Politics

Authorities in the US have announced sanctions against three top Malian officials said to be co-ordinating the spread of Russian private military firm Wagner in the West African country. They are Mali’s defence minister, air force chief and the deputy chief of staff, says US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. …

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a new law on Monday July 24 banning sex change operations, local media reported. The text prohibits “any medical intervention” for gender reassignments, including surgical operations and hormonal therapies. Changing the gender designation in identity documents will also be prohibited. The bill had passed …

Ghana’s former Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources Cecilia Dapaah has been arrested by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) after the reported theft of $1m (£780,000) cash from her house. According to the OSP, the former minister was placed under house arrest on Sunday 22 July on “suspected …

At least 80,000 people have been displaced over the past three months in central Nigeria, the scene of bloody inter-communal violence where the army has sent reinforcements, a local official said. Northwestern and central Nigeria are regularly the scene of tensions and deadly conflicts around the exploitation of land and …

Ghana’s president Nana Akufo-Addo has accepted the resignation of Sanitation and Water Resources Minister, Cecilia Abena Dapaah, following public outcry over huge sums of money discovered at her home in the capital city, Accra, local media reported. Two domestic staff there have been accused of stealing and stashing more than …

Russian President Vladimir Putin says his country is capable of replacing exports of grain to Africa from Ukraine after he withdrew from a deal allowing their safe shipment across the Black Sea. Kremlin said in a statement that Moscow could provide the grain on a commercial and free-of charge basis. …

France can grant refugee status to Russian soldiers who refused to fight in Ukraine, according to the doctrine adopted by the National Court for the Right of Asylum (CNDA) on Thursday, which however rejected the request of a Russian citizen, whose elements were deemed insufficient. “Russians fleeing mobilization for the …

A teachers’ union in Nigeria said its members will only work two days a week, unless the government addresses the rising cost of living, the BBC reported. The Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union – the third largest in Nigeria – is demanding a 200% rise in salaries to meet …

Egypt’s president Abdel Fattah al-Sissi has pardoned jailed rights activist Patrick Zaki and lawyer Mohammed al-Baqer, state media reported. The news comes a day after an emergency court found Mr Zaki guilty of “spreading false news” and sentenced him to three years in prison. The judgement, based on an article …

Russia’s private military company Wagner boss, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has told Afrique Media TV that his mercenaries will continue working in African countries where they are present. “We continue to work in all the countries where we started or are now doing this work of co-operation and development,” he said in …