Home
King Charles in Kenya for state visit
- Details
- Written by northsouth
- Category: Africa
- Hits: 245
By EVELYNE MUSAMBI and EMMANUEL IGUNZA
NAIROBI - King Charles III is in Kenya for his first state visit to a Commonwealth country as monarch. He will acknowledge the “painful aspects” of the countries’ shared history while underscoring his commitment to an organization that’s been central to Britain’s global power since World War II.
The four-day visit is full of symbolism. Charles’ mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, learned that she had become the U.K. monarch while visiting a game preserve in the East African nation, at the time a British colony, in 1952.
The king and Queen Camilla touched down in the capital, Nairobi, late Monday and were given a ceremonial welcome Tuesday by Kenyan President William Ruto at State House. Charles later planted an African fern tree seedling in its lawn.
The royal couple also visited the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior at gardens named Uhuru, which is Swahili for freedom. The king and Ruto laid wreaths, then proceeded to the site of the declaration of Kenya’s independence in 1963.
Comments by the king and Kenya’s president were not immediately made available.
Kenya is celebrating the 60th anniversary of its independence this year. It and Britain have enjoyed a close and sometimes challenging relationship after the prolonged struggle against colonial rule, sometimes known as the Mau Mau Rebellion, in which thousands of Kenyans died.
Colonial authorities resorted to executions and detention without trial as they tried to put down the insurrection, and thousands of Kenyans said they were beaten and sexually assaulted by agents of the administration.
The British High Commission said Charles would “meet veterans and give his blessing to efforts by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission to ensure Kenyans and Africans who supported British efforts in the World Wars are properly commemorated.”
The king also plans to visit Nairobi National Park and meet with environmental activist Wanjira Mathai, the daughter of late Nobel laureate Wangari Maathai, as he emphasizes his commitment to environmental protection.
The royal family has long ties to Africa. In 1947, the future queen pledged lifelong service to Britain and the Commonwealth during a speech from South Africa on her 21st birthday. Five years later, she and her late husband Prince Philip were visiting Aberdare National Park in Kenya when they learned that her father had died and she had become queen.
African Football League: Newest elite club competition
- Details
- Written by northsouth
- Category: Africa
- Hits: 236
LONDON - Africa's new elite club competition, the African Football League (AFL), will kick off on Friday when the opening game takes place in Tanzania.
Before the strongest attempt yet to make African clubs competitive globally, BBC Sport Africa answers some of the key questions concerning the Fifa-backed tournament.
What - and when - is the African Football League?
The AFL is a new competition for the continent's leading clubs, eight of whom will battle it out in the hope of winning the $4m prize for the champions.
On Friday, the record 11-time African club champions - Al Ahly, of Egypt - meet Tanzania's Simba in the first of the quarter-finals, all of which are played over two legs.
The brainchild of Fifa and its president Gianni Infantino, who announced in February 2020
that the continent needed a new pan-African club competition, the AFL - in its own words - "is set to change the future of club football on the continent".
The two-legged final of this year's inaugural AFL, which will be played on a knock-out basis,
is scheduled for 5 and 11 November.
Does Africa need a new club competition?
Back in 2020, Infantino outlined some of the weaknesses he saw in African club football, saying that the continent lacked "proper competition infrastructure" and existing tournaments such as the African Champions League and Confederations Cup were "30-40 times less successful than Europe".
With Fifa working in partnership with the Confederation of African Football (Caf), the hope is the AFL will not only raise the global profile of the continent's clubs but also generate increased revenue.
Should Africa's clubs resultantly improve their finances, the hope is that improved wages will incentivise more players to stay on the continent to play football without feeling the need to play in Europe or elsewhere.
"By providing an unparalleled competitive platform, the league aims to elevate the quality of the sport while generating substantial revenue streams," says the AFL, adding that the money will be shared "proportionally among the participating clubs and all stakeholders involved".
Who are the participating clubs?
The eight teams have been selected from three different regions - north, central-west and south-east Africa - with Caf saying it chose the highest-ranked teams in each bloc.
In addition to Al Ahly, northern Africa - which has accounted for the winners in 11 of the last 13 stagings of the Caf Champions League - will be represented by Morocco's Wydad Casablanca, African champions in 1992, 2017 and 2022, and Esperance, whose tally of four continental crowns include back-to-back titles in 2018 and 2019.
As well as Simba, the south-east will incorporate Mamelodi Sundowns - one of only two sub-Saharan clubs to be crowned African champions since 2004 - and Petro Atletico, even though the Angolan club recently had to appeal a domestic ban over match-fixing charges the club denies.
With Nigeria's Enyimba having not contested the African Champions League semi-finals since 2011, the two-time African champions (2003, 2004) can count themselves lucky to be among the nominal top eight, which cannot be said of DR Congo's TP Mazembe, who won the last of their five titles in 2015.
And who are the 'stakeholders' involved?
The stakeholders are - in a perfect world - all the countries in Africa.
In a recent statement, the AFL said the money generated by the competition "will go to all 54 Caf members and local leagues to improve football development in those countries".
When the new elite league was launched in August 2022, it was suggested that each country would receive an annual $1m cash award, with the governing body itself hoping to earn about $50m which would be dedicated to youth and women's football.
However, such expectations have since been tempered by the tournament's reduced budget.
What happened to the hundreds of millions once linked to the AFL?
Much of the talk before the prize money was finally confirmed suggested the AFL would bring in substantial revenue, with Caf president Patrice Motsepe speaking in August 2022 of a desire to bring in "$250-300m every year".
But those sums have not materialised, with the budget slashed from the initially-suggested $200m - first mentioned by Infantino in 2020 - to $100m, which would have seen the competition winner earn $11.6m, before being reduced even further.
There was once talk of 24 clubs each receiving $2.5m to participate in the competition, but the total AFL prize fund for the eight clubs currently stands at just over $10m.
On 30 September, CAF announced that the winner would receive $4m, the runners-up $3m, the semi-finalists $1.7m and the quarter-finalists $900,000 - all amounts greater than the rewards on offer in the African Champions League, which will continue.
Who is providing the money?
With seemingly unlimited funds, a fervent desire to promote their 2034 World Cup bid and a five-year partnership deal with Caf signed in May, it was little surprise when Saudi Arabia was unveiled as the AFL's main financial backer.
On 12 October, just weeks after hosting CAF's Super Cup match, Saudi Arabia's Visit Saudi - the public agency in charge of promoting tourism in the country - became the AFL's main sponsor.
"The success of the AFL will contribute to the building of youth academies for boys and girls and football infrastructure in [CAF's] 54 countries," the press release trumpeted.
On Tuesday, just three days before the official kick-off, the Rwandan government became another sponsor, with Visit Rwanda branding to be visible on player jerseys, in stadiums and elsewhere.
How can I watch?
The world's most successful football competitions, such as the Uefa Champions League and England's Premier League, make most of their money through lucrative broadcasting deals.
However, the first staging of the AFL will be unavailable through traditional platforms and will be streamed instead via the AFL website or its corresponding YouTube account, which had 706 subscribers two days before the tournament began. It will also be streamed internationally on Fifa+, a service belonging to football's global governing body, although unavailable to viewers in South Africa, Tanzania and the United Kingdom.
Given the cost of data, many African football fans may choose against spending hard-earned income on the new competition but organisers are hoping for global interest. "With the right exposure, our players can be sold for double, triple or quadruple [their expected] value," one owner said.
Spectators can watch the games in the stadiums, with fans expected to pack in to Simba's Benjamin Mkapa Stadium for the opener.
What do critics say?
Not everyone is happy about the AFL, which organisers initially called the Africa Super League until being persuaded not to because of the potential negative associations with the swiftly-aborted European Super League.
Despite Fifa and Caf's combined attempts to bolster the quality of African clubs, who have struggled to make any regular impact at the soon-to-be-expanded Club World Cup, there are fears that the riches on offer may only widen the gap between Africa's elite clubs and the rest.
Club football is already dominated by clubs with superior budgets, most of which are found in North Africa. If they start receiving more money, how will the rest keep up?
"The Super League will kill African club football," said outspoken critic John Comitis, the owner of South Africa's Cape Town FC, speaking before the competition name change. "You can switch off the lights on domestic leagues."
What's the future for the AFL?
Both Fifa and Caf hope the inaugural AFL will go so well that the event attracts more sponsors and broadcasters ahead of the second edition next year, which could be a totally different proposition.
On its website, the AFL says it is "anticipating remarkable growth" and expects to include 22 teams next year in an extended format throughout the season, providing "greater inclusivity of clubs from across the continent".
Former Simba chief executive Barbara Gonzalez is among those who simply hope the tournament can raise the quality of African football and increase the investment required to lead to international success. "Now that they're investing heavily [in the African club game], we have a fighting chance," she said.
African conflicts displace over 40 million people
- Details
- Written by northsouth
- Category: Africa
- Hits: 274
By the Africa Center for Strategic Studies
ADDIS ABABA - Continuing a decade long trend, the number of Africans who are forcibly displaced has risen over the past year and now totals over 40 million people.
An additional 3.2 million Africans have been displaced due to conflict over the past year. This represents a 13-percent increase and continues an unchecked upward trend observed since 2011.
There are now an estimated 40.4 million forcibly displaced Africans (internally displaced persons, refugees, and asylum seekers), more than double the figure in 2016. For perspective, 40 million forcibly displaced people is more than the populations of Angola, Ghana, or Morocco.
More than 77 percent of these 40 million are internally displaced within their countries. Of those who leave their country of origin an estimated 96 percent stay in Africa. Most of those that move off the continent do so via legal channels (e.g., resettlement or education visas).
Of the 15 African countries generating the largest number of forcibly displaced people, 14 are experiencing conflict. Twelve of these 15 countries are also authoritarian leaning, underscoring that exclusive government is both a direct (via repression) and indirect (via conflict) driver of forced displacement.
Recognizing and addressing these primary drivers, therefore, is critical to alleviating the observable symptoms of record numbers of forcibly displaced people.
Many of the 16 African countries in conflict are contiguous, stretching from the western Sahel through the Horn of Africa, encompassing the Lake Chad Basin and Great Lakes regions. This is a reminder of the spillover these conflicts have on regional stability.
An illustration of this is Sudan. The clash between the army and the main paramilitary force has caused civilians to flee the violence into six neighbouring countries, many of which are already grappling with their own or other rounds of regional instability.
Below, are the five countries that saw the biggest increases in the numbers of forcibly displaced people over the past year. These five are responsible for 64 percent of the forced displacement on the continent.
Climate-linked Forced Displacement is Up Too
- Over the past year, the number of people displaced due to natural disasters surged almost threefold—to 7 million. This jump follows a trend of consistently growing levels of natural disaster-related displacement in Africa since 2014.
- Historically, forced displacement due to climatic impacts has tended to be more temporary than displacement due to conflict—precisely because there is no ongoing fear of safety to oneself and family due to violence. Most everyone affected by a natural disaster was able to return home once the threat passed. This has changed in recent years. Since 2019, there has been roughly 2 million people who have been unable to return “after the storm” due to the persistence of these threats–mostly flooding, followed by drought and storms. This figure expanded to 3.2 million in 2022.
- Protracted conflict and climate crises have been causing more permanent shifts of populations from rural to urban settlements, seeking security, stability, and livelihoods. Since the infrastructural development and employment opportunities of many urban centers on the continent are not keeping ahead of these population influxes, most of these forcibly displaced are moving into informal settlements with no public services or livelihoods on the outskirts of cities and major towns.
Over 60 dead as fire engulfs building in Johannesburg
- Details
- Written by northsouth
- Category: Africa
- Hits: 276
JOHANNESBURG - At least 63 people were killed and 43 injured on Thursday in a fire in the central business district of South Africa's biggest city of Johannesburg, the municipal government said.
Search and rescue efforts were going on, the city administration said on the platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
"The City of Johannesburg Emergency Management Services can confirm that the number of fatalities has gone up to 63," it said.
Firefighters and emergency vehicles were at the scene, while bodies lay covered in emergency blankets on a street near the site of the early morning blaze, Reuters photographs showed.
Media said the fire engulfed a five-storey building that had been abandoned at one stage but where people had been living. It was not immediately clear what caused the fire.
Main News
latest news
- Russia warns of direct clash with West over Ukraine
- African leaders call for rethink on tackling violent extremism
- Israeli troops storm back into eastern Khan Younis
- Blinken denies US applies double standard to Israeli rights abuses
- Israel indicts sister of Hamas leader Haniyeh on terrorism incitement
- Dramatic reductions in primary forest loss in Brazil and Colombia
- Nature-based solutions for flood management in Asia and the Pacific
- Global aid up in 2023 with more support to Ukraine and humanitarian needs
- US Blocks UN Membership for Palestine and Congress Palestine’s Freedom of Speech
- EU plan to boost mobility for young Brits quickly shot down
- Leaked draft of BBA document casts doubt on Hayes and Palombo Court of Appeal ruling
- Global military spending surges amid war, rising tensions and insecurity
- Cocoa prices soar as weather hurt production
- Gunmen kill 7 customs officials in western Pakistan in two attacks
- West Bank village counts losses after settler attack
- Thousands of Israelis join anti-government protests
- Bodies found in bags marked in Hebrew at destroyed Nasser Hospital
- Aid group able to deliver food to north Gaza for first time since October
- 13 children from same family killed in strikes
- US military will begin plans to withdraw troops from Niger
- Satellite image analyzed by AP shows damage after Iranian attack on Israeli desert air base
- World’s best airport 2024 revealed
- Italy to invite African, South American leaders to G7 summit
- Which countries have nuclear weapons?
- US vetoes Palestinian request for full UN membership
Europe
Russia warns of direct clash with West over Ukraine
Global aid up in 2023 with more support to Ukraine and humanitarian needs
EU plan to boost mobility for young Brits quickly shot down
Leaked draft of BBA document casts doubt on Hayes and Palombo Court of Appeal ruling
Italy to invite African, South American leaders to G7 summit
Stolen Baroque painting returned to UK with support from Eurojust
EURIBO founders speak out against Hayes & Palombo Court of Appeal judgment
How worried are Britons about a Third World War?
‘Russia doesn’t care’: Sweden sounds alarm over unsafe oil fleet
Britain's most expensive cup of coffee is £265
MERA25 condemns Germany’s ban on Yanis Varoufakis
Germany confirms collaboration with genocide by Shutting down Palestine Conference
Germany buries evidence of complicity in Gaza genocide: Nicaragua exposes it
EU lobby register not properly enforced, warns watchdog
At least 17 killed in Russian strike in Kharkiv
Russian missiles slam into a Ukrainian city and kill 8 people
UK inflation falls by less than forecast to 3.2%
Undersea ‘hybrid warfare’ threatens security of 1bn, Nato
Rwanda scheme ‘could cost UK nearly £5bn in first five years’ for 30,000 migrants
Attendance down at PM Eid party amid reports of boycott over Gaza
RAF jets downed attack drones in Iranian assault on Israel, Sunak
Poland: Vote to amend law step towards access to safe and legal abortion
Eurojust tackles fraud of EUR 645 million with medicinal cannabis plants
DiEM25 and MERA25 condemn Germany’s ban of Palestine Congress in Berlin
Yanis Varoufakis banned from political activity in Germany
Asia
Nature-based solutions for flood management in Asia and the Pacific
Gunmen kill 7 customs officials in western Pakistan in two attacks
In Modi’s India, opponents and journalists squeezed ahead of election
Vietnamese billionaire sentenced to death for $44 billion fraud
People blown from apartments as typhoon-like winds ravage southern China
North Korea says it tested a new hypersonic intermediate-range missile
Strongest earthquake in 25 years rocks Taiwan, killing 9 people
India rejects China's renaming of 30 places in Himalayan border state
An Indian court sends opposition leader, Arvind Kejriwal, to jail until April 15
Pakistan court grants Imran Khan appeal of graft conviction, sentence suspended
India's Modi questions rival Congress about island ceded to Sri Lanka
India opposition unites over pre-election arrest, blames PM Modi
India advances controversial anti-Muslim citizenship law
Philippines' Marcos vows countermeasures in response to Chinese 'attacks'
Pakistan’s jurists accuse intelligence agency ISI of intimidation
India: Authorities Revoke Visa Privileges of Diaspora Critics
China vows to safeguard its territorial integrity after South China Sea incident
At least 40 fires set in night of arson across Thailand's south
Vietnam's president resigns, raising questions over stability
India’s new citizenship law excludes Muslims. Why?
Chinese Nobel-winning author targeted in patriotic lawsuit
Chinese military to boost strategic capabilities in areas such as AI, unmanned tech
Indonesia floods, landslide kill 19, with seven missing
China discovers oil field of proven reserve of 102 million tons in South China Sea
Philippine president alarmed by Chinese attack in South China Sea
Africa
African leaders call for rethink on tackling violent extremism
Cocoa prices soar as weather hurt production
US military will begin plans to withdraw troops from Niger
OPEC woos Namibia as country prepares to produce oil from 20230
Big firms buying Kenya’s carbon credits revealed
Why Togo’s politicians disagree over constitutional change
Nigeria is targeting 60% jump in revenues
Africa’s millionaires are under threat
$900m needed by Zambia to deal with the drought
Presidential election campaign kicks off
Senegal’s new government targets economic sovereignty
Nigeria’s inflation rising sharply
South Africa’s regulator takes a chance on crypto
Kyiv opens string of new Africa embassies, in diplomatic push
Nigeria strikes deal with Shell to supply $3.8bn methanol project
Deadly heat in West Africa warns of climate change, report
10 African countries with the strongest currencies in 2024
World paid little attention to Sudan’s war for a year
Global community response to Sudan conflict remains woefully inadequate
Tanzania is wooing Chinese tourists with a new documentary
The rate of growth in new and active mobile money accounts in 2023 slowed down
Ethiopia bets on property ownership offer to attract foreign investors
South Africa’s coal closure delay could result in air pollution-related deaths
Senegal’s Economy growing at a much slower rate
Somalia closed Ethiopian consulates and returned the country’s ambassador
Americas
Blinken denies US applies double standard to Israeli rights abuses
Dramatic reductions in primary forest loss in Brazil and Colombia
US Blocks UN Membership for Palestine and Congress Palestine’s Freedom of Speech
US vetoes Palestinian request for full UN membership
Google sacks 28 employees over Israel protest
Pentagon Recognizes “Officially” that Israel is a Nuclear Power. Declassified Document
IMF: World economy ‘resilient’ but conflict risks food and energy price hikes
Biden agrees to provide $6.4 billion to Samsung for making computer chips in Texas
Pope Francis sides with Peruvian villagers
Multiple people shot during Eid festival in Philadelphia
Biden to consider Australia's request to drop prosecution of Wikileaks founder Assange
Brazil: New IFAD-funded project to promote payment for environmental services
US flags Kenya over bribes, extortion in public tenders
At least 241 people have died in El Salvador’s prisons during the ‘war on gangs’
World Central Kitchen founder says staff 'deliberately targeted' while delivering aid
Forbes’ rich list gains $2 trillion as Taylor Swift and Altman become billionaires
World Central Kitchen is saving lives with food but paying a price in blood
Famine 'quite possibly' in some areas of north Gaza, US official
Pro-Palestine protesters disrupt Biden’s star-studded fundraiser
Most Americans disapprove of Israel’s actions in Gaza: Poll
US and EU breaking taboos to restrain Israel
Trump wins pause of $454 million civil fraud ruling, averting asset seizures
Netanyahu cancels Washington visit after US abstains on Gaza ceasefire vote at UN
Canadian students hunger-strike for college to divest from Israel-linked firms
UN Security Council to vote Friday on US resolution on Gaza ceasefire
Australia & Pacific
Australia’s 2024 National Defence Strategy
Sydney rocked by second mass stabbing as knifeman attacks bishop
Three dead, 1,000 homes destroyed in Papua New Guinea quake
Australia and UK sign defense and security treaty
Australia tightens student visa rules as migration hits record high
Global food crisis and the effects of climate change need urgent action, IFAD
Indonesia, Australia to sign defence pact within months
Australia to ban doxxing after pro-Palestinians publish information about hundreds of Jews
Australia launches inquiry into why Cabinet documents relating to Iraq war remain secret
Australia says AI will help track Chinese submarines under new Aukus plan
China warns Australia to act prudently in naval operations in South China Sea
Christopher Luxon sworn in as new prime minister of New Zealand
Australian Intelligence Report Identifies China as Major Backer of Cyber Crime
Thousands in Australia join pro-Palestinian march over Gaza
Australia rejects Indigenous referendum in setback for reconciliation
Qatar Airways CEO says Australian decision to block flights ‘very unfair’
Moroccan Othmane El Goumri wins Sydney marathon
More than half of Australians oppose Indigenous panel in constitution, poll
Three US Marines die in 'tragic' Australia helicopter crash
Australian bus carrying wedding guests rolls over killing 10 and injuring 25
Guam, where America’s next war may begin
Women most victims of islamophobia in Australia
Time to step up investments in rural communities in the Pacific islands
Australia’s ‘quiet diplomacy’ approach to human rights in India has failed
Public support high in Australia and NZ to accept more Rohingya
MENA
Israeli troops storm back into eastern Khan Younis
Israel indicts sister of Hamas leader Haniyeh on terrorism incitement
West Bank village counts losses after settler attack
Thousands of Israelis join anti-government protests
Bodies found in bags marked in Hebrew at destroyed Nasser Hospital
Aid group able to deliver food to north Gaza for first time since October
13 children from same family killed in strikes
Satellite image analyzed by AP shows damage after Iranian attack on Israeli desert air base
$2.8 billion appeal for three million people in Gaza, West Bank
Germany lodges complaint after report of Netanyahu-Baerbock spat
What we know so far about Israel’s strike on Iran
Netanyahu has done what the world warned him not to
Tunisia jails journalist Mohamed Boughalleb for six months
Reuters' Med Salem wins 2024 World Press Photo of the Year award
Flooded UAE counts cost of epic rainstorm
Majority of Gaza’s frozen embryos destroyed in Israeli strike
Israel speeds up settlement-building in East Jerusalem since Gaza war
EasyJet cancels all flights to Israel for six months
Iran shuts nuclear facilities amid fears of Israeli attack
Iran says any action against its interests will get a severe response
Israel quiet on next move against Iran
Why has Iran attacked Israel?
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh says three sons killed in Gaza strike
Israel's Gaza withdrawal hints at what comes next
How much could it cost to rebuild Gaza after Israel's war with Hamas?
Videos
-
Future of car-plane, see it to believe it
-
Mehdi Hasan: Islam is a peaceful religion
-
Python swallows antelope whole in under an hour
-
Sangoku dance
-
flying 3 kites wonder!
-
Korea has talent
-
Paul Potts sings Nessun Dorma
-
Susan Boyle - Britain's Got Talent
-
Twist and Pulse - Britain's Got Talent
-
Shaheen Jafargholi (HQ) Britain's Got Talent
High-Quality clip of 12-year-old singer Shaheen Jafargholi auditioning on Britain's Got Talent 2009. First he sings Valerie by The Zutons, as performed by Amy Winehouse, but, after Simon interrupts him and asks for a different song, he just blew everyone away. -
David Calvo juggles and solves Rubik's Cubes
-
Outdoor 'bubble pod' hotel unveiled