Three people have died and a British man is critically ill following a suspected hantavirus outbreak aboard a cruise ship in the Atlantic, raising concern among health authorities and passengers. Tour operator Oceanwide Expeditions said two Dutch passengers — a husband and wife — and a German national have died, although the exact causes of […]

France has urged its citizens to leave Mali “as soon as possible” following a surge in coordinated attacks by separatist and Islamist armed groups that have heightened fears over security. In updated travel advice, French authorities described the situation as “extremely volatile” and warned against any travel to Mali, as explosions and heavy gunfire were […]

Aid agencies say desperate civilians in South Sudan are being cut off from life-saving assistance as fighting intensifies and authorities restrict access to some of the worst-affected areas. “It was a ‘no’ from local and national authorities and from the military,” said Yashovardhan, head of mission for Doctors Without Borders in South Sudan. “Meanwhile, people […]

William Ruto has moved to defuse a diplomatic row after backlash over remarks he made about Nigerian-accented English, insisting his comments were misunderstood. Speaking at a mining conference in Nairobi attended by Henry Dele Alake, Ruto said his earlier remarks had been taken out of context and were never meant to offend Nigerians. “The fact […]

Pope Leo XIV has called on authorities in Equatorial Guinea to ensure the justice system serves not only to punish, but to protect society and uphold human dignity, as he criticised conditions in the country’s prisons. Speaking during a visit to a notoriously overcrowded jail in the city of Bata, the Pope told inmates that […]

Just hours after Zambia’s government announced it had taken custody of former president Edgar Lungu’s body, a South African court reversed the move, ordering that his remains be returned pending further legal proceedings. The dramatic development marks the latest twist in a months-long dispute between Lungu’s family and the Zambian authorities over his funeral arrangements—an […]

South Africa’s national police commissioner has been formally charged over his alleged failure to properly oversee a controversial multimillion-dollar health contract now at the centre of a wider corruption probe. Fannie Masemola, 62, appeared briefly before the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court after being summoned in connection with the awarding of a $21m (£15.5m) tender for police […]

More than 200 civilians abducted by an armed group linked to the Islamic State in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo have been freed during a joint military operation, according to authorities in neighbouring Uganda. Ugandan troops, working alongside Congolese forces, carried out a raid on a camp run by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a […]

Julius Malema has been sentenced to five years in prison after being found guilty of illegally possessing a firearm and discharging it in public. However, Magistrate Twanet Olivier granted the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader permission to appeal, meaning he will not be taken into custody while the legal process continues. Delivering her ruling, Olivier […]

World Athletics has rejected applications from 11 top athletes seeking to switch their nationality to Turkey, citing concerns over what it described as a coordinated recruitment effort. According to the governing body, the requests appeared to be part of a state-backed strategy to lure international talent with lucrative contracts, raising questions about the integrity of […]