By Rédaction Africanews with AFP A partial collapse at a gold mine in South Sudan has killed 13 people and injured six, the state mining company said Wednesday. The accident happened last Friday at five abandoned shafts in the Umm Fakroun mine in South Kordofan, according to the Sudanese Mineral Resources Company (SMRC). Since fighting began in April 2023 between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, both sides have relied heavily on the country’s gold industry, alongside foreign support, to fund the war. “The shafts were abandoned and officially closed, but some miners entered them illegally,” the SMRC…
Author: Montage Africa
By Rédaction Africanews and Agencies Senegal-born content creator Khaby Lame signs one of the largest-ever creator economy deals. When the Covid-19 pandemic began in 2020, Khaby Lame had just lost his job in a factory. Today, he’s the world’s most-followed TikToker and he’s just signed a deal worth almost a billion dollars. Under the agreement with Rich Sparkle Holdings, the Senegal-born Italian content creator keeps 49 percent of his company and long-term control. But the firm has exclusive commercial rights to his brand – including an AI-powered digital twin. The twin will host virtual livestreams and multilingual content and will…
By Rédaction Africanews Police fired teargas on Wednesday to disperse protesters demanding compensation following mass evictions carried out by the Lagos State government. The protesters, made up of displaced residents from waterfront and informal settlements, gathered near a major road in Lagos to accuse authorities of demolishing their homes without adequate notice, compensation or resettlement plans. Chanting slogans and carrying placards, they called on the state government to take responsibility for families left homeless by the demolitions. Some said the evictions had destroyed their livelihoods. Akintimeyin Iyadily, a displaced person, says she and her husband have lost everything. “My house…
By Rédaction Africanews with AFP Search and rescue efforts continued in Mozambique after weeks of heavy rains that caused severe flooding, submerging farmland, homes, and infrastructure. “The rescue is ongoing,” said Marcia Cossa, Acting Executive Director of ActionAid Mozambique. “There are places where we cannot access, especially in Gaza province, and now there are some places from Manhica where we can only go through a boat because the road has been cut off by water.” Mozambique’s Institute for Disaster Management and Risk Reduction reported that 103 people had died and that the severe floods had displaced more than 650,000 people.…
By Rédaction Africanews with agencies The youngest son of Democratic Republic of Congo independence hero Patrice Lumumba has died in the capital, Kinshasa, at the age of 67 following an illness. An architect by training, Roland-Gilbert Okito Lumumba served as a Member of Parliament for nearly a decade. His father was the country’s first prime minister for a few months after independence before being ousted and then assassinated by Belgium-backed secessionists in 1961. In 2002, Brussels formally apologised for its role in his execution, and 20 years later returned a tooth to his family – Lumumba’s only known remains. The…
By Rédaction Africanews The West African regional bloc ECOWAS on Wednesday removed all outstanding sanctions imposed against Guinea following the 2021 coup, after last month’s election of former junta leader Mamady Doumbouya. ECOWAS imposed a raft of sanctions on the mineral-rich but poor country after Doumbouya ousted President Alpha Condé. In February 2024, ECOWAS eased some of those sanctions — lifting the restrictions on financial transactions with its member institutions. Following the “successful holding” of a constitutional referendum in September and the presidential election in December, the bloc decided to “lift, with immediate effect, all residual sanctions against” Guinea and…
By Rédaction Africanews and AP Some held candles and some flowers as people sang and a brass band played at the spot where ICU Nurse Pretti. Pretti was 37 when immigration agents fatally shot him in the US city of Minneapolis on Saturday. Harmonie Pirius, a registered nurse in the city, said she had been feeling depressed, heartbroken and enraged and she thought it would be good to get together with other medical professionals. “It could have been any of us,” she said. “I mean he was trying to help someone, and that’s kind of what we’re all about.” The…
By Rédaction Africanews A burst of heavy gunfire and explosions erupted early Thursday near the international airport in Niger’s capital Niamey before halting within hours, residents told AFP. Videos filmed by residents of the area showed streaks of light in the sky with the sound of loud explosions, while other images showed flames several metres high and charred cars. The capital’s Diori Hamani International Airport houses an air force base and is located about 10 kilometres (six miles) from the presidential palace. Niger, a country hit regularly by jihadist attacks, has been led for more than two years by Abdourahamane…
It was hard to miss 33-year-old model and writer Abena Christine Jon’el’s appearance at a recent major fashion show in Ghana. Walking the runway with her prosthetic leg wrapped in a colourful African print her appearance made a big impact. The Ghanaian-American was hoping to make a statement about the visibility of people with disabilities, building on years of work in the US and here in Ghana of speaking out on the issue. At two years old, Abena’s life became defined by a challenge most adults would struggle to face. A large tumour had appeared on her right calf, the…
By AP At Goma’s central market, once the beating heart of the local economy, traders waited for customers who were becoming increasingly scarce due to the economic crisis that has engulfed the city since it was occupied by the M23 rebel coalition a year ago. Rwanda-backed M23 is the most powerful of over 100 armed groups vying for a foothold in mineral-rich eastern Congo, near the border with Rwanda. The conflict has created one of the world’s most significant humanitarian crises, with more than seven million people displaced, according to the United Nations agency for refugees. Following a sharp escalation…