Africa

Somalia’s drought killed 43,000 last year, half under five

Somalia's ongoing record drought killed as many as 43,000 people last year, half of them children under 5, researchers said on Monday in the first attempt to estimate country-wide deaths.…

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Tunisian president’s supporters rally against ‘traitors’

TUNIS, March 20 (Reuters) - Several hundred supporters of President Kais Saied rallied in Tunis on Monday to show their support for him after a crackdown on opponents accused of…

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South Africa braces for nationwide protests

JOHANNESBURG, March 20 (Reuters) - South African security forces said on Monday that 87 people had been arrested in the last 12 hours across the country over public violence ahead…

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China warns against travelling out of Central African Republic capital after killings

BEIJING, March 20 (Reuters) - China's embassy in the Central African Republic has urged its citizens to avoid travelling outside the capital, Bangui, after a report that nine Chinese nationals…

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Italy pushing IMF to help Tunisia and avoid instability, minister says

Italy fears migrant influx from Tunisia set to grow Rome says IMF loan needed to help stabilise Tunisia Mainly sub-Saharan Africans fleeing Tunisia for now By Crispian Balmer ROME, March…

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Egypt hosts Israeli-Palestinian talks in push for pre-Ramadan calm

CAIRO, March 19 (Reuters) - Egypt hosts Israeli and Palestinian officials on Sunday in the resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh in a U.S. and Jordanian backed effort to calm a…

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UK interior minister visits Rwanda to expand deportation plan

By Philbert Girinema KIGALI (Reuters) - British interior minister Suella Braverman visited Rwanda on Saturday to expand a deal under which the east African country will accept migrants who arrive…

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Vaccine-derived poliovirus detected in Burundi, Congo

JOHANNESBURG/LONDON, (Reuters) - Health officials in Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have detected cases of vaccine-derived poliovirus, the World Health Organization and Global Polio Eradication Initiative said.…

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Tunisian president names one of his staunchest supporters as interior minister

TUNIS, March 17 (Reuters) - Tunisian President Kais Saied named Kamal Feki, the former governor of Tunis, as his new interior minister on Friday, just hours after Taoufik Charfeddine resigned from the…

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Morocco to spend $580 mln to attract more tourists

RABAT, March 17 (Reuters) - Morocco plans to spend 6.1 billion dirhams ($580 mln) up to 2026 to develop its tourism sector in order to attract more visitors and bring…

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Survivors in shock as Cyclone Freddy toll passes 400 in Malawi, Mozambique

BLANTYRE, (Reuters) - The last thing Lukia Akimu remembers is the surge of floodwater that hit her village near Mount Soche this week when Tropical Cyclone Freddy tore through southern…

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Blinken brings U.S. aid to Sahel for fight against Islamist insurgencies

NIAMEY (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced $150 million in new humanitarian aid for Africa's Sahel region during a visit on Thursday to Niger, a country Washington…

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Eastern Libya forces say they have found missing uranium

BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) - Eastern Libyan forces said that 10 drums of uranium declared missing by the U.N. nuclear watchdog had been found near the warehouse they were taken from…

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U.S. military conducts first maritime drills with West African forces

SOGAKOPE, Ghana, March 16 (Reuters) - The West African troops silently pulled their small boats up to a rust-stained ferry and swarmed up its sides on grappling hooks to disarm…

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IAEA tells member states tons of uranium missing from Libyan site

VIENNA (Reuters) - U.N. nuclear watchdog inspectors have found that roughly 2.5 tons of natural uranium have gone missing from a Libyan site that is not under government control, the…

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Malawi, Mozambique race to rescue survivors as cyclone toll rises above 270

By Frank Phiri and Manuel Mucari BLANTYRE/MAPUTO, March 15 (Reuters) - Malawi and Mozambique were racing to rescue survivors from Tropical Cyclone Freddy on Wednesday as the death toll rose…

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New Tunisian parliament begins its first session

TUNIS, March 13 (Reuters) - Tunisia's new parliament, elected in December and January in a vote with a turnout of 11%, sat for the first time on Monday in a…

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Storm Freddy kills at least 11 in Malawi: police

BLANTYRE, Malawi, March 13 (Reuters) - At least 11 people have died in Malawi's Blantyre district and 16 more are missing in the destruction caused by tropical storm Freddy, police…

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Botswana intent on selling more diamonds without De Beers

By Brian Benza GABORONE, (Reuters) - Botswana will not drop its demand to sell a bigger share of the diamonds produced by its joint venture with De Beers, President Mokgweetsi…

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Uganda plans to start nuclear power generation by 2031

KAMPALA, March 9 (Reuters) - Uganda said it expects to start generating at least 1000 megawatts (MW) from nuclear power by 2031 as it moves to diversify its sources of…

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Record-breaking storm Freddy due to hit Mozambique again

JOHANNESBURG, March 10 (Reuters) - Tropical Storm Freddy is due to hit the coast of Southern Africa again on Saturday after killing at least 21 people in Mozambique and Madagascar…

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South African president to announce cabinet reshuffle on Monday

JOHANNESBURG, March 5 (Reuters) - South African President Cyril Ramaphosa will announce changes to the national executive at 7:00 p.m. (1700 GMT) on Monday, presidential spokesman Vincent Magwenya said on…

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Egypt non-oil activity contracts for 27th month as prices surge

CAIRO, March 5 (Reuters) - Egypt's non-oil private sector activity shrank for the 27th month in a row in February as surging inflation and obstacles to importing from abroad extended…

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Tunisian opposition defies protest ban with rally

TUNIS, March 5 (Reuters) - Hundreds of opposition supporters in Tunisia defied an official ban on their protest against the president on Sunday after some of their leaders were arrested,…

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Nigerian court extends old banknotes to Dec 31 amid cash shortage

By Camillus Eboh ABUJA, (Reuters) - Nigeria's Supreme Court this week ordered the central bank to extend until Dec. 31 the use of old banknotes, whose withdrawal from circulation became…

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Tunisian labour union starts major protests against president

TUNIS, March 4 (Reuters) - Tunisia's powerful UGTT labour union rallied in the capital on Saturday, mobilising thousands of supporters against President Kais Saied in a demonstration of its strength after his…

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Bola Tinubu: Who is Nigeria’s new president-elect?

By Tim Cocks Tinubu ran for outgoing president Buhari's party He won praise for improving dysfunctional Lagos Critics say he doles out plum jobs to loyalists Nigeria faces litany of…

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African migrants suffer under crackdown in Tunisia

By Angus Mcdowall TUNIS (Reuters) - Since Tunisia's president announced a crackdown on illegal immigration last week using language the African Union denounced as racialised, Malian construction worker Mohamed Kony…

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Libya council votes on measure needed for elections

TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Members of Libya's High State Council voted on Thursday for a constitutional amendment intended to provide a basis for national elections, but the vote's validity was disputed.…

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UPDATED: Scientists discover corridor in Great Pyramid of Giza

CAIRO, March 2 (Reuters) - A hidden corridor nine metres (30 feet) long has been discovered close to the main entrance of the 4,500-year-old Great Pyramid of Giza, and this…

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Egypt to use daylight saving time again in a bid to save energy

Egypt will again use daylight saving time this summer after a seven-year gap, the cabinet said on Wednesday, the latest in a series of government efforts to save energy. Last…

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France’s Macron calls Wagner Group ‘life insurance of failing regimes’ in Africa

French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday described the Russian mercenary Wagner Group as the "life insurance of failing regimes in Africa", in comments made before he visits the continent. He said that…

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Tinubu ahead in Nigeria election as opposition parties reject vote

ABUJA, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Nigeria's ruling party candidate Bola Tinubu was ahead in the vote count after Saturday's presidential poll, a Reuters tally of provisional results in 15 of 36 states…

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Egyptians lean on instalment payments to cope with inflation

By Sarah El Safty and Mariam Rizk CAIRO (Reuters) - Ahmed Ramadan, a 44-year-old father of three, started using instalment payment services eight months ago after feeling the sting of…

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Nigerians wait to finish voting in some places as election count underway

By Tife Owolabi YENAGOA, Nigeria, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Nigerians gathered to vote on Sunday in a few parts of the country where technical and other glitches prevented a national election from…

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Morocco says removal from financial watchlist will help ratings

RABAT (Reuters) - The Financial Action Task Force's decision this week to remove Morocco from its "grey list" of countries under special scrutiny will help Rabat's position in talks with…

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Tunisia’s Saied denies racism but repeats view that migration is a plot

The Tunisian president this week repeated his assertion that an increase of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa was part of a conspiracy to change Tunisia's demographics and denied criticism by rights…

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What is Marburg virus and should we be worried?

An epidemic outbreak of Marburg virus in Equatorial Guinea, Central Africa, was confirmed this week, the first time the virus has occurred there. At least 16 cases have been detected,…

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Tunisian police arrest prominent critic of president, two detained politicians, a businessman imprisioned

TUNIS, Feb 25 (Reuters) - Tunisian police on Friday arrested Ghazi Chaouachi, the prominent critic of President Kais Saied, Ghazi's son said, the latest arrest targeting the president's opponents. About…

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Nigeria election 2023: what you need to know and what’s at stake

LAGOS (Reuters) - Voters in Africa's biggest economy and most populous nation head to the polls on Saturday to elect a new president and lawmakers, in what is set to…

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Financial crime watchdog adds South Africa, Nigeria to “grey list”

PARIS/JOHANNESBURG, Feb 24 (Reuters) - International financial crime watchdog the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on Friday said it was adding South Africa and Nigeria to its so-called "grey list"…

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Morocco’s inflation jumps 8.9% in January as food prices soar

RABAT, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Morocco's consumer price index rose by 8.9% year-on-year in January, driven mainly by a surge in food prices, the high commission for planning said on…

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UPDATED: Russia will not fire hypersonic missile at S.Africa naval exercise

JOHANNESBURG, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Russia will not fire its new generation "Zircon" hypersonic missile during a joint naval exercise with South Africa and China, a senior Russian naval officer…

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Tunisian president says influx of irregular migrants to Tunisia must quickly be ended

TUNIS (Reuters) - Tunisia's President Kais Saied denounced undocumented sub-Saharan African immigration to his country on Tuesday, saying in comments criticised by rights groups that it was aimed at Tunisia's…

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Tunisian police summon opposition leader for questioning

TUNIS, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Tunisian police have summoned the head of the biggest opposition party for questioning, the party said, after arrests this month that targeted critics of President…

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Tunisia expels European Trade Union chief for ‘interference’

Esther Lynch, who is Irish, has been expelled from Tunisia for participating in a protest organized by the country's trade union. Tunisia on Saturday expelled the head of the European Trade…

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Powerful Tunisian trade union defies president with mass protests

SFAX, Tunisia, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Thousands of members of Tunisia's powerful UGTT trade union took to the streets of eight cities on Saturday to protest against President Kais Saied's policies, accusing…

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South Africa’s naval exercise with Russia, China raises Western alarm

S.Africa hosting 10-day exercise with Russia, China Govt rejects criticism, says remains neutral on Ukraine Drills have raised alarm among important Western partners JOHANNESBURG, Feb 17 (Reuters) - South Africa…

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Turkish firms pledge investments in Egypt as relations thaw

CAIRO, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Turkish companies have committed to $500 million in new investments in Egypt after a visiting business delegation met the prime minister for the first time…

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U.S. raises concern over arrests of prominent critics in Tunisia

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) - The United States was "deeply concerned" by the reported arrests of political figures, business leaders and journalists in Tunisia in recent days, U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned…

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Libya aims to increase oil production to 2 mln bpd, NOC says

CAIRO, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) will increase oil production to 2 million barrels per day (bpd), the company said in a statement on Wednesday. The…

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At least 73 migrants presumed dead after shipwreck off Libyan coast – IOM

DUBAI, Feb 15 (Reuters) - At least 73 migrants were reported missing and presumed dead following a shipwreck off the Libyan coast on Feb. 14, the official account of International…

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Cameroon detects two suspected cases of Marburg virus near Eq. Guinea

YAOUNDE/GENEVA (Reuters) - Cameroonian authorities detected two suspected cases of Marburg disease this week in Olamze, a commune on the border with Equatorial Guinea, the public health delegate for the…

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Botswana warns of dangers in dash for African minerals

(Reuters) - African governments must be wary of the risks created by rising global competition for the continent's minerals, Botswana's mines minister said, as world powers seek new sources of…

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Africa witnessing exponential rise in cholera cases

Africa is witnessing an exponential rise in cholera cases and is on course to have its worst year with the infectious disease for a decade. Ten African countries are facing…

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World Bank lends Tunisia $120 mln to finance small and medium firms

TUNIS, Feb 9 (Reuters) - The World Bank has approved a $120 million loan for Tunisia to support access to finance for Tunisian small and medium enterprises, the bank said…

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Rhino, elephant numbers rising in Uganda after years of poaching – agency

KAMPALA, Feb 9 (Reuters) - The number of endangered elephants, rhinos and other animals in Uganda's reserves is steadily improving, reversing years of declines caused by poachers, traffickers and conflict,…

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