Once just an obscure island dialect of an African Bantu tongue, Swahili has evolved into Africa’s most internationally recognised language. It is peer to the few languages of the world that boast over 200 million users. Over the two millennia of Swahili’s growth and adaptation, the moulders of this story – immigrants from inland Africa, […]

ANTANANARIVO (Reuters) – Cyclone Batsirai killed at least 120 people in Madagascar, the second to hit the Indian Ocean island in just two weeks, triggering floods, bringing down buildings and cutting power, officials said. By Lovasoa Rabary. (Death toll last updated 11 Feb.)  One of the worst-hit towns was Nosy Varika on the east coast […]

Rescuers – who have been working day and night for five days – say they are within three metres of saving a five-year-old child who fell down a well in Morocco, in North Africa… although they were held up by a small rock on Saturday. Update 23h30 SA Time: Tragically, the small boy died before […]

Snowfall in a hot desert may seem a contradiction but snow has been recorded several times in the Sahara Desert over the last decades, most recently in January 2022 (previously in 2021, 2018, 2017, 2016 and 1979). Thus, snowfall may be unusual but is not unprecedented in the region. By Jasper Knight, University of the […]

CNN correspondent David McKenzie, who has over 55,000 followers on Twitter, has shared some of the ‘hidden’ gems he has discovered while reporting from more than half of Africa’s 52 countries. McKenzie said he has “reported in more than 30 countries on this glorious continent” and asked his followers to add some of their own […]

A film in development, featuring the first armed female anti-poaching group in Africa, has won a grant of $25,000 from the Red Sea Fund… which will help ensure the film – Akashinga (working title) – is completed. Writer and director Naishe Hassan Nyamubaya, who lives in South Africa and writes for eTV, present via video, […]

UK-based Africans are calling for a citizens gathering outside the South African High Commission in Trafalgar Square this Sunday 5 December. All are welcome to join and show solidarity against “the harsh punishment of Africans” between 12:00 – 14:00. The 3 core issues to be highlighted at the #stoppunishingafrica demonstration are: 1. Shell’s seismic exploration […]

The promotion of trade between African countries is critical if the continent is to change the distorted trade relationship that exists between African countries and the rest of the world, says President Cyril Ramaphosa. This distorted relationship has been particularly blatant during the Covid-19 pandemic, with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa estimating that Africa […]

Dear Family and Friends, When it started raining at dusk and went on all night I knew I had a problem… writes Cathy Buckle in her latest Letter from Zimbabwe. With a friend on the banks of a river in a mountainous area where the roads are all steep hills, sharp corners and red soil […]

Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai today announced at Google for Africa’s first virtual event that the company will invest $1-billion in Africa over five years. The investment will cover a range of initiatives, from improved connectivity to investments in startups. (Watch the full event on the video at the bottom of the page.) These […]

Every few years, it is devastating to watch the same tragedy: a weather cycle that brings debilitating drought and hunger to East Africa, threatening the lives and livelihoods of millions of people in Ethiopia, Somalia, and Kenya. By Chris Funk, University of California Santa Barbara. The weather cycle responsible for these episodes is a climate-change-enhanced […]

The South African government says it has noted with great concern the ongoing political and security situation in the Republic of Guinea, in Western Africa, following an apparent coup d’etat staged by the military at the weekend. In a statement issued by the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO), the South African Government called […]

For anyone outside of the continent of Africa who thinks it never rains or snows down in Africa… take a “Look at all of that SNOW! ❄️❄️❄️“ (as Afriski Mountain Resort in Lesotho, Southern Africa, says). Watch snow videos below. As predicted by the South African Weather Service, two winter systems breezed in making this […]

The snow has arrived in bucketloads in Southern Africa, transforming ski resorts into a winter wonderland that looks more like the Alps than Africa! About 10cm of snow fell at Semonkong Lodge in Lesotho, and the good news is, it’s still falling! Definitely a winter wonderland across Lesotho today. Semonkong Lodge, Place of Smoke, says: […]

Moroccan music drama Casablanca Beats (Haut Et Fort) has world premiere in Competition at Cannes Film Festival. Written and directed by Nabil Ayouch, Casablanca Beats (Haut Et Fort), tells the story of a former rapper, Anas, as he begins working at a cultural centre in a working-class neighbourhood in Casablanca. Encouraged by their new teacher, his students […]

Egyptian director, Omar El Zohairy, wins Critic’s Week Grand Prize for his debut feature film, Feathers, in Cannes. Feathers is the portrayal of an Egyptian wife and mother who experiences a total transformation when her authoritarian husband is accidentally turned into a chicken by a magic trick at a kid’s birthday party; and she becomes responsible for […]

Chadian abortion drama, Lingui – The Sacred Bonds, directed by Mahamat-Saleh Haroun, has reportedly been acquired by Mubi for distribution in North America, Latin America, the UK and Ireland. Writer-director Mahamat-Saleh Haroun previously won the Cannes’ Jury Prize with A Screaming Man in 2011, and also had Grigris selected for competition in 2013. His most recent […]

Chadian film Lingui – The Sacred Bonds, directed by Mahamat-Saleh Haroun has enjoyed its world premiere in Competition at the Cannes Film Festival. Set near N’djamena in Chad, Lingui – The Sacred Bonds, charts the connection between a mother, Amina, played by Achouackh Abakar Souleymane and her teenage daughter, Maria, played by Rihane Khalil Alio. The film deals […]

There are a record two African films competing in this year’s Official Competition at the Cannes Film Festival (06/07/21 – 17/07/21) with one of the jury members being Senegal’s Mati Diop. In a first for African films, two were selected for the official competition, Chadian film Lingui – The Sacred Bonds from director Mahamat-Saleh Haroun, […]

Distraught and heartbroken parents have told news agencies in Nigeria that their children have been plucked overnight from a boarding school and kidnapped. Around 150 students are believed to have been taken by armed men from the hostel at Bethel Baptist High School in Kaduna state, sometime between 11pm on Sunday night and 4am Monday. […]

The South African government says it “notes with great concern” the ongoing political and security situation in the Kingdom of Eswatini, where protestors have burned buildings and the army has reportedly used violent force against them (watch video below) with shots fired in the streets and citizens filmed being beaten up by soldiers. According to […]

Angry protestors in Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) have reportedly ignored a 6pm to 5am curfew set by the government on Tuesday night and are burning businesses with ties to King Mswati as their protest against the royal leader continues. According to award-winning Zimbabwean journalist and documentary filmmaker, Hopewell Chin’ono, “the King deployed the military to quell […]

President Cyril Ramaphosa and other Southern African heads of state agreed on Wednesday to the deployment of the SADC’s Standby troops to Mozambique to combat the horrific terrorism that has rocked northern parts of the country. The Southern African Development Community (SADC) met in Maputo to consider the SADC’s proposed response to address the attacks […]

The COVID-19 crisis has revived discussions on localising vaccine manufacturing to the African region to reduce the dependence on imports. The fact that Africa is lagging so far behind on the COVID-19 vaccination compared with Europe and North America has highlighted the importance of the issue. Most African countries depend on the WHO-sponsored COVAX scheme, […]

Kenneth Kaunda, the former president of Zambia, who has died in hospital in the capital, Lusaka, at the age of 97, was the last of the giants of 20th century African nationalism… writes Gavin Evans, Birkbeck, University of London. He was also one of the few to depart with his reputation still intact. But perhaps […]