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SAF join engineering corps in south of city where they have been besieged by RSF forces since AprilThe Sudan armed forces (SAF) have advanced in Omdurman for the first time since the beginning of the war with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in April last year.It is reported that the SAF in the Karari military area, north of Omdurman, have joined their peers...

The suspension of a Congolese player for a gun gesture referring to conflict in DRC raises questions over government’s refugee policyWhen a Congolese footballer made a brief gesture after scoring in an east African league match last weekend, it felt like little more than a talking point among the spectators.Yet the gesture by midfielder Héritier Luvumbu at the game in Kigali has prompted a...

Antiquities authority drops proposal for Menkaure pyramid after review prompted by international outcryEgypt has scuttled a controversial plan to reinstall ancient granite cladding on the pyramid of Menkaure, the smallest of the three great pyramids of Giza, a committee formed by the country’s tourism minister said in a statement.Mostafa Waziri, the secretary general of the supreme council of antiquities, announced the plan last month,...

Research reveals area size of France is under threat by restoration projects taking place in unsuitable landscapesMisguided tree-planting projects are threatening crucial ecosystems across Africa, scientists have warned.Research has revealed that an area the size of France is threatened by forest restoration initiatives that are taking place in inappropriate landscapes. Continue reading...

Carved wooden figure at Venice Biennale aims to spark debate about colonial blindspots in the art worldA statue depicting the angry spirit of a Belgian officer beheaded during a 1930s uprising in the Congo will go on display at the Dutch pavilion of this year’s Venice Biennale, seeking to spark a debate about colonial blindspots in the art world – and the Belgian pavilion...

Police name husbands as suspects in separate deaths of women, two of whom were pregnantThe deaths of three women in one week, all allegedly murdered by their husbands, has caused outrage in Somalia and sparked days of protests over the country’s femicide rates.Police have named the suspects in all three killings, which took place in the first week of February, as the dead women’s...

Witnesses claim victims shot ‘execution style’ during house raids after clashes between government forces and Fano rebelsEthiopian government troops went door-to-door killing dozens of civilians last month in a town in the country’s Amhara region, according to residents, who said the bloodshed took place after clashes with local militia.The killings in Merawi appear to be one of the deadliest episodes in Amhara since a...

Damning report by MPs warns policy places UK’s reputation for rule of law and human rights ‘in jeopardy’The UK government’s controversial Rwanda legislation that deems the African country as a safe place to deport people to is fundamentally incompatible with Britain’s human rights obligations and places it in breach of international law, according to a damning parliamentary report.MPs and peers from the cross-party joint...

Civil claim relating to alleged killing, rape and attacks by guards at pineapple farm should be struck out, claim firm’s lawyersFresh Del Monte has claimed it should not be held liable for a civil lawsuit alleging killing, rape and violence by security guards at its Kenyan pineapple farm because it is domiciled in the Cayman Islands.In the high court in Thika on Thursday, lawyers...

Exclusive: Investigation uncovers claims Del Monte representatives offered bribes in attempt to persuade men to back company’s version of events‘Pain of a mother’: families demand justice after deaths near Del Monte farmRepresentatives of Del Monte Kenya have been accused of offering bribes in an attempt to cover up the circumstances in which four men died after going to steal pineapples from its farm in...

Activists will cross the continent visiting areas where the practice is prevalent to revive progress in protecting women and girlsAfrican female genital mutilation survivors will lead thousands of campaigners in a two-year “caravan campaign” across the continent, calling for an end to the practice.Organised by #FrontlineEndingFGM, a group of grassroots activists and organisations in Africa will cover about 7,400 miles (12,000km) across 20 countries,...

Video reportedly from Ukrainian intelligence shows captured Russian saying he is from Wagner groupUkrainian special forces are reportedly operating in Sudan in support of the country’s army against Russian Wagner mercenaries aligned with the rebel Rapid Support Forces (RSF), according to a video released on Monday.The Kyiv Post released a short film which it said came from sources within Ukrainian military intelligence, responsible for...

Mobile internet access has also been restricted, as parliament begins debate on bill to extend Macky Sall’s presidencyRiot police fired teargas to break up crowds trying to gather outside Senegal’s national assembly on Monday to protest against the president’s abrupt postponement of elections over the weekend.As protesters shouted slogans, parliament began debating a bill that would reschedule the 25 February vote for 25 August...

First prime minister after independence from South Africa went on to become third president in 2014 and won re-election in 2019 Namibia’s president, Hage Geingob, died early on Sunday in a hospital in the capital, Windhoek, the presidential office said in a statement. He was 82.First elected president in 2014, Geingob was Namibia’s longest serving prime minister and third president. Namibia is to hold...

Macky Sall cites dispute between national assembly and the constitutional court over rejection of candidates as reason for delaySenegal’s president, Macky Sall, has announced the indefinite postponement of a presidential election scheduled for 25 February a few hours before official campaigning was due to start, provoking anger from opposition figures and a ministerial resignation.In an address to the nation on Saturday, Sall said he...

Police launch investigation after attack on home of Oba Aremu Olusegun Cole in south-western Kwara stateGunmen killed a Nigerian traditional monarch and kidnapped his wife after raiding his palace, police said, as outrage grows over a spate of abductions across the country.Attackers stormed the palace of Oba Aremu Olusegun Cole in south-western Kwara state, shot him dead and abducted his wife and another person...

People in affected areas say they are still waiting for government help after more than 300 deaths and widespread devastationTens of thousands of people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are living in temporary accommodation and waiting for government help after the country experienced its worst flooding in six decades.More than 300 people have died and 280,000 households in more than half the...

Children’s parents and those who performed the procedure are in police custody, according to local reportsPolice in Sierra Leone are investigating the deaths of three girls who underwent female genital mutilation (FGM).Adamsay Sesay, 12; Salamatu Jalloh, 13; and Kadiatu Bangura, 17, died during initiation ceremonies in the country’s North West province last month, according to local reports. Continue reading...

Atlantic route to chain of islands is deadliest migration passage to Spain with 6,007 people dying last yearThe number of people from west Africa who braved the sea in boats to reach Spain’s Canary Islands jumped more than 1,000% in January from a year before, according to data released by the country’s interior ministry.A total of 7,270 people reached the archipelago in the Atlantic...

Red two-seater named after Emperor Haile Selassie’s daughter abandoned in 1936 after Italy invaded countryAlmost nine decades after it was stolen by Benito Mussolini’s fascist regime, the Italian government has officially returned Ethiopia’s first plane.The official handover of the aircraft, named Tsehay in honour of the princess daughter of Emperor Haile Selassie, was celebrated on Tuesday by the Ethiopian prime minister, Abiy Ahmed. Continue...

New show will follow Question Time format answering audience questions on taboo subjects from periods to women in politicsSomalia’s only all-female media team, Bilan, is launching the country’s first TV current affairs show to be hosted by a woman.The debate show, which plans to address some taboo subjects, will also be the first programme on Somali television to have a panel of at least...

Italian prime minister hoping to position country at forefront of European cooperation in exchange for curbing illegal migrationSenior EU figures, including the European Parliament president, Roberta Metsola, are in Rome today for the Italy-Africa summit.Italy’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, has welcomed leaders in Rome for today’s discussions at the Italy-Africa summit. Continue reading...

Scheme to help African economies aimed at curbing illegal migration from continentThe Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, is poised to announce her grand plan for Italy in Africa as she strives to position her country at the forefront of European cooperation on the African continent in return for curbing illegal migration.The so-called Mattei plan, named after Enrico Mattei, the founder of the oil company...

Reports of at least a dozen cases of femicide since start of year prompt protests across the countryProtests against femicide have taken place across Kenya after a rise in killings this month.Reports of at least a dozen cases of femicide since the start of the year have prompted public outrage, debate and demonstrations across the country, including in Nairobi, Kisumu and Mombasa. Continue reading...