Lockdown Pushed Wole Soyinka to Write his First Novel in Almost 50 Years
The Nigerian playwright and poet, who became the first African to win the Nobel Prize for literature in 1986, published his widely celebrated debut novel, The Interpreters, in 1965. His second and most recent novel, Season of Anomy, was released in 1973. Chronicles of the Happiest People on Earth, which will be published in Nigeria […]
What Will Happen to Sudanese Asylum Seekers in Israel after a Truce?
Sudanese asylum seekers living in Israel fear being kicked out once ties are normalised between the two countries, though some hope their presence will be seen as an advantage. Technically at war with Israel for decades, Sudan on Friday became the third Arab country this year to announce it is normalising ties with the Jewish […]
Egyptian Startup Makes Access to Financial Services Easier
Having secured an extraordinary 85 per cent market share of mobile wallet transactions at home in Egypt, fintech startup Paymob has eyes on even greater prizes. Founded in 2015 by Islam Shawky, Alain El Hajj and Mostafa Menessy, Paymob is an infrastructure technology enabler providing payment solutions to empower digital financial service providers through mobile […]
Breathing Life into Botswana’s Travel Industry
Botswana says it will allow chartered flights to the country’s prime tourist destinations starting November 1, in an attempt to boost a sector that has lost hundreds of millions of dollars since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Flights will be allowed to land at two airports in Maun and Kasane, two prime tourist resorts, […]
Lusaka Thrown a Credit Lifeline
Zambia has reached a deal to defer debt repayments that were due in October on a loan from the China Development Bank (CDB), Zambia’s government said, without giving the size of the loan or the debt repayments that were due. Zambia owed CDB about $391m at the end of 2019 — about a tenth of […]
Addis Takes Tough Stance On Wearing Masks
Ethiopia can jail people for up to two years if they deliberately violate restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of Covid-19, the attorney general’s office said, amid concern that citizens are becoming lax after a state of emergency was lifted. The restrictions prohibit shaking hands, not wearing a mask in a public place, seating more […]
Schools Become Crime Scenes for Groups Angry with Government
Africa features prominently in a 2020 report published by the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack. It lists Sudan, Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of Congo as “very heavily affected” countries. Another region of high concern is the Central Sahel, which includes Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. A Human Rights Watch news report published […]
Tanzania’s Polls Go Ahead Amid Claims of Fraud
Tanzania’s main opposition leader says there has been “shameless” widespread vote rigging in Wednesday’s elections. In a series of tweets, Mr Lissu, from Chadema, said there had been “shameless” election fraud. He retweeted a video of what appeared to citizens intercepting a bag full of pre-filled ballots, all voting for the CCM. But the National […]
The Arrest of Zimbabwean Mining Boss for Gold Smuggling is Part of a Larger Syndicate
Henrietta Rushwaya, 53, the head of an artisanal miners’ association was arrested on Monday on her way to Dubai. Police say airport scanners detected gold bars in her hand luggage, and they later recovered six kilogrammes of gold. When Ms Rushwaya failed to produce the paperwork authorising the export, she was arrested. She told police […]
Nigerian Army Caught in a Lie
A week after the shooting of peaceful demonstrators in Lagos, Nigeria’s army has admitted its soldiers were deployed to restore order, but denied they opened fire on the gathered crowd protesting against police brutality. At least 10 protesters were killed in the Lekki plaza shooting on October 20, according to Amnesty International. The military did […]
