Since early September, the government of Gabon has instituted systematic nightly internet blackouts across the country, a move web analysts say is “unprecedented”. The internet curfews last for about 12 hours, starting from early evening to the early hours of the morning, according to Doug Madory, the director of web analytics firm, Dyn.
When Sabah Boudras started streaming live from her classroom, she didn’t know that the exchange with her young students would spark a national conversation about language and identity in Algeria. The primary school teacher from Batna city, located 450 kilometers east of the capital Algiers, recorded herself via Facebook Live (video in Arabic) talking to students about the importance of the Arabic language.
Ethiopian marathoner Feyisa Lilesa took his defiance on the running field to Washington DC on Tuesday (Sept. 13), calling the United States and world’s attention to the wave of violent protests that has engulfed his home country.
Leaders from the two opposing sides of South Sudan’s conflict have amassed millions of dollars in illegal wealth, even as their country struggles under a civil war that has left tens of thousands dead and millions of others displaced and hungry.
Thousands of livestock have been arriving in Saudi Arabia in time for the arrival of millions of Muslims from around the world on the annual pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca. Many of those animals, that will be slaughtered over the next few weeks, would have started their journey from Somalia’s ports.
Feyisa Lilesa, the Ethiopian marathoner who crossed his arms in anti-government protest at the finish line during last month’s Rio Olympics, has arrived in the United States. The silver medalist did not return home after the games ended saying he feared for his life.
Morocco’s mosques are going green in an effort to improve efficiency, promote renewable energy and create business opportunities around energy-efficient technologies. The first phase of a government-led, four-year project is expected to install energy-saving lights, and to use solar panel systems to generate power, heat water and provide air-conditioning in places of worship.
How does one provide a solution to the rampant crime and corruption that plague a city?
Tensions in Ethiopia escalated over the weekend when 23 people were killed after a fire erupted at the Qilinto prison in the outskirts of the capital, Addis Ababa. The jail reportedly holds high political prisoners, some of them from the Oromo community, who have been protesting against the government for almost a year now.
A fable on how humans learnt to walk upright is the most translated short story in African history, according to the group that published it. The piece was written by award-winning veteran Kenyan author, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, and published by the Pan-African collective Jalada Africa. Titled “The Upright Revolution: Or Why Humans Walk Upright,” it has so far been translated into 54 languages.
The signs say it louder and clearer.
Promoting local languages and providing relevant, homegrown content could increase internet adoption across the African continent, a new report finds. The report (pdf), published by the Internet Society, a non-profit dedicated to internet policy, finds that despite the increased access to mobile and telecom infrastructure in Africa, internet adoption was still lagging behind.
The government of Gabon shut down the internet on Wednesday (Aug. 31) following the announcement president Ali Bongo was re-elected by a slim margin for a second seven-year term in office. The move showcased the tensions already gripping the country, with the capital Libreville experiencing a night of violent clashes, looting and arrests, while the main opposition candidate, Jean Ping, said he feared for his safety and went into hiding.
It’s not just the US; Gabon is experiencing its own “birther” movement. Ahead of a general election on Aug. 27, opposition candidates and critics of president Ali Bongo, who is seeking re-election, have claimed he is not actually the son of the late Gabonese president, Omar Bongo, but a war orphan brought over from Nigeria during the Biafran war in the late 1960s.
Kenya’s national anthem caught the world’s attention as long distance runner Eliud Kipchoge took the stage at the Rio Olympics to receive his first Olympic gold medal for winning the men’s marathon.
African teams defied all expectations at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, winning a total of 45 medals, making it the continent’s most successful Olympics. The 11 winning countries overcame obstacles that hindered their progress from the beginning, which saw some countries almost getting banned from the Games altogether.
Kenya has backed down yet again on its decision to close Dadaab, the world’s largest refugee camp. Interior minister Joseph Nkaissery announced the government’s decision on Sunday, stating the repatriation process would not be completed until there’s stability in Somalia.
Thirteen anti-slavery campaigners were sentenced for up to 15 years in prison in Mauritania last week, for their role in a protest aimed at denouncing the practice of slavery in the country. The government tribunal found members of the Initiative for the Resurgence of the Abolitionist Movement (IRA) guilty of various counts, including attacks against the government, armed assembly and membership of an unrecognized organization.
At the Olympic marathon finish line in Rio on Sunday, Feyisa Lilesa from Ethiopia staged a protest that he says could get him arrested or killed back home. The 26-year-old runner crossed his wrists and held his arms over his head as he approached the crossing line as he came in second. It was a gesture of solidarity with the Oromo protests that have taken place in the country since November last year.
In the photo, he looks past the camera, dazed, bleeding and caked in dust from head to toe. He sits still, his hands on his lap, his bare feet protruding from the orange ambulance seat. His name is Omran Daqneesh, he is five years old, and he is the latest victim of the brutal war that has engulfed Syria since March 2011.
Twenty-five years after the cessation of hostilities in Western Sahara, liberation movement Polisario Front has accused Morocco of violating the United Nations brokered truce by sending troops into the largely desert territory. Brahim Ghali, the secretary general of the Front and the country’s newly-elected president, protested Morocco’s actions in a copy of a letter addressed to the UN chief Ban-ki Moon.
The number of technology hubs across Africa have more than doubled in less than a year as more investors and innovators grow the local startup ecosystem beyond the most popular cities. A total of 314 tech hubs and incubation centers were recorded in July by the global telecoms industry body GSMA’s Ecosystem Accelerator, a program that works to enable partnerships between operators and developers in the continent.
Implementing nationwide regulatory laws significantly improve financial ecosystems and the spread of digital mobile services, says a new financial inclusivity report. Brookings Institution looked at 26 countries across Africa, Asia and Latin America and assessed those countries’ commitments in devising national financial strategies, penetration of mobile services, and the various use of both traditional and digital financial services.
In Bulambuli district in eastern Uganda, everyone is an entrepreneur. Or so claim the residents of the town in a new campaign geared towards fundraising for their local start-up projects. The community’s appeal was released in a series of tongue-in-cheek videos posted on YouTube starting last month.
