KAMPALA, Uganda – The World Bank has announced that it will suspend new loans to Uganda due to the country’s controversial anti-LGBTQ law. The bank, based in Washington, has decided to halt project financing while it reviews measures aimed at protecting sexual and gender minorities from discrimination in its projects. The bank stat...
KIGALI, Rwanda (AA): France has suspended its development aid and budget support to Burkina Faso, according to a statement by the Foreign Ministry. The brief statement did not give the reasons for the aid cut. France has sponsored military operations against anti-West groups which have failed to bring security and have served to intensify anti...
Niamey, Niger (AFP): West African leaders will hold a summit on the crisis in Niger this week after the country’s military rulers defied an ultimatum to restore the elected government. In its first official reaction since Niger ignored the deadline of midnight on Sunday to reinstate democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum, the EC...
WASHINGTON (AA): US Secretary of State Antony Blinken derided Russia on Tuesday for its offer to supply six African nations with free grain, saying the proposal is “laughable.” “What Russia was proposing was to get grain to a half dozen countries, about 50,000 tons,” Blinken said in an interview with British broadcaster...
WASHINGTON (AA): The US said Tuesday it is “still hopeful” and “still trying to achieve a result” to get Niger to return to constitutional order after a military takeover. “We do still have hope, but we’re also very realistic,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters. “We are still hopeful, and we are still trying [&hell...
LAGOS, Nigeria – A Nigerian artist has created a hijab-wearing Barbie doll that celebrates Muslim culture. Haneefah Adam has named the doll “Hijarbie.” She started the project in 2015 after becoming angry about the lack of modest clothing and hijabs on social media. She received overwhelmingly positive feedback for Hijarbie. ...
MOGADISHU, Somalia (AA) – Market prices in Somalia increased after Russia suspended its participation in the Black Sea grain deal. In Africa, 25 countries currently rely on Russia and Ukraine for over one-third of their imported wheat. In some countries, the dependency on external sources for grain has surpassed 90%. During the Russia-Africa S...
Dakar, Senegal (AFP): A Senegalese judge on Monday placed French-Spanish lawyer Juan Branco, who was indicted a day earlier, under judicial supervision ahead of his expulsion to France, his lawyer and a senior justice ministry official told AFP. Branco, who is one of the lawyers defending the Senegalese opposition politician Ousmane Sonko, was...
Niamey, Niger (AFP): The second-ranking US diplomat met Niger’s military leaders on Monday to press to reverse a coup but reported no headway a day after an ultimatum from the West African bloc ECOWAS was ignored. Victoria Nuland, a veteran envoy and acting deputy secretary of state, said she met for more than two hours […]
BERLIN (AA): The German government has warned the military coup leaders in Niger against acts of violence against detained President Mohamed Bazoum. Speaking to media representatives in Berlin, Foreign Ministry spokesman Sebastian Fischer made it clear that they are worried about Bazoum. “And that is why I would like to take this opportu...
