News

Seven al-Shabab militants who attacked a high-security prison in Somalia’s capital have all been killed, the country’s government has said. A huge explosion and gunfire were heard coming from Godka Jilicow – a detention centre that holds al-Shabab militants – in Mogadishu on Saturday evening. In a statement, al-Shabab said it released “all the Muslim […]

South African opposition politician Julius Malema has been found guilty of illegal possession of a gun and firing it in public, offences which carry a minimum sentence of 15 years in prison. In 2018, a video emerged showing the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader using a semi-automatic rifle to fire several shots in the air […]

Ahmed Abdul Rahman can hear the thud of artillery from where he lies in a makeshift cluster of tents in the Sudanese city of el-Fasher. The 13-year-old boy was injured in a recent shelling attack. “I feel pain in my head and my legs,” he says weakly. For 17 months the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces […]

At least 30 people have died and more than 200 others been injured after scaffolding collapsed at a church in Ethiopia. Thousands of worshippers were gathered at the Arerti Mariam church early in the morning when the structure fell, local police inspector Ahmed Gebeyehu told BBC Amharic. The crowd had visited the church, in the […]

Every day, Gora Fall, a fisherman in Senegal’s northern city of Saint-Louis, heads to sea with a mix of emotions: hope and frustration. He hopes he will get a better catch than the previous day, yet he is frustrated by the thought that whatever he finds might not meet his needs. “Before, we worked to […]

At Shona EPZ, a garment factory in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, the tension is inescapable. The industrious thrum of the heavy-duty sewing machines, along with the workers’ chatter, normally fills the plant with a reassuring rhythm. But today every sound is tinged with uncertainty as the future of the firm is unclear because of the possible […]

Police in Madagascar have fired tear gas as hundreds of young protesters returned to the streets of the capital, despite the president agreeing to dissolve his government. The so-called Gen-Z protests have seen thousands demonstrate in cities across Madagascar since Thursday, demanding an end to repeated water and power cuts. President Andry Rajoelina sacked his […]

South Africa’s ambassador to France, Nathi Mthethwa, has been found dead near the four-star Hyatt Regency Hotel in Paris, French officials have told the BBC. Mthethwa, 58, was reported missing by his wife on Monday evening, after a “worrying message from him”, the Paris prosecutor’s office said. He had booked a room on the 22nd […]

Former Democratic Republic of Congo President Joseph Kabila has been sentenced to death in absentia for war crimes and treason. The charges concern accusations that Kabila has been supporting the M23, a rebel group who have wreaked devastation across the country’s eastern region. Kabila was convicted on Friday by a military court of treason, crimes […]

Just five years after being dramatically unseated by a court ruling, Peter Mutharika is set to return to power as the president of Malawi. Mutharika, who held the top job from 2014 to 2020, triumphed in last week’s general election, usurping his long-time rival, President Lazarus Chakwera. Mutharika told voters on the campaign trail that […]