Africa News Tonight - VOA Africa

The United States has committed billions of dollars to support the global response to the clade I mpox outbreak, which is spreading across the Democratic Republic of the Congo and other African countries. More than 400 million children around the world are not getting the nutrients they need to thrive, and philanthropist Bill Gates tells VOA malnutrition needs more attention. In the Sahel, Russia’s Wagner Group has capitalized on the absence of foreign involvement to expand its influence by protecting coup leaders and fighting militants, but the group’s success has been limited.

The man suspected of planning to shoot former U.S. president Donald Trump has appeared in court in the U.S. state of Florida, a day after the Secret Service prevented an apparent assassination attempt. The USAfrica Business Week in New York brings together African and U.S. leaders to enhance trade and investment between the continent and the United States. The signatories of South Sudan’s 2018 peace agreement have extended the transitional government of national unity for another two years.

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.

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.

The debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump is now history. How did they both perform? What was the high and low points for both in the debate? Do debates move the needle one way or the other for voters? For answers Africa News Tonight Host Yeheyes Wuhib talked to US election expert Karen Hult, Professor in the Department of Political Science at Virginia Tech University.

In the U.S. presidential election, the Republican Party’s nominee, Donald Trump, clashed with his Democratic Party rival, Kamala Harris, over issues such as abortion, immigration and foreign policy. A Nigerian international affairs expert says the candidates brought up issues important to Africa in their debate. Around the United States, people marked the anniversary of the 9-11 terrorist attacks, which began what the U.S. called the Global War on Terrorism against al-Qaida and groups such as the Islamic State and its Africa affiliates.

Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump square off Tuesday in Philadelphia for their first presidential debate. As the death toll in Sudan's war rises to more than 20,000 people, United Nations-backed human rights investigators call for the creation of an “independent and impartial force” to protect civilians. Several agencies say Lake Victoria, the largest lake in Africa, has become a convergence point for organized crime seeking to exploit the fragile ecosystem.

There are calls for a thorough investigation into the kidnapping and death of Ali Kibao, an official in Tanzania’s opposition Chadema party, over the weekend. Kenya begins three days of national mourning Monday following the death of at least 21 students in a boarding school inferno in central Kenya, as officials search for at least 17 still missing from the blaze. The recent Forum on China-Africa Cooperation came as African leaders eye mounting great power competition between the United States and China over resources and influence on the continent.

As the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation summit winds down in Beijing, experts assess Beijing’s relations with African nations. The United Nations said it held talks between Libya’s rival governments in an attempt to resolve a crisis at the country’s central bank, which has triggered a blockade of oil production and exports from Libya. Malawi government officials, road engineers, and road safety specialists say human behavior and poor road conditions lead to deadly accidents on Malawi’s M-1 Road, the oldest road network in the southern African nation.

Since 2000, China’s economic ties with Africa have deepened significantly, but those ties, in particular, China’s direct investment in Africa, have been the subject of discussion regarding their composition, goals, nature and implications for the continent’s economic development. A regional campaign supported by the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization to create awareness about gender-based violence at universities is gaining momentum. A road safety report says motorized tricycles are linked to the most traffic fatalities in Ghanaian city of Kumasi, but the demand for their services keeps them on the roads.

Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Summit (FOCAC) has started in Beijing today and will end September 6th. The gathering, which happens every three years, brings together 53 African countries and China to discuss important topics in the Africa-China relationship, including trade, investment, and development. Regarding the summit VOA’s Yeheyes Wuhib talks to Alex Vines who leads the Africa Program at Chatham House and is an expert on China/Africa relations.

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.

Ten people are on trial for treason in Nigeria in connection with anti-government protests that erupted last month over the high cost of living. The Ugandan North American Association gathered in Washington for a three-day conference to promote cross-cultural collaboration through technology, healthcare and investment to support Uganda's economic development. Known as the backbone of Eswatini’s transportation system, the MR3 Highway is a vital artery that connects communities, and yet for some, it has become a place of tragedy.

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.

As the world observes the U.N. International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, human rights activists and his family are demanding answers about Zimbabwe activist Itai Dzamara, missing since 2015. Figures from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute show military spending for countries in the Middle East and North Africa totaled $252 billion in 2023, 12 percent higher than 2022 and almost double the world growth rate. And there is plenty of exciting action in the Paris Paralympics.

The chief negotiator at U.S.-mediated peace talks on Sudan says breakthroughs for greater humanitarian access that were achieved in the first round of negotiations last week are holding and are expanding. Parts of the 46th Chinese naval escort taskforce visited Egypt, Morocco, the Gulf of Aden and the waters off Somalia over several months this year as part of an effort by Beijing to enhance relations with African countries. Sierra Leone’s health minister says the country is working to head off any possible mpox outbreak and continues to work to reduce malaria cases.

The World Health Organization Regional Committee for Africa has opened its 74th session in Brazzaville, and mpox is high on the agenda. As the West clamps down on imports of green technology products from China, the world’s biggest manufacturer, is looking for new markets. Sudanese army leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who boycotted recent cease-fire negotiations, has vowed to continue fighting the rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

United Nations agencies warn that refugees and displaced families in the Democratic Republic of Congo and other African countries with mpox outbreaks are at particular risk of illness and death because of their living conditions. Tunisia's President Kais Saied announced a broad cabinet reshuffle of 19 ministers – nearly the entire government – ahead of the October 6th presidential election. Africa's first solar-powered tractor is undergoing field tests in Malawi, and some experts say it could help smallholder farmers improve crop yields.

A drought that started early this year is intensifying across southern Africa, leaving almost 70 million people in urgent need of aid in countries including Lesotho, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Health authorities in sub-Saharan Africa say armed gangs and rebel groups are obstructing their access to towns and villages that are suspected of having mpox cases. Libya’s Parliament, controlled by the eastern-based government, has voted to end the mandate of the rival Tripoli-based Government of National Unity.

Just a month after President Joe Biden announced he would not seek reelection, Kamala Harris accepted the nomination to be the Democratic Party’s candidate in the U.S. presidential election. U.S. diplomat and Africa foreign policy advisor Susan Rice said the United States must continue to strengthen its ties with African nations during the next administration. The United Nations says it is working with governments and health officials in East Africa to contain the outbreak of mpox on the continent.