Africa

Hundreds of shops and stalls have been completely burnt in an overnight at a market in the Nigerian capital, Abuja. One person sleeping in the market was burnt to death in the incident at the Tippa Garage Market in the Gwarinpa district. Assorted goods including food, building materials and clothing …

Dozens of Islamist Boko Haram militants have been killed by Nigerian soldiers in a major operation the north-east of the country. Troops stormed the jihadists’ strongholds in Kidari, Argude, Takwala, Chowalta and Galdekore, local media reports. The soldiers are said to have gained access into the notorious Timbuktu Triangle in …

Sixteen African countries have shown interest in securing Covid-19 vaccines under an African Union (AU) initiative and the aim is to deliver allocations in the next three weeks, Reuters news agency quotes the the head of a continental disease control body as saying. However, John Nkengasong, director of the AU’s …

The trial in Algeria of a group accused of decapitating a French mountain guide, which was due to start on Thursday in Algiers, has been put back to 18 February. The trial in the murder case of Frenchman Hervé Gourdel, has been postponed to February 18. Fourteen people are facing …

Ugandans in Gulu city watched the live stream of the trial of former rebel commander Dominic Ongwen. They gathered at three separate venues with the hall at St Monica Girls Technical School fully packed with mostly women following the proceedings translated to their local Acholi language. The ICC office in …

The International Criminal Court (ICC) is set to deliver its verdict in the trial of Dominic Ongwen, a former child soldier turned rebel commander; he is accused on 70 counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes. Mr Ongwen, a feared commander of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), is the …

After a string of moves to break Joseph Kabila’s grip on the legislature, lawmakers in the Democratic Republic of Congo elected a speaker loyal to President Felix Tshisekedi Wednesday. Christophe Mboso‘s appointment comes three weeks after a pro-Kabila appointee was voted out. Almost 400 of the 500 members supported Christophe …

According to media outlets in both countries, Ugandan activist Stella Nyanzi has fled to neighbouring Kenya to seek asylum citing political persecution. As reported by the Nation Africa website, the activist says her children had been trailed by the police and “abductions and detentions of political actors were getting closer” …

A drug that shields women from HIV. Sounds good, right? Despite advances in treatment and prevention, HIV is still rampant across parts of the continent. In east and southern Africa, more than 20 million people are living with the virus. Young women are particularly at risk: they’re twice as likely …

Nine troops were killed in Mali’s troubled central region early Wednesday when their camp came under attack from jihadists, security sources said. Their position at Boni, located between Douentza and Hombori in the Mopti region, was attacked by “heavily armed individuals in armoured vehicles,” one source said, speaking on condition …