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Nigeria has received 10,000 doses of a vaccine to combat mpox, making it the first African country to receive a batch amid the current outbreak of disease that used to be called monkeypox. The country began the process to secure the vaccines well before it was declared a global health emergency by the World Health […]

Police units around the world have joined forces in a series of covert operations targeting one of West Africa’s most feared criminal networks – Black Axe. Operation Jackal III saw officers in body armour carry out raids in 21 countries between April and July 2024. The mission, co-ordinated by global policing agency Interpol, led to […]

Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg says he regrets bowing to what he calls pressure from the Biden administration to “censor” content on Facebook and Instagram during the coronavirus pandemic. In a letter sent to a US House committee chair, he said some material – including humour and satire – was taken down in 2021 under pressure […]

US soldier Travis King, who fled from South to North Korea before being returned home, will plead guilty to desertion and other charges, his lawyer has said. The army filed 14 charges against Mr King for the illegal crossing in July 2023. He plans to enter a guilty plea to five charges, including desertion and […]

As record numbers of young Africans risk their lives trying to reach the Canary Islands, Spain’s prime minister begins crisis talks with Senegal, Mauritania and The Gambia to tackle migration. But this will come as little comfort to Amina. “I found out that my son had died on social media,” she tells the BBC from […]

The United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has said that big polluters have a clear responsibility to cut emissions – or risk a worldwide catastrophe. “The Pacific is today the most vulnerable area of the world,” he told the BBC at the Pacific Island Forum Leaders Meeting in Tonga. “There is an enormous injustice in relation […]

Children in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo are worst-affected by the current outbreak of mpox, which has been declared a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organization. The country accounts for nearly all of this year’s recorded cases and more than 450 deaths. “It began like a small, […]

Mariah Carey’s mother Patricia and sister Alison died on the same day over the weekend, the US singer has said in a statement. “My heart is broken that I’ve lost my mother this past weekend,” Carey said on Monday. “Sadly, in a tragic turn of events, my sister lost her life on the same day.” […]

Gabon’s interim president who seized power in a coup a year ago has barred members of his transitional government from holidaying abroad. Gen Oligui Nguema has also limited government officials to a maximum of one week of holiday leave. These new restrictions were announced on state television, after he toured the country to listen to […]

When plans to hike taxes drove Kenya’s young people to revolt against the political establishment in June, they turned to technology to organise themselves.  They built custom GPTs — artificial intelligence programs — to educate each other about the proposals, gathered in X Spaces to plan protests, and even had TikTok influencers doing political education. […]