A beloved monument to Ethiopia’s traditional cabaret culture, the historic nightclub Fendika is running on borrowed time, having just escaped demolition. Two decades earlier, Fendika was one of 17 “azmari bet” (a venue hosting performances by Ethiopia’s azmari musicians) in the Kazanchis district, a neighbourhood harkening back to Addis Ababa’s jazz-fuelled era. ALSO READ: Egypt, Ethiopia […]

England cricket great Ian Botham has sold off more than 200 souvenirs from his career at a London auction, with items from his celebrated role in a 1981 Ashes triumph among the most highly-valued lots. The ball with which he took five Australia wickets for one run as England came from behind to win the fourth Test of […]

Sudanese national Mohannad and other refugees had only been in Cairo a few weeks when his landlady told him he would have to pay triple the rent if he wanted to keep his apartment. He had arrived with his wife and three children in the Egyptian capital — 2,000 kilometres (1,200 miles) north of his […]

The Hollywood actors’ union began to strike at midnight Thursday, after negotiations to reach a new contract with production studios ended without an agreement. Actors will join writers in the first industry-wide walkout for 63 years, effectively bringing the giant movie and television business to a halt. At 0701 GMT, the Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA), representing around […]

About 5,000 demonstrators on Thursday staged an anti-LGBTQ protest in Lilongwe, the capital of the conservative southern African nation of Malawi, where same-sex relationships are illegal. The rally comes against the backdrop of a court case brought by a Dutch national and transgender woman from Malawi who are challenging the constitutionality of the country’s laws […]

War-torn Sudan’s capital experienced a communications blackout for several hours on Friday, residents said, as the army and paramilitary forces waged intense battles across Khartoum. ALSO READ: Sudan sides to be held to account as war rages: UN Vital internet and mobile phone connections — which have been critical to sourcing information and supplies during nearly […]

Armed Islamist groups have carried out widespread killing, rape and looting in northeast Mali this year, forcing thousands of people to flee, Human Rights Watch said Thursday 13 July 2023. “Security has deteriorated sharply amid clashes between two armed Islamist groups as they seek to control supply routes and increase their influence,” the New York-based […]

Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Thursday 13 July 2023 urged nations targeted by Western sanctions to band together as he hosted the leader of fellow international outlier Iran. President Ebrahim Raisi arrived for the last leg of the first Africa tour by an Iranian leader in 11 years, on a tour aimed at easing the […]

South Africa’s graft-tainted ex-leader Jacob Zuma is receiving medical treatment in Russia, his spokesperson said on Friday, a day after the country’s highest court upheld a ruling that he should return to prison. “Zuma travelled to Russia last week for health reasons,” the 81-year-old’s spokesperson Mzwanele Manyi said in a statement. PICTURE | Springboks v All Blacks | Official team […]

A Russian anti-war activist living in Serbia was banned from entering the Balkan country after being stopped at Belgrade’s main airport Thursday, according to his lawyer. ALSO READ: Russia downs five Ukrainian drones in ‘terrorist act’ Peter Nikitin, who has permanent residency in Serbia, was prevented from entering at the request of the country’s Security Information […]

South Africa’s top court on Thursday 13 July 2023 upheld an earlier ruling that former president Jacob Zuma should return to prison to complete his 15-month term for contempt of court, dismissing an appeal seeking to keep him out of jail. It was not immediately clear whether Zuma would return to jail, with prison authorities […]

Kenya’s interior ministry on Thursday said more than 300 people had been arrested over anti-government protests that left nine dead as the opposition announced fresh demonstrations next week. There were violent clashes and looting on Wednesday in parts of the East African nation as protesters took to the streets over tax hikes in defiance of a government […]

The United Nations on Wednesday, 12 July 2023 said nearly three months of war in Sudan had uprooted more than three million people and called for the warring sides to face “accountability”. Britain said it was taking action. It announced sanctions on businesses it said were associated with Sudanese military groups on both sides of […]

The United States has struck dozens of deals worth $5.7 billion with African nations since President Joe Biden pledged to go “all in” on the continent, a business gathering in Botswana heard Wednesday 12 July 2023. The 75 new agreements signed since December include financing for solar projects in Angola and the facilitation of export […]

Arrests and harassment of journalists, opposition figures and activists in Ethiopia have risen this year, the war-torn country’s rights watchdog said, underlining “concerning” levels of violence despite a peace agreement. The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) report on the year to June noted “an increase in the arrest and harassment of media personnel, members of […]

Six people were killed on Wednesday in clashes between police and demonstrators who joined a banned opposition protest against tax hikes; police officers told AFP. Police had earlier fired tear gas on protesters in and around Nairobi, with five of the six deaths reported in the towns of Mlolongo and Kitengela on the capital’s outskirts. ALSO […]

Egypt has invited war-torn Sudan’s neighbours for a summit Thursday to “stop the bloodshed”, the presidency said, with Ethiopia’s premier Abiy Ahmed in Cairo despite tensions over a massive Nile river project. ALO READ: Sudan’s warring sides must face accountability for crimes Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed “discussed ways to […]

Huw Edwards has been the reassuring face and voice of the BBC for decades, and was entrusted last year with breaking the news to the world that Queen Elizabeth had died. The softly-spoken, proud Welshman began delivering the nightly news to millions in 1994, and has either anchored or commentated on the UK’s most tumultuous events since then. ALSO READ | REMINDER: When […]

Eddie Jones demanded on Thursday that Australia “roll up their sleeves” as he made five changes to his starting team to face Argentina after being thrashed by South Africa in his first game in charge. ALSO READ | All Blacks reveal new-look side to face Springboks Among those missing for Saturday’s clash in Sydney is injured co-captain Michael Hooper, with Fraser McReight replacing […]

The father of stand-in Springboks captain Eben Etzebeth has died, four days before his son is due to lead his country against New Zealand. Photo: Rodger Bosch/AFP The father of stand-in Springboks captain Eben Etzebeth has died, four days before his son is due to lead his country in a Rugby Championship match in New Zealand. MUST FOLLOW | LIVE BLOG: […]

South African police said on Wednesday 21 trucks have been in a series of mysterious attacks that President Cyril Ramaphosa has described as acts of “economic sabotage”. ALSO READ: WATCH: Suspect ‘behind’ torching of trucks captured by in-cab camera Unknown assailants set alight four lorries in the north-eastern province of Mpumalanga on Wednesday in the latest […]

Sudan’s warring sides must face “accountability” for the “crimes” committed in their conflict, which risks spiralling into a regional crisis, the head of UN mission in the country said Wednesday. The fighting, which has gone on for three months, “risks morphing into an ethnicised, tribalised and ideologised conflict which is much closer to being a […]

Voters in Madagascar will go to the polls by the end of the year to re-elect President Andry Rajoelina or pick a successor, the government announced Tuesday 11 July 2023. “The head of government summons voters to the polls” on November 9 for the “first round of presidential election” and on “December 20 for the […]

The father of stand-in Springboks captain Eben Etzebeth has died, four days before his son is due to lead his country against New Zealand. MUST FOLLOW | LIVE BLOG: All Blacks v Springboks – Saturday, 15 July 2023 Lock Etzebeth is standing in as skipper because flanker Siya Kolisi is injured and will not be available to […]

US tech titan Mark Zuckerberg has plunged into a high-stakes game of brinkmanship with the European Union by withholding his new Threads app from users in Europe, but analysts say he will struggle to win the fight. THREADS Threads, billed as the killer of Twitter, a platform that has tumbled into chaos under the leadership of mercurial […]