Africa News Tonight - VOA Africa Voice of America (VOA)

U.S. President Joe Biden welcomed Kenya’s President William Ruto to the White House in a ceremony filled with pomp, music and military honor guards. During President Ruto’s state visit, President Biden says he will declare Kenya a major non-NATO ally, the first sub-Saharan African nation with that designation. Russia has expanded its influence in Africa in recent years, including a push for closer relationships with Egypt, the largest Arab country.

President William Ruto’s state visit to the United States this week could be a turning point for Kenya and is aimed at strengthening ties between the two nations. In South Africa’s election next Wednesday, the leftist Economic Freedom Fighters group is expected to consolidate its position as the country’s third-largest political party. Malawi’s youngest member of parliament, Fyness Magonjwa, has taken the lead in the fight against barriers that exclude young people from entering politics.

Southern African leaders have launched a $5.5 billion humanitarian aid appeal as the region faces acute grain shortages because of El Nino-linked droughts. The White House says it chose Kenya for its first state visit for an African leader for many reasons — not least because the East African powerhouse has stepped up on the global stage, offering to staff a United Nations peacekeeping mission to Haiti that could see boots on the ground in the coming weeks. South Africa votes next Wednesday in an election expected to be the most competitive since the country’s first democratic poll in 1994.

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 United Nations Human Rights Chief Volker Türk has held separate telephone calls with Sudan’s rival generals this week to try to de-escalate the conflict in the country. The mining town of Rubaya, in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, has fallen into the hands of the M23 rebels, raising fears the militants will use the profits from the mines to fund their war against the government. Ethiopia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has denounced a speech by U.S. Ambassador Ervin Massinga, who called for a "transparent transitional justice process" to address reports of extrajudicial killings, arbitrary detentions, sexual violence and other abuses.

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.