Africa

Angola is rich in crude oil but has to import the fuel it needs. A new refinery could change that.

In France, pan-African influencers are gaining more and more followers on social media. Advocating a radical anti-Western ideology, some of them claim responsibility for the recent coups in Mali and Burkina Faso. Their narrative is similar to that of the Kremlin, which is trying to place its pawns on the African continent. FRANCE 24 profiles two French influencers who seem to have taken sides with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Presidential guards were holding Niger President Mohamed Bazoum inside his palace in the capital Niamey on Wednesday , security sources said, but the presidency said the guards had started an "anti-republican" movement "in vain" and that Bazoum was well.

Second-hand shoes from abroad are highly coveted in Kenya. They're cheap to buy and high in quality. But the government wants to ban the imports of such leather products in two years. President William Ruto's administration says it hopes to strengthen the local leather industry this way. However, those dealing in used shoes are up in arms - as are consumers.

The West African country of Niger is in the grip of a severe heat wave. Scientists say temperatures in Niger are rising one and a half times faster than in the rest of the world. Heat waves in the country are becoming more frequent and intense.

Niger President Mohamed Bazoum has been removed from power, according to a group of soldiers who appeared on the West African nation's national television late on Wednesday, hours after the president was held in the presidential palace.

Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga said on Tuesday Africa 'must take a stand' on the Russia Ukraine war. He was speaking as African leaders prepared to head to St Petersburg to attend the Russia-Africa summit on July 27-29, as Moscow and the West compete for influence in Africa.

In an interview with FRANCE 24, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba condemned Russia's recent strikes on Ukraine's Black Sea ports in the wake of Moscow's withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative.

President William Ruto says he lifted the ban on logging to create jobs for Kenya's youth. But climate activists are pushing back on what they see as his doublespeak on climate justice.

Ivory Coast is one of the West African countries where people with severe mental disorders are chained. Half the population must get by on less than one euro per day. This makes it hard to care properly for someone with special needs.

A former government minister is investigated for corruption in Ghana. The inquiry comes after Cecilia Abena Dapaah reported her housekeeper for stealing a large sum of money, but prosecutors want to know where the money came from. Also in this edition: at least 30 people have been killed by a building collapse in Cameroon.

A suicide bomber has killed between 20 and 30 soldiers and injured nearly 60 more in an attack on a military academy in Mogadishu. Al-Qaeda-affiliate al-Shabab has been trying to topple Somalia's government since 2007.