Category Archives: Africa

Fresh Egypt arms shipment to Somalia raises regional tensions

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Ethiopia fears weapons could worsen security situation amid regional rows over water, territory and Red Sea access

Egypt has sent a second arms shipment to Somalia’s federal government in the space of a month, drawing criticism from its longstanding rival Ethiopia, amid concern about rising tensions in the Horn of Africa.

Egypt’s foreign ministry confirmed that a shipment had been sent, which it said was intended to “build the capabilities of the Somali army” to “achieve security and stability, combat terrorism, and uphold its sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity”.

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As it meets against backdrop of Israel’s bombing of Lebanon, is UN too broken to be fixed?

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Supporters say UN mediation has prevented even worse outcomes, but security council is stuck in vicious circle

As diplomats from nearly 200 member states gather in New York this week for the United Nations general assembly against the backdrop of a massive Israeli bombing campaign in southern Lebanon, a nagging question to be addressed is whether the UN is too broken to be fixed.

UN officials are facing three intractable conflicts, in the Middle East, Ukraine and Sudan. While it remains one of the most important humanitarian organisations on Earth, organising relief efforts for refugees, natural disaster victims and others in dire need, the UN’s principal security body appears to be powerless to intervene in some of the world’s most grinding conflicts.

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Family call on UK to ensure British activist goes free from Egyptian jail

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Alaa Abd el-Fattah is due to complete five-year sentence over social media post but family fear further charges

The family of Alaa Abd el-Fattah, a British activist and author imprisoned in Egypt, are calling on the UK government as well as the Egyptian authorities to ensure he walks free at the end of this month after five years in detention.

“Let’s remember that this is an innocent man who has committed no crime, but even so he will have served his time on 29 September,” said Abd el-Fattah’s sister, Sanaa Seif.

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Tanzania opposition leaders arrested amid crackdown on dissent

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Protest had been planned against alleged disappearances and killings of government critics by security forces

Police in Tanzania have arrested three leaders of the main opposition party in a series of detentions to prevent a planned anti-government protest, the latest in a string of events that analysts and rights groups say erode hopes of a new style of politics under President Samia Suluhu Hassan.

Freeman Mbowe, the chair of the Chadema party, was arrested on Monday in the commercial capital, Dar es Salaam, while speaking with journalists. The party’s deputy chair, Tundu Lissu, was taken from his home in the city in a fleet of 11 vehicles, the party said. Godbless Lema, a central committee member, was also arrested, police said.

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UN chief calls on Sudanese paramilitary leader to end siege of North Darfur city

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António Guterres ‘gravely alarmed’ by RSF assault on al-Fashir as EU foreign policy chief warns of another genocide

The UN secretary general, António Guterres, is “gravely alarmed” at reports of a full-scale assault on the Sudanese city of al-Fashir by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and has called on its leader to halt the attack immediately, according to Guterres’ spokesperson.

“It is unconscionable that the warring parties have repeatedly ignored calls for a cessation of hostilities,” Stéphane Dujarric said in a statement.

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Football-mad Morocco dreams of a World Cup final in its own ark

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Buoyed by the team’s success in 2022, the kingdom is eyeing a bigger goal

The rendering is dramatic, a vast white stadium inspired by the design of a Maghrebi communal tent, known as a moussem.

The language used to describe it is no less flowery: think of it as “almost like a Noah’s Ark, a place for all nature and animals to come together”, says Tarik Oualalou, head of Paris architecture firm Oualalou + Choi, one of five teams in the design consortium.

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Missing Kenyan anti-government protesters resurface as police chief appears in court

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Anger had been growing at police chief Gilbert Masengeli after abductions of Jamil and Aslam Longton and Bob Njagi

Three Kenyans who were abducted last month after taking part in an anti-government protest have resurfaced, amid anger directed at a police chief who belatedly honoured a court summons in relation to the disappearances shortly after they were found.

Bob Njagi, and brothers Aslam and Jamil Longton were found in Kiambu county, north of Nairobi, Faith Odhiambo, the president of the Law Society of Kenya, said in the early hours of Friday.

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Europe has questions to answer over migrant abuse in Tunisia, say MEPs and activists

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EU Commission says it will be sending independent observers to the country to investigate allegations of human rights violations

The European Commission can no longer ignore mounting evidence of the gross human rights violations against migrants and refugees in Tunisia, say MEPs and activists.

The EU has given millions of pounds to Tunisia to reduce migration from north Africa into Europe in a deal that pledges “respect for human rights” and piqued the interest of the UK prime minister, Keir Starmer.

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Jihadist assault on Mali’s capital killed scores of people, say security sources

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Attacks in Bamako claimed by al-Qaida affiliate cast doubt on junta’s ability to tackle 12-year insurgency

Scores of people reportedly died in a jihadist attack in the Malian capital on Tuesday, again raising questions about the junta’s capacity to tackle a 12-year insurgency.

Islamic militants attacked a number of locations in Bamako, including an elite police training academy. The violence, which the al-Qaida affiliate Jama’a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM) claimed to have carried out, led to the closure of the city’s airport for the day.

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Flood warnings in Nigeria over release of water from Cameroon dam

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Potential for flooding in 11 Nigerian states as west and central Africa struggles to deal with recent heavy rainfall

Authorities in Nigeria have warned of the potential for flooding in 11 states after neighbouring Cameroon said it would start regulated releases from its Lagdo dam following recent heavy rainfall in west and central Africa.

Umar Mohammed, the director-general of the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NHSA), indicated that the discharges would be gradual “to avoid … triggering substantial flooding downstream in Nigeria” and that there was “no need for alarm”. Still, 11 Nigerian states from north to south lie along the Benue River’s flow trajectory and are expected to be affected to some degree.

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Families of Americans ensnared in DRC coup plot assert their innocence

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Young Americans face death penalty for ‘amateurish’ assault in Congo that was led by one of their fathers

The family of a Utah student sentenced to death in the Democratic Republic of Congo for his alleged role in a failed coup d’etat in which his father was killed fears he and two other Americans could be executed within days without US government intervention.

Marcel Malanga, 22, was one of dozens convicted and sentenced at a military tribunal in Kinshasa last week, after the attempted overthrow of the Congolese government in May. The “amateurish” assault, which left six dead, was led by his father, Christian Malanga, a former DRC opposition leader, army captain and self-styled warlord.

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Global alliance buys half a million mpox vaccines for Africa

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Gavi uses newly established First Response Fund to secure doses, but 10 million are needed to meet demand on the continent

A batch of 500,000 mpox vaccines has been bought by the vaccine alliance Gavi, for delivery this year to virus-affected countries in Africa, where until now doses have been scarce.

It is estimated that 10 million vaccines are needed to meet demand, but the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which accounts for most cases, only received 100,000 vaccines earlier this month despite having had more than 700 deaths this year and 22,000 cases of the new Clade 1b strain. Neighbouring countries Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda and Kenya have each reported a handful of cases.

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September Supermoon: the best place and time to see tonight’s bigger and brighter full moon

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Find a viewing spot that is dark and looks towards the east, which is where the moon will rise. A flat location will give a ‘really cool’ perspective, experts say

If you look up into the sky on Wednesday night, you’ll likely notice the full moon gleaming bigger and brighter than usual.

You’ll be looking at the second supermoon of the year – the term for when the moon’s orbit is closest to Earth while it is full.

How to take a good photograph of the full moon on your phone or camera

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Zimbabwe outlines plan to cull scores of elephants to feed people after drought

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Culling after severe drought wiped out crops across region is also part of effort to decongest country’s parks

Zimbabwean authorities have set out plans to cull 200 elephants to feed communities facing acute hunger amid the worst drought in four decades.

The El Niño-induced drought has wiped out crops across southern Africa, affecting 68 million people and causing food shortages across the region. In Zimbabwe, 7.6 million people are set to face food insecurity from January to April next year, the height of the lean season, according to the World Food Programme.

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Nadia Davids wins Caine short story prize for ‘triumph of language’ Bridling

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The South African author’s work was described as ‘an impressive achievement’ by chair of judges Chika Unigwe

South African writer Nadia Davids has won this year’s Caine prize for African writing for her short story Bridling, described as a “triumph of language” by the chair of judges.

The prize, worth £10,000, is awarded annually to a short story by an African writer. Bridling, originally published in The Georgia Review in 2023, is told from the point of view of a female actor performing with other women in a show staging artworks by men that depict women. The story will be published in the Caine prize anthology, Midnight in the Morgue and Other Stories, to be published by Cassava Republic Press in the UK.

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More than 200 inmates escape Nigerian prison in aftermath of flooding

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Prisoners fled when the walls of their jail collapsed in the country’s worst flooding in two decades

More than 200 inmates escaped from a prison in north-east Nigeria in the aftermath of the worst flooding there in over two decades, authorities have announced.

There have been 37 deaths in Borno state after parts of its capital, Maiduguri, were overrun by water on 9 September following the collapse of a dam, according to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA). As many as 200,000 others have been displaced. Residents of the city said some areas were still flooded on Monday when the president, Bola Tinubu, visited.

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Amnesty calls for release of peaceful protesters in Angola

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Health of three of four detained a year ago has deteriorated sharply after medical care withheld, charity says

Amnesty International has urged authorities in Angola to free four activists who were detained a year ago for planning a peaceful protest, and an influencer who criticised the president in a TikTok video.

The four activists were arrested in September last year before a protest against restrictions on motorcycle taxi drivers. They were sentenced to two years and five months in prison for “disobedience and resisting orders”. The health of three of the four activists has deteriorated sharply in prison, Amnesty said.

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Climate scientists troubled by damage from floods ravaging central Europe

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Experts unsurprised at intensity of extreme weather but say damage wreaked shows how unprepared world is

Picturesque towns across central Europe are inundated by dirty flood water after heavy weekend rains turned tranquil streams into raging rivers that wreaked havoc on infrastructure.

The floods have killed at least 15 people and destroyed buildings from Austria to Romania. The destruction comes after devastating floods around the world last week when entire villages were submerged in Myanmar and nearly 300 prisoners escape a collapsed jail in Nigeria, where floods have affected more than 1 million people.

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South Africa school language law stirs Afrikaans learning debate

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The DA party argues Afrikaans education will be harmed, while the ANC says law is necessary to redress inequality

A contentious South African education law has drawn furious condemnation from politicians and campaigners who claim it is putting Afrikaans education under threat while evoking for others an enduring association of the language with white minority rule.

The Basic Education Laws Amendment Act was signed into law on Friday by the president, Cyril Ramaphosa, who said he would give dissenting parties in his coalition government three months to suggest alternatives to two sections that give provincial officials the powers to override admission decisions and force schools to teach in more than one of South Africa’s 12 official languages.

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At least three dead as two passenger trains collide in Egypt’s Nile delta

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More than 40 others were injured in crash in the city of Zagazig, according to the country’s health ministry

Two passenger trains have collided in Egypt’s Nile delta, killing at least three people, two of them children, authorities have said.

The crash happened on Saturday in the city of Zagazig, the capital of Sharqiya province, the country’s railway authority said. Egypt’s health ministry said the collision injured at least 40 others.

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