Bassirou Diomaye Faye promises to overhaul democracy in west African country blighted by corruption
Just 10 days before being elected president of Senegal, Bassirou Diomaye Faye was in prison.
Years of political turmoil have left the west African state’s democracy teetering on the brink of collapse, with deadly uprisings and the jailing of opposition figurescommonplace.
Continue reading...African nurse leaders say poorer nations face severe shortages despite rules intended to stop wealthy countries poaching staff
The UK and other wealthy countries have been accused of adopting a “new form of colonialism” in recruiting huge numbers of nurses from poorer nations to fill their own staffing gaps.
International nursing leaders said the trend was leading to worse patient care in developing nations, which were not properly compensated for the loss of experienced healthcare staff.
Continue reading...Radical change candidate Bassirou Diomaye Faye pulls off stunning election win after main rival Amadou Ba concedes defeat
Senegal’s anti-establishment candidate looks almost certain to become president after a stunning election victory that is likely to steer the west African country in a radical new direction.
A little over a week after his release from prison, Bassirou Diomaye Faye is almost certain to be declared the country’s next president after his main rival unexpectedly called him on Monday to concede defeat.
Continue reading...Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula denies allegations she took bribes over three years while defence minister
South African prosecutors said on Monday they intended to charge the parliamentary speaker with corruption, alleging she took $135,000 (£107,000) and a wig in bribes over a three-year period while she was defence minister.
Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, the speaker of the National Assembly, has not been arrested or charged. The prosecutors spoke at a court hearing over her claims that authorities hadn’t properly informed her of allegations or followed correct procedure.
Continue reading...Authorities to launch inquiry into allegations of mismanagement at country’s national oil corporation
Libyan authorities have said they will investigate allegations of wholesale mismanagement in the country’s National Oil Corporation, with officials telling the Guardian rampant smuggling is helping to fuel the civil war in Sudan.
Mohamed al-Menfi, the chair of the presidential council, will launch an inquiry this week, t he scope of which is likely to also cover the widespread practice of fuel smuggling and its key beneficiaries.
Continue reading...Students and staff snatched by gunmen from school in Kaduna state freed days before ransom deadline
The Nigerian army has rescued students and staff who were abducted by gunmen from a school in the country’s north earlier this month, the military said, days before the deadline for a ransom payment.
School officials and residents had said 287 students were taken on 7 March in the town of Kuriga, in the north-western state of Kaduna. A military spokesperson said 137 hostages – 76 female and 61 male – were rescued in the early hours of Sunday in the neighbouring state of Zamfara.
Continue reading...Country’s reputation as one of Africa’s model democracies under threat after weeks of violence
Senegal heads to the polls on Sunday after weeks of chaos, violence and uncertainty prompted fears that democracy had been fatally undermined in one of west Africa’s most stable countries.
Analysts say the presidential election is the most wide open in Senegal since it secured independence from France more than 60 years ago.
Continue reading...International Organization for Migration believes those discovered ‘died in process of being smuggled through the desert’
A mass grave containing at least 65 bodies has been discovered in south-west Libya this week, the UN migration agency said on Friday.
A spokesperson for the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said the mass grave was uncovered by Libyan security forces.
Continue reading...Washington fears loss of bases in Niger would risk the country following its neighbours and falling under Russian hegemony
US policymakers are scrambling after the ruling military junta in Niger cancelled a mutual security pact that could lead to American forces being expelled, stirring fears of a loss of vital influence to Russia in west Africa.
In a setback for Washington’s counter-terrorism strategy against jihadist groups in the region, Niger announced last weekend that it was revoking the pact, which had been in force since 2012. There are about 1,000 US military and civilian personnel in Niger.
Continue reading...Exclusive: new role created after Guardian uncovered allegations against company’s security guards
A vast Del Monte pineapple farm in Kenya that supplies most British supermarkets is advertising for a human rights manager to address its “human rights challenges” in the wake of allegations of killings and violence by its security guards.
The job advert says the candidate will need to “develop a detailed action plan to address human rights challenges in the workplace and in surrounding communities”.
Continue reading...High temperatures in February affected millions of people and put further pressure on chocolate prices
A searing heatwave that struck west Africa in February was made 4C hotter and 10 times more likely by human-caused global heating, a study has found.
The heat affected millions of people but the number of early deaths or cases of illness are unknown, due to a lack of reporting.
Continue reading...Committee will examine for at least three months a bill proposing repeal of ban on female genital mutilation
A decision on whether to overturn a ban on female genital mutilation (FGM) in the Gambia has been postponed for three months after MPs called for more consultation.
FGM was outlawed in the country eight years ago and is punishable by up to three years’ imprisonment.
Continue reading...Médecins Sans Frontières says ‘dangerous manoeuvres’ by coastguard put refugees at even greater risk
An NGO performing search and rescue missions in the Mediterranean has accused the Libyan coastguard of hampering an attempt to save more than 170 people making the perilous journey across the sea to Europe.
In a statement, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said its ship had come to the rescue of two boats in international waters on Saturday: a small fibreglass boat carrying 28 people and a double-deck wooden vessel with 143 people onboard, which appeared to be in distress.
Continue reading...Actor and his childhood friend planning development on Sherbro to be a public-private partnership
Idris Elba has shared details of his “dream” to turn an island off the coast of Sierra Leone, the country where his father was born, into an environmentallyfriendly smart city.
The actor is working with his childhood friend to develop Sherbro, which is roughly the size of the Isle of Man, after the island was given enough autonomy by the west African nation’s government to allow the work to go ahead.
Continue reading...Meanwhile, South Sudan has ordered schools to shut amid extreme heatwave
A cyclone warning has been issued in northern Australia for coastal communities from the island of Groote Eylandt to the Northern Territory/Queensland border. Tropical Cyclone Megan, which developed in the Gulf of Carpentaria on Saturday, has been declared a category 3 cyclone by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology. Megan is forecast to make landfall on Monday, but has already brought gale-force winds and heavy rainfall to some areas over the weekend. Groote Eylandt was cut off after more than 400mm of rain in just 24 hours on Sunday.
There is a chance that Megan could strengthen further into a category 4 storm before making landfall, with the potential for damaging wind gusts of up to 125km/h. Megan is the fifth named cyclone in Australian waters so far this season, which is below the average of about 10 by this stage of the year.
Continue reading...Authorities advise parents to keep children indoors during extreme heatwave, expected to last two weeks
South Sudan is closing all schools from Monday in preparation for an extreme heatwave expected to last two weeks.
The health and education ministries have advised parents to keep all children indoors as temperatures are expected to soar to 45C (113F).
Continue reading...Six of bloc’s leaders sign agreement in Cairo aimed at boosting economy and bringing stability to region
EU leaders have sealed a €7.4bn (£6.3bn) deal with Egypt to help boost the country’s faltering economy, in an attempt to bring stability to the “troubled” region and avert another migration crisis in Europe.
The three-year EU-Egypt strategic partnership involves €5bn in soft loans to support economic changes, €1.8bn to support investments from the private sector and €600m in grants including €200m for migration management.
Continue reading...Spokesman for coup government stops short of calling for American personnel to leave but says their presence violates sovereignty
Niger’s ruling military junta says it has revoked with immediate effect a military accord that allows US military personnel and civilian staff on its soil.
As of 2023 there were about 1,100 US troops in Niger, where the US military operates out of two bases including a drone base known as airbase 201, built near Agadez in central Niger at a cost of more than US $100m. Since 2018 the base has been used to target Islamic State militants and Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen (JNIM), an al-Qaida affiliate, in the Sahel region.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Former guards tell of clashes on farm that is facing civil claims over allegations of killing, rape and beatings
Former security guards at a vast Del Monte pineapple farm in Kenya have for the first time described violent clashes between guards and thieves at the plantation, which is facing civil claims over allegations of killing, rape and beatings by its guards.
This month Del Monte announced it would outsource its security operations at the farm to G4S, sacking its 214 in-house guards.
Continue reading...Ivory Coast, Liberia, Benin, Ghana and Burkina Faso among countries experiencing outages
Much of west and central Africa has been left without internet service, as operators of several subsea cables reported failures.
The cause of the cable failures on Thursday was not immediately clear.
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