AFP Africa

Scottish conservationist Iain Douglas-Hamilton, who pioneered new understandings of African elephants and made protecting the giant pachyderms a life-long passion, has died at the age of 83, his charity said Tuesday.Save the Elephants said in a statement that Douglas-Hamilton passed away in Nairobi late Monday, calling him a “pioneering force” in elephant conservation, who “revolutionised …

Save the Elephants founder Iain Douglas-Hamilton dies at 83Tue, 09 Dec 2025 14:40:26 GMT Read More »

When Benin’s government over the weekend fought back a coup attempt, they had unlikely help: troops and air strikes from neighbouring countries.West Africa has seen a series of coups over the past five years, leaving critics to cast the regional political bloc ECOWAS as having little more than stern communiques at its disposal to stop …

Why west African troops overturned Benin’s coup but watched others pass byTue, 09 Dec 2025 14:33:10 GMT Read More »

Francois Mitterand Murekezi walked three hours to join a hundred or so hoe-wielding farmhands gathered at sunrise in the hope of finding work on a plantation in conflict-ridden eastern DR Congo.In exchange for a hard day’s labour on a local farm in Mushaki, where land squabbles have been a source of strife since the Democratic …

DR Congo farmhands labour under conflict, inequalityTue, 09 Dec 2025 10:29:49 GMT Read More »

The International Criminal Court Tuesday handed down a sentence of 20 years to a Sudanese militia leader for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the country’s civil war two decades ago.The court had already convicted Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman, also known as Ali Kushayb, of 27 counts of crimes against humanity and war …

ICC sentences Sudan militia chief to 20 yearsTue, 09 Dec 2025 10:11:29 GMT Read More »

Benin’s military was Monday searching for fugitive soldiers behind a foiled coup attempt on the weekend that left several dead as other west African countries mobilised to offer military support.At least a dozen plotters had been arrested and by Monday all hostages, including high-ranking officers, had been released, according to loyalist military sources.The country’s economic …

Benin hunts soldiers behind failed coupTue, 09 Dec 2025 03:35:52 GMT Read More »

A Somali migrant deported from the United States and labelled an “illegal scumbag” by the White House for aiding the kidnapping of two French spies in Mogadishu may have been wrongly accused.Mahad Maxamud returned to a hero’s welcome in Somalia last month, not least because he is a hugely popular social media star whose online …

Somali TikToker deported from US for spy kidnapping may be innocentTue, 09 Dec 2025 02:47:53 GMT Read More »

A just-signed agreement aimed at ending the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo looked to be unravelling Monday with the DRC and Burundi slamming neighbouring Rwanda after the Rwanda-backed M23 armed group attacked border areas.DRC President Felix Tshisekedi accused Rwanda of “violating” the accord — signed only last Thursday in Washington at the urging …

Peace deal at risk as DR Congo, Burundi slam Rwanda and M23 advancesMon, 08 Dec 2025 20:29:20 GMT Read More »

Arne Slot admitted Monday that he didn’t know whether Mohamed Salah will play again for Liverpool after the Egypt star was dropped for the Reds’ Champions League clash with Inter Milan.Salah was left in England for Tuesday night’s fixture at the San Siro following extraordinary criticism of Liverpool boss Slot which came after he was …

Slot has ‘no clue’ whether rebel star Salah has played last Liverpool gameMon, 08 Dec 2025 19:41:50 GMT Read More »

Around 100 schoolchildren kidnapped from a Catholic school in Nigeria last month were handed over to state officials Monday, AFP reporters saw, though the fate of many others remains unknown.The children — many wearing football jerseys and girls in long robes — were driven to the Niger State Government House in white buses escorted by …

100 abducted Nigerian children handed over to state officialsMon, 08 Dec 2025 19:10:01 GMT Read More »

Five people are lined up before Chantal Dagah’s newsstand in Benin’s economic capital Cotonou — a sure sign of trouble.Traffic at her kiosk, just steps away from several government ministries, guarded by tanks Monday afternoon usually comes in dribs and drabs, but after a failed coup over the weekend, Beninese across the seaside city are …

Calm returns to Cotonou with Beninese coup plotters on the runMon, 08 Dec 2025 17:59:00 GMT Read More »