U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin welcomed Kenyan President William Ruto to the Pentagon for bilateral talks ahead of expected travel to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for a medical procedure Friday. Austin continues to deal with bladder issues that arose following his treatment for prostate cancer late last year. The Pentagon...

The daily struggle starts early in Hammanskraal. By 8.30 a.m. there's a queue of South Africans waiting to fill buckets with drinking water from a tank provided by an aid agency. This is not a distant, rural community, but a settlement on the edge of the capital city of Africa's most advanced economy. It's barely 30 miles from the government buildi...

Chad's prime minister and opposition leader Succes Masra has resigned following the confirmation of interim President Mahamat Idriss Deby as the winner of the May 6 presidential election. "In accordance with the constitution, I have today presented... my resignation and that of the transitional government, which has become irrelevant with the end o...

 Haiti's main international airport reopened Monday for the first time in nearly three months after relentless gang violence forced authorities to close it to all traffic in early March. The reopening of the Toussaint-Louverture airport in the capital of Port-au-Prince is expected to help ease a critical shortage of medications and other basic...

In the coastal town of El Amra, Tunisia, migrants from sub-Saharan Africa are asking to be let go in order to reach Europe as tensions mount in the country over the government's handling of the migrant crisis. Far from the main roads, in local olive groves, migrant encampments stand as testament to the struggles faced by the many dreaming of a bett...

 Former South African President Jacob Zuma on Saturday lamented the high levels of poverty amongst Black South Africans and promised to create jobs and tackle the scourge of crime as he launched his new political party's manifesto ahead of the country's much anticipated elections. He told thousands of supporters who gathered at Orlando Stadium...

 The anticipatory actions put in place over the last two years by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to mitigate the extreme weather events caused by El Niño in 23 countries have protected the food security and livelihoods of over 1.6 million people. Declared in July 2023 and projected to last until mid-2024, the...

 On Thursday, May 16, the Constitutional Council of Chad confirmed Mahamat Idriss Déby as the country's president with 61% of the vote, far ahead of his rivals Succès Masra and Albert Pahimi Padacké. Mahamat Idriss Déby was declared the winner after the Council reviewed and reaffirmed vote counts, despite minor adjustments. Déby won with 61.03...

 South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa on Wednesday signed a controversial National Health Insurance bill into law, just two weeks ahead of a highly-contested general election. His ruling African National Congress is widely expected to lose its majority in parliament in the vote, for the first time since the end of apartheid. The new law ai...

 Switzerland's top criminal court on Wednesday convicted a former interior minister of Gambia for crimes against humanity over his role in repression committed by the West African country's security forces under its longtime dictator, a legal advocacy group said. 20-Year sentence for Ousman Sonko Ousman Sonko, Gambia's interior minister from 2...

 Chad's opposition leader says he has filed an appeal with the country's constitutional council to challenge the preliminary results of the May 6 presidential election. In social media posts Sunday, Succès Masra shared a copy of a receipt showing that documents had been filed with the council. The election's preliminary results showed Presiden...

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry met with his Slovenian counterpart Tanja Fajon in Cairo on Sunday to discuss the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. At a news briefing after their meeting, both ministers called for a cease-fire and the release of all hostages. "We want to see that there is a progress in the talks for the agreement in Cairo, for the c...

 The Chinese-built Ethiopia-Djibouti Railway on Friday celebrated its achievements in six years of commercial operation, with China officially ending its operational and maintenance services for the line. At a ceremony in Addis Ababa, the Chinese team announced the conclusion of its participation in the railway's operation and maintenance. The...

 The first-ever UN civil society conference held in Africa wrapped up in Nairobi on Friday (10 May)hearing calls for "bold and honest" conversations among governments and civil society to drive forward shared vision for reinvigorated multilateralism, a better world and a brighter future for all. At the closing session of the 2024 United Nation...

They sing, with their voices rising above the gunfire erupting miles away as the frantic drumbeats drown out their troubles. On a recent afternoon, hundreds of Vodou practioners gathered In a small church to celebrate St. George, a Christian martyr believed to be a Roman soldier who is revered by Catholics and Vodouists alike. They offered him mone...

 Niger is currently facing a rapid increase in the number of meningitis cases compared to teh same period last year. By mid-April, the country recorded 2012 cases with 123 deaths according to World health organization. Last year, when 1,389 cases were recorded, with 72 deaths in the first 16 weeks of the year. By the end the April 143 deaths w...

 Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov recently hosted his counterpart from Sierra Leone, Timothy Kabba, in Moscow for discussions aimed at enhancing bilateral ties. During the meeting, Kabba extended congratulations to Russian President Vladimir Putin on his reelection victory and subsequent inauguration. "Today I am very pleased to be here ...

 Opposition figures and activists in Nigeria have called for the release of Daniel Ojukwu, a journalist associated with the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ). Ojukwu was detained last Wednesday in Lagos by the Nigerian police, who accused him of violating the nation's cybercrime laws. Local reports on Sunday say he was subsequently...

 Togo's ruling Union for the Republic party (UNIR) has won a sweeping majority in the country's legislative elections held on 29 April. Provisional results published late Saturday by the electoral commission showed it had won 108 out of the 113 seats in parliament. Voting took place against the backdrop of heightened political tension followin...

Heavy rains and strong winds have caused damage and more flooding as Cyclone Hidaya lashed Tanzania over the weekend. A major blackout hit most of the country on Saturday as it braced for the tropical cyclone which came following weeks of flooding in the region which has left over 150 people dead. Ferry services between Tanzania's commercial hub, D...