Category Archives: Africa

Vatican: same-sex couples ruling is not endorsement of homosexuality

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New practice does not endorse homosexuality but is not heretical, Catholic church says amid opposition from some bishops

The Vatican has stressed that allowing priests to bless same-sex couples is not an endorsement of homosexuality, but neither is it blasphemous, after some Catholic bishops reacted negatively to the measure announced last month.

Pope Francis approved a ruling in December allowing priests to bless unmarried and same-sex couples so long as the blessing was performed without any type of ritualisation and did not give the impression of the church’s approval of the relationship.

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Transatlantic slavery continued for years after 1867, historian finds

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Exclusive: Evidence found by Hannah Durkin includes ships landing in Cuba in 1872, and people held in Benin in 1873

Historians have generally assumed that the transatlantic slave trade ended in 1867, but it actually continued into the following decade, according to new research.

Dr Hannah Durkin, an historian and former Newcastle University lecturer, has unearthed evidence that two slave ships landed in Cuba in 1872. One vessel, flying the Portuguese flag, had 200 captives aged from 10 to 40, and the second is believed to have been a US ship with 630 prisoners packed into its hold.

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Birds of prey in Africa experiencing population collapse, study finds

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Several species have vanished across swathes of the continent – and scientists say their disappearance holds unknown risks for humans

Africa’s birds of prey have experienced a widespread population collapse that risks unforeseen consequences for humans, according to a new study.

Tropical raptor species including the martial eagle, the bateleur and the dark chanting goshawk have vanished from swathes of the African continent over the past 40 years, new analysis shows, as many wild areas were converted to farmland. Several African birds of prey are on track to become locally extinct in many countries this century.

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Stakes high as South Africa brings claim of genocidal intent against Israel

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Israel’s decision to defend itself at the international court of justice will make it harder for it to brush aside any adverse finding

South Africa’s request for an interim measure by the international court of justice to prevent Israel from committing acts of potential genocide – primarily by calling for a halt to combat operations – has suddenly taken on an urgency and relevance that seemed implausible a fortnight ago.

Crack legal teams are being assembled, countries are issuing statements in support of South Africa, and Israel has said it will defend itself in court, reversing a decades-old policy of boycotting the UN’s top court and its 15 elected judges.

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Ugandan LGBTQ+ activist in critical condition after brutal knife attack

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Steven Kabuye was stabbed by unknown assailants on a motorbike after receiving death threats

A prominent Ugandan LGBTQ+ activist is in a critical condition after he was stabbed on his way to work on Wednesday by unknown assailants on a motorbike.

Steven Kabuye, 25, suffered knife wounds and was left for dead in the assault on the outskirts of the capital Kampala before being found by local residents, police said.

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Somalia vows to defend sovereignty after Ethiopia-Somaliland deal

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Mogadishu recalls ambassador to Ethiopia over ‘null and void’ Gulf of Aden port agreement

Somalia has promised to defend its territory by “any legal means” and recalled its ambassador to Ethiopia after Addis Ababa struck a deal with the breakaway region of Somaliland.

Mogadishu called the surprise pact, which would give landlocked Ethiopia long-sought access to the Gulf of Aden, a “clear violation” of its sovereignty and appealed to the international community to stand by its side.

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Ethiopia and Somaliland reach ‘historic’ agreement over access to Red Sea ports

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Naval and commercial access to Somaliland’s coast granted in exchange for recognising republic’s independence

Ethiopia has signed a “historic” deal granting it naval and commercial access to ports along Somaliland’s Red Sea coast, in exchange for recognition for the breakaway republic’s independence, it has been announced.

The Somali government, which has long held that Somaliland remains a part of the country, announced that it would convene an emergency meeting of its cabinet in response to the memorandum of understanding, according to state news agency Sonna.

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DRC president declared election winner as opposition cries foul

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Officials in Democratic Republic of the Congo says Felix Tshisekedi has been re-elected with 73% of the vote

The president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Felix Tshisekedi, has won a second term in office with a landslide victory, according to provisional results, in a vote opposition leaders have dismissed as a “sham”.

Provisional results from the single-round presidential ballot, declared on Sunday by the country’s electoral commission, Ceni, showed Tshisekedi had won 73% of the vote.

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‘They attacked us. They displaced us’: grieving Sudanese confront Swedish oil giant over their days of slaughter

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A historic trial, which will call on 61 witnesses worldwide, is expected to set a precedent for global corporations in foreign jurisdictions

Before the arrival of Lundin Oil in the town of Leer, now part of South Sudan, life there was peaceful, says George Tai Kuony. His childhood was that of a “typical village boy”, driving cattle, helping his family and going to school. But in June 1998, when he was 15, armed forces entered the town and changed his life for ever.

He fled, became separated from his family and hid for seven days before he was able to return. “When we got there, Leer wasn’t the town I had left seven days ago,” says the 40-year-old lawyer and human rights defender. “Everything was burned down, everything was destroyed. I could see the bodies of dead people lying in the street.” As a result of the conflict, he lost his father, and later his mother and one sibling.

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UK has failed to act to free Alaa Abd el-Fattah from jail in Egypt, family says

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Rishi Sunak told activist’s sister in 2022 that government was ‘totally committed’ to resolving the case

The family of the imprisoned British-Egyptian writer and activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah have said the British government has failed to act to free him, a year after the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, told his sister the government was “totally committed to resolving your brother’s case”.

A figurehead in Egypt’s 2011 uprising, which overthrew Hosni Mubarak as president, Abd el-Fattah spent most of the past decade behind bars for his activism. He was rearrested in 2019 following a brief period out of prison but under police surveillance, and was sentenced in December 2021 to a further five years in detention for spreading “false news undermining national security”, after resharing a social media post about torture.

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Weather tracker: rain batters Argentina and DRC as fog shrouds India and Pakistan

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Turkey also affected by fog, with 10 killed and 57 injured in serious road crash involving three buses

During the Christmas period, parts of South America experienced intense showers and thunderstorms, resulting in substantial rainfall in various regions. On Monday, more than 100mm of rain fell in the Catamarca province in Argentina, which led to flash floods. A sudden surge in river water levels then caused the collapse of a pedestrian bridge, which was the only link between the towns of Rincón and Pomán. While many other roads in the region were damaged and houses were flooded, no casualties were reported.

The unique topography of Catamarca aided the formation of a near-stationary convective shower over Pomán, unleashing several hours of torrential rain and causing catastrophic flooding.

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Liberia fuel tanker explosion kills at least 40

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Witnesses say people climbed on to vehicle to gather petrol after tanker overturned on roadside

More than 40 people have been killed and dozens badly burned when a petrol tanker exploded in central Liberia, the country’s chief medical officer has said.

Witnesses said people clambered on to the lorry to try collect petrol leaking from its tank after it crashed and tipped into a ditch along a road in Totota, about 130 kilometres (80 miles) from the capital Monrovia on Tuesday.

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Man survives flight from Algeria to Paris hidden in plane’s landing gear

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Unidentified man in life-threatening condition after enduring temperatures of around -50C on Air Algerie flight from Oran

A man has been discovered hidden in the landing gear compartment of a commercial aircraft that flew into Paris from Algeria with severe hypothermia but alive, French authorities have said.

The man, believed to be in his 20s, was found during technical checks after the Air Algerie flight from Oran, Algeria, landed at Paris’s Orly airport in mid-morning, prosecutors told AFP.

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Kenyan police investigate four suspected killings on Del Monte farm

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Bodies of men missing for several days were retrieved from a river on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day

Kenyan police are investigating four suspected killings on a Del Monte pineapple farm after bodies were retrieved from a river on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

It follows a joint investigation by the Guardian and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism into allegations of brutal assaults and killings by security guards at the farm in Thika, which is the single largest exporter of Kenyan produce to the world.

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Weather tracker: South Africa flash floods kill six with people still missing

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Catastrophic rains on Christmas Eve led to key infrastructure damage in western parts of country

Catastrophic rains and flash floods in South Africa have led to at least six deaths, with more people still missing. The western parts of the country have experienced extremely unsettled weather over the last few days, with frequent spells of heavy rain.

On Christmas Eve the city of Ladysmith to the north-east of Lesotho experienced flash flooding after a sudden deluge during the evening. Amateur weather stations in the area suggested about 60mm of rain fell within an hour, while in a three-hour period there was about 80mm of rainfall. The average rainfall in Ladysmith for the whole of December is just over 100mm.

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At least 160 dead and 300 wounded after attacks by armed gangs in Nigeria

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‘Bandits’ started attacks in Bokkos area and spilled into neighbouring Barkin Ladi, according to local chairman

Armed groups have killed at least 160 people in central Nigeria in a series of attacks on villages, local government officials said on Monday.

The toll marked a sharp rise from the initial figure reported by the army on Sunday evening of just 16 dead in a region plagued for several years by religious and ethnic tensions.

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Attack by rebels in western Burundi leaves 20 dead

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Red-Tabara group claims responsibility for assault in Vugizo that killed 12 children, three women and five men

An attack by rebels in western Burundi has killed 20 people, all but one of them civilians, the central African country’s government has said.

The attack was claimed by the Red-Tabara rebel group, which in its own statement said it had killed 10 members of the security forces. The attack occurred on Friday evening in the town of Vugizo, near the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) where the rebels have a base.

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US and Somali forces kill al-Shabaab commander with $10m bounty on head

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Maalim Ayman was wanted over attack on airbase in Kenya in 2020 in which three Americans died

Somali troops and US forces have killed a senior commander of the al-Shabaab militant group who had a $10m bounty on his head over an attack that left three Americans dead.

“Maalim Ayman, a senior leader of al-Shabaab, was confirmed to have been killed in a joint operation by the Somali national army with assistance from US forces on December 17th,” Kenya’s information minister, Daud Aweis, said on X on Thursday.

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Questions over DRC election remain as voting is extended into second day

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Church observers allege further irregularities after difficult polling day, but main opposition leader declines to join call for rerun

Voters in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have been left with more questions over the credibility of this week’s presidential election, amid fresh accusations of irregularities, as voting came to an end on an unplanned second day of balloting.

An observer mission formed by two church bodies, the Episcopal Conference of the Congo and the Church of Christ in the Congo, reported that 11% of voting machines had been set up at military schools, contrary to election law, according to reports from the local news site Actualite.cd.

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Two Guinean children abandoned in Bogotá airport as migrant routes shift

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Migration through the treacherous Darién gap is slowing as less restrictive air routes open up between South and Central America

Two children from the west African country of Guinea who were abandoned in Bogotá’s airport have been taken into government custody after spending several days on their own in the international departures terminal.

Colombia’s national immigration department said the children, aged 10 and 13, had been travelling with separate groups and were left in the airport by their relatives earlier this month for reasons that have not been clarified.

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