The Independent - Africa RSS Feed

UN attempts to slow the new scramble for Africa

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

More than 50 heads of state will gather for a summit later this month to look at ways of policing the extraordinary "land grab" that has seen richer countries buy up at least 20 million hectares of farmland in Africa in the last 18 months. The United Nations is drawing up a "code of conduct" in an effort to slow what's been described as a new scramble for Africa, while agriculture experts are calling for a new global watchdog and aid agencies are appealing for a moratorium on new deals.

British 'Indiana Jones' finds missing legs of 900-year-old Buddhist statue

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

It sounds like the plot of an Indiana Jones movie: an archaeology professor with little more to go on than a yellowing photograph discovers part of a 900-year-old statue deep in the Cambodian jungle, rewriting history in the process.

Prosecutor arrives in Kenya on trail of war crimes

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Some of Kenya's most powerful figures could find themselves in the dock at The Hague charged with crimes against humanity after the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) said he would pursue the masterminds behind the country's post-election violence last year.

MDC pushes for power-share deal

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Zimbabwe's MDC party yesterday ended its boycott of the government, giving President Robert Mugabe a month to settle a new power-sharing deal.

Court freezes Trafigura compensation

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Nearly 30,000 victims of toxic dumping in the Ivory Coast may be deprived of £30m compensation after an African court froze the bank accounts into which the money has been paid.

Zimbabwe to escape censure over abuses in diamond mines

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Zimbabwe looks set to escape any punishment over its trade in blood diamonds after a ruthless lobbying campaign by the Mugabe regime that has included threats and intimidation of a key witness at an international summit in neighbouring Namibia.

Mugabe threats see him escape sanction over blood diamonds

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Maasai feel brunt of West's crisis in giving

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:21:01 GMT

The smell of burning charcoal wafts from the little maasai homes made of stick and animal skins, where large families crowd around small pans taking the little food that is available.

Mercenary Simon Mann's family 'delighted' over pardon

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 13:24:35 GMT

The family of former British soldier Simon Mann spoke today of their delight after he was granted a full pardon for his part in a failed coup plot in Equatorial Guinea.

Jailed British mercenary Simon Mann 'pardoned'

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:54:20 GMT

Reports that former British soldier Simon Mann has been granted a pardon after being jailed for his part in a failed coup plot in Equatorial Guinea were being investigated by the Foreign Office today.

Jailed British mercenary 'pardoned'

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:54:20 GMT

Guy Adams: 'The glaciers seemed remote and shrivelled'

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

According to the guide who took me up Africa's tallest mountain, the name "Kilimanjaro" comes from two words. The first, "Kilima" is Swahili for "hill". The second, "Njaro", can mean "white", or "shiny", or even, depending on both the vigour with which it's pronounced and the imagination of the listener, "shimmering".

Guy Adams: 'When I climbed it, the glaciers seemed remote and shrivelled'

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Climate change will melt snows of Kilimanjaro 'within 20 years'

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

The snows of Mount Kilimanjaro – the highest mountain in Africa – may soon be falling on bare ground following a study showing that its ice cap is destined to disappear entirely within 20 years, due largely to climate change.

South Sudan leader calls for south to secede

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

The leader of southern Sudan called on his people to vote for secession in an upcoming referendum if they do not want to end up as second class citizens, as voter registration began Sunday for elections across the country.

Talks to free British couple threatened by media 'circus'

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

There was mounting concern among security experts last night that efforts to free two British hostages being held by Somali pirates were degenerating into a "circus".

Rival pirate gangs squabble over fate of kidnapped British couple

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Somali pirates said yesterday that a captured British couple had been moved from a container vessel to shore and there was now a dispute between different gangs over the captives.

Our man in Cairo rashly enters Egypt's veil debate

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

As the great-grandson of the Liberal Prime Minister Herbert Asquith, and as a rising star in the Foreign Office, Britain's ambassador to Cairo should be fluent in the carefully crafted language of negotiation and diplomacy.

Congo villagers kill 47 policemen

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Kinshasa: Armed villagers killed at least 47 policemen trying to intervene in ethnic clashes in northern Democratic Republic of Congo. An unknown number of civilians also died in the violence in the village of Dongo, near the border with Republic of the Congo, early on Thursday.

'Our guns will exterminate them randomly,' pirates warn

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Somali pirates holding the British couple Paul and Rachel Chandler were last night considering their ransom demands – which will be made "soon" – and warned that any attempted rescue would result in the death of the hostages.

'Please don't worry' pirate kidnap Briton tells family

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 14:19:47 GMT

A tearful Rachel Chandler told her family not to worry about her as she made contact for the first time since being taken captive by Somali pirates a week ago.

Couple tell of lucky escape from pirates

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 13:20:22 GMT

A second British couple targeted by Somali pirates today spoke of their lucky escape.

Couple tell of luck escape from pirates

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 13:20:22 GMT

A second British couple targeted by Somali pirates today spoke of their lucky escape.

Pirates moving yacht couple back to sea

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 09:21:47 GMT

Pirates holding a British couple tried to stay one step ahead of the authorities today by moving them for a second time.

Charlize Theron told: Hands off Mandela...

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Neither presidents nor film stars are safe from moves to protect the image of Nelson Mandela. Actress Charlize Theron has become the latest person to fall foul of the protectors of the 91-year-old icon's legacy.