Category archives for: top stories

Mpox outbreak declared a public health emergency in Africa

The viral disease has swept through a number of African countries, particularly the Democratic Republic of Congo. The EU said it would donate than 175,000 vaccine shots to the continent’s top health body. The African Union’s health authority has declared a public health emergency over an mpox outbreak on the continent. “With a heavy heart […]

In Uganda’s chaotic capital, boda-boda motorcycle taxis are a source of life and death

RODNEY MUHUMUZA The young men perched on motorcycles looked dazed in the morning heat. But at the sight of a potential passenger, they furiously kick-started their machines and tried to outrace each other for the business. For tens of thousands of men in Uganda’s capital, Kampala, this is how to make a living. For others, […]

Catholic bishops in Nigeria condemn liturgical abuses, call for immediate reforms

JUDE ATEMANKE Members of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) have strongly condemned abuses during liturgical celebrations in the west African nation, urging priests and bishops to take “immediate action” to restore the dignity and sanctity of worship. In a statement issued on Aug. 15, the solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin […]

Ethiopia conflicts trigger surge in rape and violence against women

‘When the war stopped, a new one started on women.’ MAYA MISIKIR Earlier this year, hundreds of women took to the streets of the northern Tigrayan city of Mekelle to protest the growing violence women are facing across the region – two years after the end of the civil war. The spark was the murder […]

France honors WWII colonial troops massacred by French army in Senegal

France has made a key gesture of remembrance for the dozens of African troops shot dead on French army orders at the Thiaroye camp in Senegal during World War II. This comes as Paris seeks to ease tensions with former colonies over how their joint history is remembered. On 1 December 1944, colonial troops and […]

Benin Opens Door to Nationality for Slave Descendants

JOSUE MEHOUENOU Lilith Dorsey is an American citizen living in New Orleans, but it is in Benin that she could end her days to “feel closer to her homeland”. In the coming months, the author, dancer and filmmaker aims to take advantage of a new law in the West African state granting Beninese nationality to […]

The Legendary Kwasi Akuffo, King of Akuapem, Gold Coast (Ghana)

KOFI AYIM It is possible to say that the loss of power and prestige of the paramount chief in Akuapem today as compared with the Akwamuhene or the Okyenhene in Akyem Abuakwa is due more to the work of the Basel Mission Society than to any other single factor. -M.A. Kwamena-Poh, Government and Politics in […]

High cost of living bites hard

OLISA CHUKWUMAH, BEN SHEMANG, & ISAAC KALEDZI The worst economic crisis in decades in Nigeria has citizens sacrificing to make ends meet. Economic reforms are on the cards, but for now, medicines, food and other basic commodities are priced beyond the reach of many. Toyin Ogundeko, a resident of Lagos and a caterer by profession, […]

Heat wave worsening inflation, precarity

JULIEN ADAYE The economy in Ivory Coast has long been under pressure from regional security threats and predatory markets. Now, an acute heat wave is driving the prices for basic goods up even further. Gouro market is a popular spot right in the center of Abidjan, the economic capital of the Ivory Coast. It is […]

Tanzania pushing out Maasai to attract rich tourists

SIMONE SCHLINDWEIN Tanzania’s government is expanding its nature preserves, but in doing so, it is displacing Maasai herders from their ancestral lands. The plan is to attract more luxury tourism — and Berlin is a major backer. Life is becoming ever more difficult for Tanzania’s ethnic Maasai, as a representative for the group’s women told […]

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