Africa

Around 400,000 residents of Goma have fled the city according to the UN, amid fears of another eruption.

UN humanitarians expressed deep concern on Friday about serious and ongoing abuses carried out against displaced civilians who are also facing dire food insecurity in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, after months of conflict. 

But campaigners say aid worth more than €1.1bn is not enough to address the suffering inflicted.

Around the world, animal conservation has evolved so it's not just humans monitoring wildlife.

A selection of the week's best photos from across the continent.

A British businessman has turned his Canary Islands hotel into a home for migrants from Africa.

With fears that one of the world’s most active volcanoes could erupt again in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is warning that up to 400,000 – nearly 280,000 children – could be displaced and in need of protection or support, if the current exodus continues.

Thousands have fled to the island of Quirimba to escape Mozambique's Islamist insurgency.

The military stages a second coup in nine months, drawing an angry reaction from foreign powers.

Aid agencies have been barred from parts of Mozambique, leading to fears of a humanitarian emergency.

A call to use Africa’s rich cultural and natural heritage as a catalyst for growth and transformation is “the right appeal at the right time”, the UN chief told a three-day forum on the continent’s future held online on Wednesday. 

A myth among the Efik people is that one of their 19th Century kings married Queen Victoria.

Volcanologist Dario Tedesco says that Goma is one of the most dangerous cities to live in because of natural disasters.

A year since the video of George Floyd's death surfaced, two Africans discuss what has changed.

A summit involving leaders of Somalia’s political factions is underway in Mogadishu, a welcome relief after months of escalating tension, the senior UN official in the country told the Security Council on Tuesday, expressing hope that a consensus on electoral plans will be announced imminently.

Africa’s rich, diverse cultural and natural heritage, is important for sustainable development, poverty reduction, and “building and maintaining peace”, the UN chief said on Tuesday, marking the international day celebrating the continent.  “This year’s Africa Day highlights arts, culture and heritage as levers for building the Africa we want”, Secretary-General António Guterres     said in his commemorative message.    

The UN chief on Monday, commended an award-winning Kenyan peacekeeper for her gender-mainstreaming work while serving in the restive Darfur region of Sudan. 

Hundreds of homes have been destroyed in the Democratic Republic of Congo after a volcano erupted.

May 23, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - The Qatari Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs arrived in Khartoum on Sunday night in a two-day visit to Sudan.

Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani who arrived from Libya was welcomed at Khartoum airport by his Sudanese counterpart Mariam al-Mahdi.

In a statement Sunday, the Foreign Ministry said that Al Thani's visit aims to "strengthen bilateral relations between Sudan and Qatar."

He will meet the Chairman of the Sovereign Council, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, his deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo "Hemedti" and Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok.

Earlier this year, al-Burhan and Hemetti travelled to Doha and held talks with the Qatari officials.

in April 2019, the transitional military council declined to receive the Qatari top diplomat, but later said it was due to a mistake by the undersecretary for foreign affairs.

During the Paris Conference for Sudan, the Qatari Minister of State for Foreign Affairs said his country is committed to building community institutions and providing returnees who regain their villages with means of life and ready to honour the commitment taken in the Doha donor conference for Darfur of April 2013.

The Qatari official further added that his government would consider investment opportunities in various sectors of the Sudanese economy.

Following the signing of the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur in July 2011, Qatar established 14 villages including educational, health and police facilities.

(ST)

May 23, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - The Sudanese government and the SPLM-North, led by Abdel Aziz Al-Hilu, held preparatory meetings ahead of the peace talks that will take place in Juba on 26 May.

On 28 March, the head of the Sovereign Council and the leader of the SPLM-N signed a declaration of principles providing to separate between state and religion and to form a single national army at the end of the transitional period.

Later on, the South Sudanese mediation announced that the two sides will resume negotiations on 26 May.

In a meeting chaired by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan on Sunday, the Supreme Peace Council discussed the upcoming negotiations to end the conflict in the South Kordofan area and the Blue Nile.

In a statement released after, the Chairman of Sudan's Peace Commission, Suleiman al-Dabailo said the meeting discussed all the arrangements related to the talks with the SPLM-N al-Hilu.

Al-Dabailo further said that the government negotiating delegation will travel to Juba on 25 May.

The talks between the two sides had been stalled for over a year due to the rejection of the military component in the Sudanese government of the separation between the state and religion.

For its part, the SPLM-N al-Hilu said in a statement released on Sunday that its negotiating team held consultative meetings in the movement-controlled areas in South Kordofan from April 20 to May 20.

According to the statement, the negotiating delegation held a series of meetings with the National Liberation Council, members of the Civil Authority of Sudan, led by First Secretary Arno Naqotlu Lodi, the Nuba-Mountains Governor, and the SPLA commanders.

"The meetings were characterized by clarity, frankness and transparency. Those who met with the negotiation delegation made proposals and recommendations to be included in the negotiations," stressed the statement.

(ST)