By Rédaction Africanews with AFP US aid cuts to Africa marked the death blow of an “outdated” development system and should push the continent to take charge of its own services, the heads of the World Health Summit said Wednesday. The overriding theme of the three-day summit in Nairobi, attended by 15 African health ministers and thousands of NGO and academic delegates, was “health sovereignty” for the continent, which sees an opportunity in the loss of donor funding. Massive aid cuts by Western donors, especially United States President Donald Trump’s decision to scrap the $40bn-a-year USAID agency, have been highly…
Author: Montage Africa
By Rédaction Africanews with Agencies Search and rescue operations were underway in western Uganda on Wednesday after a boat capsized on the Nguse river, with at least 20 people feared dead. More than 30 people were on board when the vessel went down the previous evening. Eight survivors have been found and are receiving medical treatment. Authorities have urged victims’ relatives to come forward. Marine police in Kigadi district have launched an inquiry into the cause of the accident. They said possible factors include overloading, night travel and the boat’s condition. According to media reports, the locally made canoe capsized…
By Rédaction Africanews with AFP United States Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau reiterated Washington’s support for Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara in Rabat, urging a “swift” resolution to a conflict that has been ongoing since 1975. The US reaffirmed its support for Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara on Wednesday during a meeting between Landau and Nacer Bourita, Morocco’s Minister of Foreign Affairs. Morocco is pushing an autonomy proposal for the region that would give Western Sahara autonomy over social and economic policy, budget and taxation, while Rabat would retain control over foreign relations, the judiciary and currency. The United…
By Africanews with AFP The ruling junta in Burkina Faso has tightened security in the capital Ouagadougou in the wake of coordinated attacks in its neighbour and ally Mali, security sources told AFP on Wednesday. On Tuesday, Burkina Faso’s security ministry announced the launch of an operation aimed at strengthening security across the country and called for vigilance. It also called on people to report any suspicious behaviour, particularly around sensitive infrastructure such as military barracks, airports, administrative buildings and other installations of national importance. “A major security operation has been deployed in Ouagadougou and in other parts of the…
By Rédaction Africanews with AFP Libya, Algeria, and Tunisia on Wednesday agreed to a “rational and equitable” of the water in a giant aquifer in the Sahara that straddles all three nations. The so-called “Tripoli Declaration” stresses the importance of “strengthening coordination and exchanges to ensure sustainable use” of the non-renewable resource. “The challenges facing our water resources, whether related to climate change or rising demand, require us to redouble our efforts and strengthen coordination and integration among ourselves,” said Libya’s minister of water resources, Hosni Aouidat**.** The North-Western Sahara Aquifer System is one of the world’s largest groundwater reserves…
By Rédaction Africanews with AFP Oil-rich African nations at global fossil fuel phaseout talks in Colombia said Wednesday they would keep drilling to support economic growth, highlighting tensions between climate and fiscal realities for developing producers. Ministers and envoys from nearly 60 nations met in Santa Marta, a city on the Caribbean coast, for the first-ever global conference on transitioning the world away from planet-heating oil, gas and coal. The conference has unfolded as oil prices surged Wednesday to their highest level since early 2022, deepening fears over global energy security and underlining risks to fossil fuel reliance as the…
By Rédaction Africanews with AP Years after a lead acid battery recycling plant shut down in Kenya’s coastal city of Mombasa, residents of Owino Uhuru say they are still suffering from lead poisoning, a growing public health risk as Africa’s clean energy boom drives a surge in battery use. Faith Muthama, 40, a mother of four, says her health has never recovered. “Life has never been the same,” she said, wiping away sweat. “I still struggle to do heavy chores as I suffer from breathing difficulties. When I was tested in 2012, I was found with high lead levels in…
Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe has returned home to joyous scenes after becoming the first man to run a marathon in under two hours in competitive race conditions. His incredible achievement at Sunday’s London Marathon is being celebrated in Kenya, where officials welcomed him home amid a crush of cameras at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in the capital, Nairobi. His parents were also present to greet him, days after the 31-year-old achieved the holy grail of marathon running by smashing the two-hour barrier in a race with an official time of one hour 59 minutes and 30 seconds. “I am happy…
Mali’s capital city Bamako – a major West African hub and home to more than three million people – is under a partial blockade by Islamist militants, days after the country’s defence minister was assassinated there. “Our army isn’t capable of protecting us, how are we going to get back home?” a mother-of-two told the BBC, unable to re-enter Bamako after visiting her parents out of town. She and many others have been stranded on the Bamako-Kéniéba highway, a major road out of the capital for almost a day. It follows Wednesday’s warning by fighters from the group Jama’at Nusrat…
As heat intensifies across Nigeria, a new cohort of ventures is developing solutions to protect crops, reduce food spoilage and livestock losses, and equip hospitals and outdoor workers to anticipate and withstand extreme conditions. BFA Global, FSD Africa, ClimateWorks Foundation, and the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) Nigeria have selected 10 early-stage ventures to join the inaugural cohort of the TECA Heat Action Wave (THAW) program focused on accelerating solutions to extreme heat. The 10 selected ventures are: Ofemini Global Limited provides a heat-resilient logistics platform that helps farmers transport perishable goods efficiently, reducing spoilage caused by extreme…