Pope Leo asked on Sunday for the immediate release of children and staff abducted this week from a Catholic school in Nigeria, one of the worst mass kidnappings ever recorded there. Gunmen in Nigeria kidnapped students and teachers from St Mary's school in the northwest of the country on Friday, t
Gunmen in Nigeria kidnapped at least 227 students and teachers at a Catholic school in the northwest on Friday, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) said, the latest in a spate of school attacks this week that has forced the government to shut 47 colleges. Friday's incident in Niger state wa
Nigeria has grabbed global headlines again following a spate of attacks by gunmen involving the kidnapping of dozens of students from two schools and a deadly assault on a church service. This week's incidents have piled more pressure on the Nigerian government following U.S. President Donald Trum
Zambia will host a Chinese premier on Wednesday for the first time in 28 years as the sub-Saharan state emerges from a financial crisis, with Beijing eager to access commodities and develop a bigger market for its exporters. China is Zambia's largest official creditor, owed $5.7 billion and keen t
At least 32 people were killed at a copper mine after a bridge collapsed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, local authorities said Sunday. A total of 32 bodies have been recovered so far after the collapse at the Kalando mine in southern Lualaba province on Saturday, said Roy Kaumba Mayonde,
Tens of thousands of people who have fled the Sudanese city of al-Fashir are unaccounted for, the UNrefugee agency said on Friday, raising concerns for their safety after reports of rape, killings and other abuses from escapees. Famine-stricken al-Fashir was the final stronghold of the Sudanese ar
Tanzania President Samia Suluhu Hassan was sworn into office on Monday for her first elected term after winning a landslide victory in an election that set off deadly protests across the country. Hassan, who came to power in 2021 following the death in office of her predecessor, was declar
Pope Leo on Sunday appealed for an immediate ceasefire and the opening of humanitarian corridors in Sudan, saying he was following with “great sorrow” reports of terrible brutality in the city of Al-Fashir in Darfur. “Indiscriminate violence against women and children, attacks on
Tanzania's electoral commission declared on Saturday that President Samia Suluhu Hassan had won, with nearly 98 per cent of the votes, an election that set off violent protests across the country this week. The result hands Hassan, who took power in 2021 after the death in office of her predecesso
Madagascar's military-led government, which seized power this month, appointed a cabinet on Tuesday of mostly civilian ministers, including some prominent critics of ousted president Andry Rajoelina. The appointments mark a key moment in Madagascar's political turmoil as the military consolidates
A road accident involving two buses on one of Uganda's busiest highways killed at least 63 people and left others injured, police said on Wednesday. The crash happened just after midnight on the highway between the capital Kampala and the northern city of Gulu, reports Reuters. Initial investigat
A tanker truck laden with gasoline exploded Tuesday in north-central Nigeria, killing at least 31 people, police said. The explosion occurred in the Bida area of Niger State after the truck fell and as local residents rushed to the scene to scoop up spilling fuel, police spokesman Wasiu Abiodun sa
When an elite army colonel joined Madagascar’s Gen Z protests earlier this month, forcing the president to flee the country, youth-movement leader Olivia Rafetison was happy to have the protection of men with guns, after weeks of state repression. “He said: ‘we’re for the p
