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Most passengers heading for island off Nampula province were trying to escape mainland due to panic over cholera outbreak, official saysAt least 94 people have died and 26 are missing after an overcrowded makeshift ferry sank off the north coast of Mozambique, authorities say.The converted fishing boat, carrying about 130 people, ran into trouble as it tried to reach an island off Nampula province,...

Boy who took his own life allegedly told to pay $500 to stop personal photos being shared with family and friendsFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastTwo men in Nigeria have been charged over an alleged sextortion case that led to a teenage Australian boy taking his own life.The boy...

Russ Cook from Worthing reaches Ras Angela, Tunisia, after covering more than 9,900 miles in 352 daysAfter more than 9,940 miles (16,000km) over 352 days across 16 countries, Russ Cook, aka the “Hardest Geezer”, has completed the mammoth challenge of running the length of Africa.The 27-year-old endurance athlete from Worthing, West Sussex, crossed the finish line in Tunisia on Sunday afternoon, and planned to...

Semi-autonomous state of Puntland refuses to recognise changes to the fragile country’s constitution and has withdrawn from the federal systemAn overhaul of Somalia’s constitution, scrapping its power-sharing system and handing the president increased control, is threatening to destabilise the fragile country, as its wealthiest and most stable state refuses to recognise the changes.The amendments risk worsening violence, the information minister from the semi-autonomous state...

French president marks 30th anniversary with video, airing Sunday, saying international community lacked will to stop the slaughterThe French president, Emmanuel Macron, has said France and its western and African allies “could have stopped” Rwanda’s 1994 genocide but did not have the will to halt the slaughter of an estimated 800,000 people, mostly ethnic Tutsis.In a video message to be published on Sunday to...

Four others were wounded in the attack at Kafue national park, in which the animal barreled into the side of a truckAn elderly US tourist was killed and four others hurt when an aggressive bull elephant charged and toppled their safari vehicle during a game drive in Zambia.The attack at Kafue national park, in which the large pachyderm ran from a wooded area and...

Mining company hit with accusation it contaminated waterways with harmful levels of uranium and leadIn a letter of claim, a document that is an early step in a lawsuit, the villagers accuse Rio Tinto of contaminating the waterways and lakes that they use for domestic purposes with elevated and harmful levels of uranium and lead, which pose a serious risk to human health.This story...

Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula resigned amid accusations she solicited bribes when she was defence ministerSouth Africa’s former parliamentary speaker has been arrested as part of a corruption inquiry in the latest scandal to hit the governing African National Congress (ANC) party before elections in May.Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, who resigned as speaker on Wednesday, was formally detained after handing herself in to police near Pretoria, prosecutors said. Continue...

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...

Poet who is curating country’s first Venice Biennale pavilion says ‘part of the heart’ of the country was looted and is being held in museumsAn Ethiopian cultural surge – including a first national pavilion at the Venice Biennale and the rise of stars such as Ruth Negga and The Weeknd – is making the country’s calls for restitution of looted colonial-era artefacts harder to...

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,...

Around 9,500 tonnes of track will be provided for north African country’s first fully electrified mainlineBritish Steel has won a multimillion-pound contract to supply rail for a new route in north Africa, the company has announced.Approximately 9,500 tonnes of track, produced in Scunthorpe, will be provided for Egypt’s first fully electrified mainline and freight network which stretches from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean....

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...

Watchdog examining claims key details have not been disclosed about altar tablets that museum is facing calls to returnThe information watchdog is investigating the British Museum over claims it has been overly secretive about some of the most sensitive items in its collection – a group of sacred Ethiopian altar tablets that have been hidden from view at the museum for more than 150...

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...

Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula denies allegations she took bribes over three years while defence ministerSouth African prosecutors said on Monday they intended to charge the parliamentary speaker with corruption, alleging she took $135,000 (£107,000) and a wig in bribes over a three-year period while she was defence minister.Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, the speaker of the National Assembly, has not been arrested or charged. The prosecutors spoke at a...

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...