World News

The number of young people around the world who are neither employed, studying or in some kind of training, is on the rise, according to a new report released on Monday by the International Labour Organization (ILO). And young women are more than twice as likely as their male counterparts to be affected. Increasing automation, a narrow focus of vocational ...

The Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, one of Nigeria’s most influential Muslim traditional leaders, has been removed from his throne. He was deposed for showing “insubordination” to the authorities in the northern state of Kano. Mr Sanusi, an ex-central bank chief, has had frosty relations with Kano Governor Abdullahi Ganduje since 2017. His supporters believe he was sacked for ...

Italy is extending its coronavirus quarantine measures, which include a ban on public gatherings, to the entire country. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said that people would only be permitted to travel for work or family emergencies. He said the measures, which come into effect on Tuesday, were to defend the most fragile members of society. Italy’s coronavirus death toll jumped ...

Twenty-five years after the historic Beijing women’s conference in China – a milestone in advancing equal rights – violence against women and girls is not only common, but widely accepted, a new UN report revealed on Wednesday. While there have been remarkable gains for girls in education, little headway has been made to help shape a more equal, less violent ...

The deaths recorded from the Lassa fever outbreak in Nigeria has reached 118, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has disclosed. From January 1 to February 23, 2633 suspected cases, with 689 confirmed cases and 118 deaths have been recorded in the country. The number of cases has significantly increased compared to what was reported for the same period ...

As the threat of coronavirus disease looms over the continent, the World Health Organization (WHO) has promised to support African Union Member States on a common preparedness and response strategy. WHO joined Health Ministers in an Emergency Meeting on the Coronavirus Disease Outbreak, which was convened on 22 February by the African Union Commission in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Dr Matshidiso ...

Resource-backed loans have contributed to crippling debt levels in Africa and are shrouded in secrecy, according to a new report. These loans to governments, collateralized with oil or minerals, have been hidden from scrutiny for far too long and that must change, say the report’s authors. A resource-backed loan is a borrowing mechanism by which a country accesses finance in exchange ...

Africa is both the world’s least electrified continent and the most vulnerable to climate change. And as the continent with the world’s fastest growing population, the decisions that African politicians make to boost power supplies could have an impact both locally and globally. The conundrum is how to meet the demand for energy without making the climate situation worse. There ...

Germany will deploy extra police to protect mosques, railway stations, airports and other sensitive sites because of a “very high” far-right threat following the Hanau killings, the interior minister says. Horst Seehofer said he had agreed the measures with regional leaders, to prevent any copycat attacks. Prosecutors say the suspected gunman, now dead, was “deeply racist”. Nine people were killed ...

Despite sitting down as she shells bright-pink beans, Margaret Tindimutuma’s swollen feet are in pain. The Ugandan matriarch has a rare type of elephantiasis that has caused her family untold suffering. “I have always had allergies since I was young. So when my legs started to develop little swellings, like boils, I didn’t think much of it,” the octogenarian says ...