Author: AMN

President Faustin Archange Touadera of the Central African Republic said Tuesday that he would call a referendum on a new constitution that would allow him to seek a new term. “I have decided… to submit this project for a new constitution to a referendum,” he said in an address to the nation posted on Facebook, without saying when the vote would take place. Touadera’s opponents have already accused him of seeking to extend his rule despite constitutional limits. Touadera was elected in 2016 and was returned for a second term in 2020, despite widespread accusations of electoral flaws. In October,…

Blue and white majolica vases in different shapes and sizes form part of a new collection at The Vatican Museum. Used by nuns at a historic Rome pharmacy, these artefacts are now being showcased in two rooms: the “Spezieria di Santa Cecilia in Trastevere” (Apothecary shop of St. Cecilia in Trastevere) and the “Sala Delle Ceramiche” (Ceramics Hall). “In the last few days, we have opened two new rooms in the Vatican Museums to the public for the first time. They will be part of the (exhibition) route from the exit of the Sistine Chapel to our decorative arts department.…

Tobacco farming is booming in some African countries. Big producers include Zimbabwe and Malawi. However, as the world marks on May 31st the “No tobacco day”, the world health organization sounded the alarm on the increase in tobacco farming land at the expense of food crops. Zimbabwe is Africa’s largest tobacco producer. The size of the tobacco crop increased despite increased fertiliser prices caused by the war in Ukraine, Zimbabwean officials say. “There are more than 350 million people having hunger and food insecurity issues, and many of the countries where these issues are a concern are also big tobacco…

Burkina Faso’s prime minister on Tuesday ruled out negotiations with jihadist insurgents who control swathes of the country, while suggesting that security risks could delay the country’s return to civilian rule. “We will never negotiate, either over Burkina Faso’s territorial integrity or its sovereignty,” Apollinaire Kyelem de Tambela told the Transitional Legislative Assembly. Burkina Faso has been ruled since 2022 by a junta led by Captain Ibrahim Traore, who has promised a return to democracy with presidential elections by July 2024. But de Tambela suggested that attacks could see that time frame pushed back. “We cannot organise elections without security.…

Thirteen individuals tragically lost their lives within a three-day period, while four others are currently in critical condition after consuming suspected poisonous food in Namibia. According to local media, all the affected individuals were part of a household consisting of 22 people in Kayova village, situated in the northeastern region of Kavango. The majority of the deceased were children who were reportedly in dire need of nourishment. The health ministry, as cited by the state broadcaster NBC, revealed that the family had consumed porridge prepared with pearl millet flour and fermented sediment derived from a homemade beverage. In response to…

Nigeria became Wednesday (May 24) the first African team to qualify for the knockout stage in the Under 20 World Cup taking place in Argentina. Gambia, AFCON’s runner-up followed in the Flying Eagles path. Four teams from the continent are competing in the 23rd edition of the U20 World Cup. Gambia’s U20 team which is the AFCON runner-up qualified for the last 16 of the Under-20 World Cup by overcoming France on Thursday (May 25). They won their second match in the Argentinian city of Mendoza (2-1). The Gambians had dominated Honduras by the same score in their opening game on Monday (May…

Holding a bamboo ink pen, Ethiopian Orthodox priest Zelalem Mola carefully copies text in the ancient Ge’ez language from a religious book onto a goatskin parchment. This painstaking task is preserving an ancient tradition, all the while bringing him closer to God, says the 42-year-old Zelalem. At the Hamere Berhan Institute in Addis Ababa, priests and lay worshippers work by hand to replicate sometimes centuries-old religious manuscripts and sacred artwork. The parchments, pens and inks are all prepared on site at the institute, which lies in the Piasa district in the historic heart of the Ethiopian capital. Yeshiemebet Sisay, 29,…

Fulgence Kayishema, one of four remaining fugitives sought for their role in the 1994 Rwanda genocide, has been arrested in South Africa, UN investigators confirmed on Thursday. To the victims of genocide, the arrest offers a reprieve for justice during this time for commemorating. “It’s a great relief for Ibuka, for the survivors of the genocide, who have been thirsting for justice for years and years. So it’s a very positive thing, especially at this time of commemoration,” said Naphtali Ahishakiye, Ibuka executive secretary. Between 2005 and 2012, more than 12,000 community-based courts put nearly two million people on trial…

The Ugandan parliament has passed a bill that increases paternity leave from four to seven days to enable male working employees to help their spouses. “…it is important that more time be accorded to male employees to help their spouses,” Flavia Kabahenda, the chairperson of parliament’s gender committee, said after the passage of the bill. The MPs said they borrowed a leaf from the neighboring Kenya which accords male working employees two weeks for paternity leave, local media reported. The parliament, however, rejected a proposal to provide additional leave days from the current 60 days to 90 days for female…

Radical Islamist Shebab rebels launched an attack on Friday against a base of the African Union force in Somalia (Atmis), about 120 kilometers south-west of the capital Mogadishu, Atmis announced, without giving further details of any casualties. The Shebab rebels, affiliated to al-Qaeda, have been fighting the internationally-backed federal government since 2007. Driven out of the country’s main cities in 2011-2012, they remain firmly entrenched in vast rural areas. They regularly carry out suicide attacks in this poor and unstable country in the Horn of Africa. On Friday morning, “an Atmis base in Bulo Marer was attacked by Al-Shabab. Atmis…