Is dislodging African artwork from a European museum a political statement, or a criminal act? That’s the question a French court weighed Wednesday in an emotionally charged trial centered around a Congolese activist campaigning to take back art he says was plundered by colonizers. “It belongs to us!” shouted a Black woman watching the trial,

The lifting of crippling economic sanctions against Mali by a bloc of 15-West African countries will come later than first thought, even after the appointment of Mali’s new transitional civilian prime minister, Moctar Ouane. ECOWAS imposed sanctions on Mali shortly after last month’s coup that ousted President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita. The group said they would lift sanctions after civilian leaders were appointed during the transition

Human rights groups in Cameroon have condemned the de facto house arrest of opposition leader Maurice Kamto, who has spent a week at his residence surrounded by riot police.  Authorities say Kamto’s Cameroon Renaissance Movement party is being investigated for attempts to destabilize the country after last week’s anti-government protests. Ilaria Allegrozzi, senior central African

As the world’s attention focuses on the coming American election, another important vote for a key position is generating controversy in Africa. Chadian politician Moussa Faki Mahamat is running unopposed for reelection as chairman of the African Union Commission. Critics say his run is undemocratic and are seeking an extension of the nomination deadline to

Leading Lebanese politician Gebran Bassil has been infected with a “mild” case of the coronavirus, his party said, as cases surge throughout the country. Bassil, the son-in-law of Lebanese President Michel Aoun and a former foreign minister who heads the country’s largest Christian political bloc, discovered he was infected on Saturday after several tests, a

Togo’s prime minister and his government have resigned, the West African nation’s presidency said late Friday. President Faure Gnassingbe congratulated prime minister Komi Selom Klassou and his team for their “economic, political and social efforts and the encouraging results despite the health crisis around the world”, a statement on the presidency’s official website said. Togo

The 15-nation Economic Community of West African States, or ECOWAS, could announce Friday if it will lift crippling sanctions on Mali. Incoming interim Malian President Bah Ndaw is to be sworn in Friday in the capital, Bamako for an 18-month term. On the eve of the ceremony, Ndaw met with former Nigerian President and ECOWAS

The leader of a delegation representing a bloc of West African countries is hoping that crippling sanctions against Mali will be lifted following Friday’s inauguration of an interim president a month after a military coup. Nigeria’s former president, Goodluck Jonathan, who is the envoy for the 15-nation Economic Community of West African States, or ECOWAS, praised the junta’s  leadership on his arrival in Mali Wednesday. Jonathan