Africa

French authorities have officially announced the withdrawal of French troops of Operation Barkhane from Mali, where they had been fighting jihadists since 2013. According to Élysée officials, it is downright impossible for France to continue its anti-terrorist deployment in Mali, due to the growing hostility of the military authorities in …

Gunmen have shot dead at least eight people and 51 cows at a new cattle market in the south-eastern Nigerian state of Abia, local media reported. Regional police spokesperson Geoffrey Ogbonna told the BBC that a number of people had also been wounded while shops and the market’s fence had …

Authorities in Zimbabwe have announced the reopening of the country’s borders to people who have fully been vaccinated against covid-19 or tested negative for coronavirus. The reopening follows a drop in the southern African nation’s daily infection rates. Only lorries and trucks carrying essential cargo into the landlocked country – …

At least five people have been killed and more than 16 others injured during attacks by al-Shabab Islamist militants on the outskirts of Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu. Police say the early morning attacks targeted police stations and security checkpoints. Al-Shabab spokesman, Abdiasis Abu Musab, said the fighters hit government targets in …

Burkina Faso’s coup leader Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba is ready to be sworn in as the country’s president, just over two weeks after the overthrow of President Roch Kaboré. Last week, the Constitutional Council, after taking note of Mr. Kaboré’s resignation, declared Mr. Damiba president of Burkina Faso. State television says …

US State Department spokesman Ned Price has welcomed the lifting of the state of emergency in Ethiopia and called on authorities for the release of detainees. According to the spokesperson, the lifting of the state of emergency was “another important step” by the Ethiopian government paving the way “for a …

A South African judge on Wednesday rejected a bid by former president Jacob Zuma to appeal an earlier ruling rejecting his attempt to have the prosecutor in his arms deal corruption trial taken off the case for alleged bias, Reuters reports. “The application for leave to appeal and all related …

Several police stations and security checkpoints in Mogadishu, the Somali capital, were attacked early on Wednesday, officials and militants said. It comes as the nation prepares for a much-delayed presidential election. Internal Security Minister Abdullahi Nor accused Al Shabaab militants of carrying out the attack. Al-Shabab spokesman, Abdiasis Abu Musab, …

The Tanzanian president has announced that the country plans to produce its own vaccine against coronavirus and other diseases in the country. During a visit to European Union Council President Charles Michel in Brussels, Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan said the country was also aiming to export vaccines to countries …

Kenyan education minister says gay students infringing on the rights of other learners should not be allowed to attend boarding schools. Prof George Magoha advised instead that the gay students “moving from one bed to another” should be admitted to day schools. He said that while he had nothing against …