News

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 uncertain because of the possible […]

Rows of women sit low to the ground in the central Nigerian town of Bida, holding sticks that rise and fall in a steady rhythm. The air is filled with the dull thud of wood against shell – the dark sun-dried, brown exterior of the shea fruit giving way to reveal the hard nut inside. […]

More than 20 people have been rescued in Kenya from a suspected human trafficking ring that lured them with job offers in Russia but intended to send them to fight in Ukraine, police said. It follows an intelligence-led raid on a residential apartment on the outskirts of the capital, Nairobi, where officers seized recruitment materials, […]

Nigerian celebrity chef and double Guinness World Record breaker Hilda Baci makes no secret about what drives her success. “[It’s] my love for money and the good things in life,” the 30-year-old says unabashedly, laughing on a call from Lagos. There is nothing bashful about Baci – who has changed the spelling of her last […]

Zimbabwe is Africa’s biggest producer of tobacco but some farmers believe the country’s long-term future could lie in a very different crop – blueberries. Thanks to a breakthrough in trade talks with China, the world’s biggest importer of the nutrient-rich fruit, Zimbabwe has taken a major step towards achieving its ambition of becoming Africa’s blueberry […]

Namibia says it is sending in helicopters and hundreds of soldiers to battle a fire that has ravaged a third of a key nature reserve. Etosha National Park is one of southern Africa’s top tourist attractions, known for its vast salt pan that can be seen from space. It is also home to critically endangered […]

A new HIV prevention drug will be made available at a lower cost in over 100 low-income countries within two years — a move expected to give millions access to the breakthrough treatment and potentially bring the world closer to ending the HIV/Aids epidemic. The drug, called Lenacapavir and administered by injection, is due to […]

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, seems to have triumphed in last week’s general election, usurping his long-time rival, President Lazarus Chakwera. Mutharika told voters on the […]

Malawi’s former President Peter Mutharika has been declared the winner of last week’s elections, in a huge comeback for the 85-year-old. Official results show that he won 57% of the vote, compared to the 33% of President Lazarus Chakwera, 70. Chakwera, a pastor before entering politics, conceded defeat ahead of the final result being declared, […]

British-Egyptian activist Alaa Abdel Fattah has been freed and reunited with his family after spending the past six years in jail in Egypt. One of the country’s most prominent political prisoners, he was pardoned by Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi on Monday. Video of the blogger and pro-democracy activist, 43, at home following his release […]