World News

The World Food Programme (WFP) has said serious hunger and malnutrition looms for millions of refugees across eastern Africa who depend on assistance from the food agency to survive. It said that the socio-economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has reduced vital funding from donors. The WFP has already reduced food or cash transfers by up to 30% for more ...

Amnesty International says it has documented an alarming escalation in attacks and abductions in northern Nigeria, with more than 1,100 deaths since the beginning of the year. The rights group says the authorities have left rural communities at the mercy of rampaging gunmen and describes the lack of protection as “utterly shameful”. The research focused on seven states in north-west ...

Talks in Mali aimed at resolving the political situation in the aftermath of last week’s coup have ended without agreement. West African leaders have said that the deposed President, Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, should be reinstated. But envoys from regional body Ecowas failed to convince Mali’s military leaders that this was the way forward. Mr Keïta faced huge street protests before ...

Medical workers say at least two people have died during clashes in Ivory Coast following President Alassane Ouattara’s decision to run for a third term. They were killed in the southern town of Divo where opposition supporters clashed with those of Mr Ouattara. Residents said one of the dead was a teenager who died after protesters set fire to a ...

Ninety-seven people, including 28 unaccompanied minors, have been rescued from an overcrowded rubber boat that was drifting in the Mediterranean 30 miles off the Libyan coast, charity Sea-Watch International says. It is believed that the boat had set off from Libya. Crew on the search and rescue ship Sea-Watch 4 spotted the vessel on Sunday morning, spokesperson Oliver Kulikowski told ...

Crowds rejoiced after a group of colonels seized power in Mali, a vast country stretching into the Sahara, where troops – including French soldiers and UN peacekeepers – are fighting jihadist groups, but not everyone is happy, writes West Africa analyst Paul Melly. Negotiations are rumoured to be under way for the exile of Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, deposed as president ...

Coup leaders in Mali say a transitional president will be appointed, drawn from either the civilian population or the military. Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta was removed in a coup on Tuesday. West African leaders have called for him to be reinstated and the UN has called for the release of officials. But the coup leaders say they are in contact with the ...

The World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations children’s agency have urged African governments to promote the safe reopening of schools during the coronavirus pandemic. They say prolonged closure of schools is harmful to students and want governments to invest in sanitation facilities to prevent the spread of coronavirus in learning institutions. The two organisations said students are being exposed ...

The masterminds of Mali’s coup that ousted President Ibrahim Keïta on Tuesday include the deputy head of a military camp and a French-trained general. BBC Monitoring has profiled three high-ranking military leaders thought to have played key roles in the coup. 1. Col Malick Diaw He is the deputy head of the Kati camp where the mutiny started. There is ...

At least 45 migrants and refugees, including five children, have died in the deadliest shipwreck off Libya this year, the UN refugee agency says. They were among more than 80 people on board a vessel whose engine exploded off the coast of Zwara, the UNHCR said. The deaths were reported by some 37 survivors rescued by local fishermen. Both the UNHCR ...