Africa News Tonight - VOA Africa

The United Nations Human Rights Chief Volker Türk has held separate telephone calls with Sudan’s rival generals this week to try to de-escalate the conflict in the country. The mining town of Rubaya, in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, has fallen into the hands of the M23 rebels, raising fears the militants will use the profits from the mines to fund their war against the government. Ethiopia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has denounced a speech by U.S. Ambassador Ervin Massinga, who called for a "transparent transitional justice process" to address reports of extrajudicial killings, arbitrary detentions, sexual violence and other abuses.

The International Crisis Group says South Sudan faces an economic meltdown because of the war in neighboring Sudan. The Crisis Group is an independent, non-profit, non-governmental organization committed to preventing conflicts. In its latest report, the group says Sudan’s civil war has severely disrupted South Sudan’s oil exports thereby depriving the country of much needed petrodollars, the country’s main source of revenue. South Sudan sells its oil from a terminal in Port Sudan. Daniel Akech, Crisis Group’s senior analyst for South Sudan, talks to VOA’s James Butty, about the impact of South Sudan’s inability to sell its oil.

Africa News Tonight is a lively news magazine show featuring VOA correspondent reports, interviews with African officials, opposition leaders, NGOs and human rights activists. News feature stories look at science and technology, environmental issues, humanitarian topics, and the African diaspora.

With South Africa’s general election just two weeks away, some polls suggest the governing African National Congress could get less than 50 percent of the vote for the first time in 30 years. Human rights activists in Nigeria are criticizing a new bid put forward by Nigerian lawmakers to punish drug trafficking with the death penalty. Human Rights Watch says an armed group allegedly linked to the Islamic State militants used boys as young as 13 to raid and loot the northern Mozambique town of Macomia in Cabo Delgado province.

The Internal Displacement Monitoring Center reports conflicts and violence have pushed the number of internally displaced people to a record-breaking high of 75.9 million people, with nearly half of all IDP’s living in sub-Saharan Africa. Cameroon’s military has moved more than 300 civilians rescued from Boko Haram terrorist captivity to a northern Cameroon military post. Zambia continues to negotiate with commercial and official creditors on restructuring its external debt.

With Chad recently confirming Mahamat Déby as civilian president after a long-delayed election, Western powers are watching to see what role, if any, they will play in countering terror threats in the Sahel region. The Kenyan medical workers strike is partially over, but salary issues for interns still are not resolved, nurses have just given a strike notice, and clinical officials and lab workers are still out. Some analysts say whoever wins the U.S. presidency will face a stiff challenge in trying to restore America's influence and prestige on the continent of Africa.

Chad’s transitional ruler General Mahamat Idriss Deby was declared the winner of Monday’s election, and the government ordered the immediate deployment of troops to maintain peace, especially in the capital, N'djamena. Aid organization World Neighbors helps people to build businesses in Burkina Faso and Mali, despite militant attacks and mercenary groups operating in the Sahel. A study released last year suggests that dinosaurs like the Tyrannosaurus Rex had an exceptionally high number of neurons in their brains, and the king of the dinosaurs may have been more intelligent than had been assumed.

In eastern Libya, where General Khalifa Haftar, commander of the self-proclaimed Libyan National Army, is backed by the Russian military, some regional security analysts estimate the Russian presence ranges from 1,000 to 1,500 individuals. The war between Russia and Ukraine is in its 2nd year, and many African students who had to leave for safety find themselves back in their home countries and feel largely ignored. In Eswatini’s textile industry thousands of female workers say they face unhygienic work environments, low pay, excessively long unpaid hours, harsh discrimination, and unjust dismissals.

Kenya's health ministry has announced the government has reached a deal with striking doctors, after a walk-out that lasted 56 days. Two suspected poachers were recently shot to death by Namibian law enforcement officials who say the men had opened fire on police while being pursued for allegedly illegally hunting in the Etosha National Park. In Tanzania, Medical Teams International has been able to achieve a rate of zero maternal deaths over the past four years in the Nyarugusu and Nduta refugee camps..

The United States and other countries are pushing ahead with diplomatic efforts to establish a cease-fire between Israel and the militant Hamas group, as Israel threatens an assault on the Gaza city of Rafah. Hundreds of political parties and independent candidates have registered for South Africa’s election on May 29, as the ruling African National Congress faces the prospect of losing its majority for the first time. Egyptian businessman and Sinai militia leader Ibrahim al-Organi has been appointed head of Egypt's Arab Tribes Union, a paramilitary entity uniting five tribal groups under one umbrella to confront national security challenges.

Chad’s presidential election concludes today with civilians going to the polls, a day after members of the military cast their ballots. Nigeria is cracking down on electoral fraud, marking a turning point for African democracy. Advocacy group Reporters Without Borders says limits on political coverage has a chilling effect on journalists in Africa, especially in the Sahel.

Chad’s election on Monday is almost certain to result in victory for transitional president and military leader Mahamat Idriss Déby, some analysts say. Some Sahel states favor restrictions on news media for reporting security-related stories that governments do not like. Presumed Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump says if elected he would restore a travel ban on some majority-Muslim countries; President Joe Biden rescinded the controversial ban the former president imposed in his first term.

In its 2024 economic outlook for sub-Saharan Africa, the Bretton Wood Institution says it is upbeat about a good regional economic recovery but adds that growth has been more sluggish than expected. There are reports that Russian cargo planes were seen offloading scores of soldiers at Brak al-Shati, while cargo ships carrying equipment docked at the port of Tobruk. A South African whistleblower had to fight for her job after she exposed corruption.

Former South African President Jacob Zuma has thrown his political weight behind a fresh rival to the ruling African National Congress, and adds more unpredictability to the elections. To mark Labor Day in Cameroon, hundreds of thousands of workers march against abuses they say include illegal dismissals and failure to pay the $70 monthly minimum wage. Economic and accountability bodies in Malawi urge the government to address flaws in the public procurement system, and counter corruption.

Kenyan President William Ruto today led an emergency cabinet meeting to plan the government's response to the floods and ordered mandatory evacuations from at-risk areas. Mali’s military government says its forces have killed a senior Islamic State commander, Abu Huzeifa, during a joint operation with Burkina Faso and Niger. U.S. officials are negotiating the removal of American troops from Niger after the country's military junta ended a longstanding security pact.

Heavy rains continue to pound a large portion of East Africa, causing death and devastation, with Kenya and Tanzania reporting nearly 250 deaths. The African Union has said it is deeply concerned about "escalating tensions between local communities" in a disputed area of northern Ethiopia and asked all parties to halt hostilities. African nations are hard hit by rising plastic pollution, although they lag behind developed nations in plastics use.

The United Nations high commissioner for human right is urging Sudan’s warring parties to immediately de-escalate the violence in and around El-Fasher city in northern Darfur, which has killed dozens of civilians. El Nino may contribute to floods that have killed at more than 220 people in Kenya and Tanzania, and to the drought pushing Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe toward hunger crises. Gabon's month-long national dialogue intended to lay the groundwork for restoring civilian rule in the Central African nation concludes at the end of April, with delegates proposing a range of options for new governance.

U.S. and Niger officials are meeting today to discuss the withdrawal of American forces from the military-ruled country. Since their military coup, Niger’s new leaders have pursued closer ties with Russia, mirroring neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso, where Russian military forces have established a presence. In the U.S., university students are demonstrating against the Israel and Hamas war in Gaza, and although some demonstrators have been arrested, it appears the protests are not dying down.

Botswana says it rejected a proposal to accept asylum-seekers from Britain, an arrangement similar to the one that Rwanda has agreed to. A British analyst says the Labour Party could end the Rwanda asylum plan if it comes to power. Reporters Without Borders ranked Tunisia as 121st out of 180 countries in its freedom of the press index for 2023.

Africa News Tonight is a lively news magazine show featuring VOA correspondent reports, interviews with African officials, opposition leaders, NGOs and human rights activists. News feature stories look at science and technology, environmental issues, humanitarian topics, and the African diaspora.