Police say extremist ADF rebels carried out ‘cowardly terrorist attack’ near border with DRC
Two tourists from the UK and South Africa and their Ugandan guide were killed when assailants attacked their vehicle near a national park in south-west Uganda.
Bashir Hangi, spokesperson for the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), said the attackers set fire to the vehicle in which the group were travelling just outside Queen Elizabeth national park.
Continue reading...The coach of the Zimbabwe women’s football team has been remanded in police custody after being accused of indecent assault against a female member of staff during an international tournament.
Shadreck Mlauzi, who was reappointed as coach at the end of last month having previously guided Zimbabwe to the 2016 Olympics, was arrested on Tuesday after returning to Harare from the Council of Southern Africa Football Association (Cosafa) women’s championship in South Africa.
Continue reading...Climate crisis blamed for extreme heat in African country, which has recorded temperatures of 43C
Malawians endured the country’s hottest weekend on record, with temperatures reaching nearly 20C above the seasonal average.
The heatwave began last Thursday with the government warning people to stay out of the sun, to keep hydrated, and avoid alcohol and caffeine. Some school buildings in the south of the country were evacuated, and children were taught in the shade of playground trees.
Continue reading...Facebook parent company and two subcontractors face court hearing over unfair dismissal allegations
Settlement talks have collapsed between Facebook’s parent company, Meta, and Kenyan content moderators over a lawsuit alleging unfair dismissal, a tech rights group working with the plaintiffs has said.
The 184 moderators sued Meta and two subcontractors earlier this year after they allegedly lost their jobs with one of the subcontractors, Sama, for organising a union. They say they were then blacklisted from applying for the same roles at a second firm, Majorel, after Facebook changed contractors.
Continue reading...The Stella Terra was designed by students at Eindhoven University of Technology and completed trip without recharging
A solar-powered car said to be the first in the world capable of driving off-road over long distances without recharging has completed a 620-mile (1,000km) test drive across Morocco and the Sahara.
The two-seat Stella Terra, designed by students at the Eindhoven University of Technology, completed the journey across a variety of challenging landscapes as part of a final test of its lightweight frame and aerodynamic profile.
Continue reading...Israel and Gaza explode, Ukraine asks for more help and other predicaments demand US attention while Republicans quarrel among themselves
The US’s closest ally in the Middle East is reeling from what many call its “9/11” and now a humanitarian disaster looms in Gaza. Winter is approaching in Ukraine, which needs urgent supplies to maintain its counteroffensive against Russia. From China’s expansive ambitions, to coups in Africa, to the climate crisis, the world is crying out for leadership.
But on Capitol Hill in Washington, Republicans can’t find one. Friday marked the 10th day of paralysis as the party struggles to elect a speaker of the House of Representatives to replace the ousted Kevin McCarthy. This after majority leader Steve Scalise won a closed-door vote but abandoned his run because he lacked enough support to win on the House floor.
Continue reading...In an exclusive interview, Akinwumi Adesina, head of the African Development Bank, says the outlook is good for a continent with the workers of the future and the best investment opportunities
Africa holds the future workforce for the ageing economies of the west, according to one of the continent’s leading financial figures, who also said it was time to ditch the myths around corruption and risk.
In an exclusive interview before this weekend’s World Bank meetings in Morocco, Akinwumi Adesina said there was a resurgence of belief in Africa’s economic prospects and attacked negative stereotyping, adding that there was “every reason to be optimistic”.
Continue reading...The Zimbabwe Football Association (Zifa) has confirmed it is investigating a member of its senior women’s coaching team over allegations of sexual misconduct against female colleagues.
The Guardian understands the allegations relate to a series of incidents said to have taken place during the current Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (Cosafa) women’s championship in South Africa. They include claims that the coach made inappropriate invitations to his room and “asked for sexual favours” – allegations first made in an article by the London-based journalist Melody Gwenyambira this week.
Continue reading...Cases are rising in many parts of the country and critics are blaming chronic water shortages and poor sanitation systems
The Zimbabwean government has banned large gatherings in parts of the country and increased surveillance at ports of entry in an effort to contain a rise in cholera cases.
With 100 suspected deaths, most of them in September, and nearly 5,000 possible cases of the water-borne disease in more than 41 districts, including Harare, authorities fear a repeat of the 2008 epidemic where 4,000 people died.
Continue reading...Monarch’s recognition will come as country prepares to celebrate 60 years of independence from Britain
King Charles will acknowledge the “painful aspects” of Britain’s past actions in Kenya during a state visit later this month.
The visit follows an invitation from the country’s president, William Ruto, whose country will celebrate the 60th anniversary of its independence from Britain on 12 December. The two countries have enjoyed a close relationship in recent years despite the violent colonial legacy of an uprising in the early 1950s, which led to a period known as “the emergency”, which ran from 1952 until 1960.
Continue reading...Women’s rights campaigners denounce ‘hugely regressive’ proposals from political and religious leaders to decriminalise practice
Political and religious leaders in the Gambia are threatening to introduce a bill to decriminalise female genital mutilation, eight years after the practice was outlawed.
Members of the country’s national assembly have backed a proposal for the 2015 law to be scrapped while the Supreme Islamic Council has issued a fatwa condemning anyone who denounces the practice and calling for the government to reconsider the legislation.
Continue reading...In today’s newsletter: A complicated legal battle over whether the UK government plan to send thousands of migrants to Rwanda could cause a fundamental shift in how asylum seekers are treated
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Good morning. Five supreme court judges are this week deciding whether the UK government plan to deport tens of thousands of asylum seekers to Rwanda should go ahead.
The decision of the UK’s highest court will be life-changing for more than 24,000 asylum seekers issued with letters warning them that they are being considered for forcible removal. It will also either make home secretary Suella Braverman’s “dream” come true or poleaxe a key part of Rishi Sunak’s pledge to “stop the boats”.
Israel | The leaders of the UK, US, France, Germany and Italy have released a joint statement expressing “steadfast and united support” for the state of Israel and “unequivocal condemnation” of Hamas. Earlier, Israel declared a “complete siege” of Gaza, cutting off water, food and power supplies.
Environment | The damage caused by the climate crisis through extreme weather has cost $16m (£13m) an hour for the past 20 years, according to a new estimate.
Transport | A list of transport projects to be funded using HS2 money, which included schemes that had already been built or were swiftly deleted, was intended only to be “illustrative”, the prime minister has said.
Labour | A new Labour government would give all towns and cities in England new powers and funding to boost local economies, Keir Starmer will announce, in the biggest expansion of devolution since Labour was last in power.
Scotland | A hoard of coins linked to a Highland chief – which may have been stashed away as he tried in vain to escape the Glen Coe massacre – has been discovered underneath a fireplace.
Continue reading...Human Rights Watch report detailing alleged abuses at home and abroad raises questions over UK government’s asylum plan
Rwandan authorities are coordinating a systematic campaign of repression at home and abroad against political activists, suspected dissidents and their family members, according to a Human Rights Watch report, raising questions about plans by the UK government to send asylum seekers there.
The US-based rights group details an alleged campaign of extraterritorial killings, kidnappings and intimidation, as well as arbitrary arrests and enforced disappearances on Rwandan soil.
Continue reading...Only a third of countries with climate crisis plans include access to sexual, maternal and newborn health services, UNFPA report finds
Only a third of countries include sexual and reproductive health in their national plans to tackle the climate crisis, the UN has warned.
Of the 119 countries that have published plans, only 38 include access to contraception, maternal and newborn health services and just 15 make any reference to violence against women, according to a report published by the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) and Queen Mary University of London on Tuesday.
Continue reading...Order comes after UN approved mission to send Kenya-led police officers to help Haiti combat rampant gang violence
A Kenyan court temporarily blocked the government from deploying hundreds of police personnel in Haiti in a UN-approved mission aimed at helping the Caribbean nation tackle rampant gang violence.
The court order issued on Monday is valid until 24 October and followed a petition jointly filed by one of the opposition political parties and two Kenyans who say the decision to deploy the police officers outside the east African country is illegal.
Continue reading...Israel’s national security council says its citizens should avoid going abroad and those in Egypt should leave
An Egyptian police officer shot dead two Israeli tourists and their Egyptian guide on Sunday, as war raged for a second day between Israel and Palestinian militants.
Israel’s national security council later said its citizens should consider not travelling abroad particularly in the Middle East “on the backdrop of the attack in Egypt”. It said visitors already in Egypt should leave “as soon as possible”.
Continue reading...At the fund’s annual meeting this week in Morocco, ambitions for climate and debt relief may be overwhelmed by events – again
Last week’s turmoil in the global bond markets will be playing on the minds of finance ministers and central bank governors when they gather in Marrakech this week for the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
After the triple shocks of the Covid pandemic, the war in Ukraine and the surge in inflation, the mood may be less febrile than it was a year ago, but few if any of those travelling to Morocco – which suffered a devastating earthquake last month – would dare say that the crisis era is over. Most will be wondering what might go wrong next.
Continue reading...Lagos police chief says unnamed nurse injected singer before his death last month
A nurse has been identified as the “principal suspect” in the mysterious death of a Nigerian Afrobeats star, which triggered days of protests by thousands demanding justice.
Investigations into the death of Ilerioluwa Aloba, better known as MohBad, in the commercial hub of Lagos have pointed to the nurse who treated the late singer before his death, the Lagos police chief, Idowu Owohunwa, told reporters on Friday.
Continue reading...Niger is only the latest of several west African countries to reject France’s long-standing attempts to interfere in the Sahel
When the French president, Emmanuel Macron, announced he would withdraw France’s ambassador and troops from Niger after a military takeover, the new regime welcomed a historic step forward for the country.
“Imperialist and neocolonialist forces are no longer welcome on our national territory,” it said. “The new era of cooperation, based on mutual respect and sovereignty, is already under way.”
Continue reading...Paris says it is unable to work with putschists, leaving efforts to counter Islamists in Sahel in disarray
France will begin withdrawing troops from Niger this week following a coup in the west African country, in what marks a turning point in western nations’ efforts to counter a decade-long Islamist insurgency in the Sahel region.
“We will begin our disengagement operation this week, in good order, safely and in coordination with the Nigeriens,” the French military headquarters said.
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