Category Archives: Africa

Denzel Washington’s casting as Hannibal in Netflix film sparks race controversy in Tunisia

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Newspapers and politicians discuss general’s skin tone, saying actor’s casting in the role created ‘a historical error’

A decision to cast black actor Denzel Washington as the ancient Carthaginian general Hannibal in an upcoming Netflix film has sparked a small but heated debate in Tunisia, the military general’s birthplace.

After a similar controversy on race and representation in nearby Egypt over a Netflix docudrama about Cleopatra, Tunisian newspapers, social media and even the halls of parliament have seen discussion on the skin tone of the long-dead leader.

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Activists in Uganda finalise appeal to overturn draconian anti-gay law

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The legislation, blamed for a rise in violence, has prompted the US to impose visa restrictions on hundreds of Ugandans involved in enacting it

Civil society groups in Uganda will meet constitutional court judges this week as they attempt to overturn the world’s harshest anti-LGBTQ+ law.

The law, which received overwhelming support from MPs when it was passed in March, imposes the death sentence and life imprisonment for certain homosexual acts.

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‘As a parent, I lost hope for justice’: family seeking answers over death of man on Del Monte farm

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Kenyan parents of Peter Mutuku Mutisya claim his neck had marks like he had been strangled. No injuries were recorded on the official report

When Peter Mutuku Mutisya’s body was found floating in a dam on Del Monte’s farm in Kenya last month his family and friends had already been searching for days.

Mutisya, 25, worked as a chemical sprayer at the neighbouring farm and was relied on by his relatives, to whom he would offer lifts on his prized motorbike.

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Human rights groups investigate death at Kenyan Del Monte pineapple farm

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Exclusive: Inquiry comes after discovery of body of Peter Mutuku Mutisya, 25, in a dam on the plantation

Human rights groups are investigating a death at a Del Monte pineapple farm in Kenya after a man’s body was found in a dam there last month.

The body of Peter Mutuku Mutisya, 25, was discovered floating in the dam on Del Monte’s plantation near Thika on 17 November, four days after friends said he had gone there to steal pineapples.

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Tories warn Rishi Sunak that his Rwanda plan ‘will never be law’

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As Tuesday’s crucial vote looms, MPs from both wings of the party say PM has tied his future to a bill that cannot succeed

• Read more: The UK’s deal with Rwanda must stay within the rule of law

Senior Tories from across the party are warning that Rishi Sunak’s emergency Rwanda plan will never become law in its current form, ahead of the most critical vote of his premiership.

Liberal Tories confirmed last night that, despite their desire to back the PM against the right, “serious concerns” remain about the plan and more reassurances will be required. Meanwhile, a self-styled “star chamber” of legal figures examining the proposals for the Tory right is understood to have found problems that are “extremely difficult to resolve”.

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African writer ruined by row with Graham Greene finally gets chance to shine

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Fifty years after being accused of plagiarism, book is reissued in a bid to rehabilitate gifted Malian author Yambo Ouologuem

In 1968 the books pages of the French newspaper Le Monde excitedly praised an uncompromising new novel, Bound to Violence, going on to salute its author as one of “the rare intellectuals of international stature presented to the world by Black Africa”.

The newspaper’s words, written in tribute to the young Malian writer Yambo Ouologuem, sound condescending today. Back then, however, the intended compliment was genuine and many European critics soon agreed: the publication of Ouologuem’s strange novel really did mark the arrival of a major new talent.

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Sisi poised to win power again, but Egyptians’ minds are on Gaza

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There’s no chance of a fair election on Sunday, but Egypt president’s weakness on Gaza is showing in a country racked by poverty, corruption and inflation

For Egyptians, the only signs that an election is imminent are the posters of President Abdel-Fatah al-Sisi’s face plastered on every available wall and billboard across the country.

The repetitive images of Sisi – always gazing into the distance with a stiff, forced smile – are so ubiquitous that people have turned to the only venue for free expression they have left and have begun making memes of them to share online. One picture that circulated features Jack and Rose from the film Titanic sitting on the deck of the ship surrounded by Sisi’s campaign posters. In another, people joke that a pregnant woman passed so many pictures of Sisi on her way to work that her newborn baby resembled the incumbent president.

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Cop28 failing on climate adaptation finance so far, African group warns

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Continent’s chief negotiator says an agreement for fair and equitable funding is a matter of life and death

Fair and equitable finance for climate adaptation is a matter of life and death for the African continent, but talks at Cop28 so far have failed to deliver, the chief negotiator for the African group has warned.

Adaptation is being discussed as part of the global stocktake (GST), the assessment of where the world is on delivering the commitments made in the 2015 Paris agreement. The long-awaited global goal on adaptation (GGA) – a collective commitment proposed by the African group in 2013 and established under the Paris agreement – to drive political action and finance for adaptation on the same scale as mitigation, is also due to be completed in Dubai.

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Tory right deliver legal rebuke to Sunak’s Rwanda plan

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ERG lawyers conclude plans will not forestall court challenges, echoing concerns of goverment’s own legal team

Rishi Sunak has been dealt a fresh blow over his Rwanda legislation as a legal assessment for the Tory right has concluded that the prime minister’s plans are not fit for purpose.

Bill Cash, who chairs the “star chamber” of lawyers for the European Research Group, wrote in the Daily Telegraph that “at present” the legislation is not “sufficiently watertight to meet the government’s policy objectives” such as circumventing individual legal challenges by people seeking to remain in the UK.

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Home Office ordered to give full cost of Rwanda deportation plan

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Top civil servant summoned to give ‘full and frank’ answers after costs of scheme rose from £140m to £290m

The Home Office has been ordered to disclose the full costs of Rishi Sunak’s secretive deal to deport migrants to Rwanda, as insiders told of turmoil within the department over the controversial policy.

Matthew Rycroft, the permanent secretary of the Home Office, will be hauled before the public accounts committee on Monday, after the initial costs of the scheme rose from £140m to £290m.

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‘Cloak and dagger tactics’: Tories paid Rwanda an extra £100m for asylum deal

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Ministers criticised after civil servant tells MPs payment was made in April after £140m had already been sent

UK ministers have been accused of using “cloak and dagger” tactics after a leading civil servant revealed in a letter that they had paid Rwanda a further £100m to send asylum seekers there.

Sir Matthew Rycroft, the Home Office’s top civil servant, told MPs the payment was made in April after £140m had already been sent. He added that a further payment of £50m was expected next year.

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Rishi Sunak claims new Rwanda asylum bill will prevent legal challenges

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Prime minister holds emergency press conference to try to regain control over immigration debate as Tory rebellion grows

Rishi Sunak was forced into a desperate defence of his new Rwanda asylum law as he battled to hold together the fractured Conservative party amid speculation that he could face a challenge to his position.

The prime minister told an emergency Downing Street press conference that he would “finish the job” of getting his controversial deportation plan off the ground despite criticism from the Tory right and anxiety among centrist MPs.

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HIV vaccine trial in Africa halted after disappointing initial results

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African-led trial ended a year early as researchers conclude there is ‘little or no chance’ new combination vaccines cut HIV risk

The first trial in Africa of two combination vaccines to prevent HIV has been halted after researchers concluded it was not working.

The vaccines (part of the PrEPVacc study) were being tested on 1,500 people aged between 18 and 40 in Uganda, Tanzania and South Africa.

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EU must face legacy of colonialism and support reparations, say MEPs

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Draft resolution to European parliament committee is first formal attempt to place reparations for slavery on EU agenda

The European Union should urgently address and reverse the lasting impacts of European colonialism and support a reparations programme to rectify continuing injustices, according to a draft resolution to be presented to the European parliament’s development committee.

Noting that the EU has made “no concerted efforts to recognise, address and rectify the lasting effects of European colonialism on social and international inequities”, the draft resolution calls for the creation of a permanent EU forum on restorative justice.

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Rishi Sunak accused of giving Rwanda millions ‘for nothing in return’

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PMQs clash comes as Suella Braverman expected to heavily criticise government’s immigration plans

Rishi Sunak’s government has been accused by Keir Starmer of giving Rwanda “hundreds of millions of pounds for nothing in return” following the signing of a deportation treaty.

In a clash at prime minister’s questions, the Labour leader mocked the treaty, signed on Tuesday, saying the Rwandan government of President Paul Kagame had seen the prime minister coming “a mile off”.

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Climate funding must be faster and easier, says deputy PM of flood-hit Somalia

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Salah Jama said vulnerable countries face ‘bureaucratic bottlenecks’ in receiving loss and damage funds and are often forced to take them on as debt

Funding to support vulnerable countries to repair the irreversible damage caused by the climate crisis needs to be fast tracked and easy to access, Somalia’s deputy prime minister has said.

Salah Jama said a deal on a loss and damage fund made on the first day of Cop28 last week was “welcome news for frontline states like Somalia” but, he said: “Implementation needs to be fast tracked. Bureaucratic bottlenecks in accessing the financing have to be fixed.”

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Wednesday briefing: Inside the Home Office’s new Rwanda plan – and why it might not work

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In today’s newsletter: James Cleverly has signed a treaty aimed at fixing its deportation plan, but there are questions whether its safeguards will change the supreme court’s mind

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Good morning. Whoever it was that bequeathed the Conservative government its current dog’s dinner of a policy on immigration and asylum, be in no doubt: the people in charge now are going to do things differently! After setting out draconian new limits on legal migration on Monday, home secretary James Cleverly yesterday turned to irregular migration and the small boats crisis.

In Kigali, he signed a new treaty with the Rwandan government that is supposed to help overcome the supreme court’s recent decision that the existing Rwanda deportation plans are unlawful. Next, the government will proceed with the second part of its plan to fix the Rwanda scheme: legislation that could prevent new court challenges. As he finalises plans that could be published tomorrow, Rishi Sunak must decide whether he wants to infuriate his party’s moderate MPs or those rallying around Suella Braverman on the right.

Israel-Hamas war | The UN’s top aid official has said the Israeli military campaign in southern Gaza has been just as devastating as in the north, creating “apocalyptic” conditions and ending any possibility of meaningful humanitarian operations. Meanwhile, the UN heard accounts of sexual violence during the 7 October attacks by Hamas in a meeting where speakers accused women’s rights activists and UN officials of not doing enough to address the crimes.

Climate | Many of the gravest threats to humanity are drawing closer, as carbon pollution heats the planet to ever more dangerous levels, scientists have warned. Five important natural thresholds already risk being crossed, according to the Global Tipping Points report, and three more may be reached in the 2030s if the world heats 1.5C above pre-industrial temperatures.

Nuclear leaks | Sellafield, Europe’s most hazardous nuclear site, has a worsening leak from a huge silo of radioactive waste that could pose a risk to the public, the Guardian revealed. Concerns over safety at the crumbling building have caused diplomatic tensions with countries including the US, Norway and Ireland.

Covid inquiry | The mystery of Boris Johnson’s Covid-era WhatsApp messages has taken another twist before the former prime minister begins his evidence to the inquiry today, after it was reported that nearly six months of messages could not be retrieved. A spokesperson for Johnson blamed a “technical issue”.

NHS | Thousands of junior doctors are to stage new strike action in England after failing to reach a deal with the government in talks over pay. They will walk out for 72 hours from 7am on 20 December, and again for six days from 3 January.

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UK taxpayers to bear extra cost over Rwanda treaty

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Ministers have given more than £140m to Rwandan government in hope of sending asylum seekers to east Africa

British taxpayers will bear extra costs after the signing of a treaty on the deportation scheme for asylum seekers with the Rwandan government, the home secretary has said, as he asserted that the government was not pursuing “cheap and quick popularity”.

The new agreement will mean that the UK will pay for British and Commonwealth judges to preside over a newly established appeals process as well as the costs of all legal fees from anyone sent to the central African country.

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People arriving in UK via irregular means ‘to be deported to Rwanda before election’

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Immigration minister accuses people crossing Channel in small boats of ‘breaking into the country’

People arriving in the UK via irregular means will be deported to Rwanda before the next general election, according to Robert Jenrick, the immigration minister, as the home secretary, James Cleverly, arrived in the country to sign a treaty paving the way for the policy.

Jenrick, who has taken an increasingly rightwing stance and hinted at his frustration with Downing Street’s perceived inaction on migration, also ramped up the rhetoric, accusing people crossing the Channel in small boats of “breaking into the country”.

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Nigeria army drone strike accident kills at least 85 civilians

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Scores of civilians die in one of country’s deadliest military bombing accidents

A Nigerian army drone strike accidentally killed at least 85 civilians observing a Muslim festival in the north-west on Sunday, the country’s armed forces have admitted.

Villagers in Tudun Biri in the state of Kaduna had gathered for the Maulud celebration when at about 9pm they heard what sounded like an aeroplane followed by a huge explosion.

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