Africa

Cotton production is in free fall in Mali. The former African fiber champion is expected to harvest a quarter of what he produced last year. The poor textile economy associated with Covid-19 is not the only reason. It will be one of the worst cotton crops in Mali's history. Less than 80,000 tons of fiber compared to nearly…

From New York to Bamako via Paris and Algiers, one of the priorities of the Chancelleries accredited in Mali is the implementation of the Algerian peace agreement signed in 2015 between the armed groups in northern Mali and the government. This provides a better representation of the peoples of the northern part of the country and disarms movements of ex-rebels or loyalists to integrate them into the army to put an end to the tensions in these regions. But for five years, this deal has slipped. A diplomatic meeting was…

In Madagascar, civil society is sounding the alarm. Environmental activist Raleva is due to appear this Friday, October 2, for the public prosecution of Mananjary, a town located on the island's east coast. The man took part in a demonstration by local people on September 1 to protest against gold mining in a Chinese company. Environmental associations are concerned about the possible consequences of this call. Environmental activist Raleva is summoned to Friday, October 2, by the National Gendarmerie with three other…

From Washington to Brussels, the children mobilize for Paul Rusesabagina, the hero of the film Hotel Rwanda, and call for more international support for their father detained in Kigali. Paul Rusesabagina, who is known to have saved more than 1,200 people during the genocide, now an opponent, is detained since late August in Kigali. He was charged in mid-September with "terrorism, murder and financing of riots". This Friday, 2 October, the Rwandan judiciary is due to rule on a request for bail. His children condemn the…

More than 700 civilians died from 5 to 10 June 2000 in Kisangani after heavy arms conflicts between the Rwandan and Ugandan armies. Even today, the traces of this violence are still there and the pain is still alive. Monsignor Samuel Lotika has gray hair and well-worn glasses. The provincial president-bishop of Christ Church in Congo barely hides his teary-eyed eyes at the mention of the Six-Day War. “The first one was going to fall in the classroom where my son was studying. Many of the students were dead. It was also…

Normalization with Israel, desired by the United States before next November, the date of the presidential election, is not realized in Sudan. Neither US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's visit to Khartoum last August nor Abu Dhabi's talks with US officials last week proved fruitful. The Sudanese authorities say they are under…

In tonight's edition: Nigeria started the month celebrating six decades of self-government. We look back at the watershed moments that led up to and followed the African giant's independence from Britain. Also, Cameroon's sand divers risk their lives to plunge into the Sanago River in search of sand for the construction industry, and we visit one of Algeria's open secrets in hopes of getting away from…

In Mali, the Charter, which will organize the transition for the next 18 months, was published in the Official Journal of the European Union on Thursday 1 October. The document takes into account a significant demand from ECOWAS, subject to the transitional chairman, Colonel Assimi Goïta, leader of the junta. Unlike an earlier version of the Transition Charter, the one published in the Official Journal of the European Union on Thursday does not mention that the Vice President can assume the functions of President of the…

The US Secretary of Defense continues his three-day visit to North Africa, which is also his first trip to the African continent. After Tunisia yesterday, Mark Esper made a stopover in Algiers on October 1, before heading for Morocco tomorrow. No Pentagon leader has visited Algeria since Donald Rumsfeld in 2006. The goal is to strengthen cooperation between the two countries on security issues.…

In an exclusive interview with FRANCE 24 during an official visit to France, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta discussed the biggest challenges facing him. Asked about the fight against terrorism, the Kenyan leader denied that the US military has sought permission to carry out drone strikes inside Kenya. He stressed that if such a request was made, he would reject it. Kenyatta also addressed the Covid-19 pandemic, Kenya's economic development, as well as an attempt to dissolve parliament due to gender inequality. In an…