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Emmerson Mnangagwa says country needs $2bn of aid as severe dry spell caused by El Niño afflicts southern AfricaZimbabwe has declared a national disaster over a drought caused by the climate event known as El Niño and President Emmerson Mnangagwa has said the country needs $2bn in aid to help millions of people who are going hungry.The severe dry spell is wreaking havoc across...

Legislation adopted last year outraged LGBTQ+ community, rights activists, the UN and western nationsUganda’s constitutional court has rejected a bid to overturn a controversial anti-gay law that is considered one of the toughest in the world.“We decline to nullify the Anti-Homosexuality Act 2023 in its entirety, neither will we grant a permanent injunction against its enforcement,” Justice Richard Buteera, Uganda’s deputy chief justice and...

President Mokgweetsi Masisi voices anger over Berlin’s opposition to the import of trophies over poaching concernsBotswana’s president has threatened to send 20,000 elephants to Germany amid a dispute over the import of hunting trophies.Earlier this year Germany’s environment ministry raised the possibility of stricter limits on the import of hunting trophies over poaching concerns. But a ban on the import of hunting trophies would...

Passengers, who have since rejoined vessel, missed scheduled departure time from São Tomé and scrambled to reunite with shipEight cruise passengers had to scramble to reunite with their cruise ship after being left behind in São Tomé and Príncipe.The passengers, including a pregnant woman and a paraplegic traveller, missed their scheduled departure time from the island of São Tomé in the Gulf of Guinea,...

Leftwinger one of a group of opposition politicians freed from prison 10 days before presidential ballotBassirou Diomaye Faye, a leftwing pan-Africanist, has been sworn in as Senegal’s youngest president, pledging systemic change, greater sovereignty and calm after years of deadly turmoil.The 44-year-old, who has never held an elected office, swept to a first-round victory on a promise of radical reform just 10 days after...

Poor harvests in extreme weather conditions have led to a tripling of cocoa prices – but farmers have seen no benefitAround the world this holiday weekend, people will consume hundreds of millions of Easter eggs and bunnies, as part of an annual chocolate intake that can exceed 8kg (18lb) for every person in the UK, or 5kg in the US and Europe. But a...

Only survivor after vehicle falls 50 metres and catches fire is eight-year-old who was taken to hospital with serious injuriesAn eight-year-old child was the sole survivor after a bus carrying 46 people fell 50 metres from a bridge in South Africa into a ravine and caught fire.The child, who has not been named, was taken to hospital with serious injuries, the transport ministry said...

Investigation reveals reports of miscarriages, infections and birth defects among women and girls in mining communitiesWomen and girls living in cobalt-mining communities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are reporting a “staggering” rise in serious reproductive health issues, including miscarriages and birth defects, according to a new report.An investigation published by the UK-based human rights group Rights & Accountability in Development (Raid) and...

Bassirou Diomaye Faye promises to overhaul democracy in west African country blighted by corruptionJust 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 staffThe 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...

Radical change candidate Bassirou Diomaye Faye pulls off stunning election win after main rival Amadou Ba concedes defeatSenegal’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...

Authorities to launch inquiry into allegations of mismanagement at country’s national oil corporationLibyan 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...

Students and staff snatched by gunmen from school in Kaduna state freed days before ransom deadlineThe 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...

Country’s reputation as one of Africa’s model democracies under threat after weeks of violenceSenegal 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...

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 hegemonyUS 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...

Exclusive: new role created after Guardian uncovered allegations against company’s security guardsA 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...

High temperatures in February affected millions of people and put further pressure on chocolate pricesA 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...

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...

Médecins Sans Frontières says ‘dangerous manoeuvres’ by coastguard put refugees at even greater riskAn 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...

Actor and his childhood friend planning development on Sherbro to be a public-private partnershipIdris 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 environmentally friendly smart city.The actor is working with his childhood friend to develop Sherbro, which is roughly the size of the Isle of Man,...

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...

Exclusive: Former guards tell of clashes on farm that is facing civil claims over allegations of killing, rape and beatingsFormer 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...

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. Continue reading...