Category: Africa

3 Countries Investigate Morocco Attacker Who Killed Tourist

RABAT, Morocco—A Moroccan judge on Thursday ordered a man suspected of fatally stabbing a French woman and injuring a Belgian visitor to undergo psychiatric evaluation, as authorities in three countries opened probes into the suspect’s possible links to terrorism. A 78-year-old French woman was killed in a knife attack in a market in the southern…


Nigerian Soldiers Watch as Terrorists Massacre 18 Villagers

The scene of the attack was familiar to traumatized villagers of Ancha in Bassa County of Nigeria’s Plateau State on the cold evening of Jan. 11. A unit of 30 well-armed Nigerian soldiers were stationed in an abandoned school building inside the settlement. The 30 soldiers had assault rifles, an armored personnel carrier, and two…


At Least 17 Dead After Explosion in Ghana Mining Region

ACCRA—At least 17 people were killed and scores injured when a truck carrying explosives to a gold mine in western Ghana collided with a motorcycle, setting off an explosion that flattened a rural community, the government said on Friday. As rescuers combed the site for survivors, videos posted on local media showed hundreds of buildings…


Stampede at Religious Ceremony in Liberia Kills 29 People

MONROVIA, Liberia—At least 29 people in Liberia, including 11 children and a pregnant woman, have died in a stampede of worshippers at a Christian ceremony in a densely populated area of the capital, Monrovia, officials said Thursday. The stampede erupted when a gang of thugs armed with knives attacked some of the hundreds attending the…


Huge Explosion in Ghana Mining Region Kills Residents, Fells Buildings

ACCRA—An explosion in Ghana’s rural Western Region on Thursday razed hundreds of buildings and killed an unknown number of residents when a truck carrying explosives to a gold mine collided with a motorcycle. Unverified videos posted on local media showed a large, smouldering blast site in which buildings had been reduced to piles of wood,…


Omicron Evades mRNA Booster Protection, South African Study Shows

The Omicron variant of the novel coronavirus is able to evade the protection bestowed by messenger RNA (mRNA) COVID-19 vaccines, such as those from Pfizer and Moderna, a South African study has found. A study published Tuesday in The Lancet examined some of the first documented breakthrough cases of the highly transmissible Omicron strain, which emerged…


Heavy Rains in Madagascar Cause Flooding in Capital, 10 Dead

ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar—Heavy rains in Madagascar have flooded parts of the capital city, Antananarivo, killing 10 people and making more than 12,000 homeless, officials said Wednesday. With the rains continuing and a possible cyclone approaching the Indian Ocean island, officials warned of potential landslides in the capital city, which is built on steep hills. President Andry…


Suez Canal Expansion Due to Finish in July 2023: SCA Chairman

DUBAI—A project to expand parts of the Suez Canal is expected to be completed after two years of work in July 2023, the chairman of the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) said on Sunday. The SCA announced accelerated plans to extend a second channel of the canal and to enlarge an existing channel after the Ever…


Elon Musk’s SpaceX to Launch 3 South African-Made Nanosatellites: Why This Is Historically Important

Elon Musk is giving a major hat-tip to his birthplace by launching the first nanosatellite constellation made entirely in South Africa on today’s SpaceX Transporter-3 mission. What Happened According to a report from South Africa’s News24, the three nanosatellites are part of the first Maritime Domain Awareness Satellite constellation (MDASat-1) and will be deployed in…


Nigeria Lifts Suspension on Twitter After 7 Months

Nigeria is set to lift a ban on Twitter starting Jan. 13, after the social media giant agreed to certain conditions to resume operations. Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, director general of the country’s National Information Technology Development Agency said that Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari had given approval to lift the suspension. “Twitter has agreed to act with…