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The alliance of rebel groups in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo have declared a humanitarian ceasefire starting on Tuesday. In a statement, the group – which includes the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels – cited “humanitarian reasons” for the ceasefire, after it has been capturing territory in eastern parts of the country. The UN said at least […]

The Anglican Church of Southern Africa (Acsa) has apologised for failing to protect the public from the risk posed by a prolific British child abuser who had moved to South African in 2001. Senior barrister John Smyth, who died in South Africa in 2018 at the age of 77, abused over 100 children and young […]

Uganda has launched a trial of a vaccine against the Sudan strain of the Ebola virus, following an outbreak in the country that has killed one person and infected two others. The first patient, a 32-year-old male nurse, died last week. On Monday, the initial participant in the trial, who is currently in isolation, received […]

The Accra street vendor looks at me, bemused. I’m trying to establish how the rather flimsy 30g bag of roasted cashew nuts she’s selling, beside a sweltering highway in Ghana’s capital, costs me the equivalent of about 75 cents (60p). That’s obviously not a lot of money for me, a visitor from the UK, but […]

When I first drove into DR Congo’s eastern city of Goma, it was hard for me to tell I had entered a conflict zone. Goma residents filled the streets a few miles from the border with Rwanda – commuters headed to work, hawkers sold goods by the roadside and taxi drivers scrambled to win customers. […]

Protesters in Kinshasa, the capital of Democratic Republic of Congo, have been burning portraits of Rwanda’s president and tearing up Rwandan flags as M23 rebels have taken control of most the eastern city of Goma. Their fury is focused on Rwandan President Paul Kagame, who they accuse of backing the rebels – an accusation long […]

Only one person has survived a plane crash in South Sudan, which killed 20 oil workers who were on board, the government said. The plane, which was heading to the capital, Juba, crashed three minutes after take-near the oil fields in Unity State on Wednesday morning, said Petroleum Minister Puot Kang Chol. Among the victims […]

Three countries under military rule have officially left West African regional bloc Ecowas, after more than a year of diplomatic tensions. The withdrawal of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger is a huge blow to Ecowas, which at 50 years old is considered Africa’s most important regional group. The split was sparked after the three departing […]

A Nigerian man has been extradited to the US to face prosecution over alleged sextortion of a minor, which led to the victim’s death. Hassanbunhussein Abolore Lawal, 24, from Nigeria’s Osun state was flown to the US on Saturday after an agreement was reportedly reached with the Nigerian government that he would not be sentenced […]

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni says she has been placed under judicial investigation over Italy’s surprise release of a Libyan citizen who had been wanted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court (ICC). In a video message shared on social media on Tuesday, Meloni said she was suspected by prosecutors of embezzlement and aiding […]