Thursday that his country would send troops to defend Moscow if the Western world goes to war against Russia.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has urged travelers to Tanzania to take precautions after an outbreak of the Marburg virus. 

Former South African sprinter Oscar Pistorius, who was convicted of murdering model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in 2013, was denied parole.

China’s state-run Global Times on Monday mocked the Biden administration for trying to compete with China for the affections of Africa by spending a fraction of the money Beijing has invested in the continent.

A former general has called on the EU to act militarily in Africa, blaming PMC Wagner Group for the current wave of illegal immigrants. 

Vice President Kamala Harris visited Ghana on Monday. She praised the “democratic principles” of President Nana Akufo-Addo and pledged $139 million in assistance for the coming fiscal year, plus a share of various regional initiatives, including economic support and counter-terrorism programs.

An in-depth genetic study of the German composer’s DNA has dispelled longstanding myths and claims the composer had African roots.

The World Health Organization (W.H.O.) said on Thursday that eight new cases of the deadly Marburg disease have been reported in Equatorial Guinea, bringing the total of confirmed and probable cases to 20 since the mysterious outbreak began in February. Tanzania surprisingly reported five deaths this week in that country’s first known Marburg infections.

Ethiopia issued an incensed and lengthy statement on Tuesday condemning the U.S. State Department and Secretary of State Antony Blinken in particular for determining that it had committed war crimes and crimes against humanity during its recent civil war.

Uganda’s parliament passed a bill criminalizing homosexuality on Tuesday, with 387 out of 389 legislators voting in favor. The bill stipulates the death penalty for defendants who commit acts of “aggravated homosexuality.”

Britain’s Home Secretary has said boat migrants who may be removed from Britain and resettled in Rwanda should think of the arrangements as a “blessing”, infuriating anti-borders activists and politicians.

A crew of as-yet unidentified gunmen attacked a Chinese-operated gold mine in the Central African Republic (CAR) on Sunday, killing nine Chinese nationals and injuring two more.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken lamented in remarks to Ethiopian press this week that America was “insufficiently vocal” about past human rights abuses in the country, appearing to apologize for the events that preceded the 2020 civil war in that country.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United Nations nuclear watchdog group, confirmed on Wednesday that its inspectors had discovered the disappearance of ten drums of “natural uranium,” totaling about 2.5 tons, from lawless Libya.

The implosion of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) is sending shockwaves around the world, reaching all the way to Africa, where fragile tech startups are worried that more banks will fail, destroying their supply of much-needed venture capital.

Mohamed Farrara Lashtar, the nephew of late Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi, has established himself as one of the most trusted top officials in the repressive Sandinista regime of Nicaraguan dictator Daniel Ortega, an extensive profile in the country’s Confidencial news outlet revealed on Monday.

South African rapper Costa Titch, whose real name was Constantinos Tsobanoglou, has died at the age of 28 after collapsing onstage while performing at a Johannesburg music festival on Saturday. No cause of death was announced.

An Africa-born French customs official alleged to have recently bought a huge home in his native Senegal is one of a dozen arrested as part of a cocaine trafficking bust by police.

The 52nd session of the U.N. Human Rights Council (UNHRC) convened this week — with 70 percent of the membership consisting of autocracies, dictatorships, and other non-democratic nations.

Israel on Wednesday slammed as “disgraceful” a vote taken by the South African parliament to downgrade ties with Jerusalem. “The symbolic resolution taken yesterday by the South African Parliament calling for the downgrading of relations between South Africa and Israel

The World Health Organization (W.H.O.) is still wrestling with a sexual abuse scandal stemming from its 2018-2019 mission to fight Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Oscar-winning actor Sir Michael Caine has panned an effort by a UK government program to label the 1964 film Zulu as “extremist” because it shows the victory of British soldiers against an African army in South Africa.

South Africa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC) party on Monday downplayed $826,000 in donations from United Manganese of Kalahari Ltd., a mining company partly owned by Russian businessman Viktor Vekselberg.

A Catholic priest has been murdered and then dumped on the roadside in Cameroon, Vatican News reported Wednesday.

Nigerian presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) led a march on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Monday to announce that he believes he is the true winner of the February 25 election. Third-party candidate Peter Obi likewise claimed that he was the true winner last week.

A hidden corridor was found recently inside the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt, thanks to researchers’ year-long effort.

Peter Obi, the third-party candidate for Nigeria’s presidency who seemed to hold a commanding lead in the polls but came in a distant third in last weekend’s balloting, announced Thursday that he will file a legal challenge against the results.

A 44-year-old Somali-Dane has been indicted by a Danish court for selling his 12-year-old daughter into sexual slavery in Kenya and Somalia and forcibly circumcising her.

French President Emmanuel Macron has announced that he will be reducing the number of French troops stationed in Africa while turning military bases into “academies”.

Failed Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams (D), who has denied American election results, is in Nigeria to serve as an international observer to the nation’s presidential election.

The national election commission of Nigeria declared Bola Tinubu, the 70-year-old former governor of Lagos nominated by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), the winner of this year’s presidential election on Wednesday.

Nigeria’s Catholic bishops have warned that the nation could plunge into “an avoidable crisis” if trust in the electoral process is not restored after this week’s dubious election.

Uganda is resisting international pro-gay propaganda by putting forward new legislation to protect its “cherished values and culture” according to Annet Anita Among, the speaker of the Ugandan parliament.