By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK | BAMAKO (IDN) – Protests broke out across the West African state of Mali for the third time in a month as President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita appeared unable or unwilling to meet popular demands. Tens of thousands of Malians filled the streets over the previous weekend in […]
‘Black Lives Matter’ Continues to Spur Changes in Africa
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) – As Americans explore the renaming of army bases, statues, streets, and schools that honour racist slave-holders or portray demeaning relationships between whites and Black, Brown and Latinx citizens, similar efforts are underway in Senegal and Liberia most recently. Goree, an island in Senegal linked closely […]
Murder of Popular Protest Singer Swells Opposition Against Ethiopian Leader
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) – Ethiopian protest singer and revered musician Hachalu Hundessa sang about love and unity, recalled his friend Amensisa Ifa, raising issues that many would not dare to bring up. He addressed issues of marginalization – capturing the struggles and frustrations of his Oromo people who faced […]
France Returns Remains of Algerian Resistance Fighters
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) – “The martyrs are returning home.” Those were the words of noted historian Malika Rahal on learning that the remains of 24 Algerian resistance fighters, killed in the Algerian independence war of 1954-62, would be flown back to Algeria after years kept by the French in […]
Huge Sahara Red Dust Cloud Reaches America’s South
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) – A brilliant red sky at dusk can be seen in states along the Atlantic but the eye-popping show should be watched with some caveats. Things to consider when it comes to the dust cloud include the size of the particles, the concentration and the composition […]
Election Rerun in Malawi Scores Upset Victory for Opposition
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK | LILONGWE (IDN) – In a landmark presidential rerun, Malawi’s sitting President has been ousted from power after a sweeping victory by a popular Pentecostal preacher and former theology lecturer who promised to unite and serve all Malawians. ” want to provide leadership that makes everybody prosper, […]
UN Senior African Officials ‘Outraged’ at Systemic Racism and Police Brutality
By Caroline Mwanga NEW YORK (IDN) – Twenty-two United Nations senior African officials who hold the rank of Under-Secretary-General have in their “personal capacity” signed “Joint Reflections” on the last few weeks of protests at the killing of George Floyd in the hands of police, which they say in no uncertain terms have left them […]
Ethiopian Gold Mine Leaves Deadly Toxic Waste Trail in Prime Minister’s Home Town
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) – A gold mine in Ethiopia’s most populous and restive region, Oromia, has been anything but a blessing. Residents claim that contamination from the mine, owned by an Ethiopia-born Saudi tycoon, has led to disastrous health problems. Locals say chemicals used to process gold at the […]
COVID-19 in Africa: WHO Urges Constant Vigilance as Cases Top 200,000
By Jamshed Baruah GENEVA (IDN) – At present, Africa has an only small fraction of more than 7.5 million COVID-19 affected people, nearly 423,000 of whom have died because of the Coronavirus worldwide. The virus has affected about 200,000 people on the 54-nation continent and killed 5,600. “Swift and early action by African countries has […]
Capping Week of Protests, UK Activists Topple Slave Trader’s Statue
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) – Years of inaction over the fate of an 18-foot statue of Edward Colston, a 17th century slave trader with the Royal African Company (RAC) was decided on June 7 with the toppling of Colston’s bronze statue in Bristol, England. The statue was pulled down by […]