Category Archives: Africa

Dozens killed at funeral by Boko Haram fighters in Nigeria

Posted on by

Local official says extremists killed more than 60 people in attack on mourners

More than 60 mourners leaving a funeral in north-east Nigeria have been killed by the militant group Boko Haram, according to Nigerian officials and other sources in the area.

Ten years after the group’s founder, Mohammed Yusuf, was murdered in police custody after a crackdown on his followers, Boko Haram’s factions are continuing to wage a bloody insurgency against the Nigerian security forces and civilians, defying government attempts to destroy the group.

Continue reading...

Dozens of bodies found after migrant boat capsizes off Libya

Posted on by

Up to 150 have died in what is thought be deadliest incident in Mediterranean this year

Dozens of bodies have been recovered from the Mediterranean, a day after the shipwreck that caused the deaths of up to 150 migrants.

Eyewitnesses described harrowing scenes in the sea, in what a senior UN official called the “the worst Mediterranean tragedy” so far this year.

Continue reading...

Unsavoury truths about fair trade | Letters

Posted on by
Tim Gossling and Bob Caldwell advise checking the smallprint and question how trustworthy the movement is

The death of fair trade (Journal, 23 July) can partly be laid at the door of the EU. Its treatment of former colonies, restricting tariff-free trade to “primary produce” so that the profitable part of the businesses, manufacture, is protected, means that they may be independent in terms of politics, but are economically still the same colonies.

Take Ghana, which Samanth Subramanian mentions. Go and buy your bar of “Fairtrade” Divine chocolate. On the back it waxes lyrical about Kuapa Kokoo, the cocoa farmers’ organisation that tries to guarantee fair and stable prices for cocoa beans, with a bit extra for the social premium. Read to the end of the small print where it says: “Made in Germany”. Ghana has a perfectly good chocolate factory, at the port town of Tema, but workers only make chocolate for the local market, because that is all they are allowed to do. Ghana would be a lot richer if it could sell the manufactured product over here, but that would be in direct competition with the German manufacturer, which the EU is formed to protect. That is why I voted leave in the referendum – though I probably would not do so again, as Brexit is unlikely to improve the situation.
Tim Gossling
Cambridge

Continue reading...

British Airways to resume flights to Cairo after security review

Posted on by

Airline suspended flights to Egyptian capital last Saturday as a precautionary measure

British Airways said on Thursday it would resume flights to Cairo following a week’s suspension, having reviewed its security measures.

BA flights to and from the Egyptian capital will start again on Friday, it said in a statement.

Continue reading...

The play’s the thing: the university using drama to bridge ethnic divides

Posted on by

Ethiopia’s conflicts are reflected at universities but, by walking in each other’s shoes on stage, students learn to do so in life

Rainy season has begun in Ethiopia’s south. On a stormy morning at a university in the town of Wolkite, students are using drama to break down entrenched ethnic barriers.

Understanding between groups is a rarity in a country where violent conflict is common. Ethiopia’s prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, has promised greater stability, but tensions remain high in various regions and the education system is no more immune to deep-rooted tribal differences than anywhere else.

Continue reading...

Make environmental damage a war crime, say scientists

Posted on by

Call for new Geneva convention to protect wildlife and nature reserves in conflict regions

International lawmakers should adopt a fifth Geneva convention that recognises damage to nature alongside other war crimes, according to an open letter by 24 prominent scientists.

The legal instrument should incorporate wildlife safeguards in conflict regions, including protections for nature reserves, controls on the spread of guns used for hunting and measures to hold military forces to account for damage to the environment, say the signatories to the letter, published in the journal Nature.

Continue reading...

Are motorcycle taxis making the Ebola crisis worse?

Posted on by

The Congolese trading city of Butembo relies on its ‘taxi-motos’ to keep business running, but the taxi unions are resistant to helping government Ebola efforts – and their bikes could be spreading the disease

Swarms of motorcycle taxis overloaded with passengers and goods weave their way through traffic in the eastern Congolese city of Butembo. Motorbikes far outnumber four-wheeled vehicles on the dusty roads of the regional trading hub, especially downtown, where drivers laden with cargo carve their way through crowded street markets.

Continue reading...

British troops to join force countering Mali militants

Posted on by

Defence minister agrees to help in one of most dangerous missions undertaken by the UN

British troops will be deployed in Mali next year to join in the world’s deadliest peacekeeping operation, the Ministry of Defence has announced.

The 250-strong force will provide a long-range reconnaissance capability for the United Nations deployment in the troubled African country which has struggled to decisively counter Islamic militants, armed separatists and traffickers.

Continue reading...

Cameroonian forces in anglophone region accused of killing four people

Posted on by

Victims include male civilian, 20, with mental health disability and elderly disabled man

Cameroonian forces have killed at least four civilians during security operations in one of the country’s anglophone regions in the past month, according to a human rights organisation, including two men with disabilities.

An uprising by separatists that began two years ago and the response by security forces have caused intense suffering in the anglophone regions of the former German colony, which was carved up by France and Britain during the first world war.

Continue reading...

Gorillas, charcoal and the fight for survival in Congo’s rainforest | Peter Beaumont

Posted on by

A deadly conflict simmers between the autochthon people forced out of Kahuzi-Biéga national park, and the rangers protecting the land

On a scarred hillside on the edge of the Kahuzi-Biéga national park, smoke rises from the once-forested slope as men cut down trees and burn them for charcoal. Suddenly, warning cries echo across the landscape. Park rangers are arriving. More men come running to the scene, some carrying machetes in anticipation of a confrontation. A tense stand-off follows.

This corner of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is a frontline of a simmering and sometimes deadly conflict between two largely impoverished groups: the autochthon people, forced out of the forest as part of conservation efforts, and the rangers, who are tasked with protecting the land.

Continue reading...

Millions face hardship as Zimbabwe comes close to ‘meltdown’

Posted on by

Rising inflation has hit those already struggling with food, fuel and medicine shortages

Millions of people in Zimbabwe face hardship, hunger and chaos as the economy comes close to “meltdown” and drought worsens.

More than 18 months after the military coup that removed Robert Mugabe from power, the new government is struggling to overcome the legacy of the dictator’s 30 years of repressive rule and the consequences of its own failure to undertake meaningful political reform.

Continue reading...

British Airways suspends Cairo flights as security precaution

Posted on by

Services to Egyptian capital halted for seven days to allow for security review, says airline

British Airways has suspended all flights to Cairo for seven days as a security precaution.

The airline made the surprise announcement last night that all flights into the Egyptian capital were halted.

Continue reading...

Jacob Zuma refuses to testify before major corruption inquiry

Posted on by

Former South African president claims he was treated unfairly during cross-examination

The former South African president Jacob Zuma has refused to testify before a major corruption inquiry, claiming he was being questioned unfairly.

Zuma was scheduled to give evidence throughout the week. But when the court reconvened on Friday morning after a 48-hour adjournment at his request, the 77-year-old’s politician’s lawyer, Muzi Sikhakhane, said he would take no further part in proceedings.

Continue reading...

Moroccan court orders death penalty for jihadists who beheaded tourists

Posted on by

Three Isis supporters who killed two Scandinavian women given death sentence

Three men have been sentenced to death in Morocco for the Isis-inspired murder of two Scandinavian hikers in the Atlas mountains last December.

The two victims, Louisa Vesterager Jespersen, 24, from Denmark, and Maren Ueland, 28, from Norway, were beheaded by a group of men who wanted to impress Islamic State. The three men confessed to their murder at a court in Salé, near Rabat.

Continue reading...

More of the same won’t solve Congo’s Ebola crisis – let locals lead

Posted on by

As the World Health Organization declares a public health emergency in DRC, frontline responders must be allowed a greater role in response efforts

The Ebola crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is already the second deadliest outbreak in history. More than 2,500 cases have been confirmed in DRC and 1,600 deaths have been recorded. The situation is escalating rapidly, with a new case in the transit hub of Goma reported on Sunday.

On Wednesday, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the crisis a public health emergency of international concern. This raises the stakes and must lead to fundamental changes in the response. The WHO wants more funding to extend and reinforce outbreak control measures, but simply expanding the current approach is unlikely to result in a more effective response.

Continue reading...

African lives are measured in fighting UK visa rejections | Nesrine Malik

Posted on by

The Home Office’s hostile handling of visiting African professionals doesn’t bode well for Global Britain

An African passport is the most egalitarian of documents, in that if you have one then class, employment status and professional invitations from the country you are visiting all count for nothing. From university professors to unskilled labourers, anyone holding a passport issued by a country in Africa will be treated the same by UK border officers. They will also show no compassion for or recognition of the need for people to be reunited with family or to see friends.

In fact it’s not too far-fetched to say an African passport is a no-travel document. Even countries within Africa are miserly with each other. I am a veteran visa applicant, and I can tell you there is no respite. A European visa is as prohibitively hard to secure as one to a neighbouring African country. My Sudanese passport meant that I had to become an Olympian visa-applier in order to visit, study and settle in the UK. You can’t slouch with a passport from a country on a terror watchlist.

Continue reading...

MPs say ’embarrassing and insulting’ UK visa system damages Africa relations

Posted on by

Cross-party inquiry finds people from African countries often perceive reasons given for failed applications as biased or discriminatory

British MPs have warned that the UK visitor visa system is “broken” and doing “severe damage” to UK-Africa relations.

The problems faced by experts trying to visit the UK are so widespread that many Africans believe the Home Office to be prejudiced against them and deliberately trying to reduce visitor numbers.

Continue reading...

Beyoncé reveals African collaborators for new album The Lion King: The Gift

Posted on by

R&B star announces numerous African pop and rap stars on album out Friday, as well as Kendrick Lamar, Pharrell Williams and daughter Blue Ivy

Beyoncé has outlined details for her 14-track new album to accompany The Lion King remake, entitled The Lion King: The Gift, to be released on Friday. The album features four new solo songs alongside collaborations with Kendrick Lamar, Pharrell Williams, Childish Gambino, Beyoncé’s daughter Blue Ivy and more. It is separate from the soundtrack to The Lion King, though the Beyoncé song Spirit appears on both. The singer voices the character Nala in the new 3D-animated version of the 1994 Disney classic.

Related: The Lion King review – deepfake copycat ain't so grrreat

Continue reading...

‘People think I’m very odd’: how Ibrahim Mahama brought Ghana’s past to Manchester

Posted on by

From second-hand train seats to old school cupboards, the artist has transported discarded objects from his west African homeland to create a ‘parliament of ghosts’

‘We’re haunted all the time by ghosts of the past,” says Ibrahim Mahama as we sit on dirty old plastic second-class Ghana Railways carriage seats in Manchester’s Whitworth Art Gallery. Even these seats from an abandoned railway? “Especially these,” he says, smiling.

Mahama, a junkyard utopian whose art involves recycling stuff that’s lost its purpose, bought up rows and rows of these seats. He packed them into shipping containers and sent them on a 5,000-mile trip, from his west African homeland to the Whitworth, along with some school cupboards no longer fit for purpose, exercise books of children now grown up, and the minutes of Ghanaian parliamentary debates now deemed obsolete.

Continue reading...