Africa

Anti-tax protesters storm Kenya’s parliament, drawing police fire as president vows to quash unrest

Thousands of protesters stormed Kenya’s parliament Tuesday to protest tax proposals, burning part of the building, sending lawmakers fleeing and drawing fire from police.

Here’s what led Kenyans to burn part of parliament and call for the president’s resignation

Expanding extremist groups in Africa fuel worries that they could attack the US or Western allies

South Sudan says its 6M antelope make up world’s largest land mammal migration, but poaching on rise

Kenyan police are leaving for a controversial deployment in Haiti to take on powerful, violent gangs

AFRICA PULSE

It’s hard to find treatment for snakebites in Kenya. Thousands of people are dying every year

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ZELIPHA KIROBI

In Burundi, shortages and power cuts slow a return from international isolation

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GASPARD MAHEBURWA

In South Africa, traditional healers join the fight against HIV. Stigma remains high in rural areas

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MOGOMOTSI MAGOME

Cooking and coughing: Respiratory diseases plague Kenya as more people burn wood to save money

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VIVIANNE WANDERA

At least 24 killed by flooding, landslides after days of heavy rains in Ivory Coast’s largest city

Flooding and landslides in Ivory Coast’s largest city of Abidjan have left more than 20 people dead following a week of heavy rains, four times the usual volume in some cases.

21 Nigerien soldiers killed in ambush by ‘terrorist group,’ ruling junta says

Niger’s ruling military junta says a “terrorist group” killed 21 Nigerien soldiers near the country’s border with Burkina Faso.

US struggles with shaky relations and troop cuts in African nations as military leaders meet

The forced U.S. troop withdrawals from bases in Niger and Chad and the potential to shift some troops to other nations in West Africa will be key issues as the top U.S. military officer meets with his counterparts at a conference.

More African nations focus on HPV vaccination against cervical cancer, but hesitancy remains

African countries have some of the world’s highest rates of cervical cancer. Growing efforts to vaccinate more young girls for the human papillomavirus are challenged by the kind of vaccine hesitancy seen for some other diseases.

1 killed in stampede as Rwanda’s Kagame begins campaign for reelection

Authorities in Rwanda say one person was killed in a stampede at a reelection rally for President Paul Kagame in a remote western area of the country.

Coup-hit Niger was betting on a China-backed oil pipeline as a lifeline. Then the troubles began

A pipeline project built with China’s support that would make Niger an oil-exporting country is being threatened by an internal security crisis and a diplomatic dispute with neighoring Benin.

It was meant to be a Christian utopia. Now this Nigerian community is helpless against rising seas

Buildings have sunk into the Atlantic Ocean, an increasingly common image along the vulnerable West African coast.

Ivory Coast sets up mobile enrollment for a health coverage program criticized over glitches

Ivory Coast health authorities have launched mobile enrollment centers for the country’s universal health coverage program.

International court unseals arrest warrant for Mali suspect accused of crimes in Timbuktu in 2012

The International Criminal Court has unsealed an arrest warrant for a Malian accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the desert city of Timbuktu in 2012-13, where he is suspected of leading an al-Qaida-linked Islamic extremist group.

Namibian court overturns and declares unconstitutional a law criminalizing gay sex between men

A law in Namibia criminalizing gay sex between men has been overturned and declared unconstitutional and illegal by a court, in a victory for LGBTQ campaigners in the southern African nation.

Floods in mostly arid Niger kill 21 people as rainy season just gets started

Heavy rains and floods killed 21 people and affected over 6,000 since the end of May, a public official announced on Thursday evening. 8 people died by drowning and 13 after their homes collapsed, the Director General of Civil Protection of Niger, Colonel Boubacar Bako, said on national television.

Niger revokes French company’s operating permit at major uranium mine

Nigerien military authorities have withdrawn the operating permit for a large uranium mine from the French company Orano.

US tourist killed in Zambia elephant attack, the second this year

Zambian officials say a U.S. tourist has been killed by an elephant in the city of Livingstone, the second such attack in the country this year.

Probe begins into police conduct during Kenya’s anti-government protests

Kenya’s police watchdog says it has begun an investigation into police conduct during protests against a government plan to impose new taxes.

AP Week in Pictures: Europe and Africa

June 13–19, 2024

Muslims celebrated Eid al-Adha in Istanbul, Turkey, French President Emmanuel Macron paid homage to World War II resistance fighters, and a group of Kurdish migrants failed in their attempt to reach the United Kingdom.

South Sudan’s vice president expresses concerns over ongoing peace talks

South Sudan’s vice president says peace talks in neighboring Kenya have failed to acknowledge the country’s peace agreement established in 2018, alleging a new draft agreement is aimed at replacing the original peace deal.

Macron and African leaders push for vaccines for Africa after COVID-19 exposed inequalities

French President Emmanuel Macron has joined African leaders to kick off a planned $1 billion project to accelerate the rollout of vaccines in Africa.

Some life-saving food assistance entered South Darfur, UN says, but aid groups say more is needed

South Darfur has seen a slight increase in critical aid since the UN’s World Food Program delivered life-saving food and nutrition to some families across the violence-riddled western Sudanese state.

Jihadis from Africa’s Sahel have crossed into Nigeria’s north, a new report says. A lot is at stake

A new report says there is mounting evidence that jihadi fighters who had long operated in Africa’s volatile Sahel region have settled in northwestern Nigeria after crossing from neighboring Benin.

Ramaphosa is sworn in for a second term as South Africa’s president with help from coalition parties

Cyril Ramaphosa has been sworn in for a second term as South Africa’s president in a ceremony in the administrative capital, Pretoria.

Sudan accuses UAE of fueling war with weapons to paramilitary rivals. UAE calls claim `ludicrous’

The Sudanese government is accusing the United Arab Emirates of fueling the 14-month war in the African country by providing weapons to a rival paramilitary force.

Haiti police meet Kenyan commanders ahead of deployment of UN-backed mission to fight gangs

A team of Haitian police commanders have met Kenya’s inspector general of police ahead of a planned deployment to the violence-hit Caribbean country expected to take place by the end of June.

More than 200 arrested in Kenya protests over proposed tax hikes in finance bill

Hundreds of protesters have been arrested in Kenyan capital Nairobi in ongoing protests against proposed tax hikes in a finance bill that is due to be tabled in parliament.

Central African Republic faces increased rebel activity and spillover from Sudan war, UN experts say

U.N. experts say activities of armed groups in the volatile Central African Republic have increased, complicating a security landscape that has seen a spillover of the conflict in neighboring Sudan.

Malawi’s vice president laid to rest as president calls for an independent probe into his death

Malawi Vice President Saulos Chilima has been laid to rest in his village south of the capital following a funeral where President Lazarus Chakwera called for an independent probe into his death in a plane crash.

For Senegalese fishermen, Eid al-Adha is now a source of anguish, not a joyful occasion

The upcoming holiday of Eid al-Adha should have been a joyful occasion for millions of Muslims in Senegal.

How South Africa’s rival parties ‘found each other’ in a last-ditch deal that saved a president

South Africa’s main political rivals are now partners in government after they came together in a last-ditch coalition deal that ensured President Cyril Ramaphosa was dramatically reelected with cross-party support.

Nigeria bets on a new $2.25B World Bank loan to support reforms that have resulted in hardship

The World Bank has approved a $2.25 billion loan for Nigeria to shore up revenue and back economic reforms that have contributed to the worst cost-of-living crisis in many years for Africa’s most populous country.

UN agencies urge Greece to shed light on migrant shipwreck that killed hundreds one year ago

The United Nations’ refugee and migration agencies are criticizing Greece’s failure over the past year to shed light on one of the worst migrant shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea that left hundreds dead.

Niger’s highest court lifts immunity of deposed President Mohamed Bazoum

The highest court in Niger lifted the immunity of the country’s democratically elected president Mohamed Bazoum.

South Africa’s President Ramaphosa is reelected for second term after a dramatic late coalition deal

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has been reelected by lawmakers for a second term after his African National Congress party struck a dramatic late coalition deal with the main opposition and other parties.

A pond in warming Mali is disappearing, and a UNESCO-listed fishing tradition is in danger

For hundreds of years, people have gathered in the southern Mali town of San for a collective fishing rite in June that begins with animal sacrifices and offerings to the water spirits of Sanké pond.

Sudan tops UN envoy’s concerns about children caught in conflicts, with Congo and Haiti next

The United Nations envoy charged with reporting on violations against children in conflicts around the world says that first and foremost she is worried about what’s happening to youngsters in war-torn Sudan.

Even when Africans want to visit Europe legally, rejection rates are high. Algeria is one example

Visa applicants from Africa who want to visit Europe’s Schengen Area face far higher rejection rates than people from anywhere else in the world.

South Africa’s health authorities report 2 deaths from mpox this week and warn of local transmission

South African health authorities say two people have died this week after contracting mpox, and it appears there is local transmission of the disease.