The accomplished musician, who recorded over 70 albums in his career, died peacefully in Germany after a short illness
South African jazz composer and pianist Abdullah Ibrahim has died at the age of 91.
His family announced his death in a statement released Monday.
Continue reading...Cases reported in 83 countries, with at least 10,600 students and staff killed, injured, abducted or arrested, GCPEA says
Attacks on education globally have surged by 40% with more than 8,556 recorded incidents and 10,600 students and staff killed, injured, abducted, arrested or otherwise harmed in 2024 and 2025, according to new research.
Attacks were reported in 83 countries, with the highest incidences recorded in Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Haiti, Palestine and Ukraine.
Continue reading...A Guardian analysis reveals how most of 39 countries facing US entry restrictions are most vulnerable environmentally
Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown is largely targeting people from the countries most vulnerable to displacement from climate-driven disasters, a Guardian analysis shows.
As the Trump administration pushes policies to boost planet-heating fossil fuels, millions of people are being forced to flee their homelands due to storms, floods and droughts worsened by the climate crisis.
Continue reading...Amazon and Sony among firms that may have sourced coltan, used in phones, from supply chains controlled by the M23 rebels, says Global Witness
Leading global brands including Amazon, Ericsson and Sony are “likely” to have sourced minerals linked to a militia accused of widespread sexual violence, summary executions and torture, a new investigation claims.
The companies allegedly, but unknowingly, acquired coltan smuggled from mines in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) that are occupied by the M23 militia, which has committed myriad atrocities in eastern DRC.
Continue reading...African migrants say legal status offers little protection as rallies against illegal immigration gain momentum
African migrants in South Africa say they are living in fear after a series of marches calling for illegal immigrants to leave reignited long-held xenophobic sentiment in the country.
March & March, a campaign group at the forefront of recent protests, has given people living illegally in the country until 30 June to leave, without specifying what will happen to those who do not.
Continue reading...Modelling from US CDC shows Ebola spread could be on ‘dangerous trajectory’, but experts warn outbreaks can be very hard to predict
Central Africa’s Ebola outbreak could spread to be similar in scale to the worst outbreak in history, west Africa’s 2014-2016 outbreak that killed more than 11,000 people, according to a new analysis by US health officials.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Friday published a range of scenarios generated by computer models, from 10,000 cases to more than 20,000. In the west Africa outbreak, more than 28,000 cases were reported.
Continue reading...Draft treaty claims sexual and reproductive health and rights are an existential threat to the African family
An African treaty that rejects longstanding international human rights obligations moved a step closer to becoming policy this week as governments across the continent met in Ghana.
The draft African charter on family, sovereignty and values, seen by the Guardian, asserts that African values and culture are under attack from “foreign ideologies” and urges states to withdraw from any agreements that do not align with the principles of the charter, including the 2003 Maputo protocol, which promotes gender equality and protects the reproductive and health rights of women and girls.
Continue reading...Plan departs from policy of bringing CDC staff back to US for treatment and offering support to all health workers
Former top US officials and other experts are urging the Trump administration to abandon plans for an Ebola quarantine and treatment centre in Kenya, as the union for workers with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) calls for Americans exposed to Ebola to be brought home for treatment.
Soon after the US revealed it was setting up a field hospital in Kenya for the Ebola quarantine and treatment of Americans, the Kenyan high court blocked the order – but the Kenyan and US governments moved forward anyway, with the first American responders reportedly landing at the Laikipia airbase on Saturday.
Continue reading...Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says the virus ‘had a big head start’ but that the response was catching up
The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo could have begun as early as January, the head of the World Health Organization said, giving the virus “a big head start”.
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also said the response was being hindered by blanket travel restrictions and highlighted high levels of community mistrust and low levels of contact tracing as key concerns.
Continue reading...South African police confirm two deaths of Mozambicans in Mossel Bay as anti-immigration violence sweeps country
Mozambique said five of its nationals were killed in “xenophobic attacks” in South Africa at the weekend and efforts were under way on Tuesday to repatriate hundreds of others.
However, the South African police confirmed only that two Mozambicans had died in violence in the southern coastal town of Mossel Bay, the first killings to be officially linked to a wave of anti-migrant protests sweeping the country.
Continue reading...Rwanda had sued UK government over alleged breach of agreement, after scheme scrapped by Labour on first day in office
The UK will not have to pay the Rwandan government millions of pounds over a failed migrant deportation scheme set up by Boris Johnson’s administration, an international court has ruled.
The east African nation had sued the current UK government for more than £100m, claiming it was owed after a breach of an agreement.
Continue reading...‘Megafires’ in California, Canada, South Korea and Europe in 2025, but changes to farming slowed spread in parts of Africa
“Devastating” wildfires ripped across the wealthier parts of the world in 2025, a study has found, even as globally, the area ravaged by flames fell.
Catastrophic blazes claimed lives, homes and jobs last year in California, Canada, Europe and South Korea. But the 335m hectares burned was the second-lowest since 2002, the review found, largely owing to the expansion of African farms that have fragmented landscapes and hampered the spread of large savannah fires.
Continue reading...Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus makes appeal after protests against protocols for handling victims’ bodies in Ituri province
Containing the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo requires community cooperation and is “everybody’s business”, the World Health Organization has said.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the organisation’s director general, made the plea on Sunday during a visit to eastern Congo where some residents have protested against stringent medical protocols for handling victims’ bodies.
Continue reading...Yves Sakila died after being restrained by security guards ‘in broad daylight’
Irish authorities have agreed to a second postmortem on the body of a Congolese man who died after being restrained by shop security guards on a Dublin street, prompting an outcry and comparisons to the death of George Floyd.
A forensic pathologist from England is to conduct an independent postmortem this week on Yves Sakila, 35, an alleged shoplifter who was pursued and pinned to the ground in the city centre on 15 May. The police force, An Garda Síochána, is investigating.
Continue reading...Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus calls for ceasefire among armed groups to help avoid deaths from preventable disease
The death rate of the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is between 30% and 50%, the World Health Organization has said, as its head arrived in the country to support efforts to contain the disease.
Anaïs Legand, from the WHO’s high threat pathogens team, said the revised death rate estimate is based on confirmed cases. “It’s huge. It means that up to five out of 10 people are likely to die,” Legand told reporters in Geneva.
Continue reading...In today’s newsletter: As the virus spreads across borders, health workers warn that weakened global support is making a prolonged crisis more likely
Ebola is spreading rapidly in parts of east Africa. The deadly disease, which kills around half of those it infects, is suspected to have claimed the lives of at least 240 people since the outbreak began in Ituri province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo earlier this month.
Public health officials are scrambling to contain the virus in one of the toughest environments: Ituri province, the centre of the crisis, is a mining hub where thousands of people work in close proximity every day, and a conflict zone, with ongoing fighting between rebel groups. Medical facilities are modest, while waves of displaced people are being forced into overcrowded camps to escape fighting, making it even harder to control transmission. The virus has already spread to other regions in eastern DRC and the Ugandan capital Kampala.
UK news | Britain risks a financial hit worth £125bn a year after a rise in the number of young people not in employment or education to more than 1 million.
US-Israel-Iran | Donald Trump has circulated a draft peace agreement for the war with Iran among allies including Israel as both sides try to prevent fresh breaches of the ceasefire escalating out of control.
UK politics | Andy Burnham has rolled back from his previous calls for ministers to scrap a restriction on immigrants claiming benefits as the Makerfield byelection places greater scrutiny on him.
Ukraine | A Russian drone that was part of an overnight attack on Ukraine crashed into an apartment building in eastern Romania, injuring two people, authorities said, in what an official statement condemned as an “irresponsible escalation” by Moscow.
Climate crisis | Abandoning net zero and drilling for more oil and gas would be a massive setback for the UK and would not help the economy, leading experts have said in response to Tony Blair.
Continue reading...Parents face anxious wait for updates after blaze tears through Utumishi girls academy in Gilgil, Nakuru county
A fire has ripped through a dormitory at a girls’ school in Kenya’s Rift valley, killing at least 16 students.
The fire broke out just after midnight at Utumishi girls academy in Gilgil, Nakuru county, about 76 miles north-west of Nairobi, police said.
Continue reading...Some experts criticize White House approach and say not allowing Americans to return to US hurts treatment efforts
The Trump administration is building a quarantine and treatment center in Kenya for Americans affected by the Ebola outbreak, instead of bringing them home.
The White House on Wednesday confirmed that the US was setting up a facility in Kenya for Americans to quarantine after Ebola exposure in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Continue reading...Director general of World Health Organization urges neighbouring countries to take immediate action
The World Health Organization has warned that the Ebola outbreak is outpacing response efforts and countries neighbouring the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are at high risk from the disease.
“We are urgently scaling up operations, but at the moment the epidemic is outpacing us,” said the WHO’s director-general, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, as he urged neighbouring countries to take immediate action.
Continue reading...World Health Organization says outbreak poses ‘very high’ risk for Congo, but risk of disease spreading globally remains low
Congolese authorities say that suspected Ebola cases have now passed 900 in the ongoing outbreak in the east of the country.
The Congolese ministry of communication, in a post on X on Sunday, said there were 904 suspected cases and 119 suspected deaths.
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