Africa

INSHASA, Congo—At least 50 people were killed and more than 100 were badly burned when a tanker truck in Congo collided with another truck and, as villagers rushed to collect the leaking fuel, burst into flames, witnesses and officials said Oct. 6. Faced with one of the country’s deadliest traffic accidents, President Joseph Kabila ordered […]

A group of business owners in Malawi's financial hub may be feeling the side effects of the southeast African nation's government getting closer to China.

JOHANNESBURG—About 320 people were injured when a packed train traveling from South Africa’s business hub Johannesburg to the capital Pretoria crashed into the back of a stationary train, Metrorail authorities said on Oct. 5. The collision, which occurred at 5:50 p.m. on Thursday during peak rush hour travel, left 32 passengers with serious but not […]

First Lady Melania Trump headed to a primary school in Lilongwe, Malawi, an area locals call the “warm heart of Africa” as part of the third day of her week-long solo trip to the continent. The White House said Malawi was chosen because of the high poverty rate and the difficulties children—especially girls—have in accessing […]

U.S. First Lady Melania Trump landed under cloudy skies in Accra, Ghana, on Oct. 2, the first stop in her extended solo trip to Africa. Before greeting officials, the first lady accepted a bouquet of flowers wrapped in a kente cloth from Lillian Naa Adai Sai, an 8-year-old girl who looked starstruck. Trump then greeted Rebecca Akufo-Addo, […]

MEXICO CITY—Ash spewing from the Popocatepetl volcano has reached the southern neighborhoods of Mexico’s capital. The National Center for Disaster Prevention warned Mexicans on Saturday to stay away from the volcano after activity picked up in the crater and it registered 183 emissions of gas and ash over 24 hours. The center was monitoring multiple […]

Countries in the Horn of Africa continue to face a growing threat from extremist Islamist groups, particularly the Somali militant group al-Shabaab.

GENEVA—The World Health Organization said on Tuesday, Sept. 25 that an Ebola outbreak in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo could worsen rapidly because of attacks by armed groups, community resistance and the geographic spread of the disease. “We are now extremely concerned that several factors may be coming together over the next weeks and months […]

Multiple reports of fake orphanages and the bitter experiences of children in approved ones have sparked a debate on whether they should be banned or not.

DAR ES SALAAM—Tanzanian authorities said on Sept. 23 the number of people who died in a ferry that capsized in Lake Victoria had risen to 224 and the vessel’s managers had been detained for questioning. The ferry, MV Nyerere, sank on Thursday evening just a few meters from the dock on Ukerewe, the lake’s biggest […]

NAIROBI, Kenya—The death toll soared past 200 while a survivor was found inside a capsized Tanzania ferry two days after the Lake Victoria disaster, officials said on Sept. 22, while search efforts were ending to focus on identifying bodies. The survivor, an engineer, was found near the engine of the overturned vessel, Mwanza regional commissioner […]

UKARA, Tanzania—Divers on Saturday rescued a man from the wreck of an overcrowded Tanzanian ferry that capsized on Lake Victoria on Sept. 20, killing at least 207 people. Bodies continued to float to the surface around the vessel, which initial estimates suggested was carrying more than 300 people. State broadcaster TBC said the death toll […]

DAR ES SALAAM—Rescuers in Tanzania have retrieved at least 136 bodies a day after a ferry sank on Lake Victoria, the top police official said, but scores more are missing. The ferry MV Nyerere capsized just a few meters from the dock on Ukerewe, the lake’s biggest island, which is part of Tanzania. Initial estimates […]

DAR ES SALAAM—At least 44 people were confirmed dead and rescuers resumed searching at the crack of dawn on Sept. 21 for hundreds more still missing, a day after a ferry sank in Lake Victoria, Tanzanian police said. Initial estimates suggested that the MV Nyerere was carrying more than 300 people when it went down […]

As part of Beijing’s ambitious development project, China is building infrastructure in Ghana in exchange for access to bauxite mines.

As the evictions enforced by the Kenyan government in the Mau Forect continue, more houses are being torched by officers, forcing residents to leave the land.  

A $2.5 billion loan from China to South Africa’s largest utility company has come under scrutiny as local lawmakers accuse the Chinese regime of engaging in “debt-trap diplomacy.” China has aggressively courted African nations for investments seen as advantageous to its national agenda. In the Congo, China has provided billions in aid, allowing it to […]

China is rapidly expanding its military base in Djibouti, a small African country on the Red Sea, according to a recent analysis by a retired Indian Army officer published in The Print, an Indian news outlet. According toThe Print report published on Sept. 10, satellite images reveal that the Chinese military base, which is located […]

Different countries’ national interests aren’t limited to their territories or neighborhoods. Good economic, foreign, and security policies are based on identifying national interests and cultivating spheres of interest, to different degrees and varying levels of priority. Regional and global powers will establish spheres where they can exercise influence. This influence can be used in the […]

NAIROBI—The leaders of Ethiopia and Eritrea visited their shared border to celebrate Ethiopian new year together on Sept. 11—marking the countries’ reconciliation on a frontier where their soldiers faced off against each other just months earlier. Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki visited their troops stationed at Bure, a region that […]