World News

Lawmakers in Nigeria’s Kaduna State have approved surgical castration as punishment for those convicted of raping children under the age of 14.State governor Nasir Ahmad el-Rufai needs to sign the bill for it to become law in the north-western state.He has previously supported castration to prevent rapists from re-offending.The move follows public outrage over a wave of rapes, which prompted ...

As trade and development between Africa and China expands, another layer of relations is growing into uncovered territory. Afro-Chinese children in both Africa and China are increasing in number as a product of various circumstances. The concerns around their status in society and the origin of their identity will need to be addressed sooner or later. African women and fatherless ...

Amid COVID-19, Mali has been in international news for months in a row. The issue is not an uptick in COVID cases, as most people would expect. Rather, popular protests against the Malian government, which started in May, kept growing until it culminated in a military coup on the 18th of August that deposed the incumbent President – Ibrahim Boubacar Keita. ...

The World Health Organization (WHO) has said that once a COVID-19 vaccine is approved, Africa will get at least 220 million initial doses. The first batch will prioritise front-line healthcare workers and vulnerable groups, according to the WHO Africa Program Area Manager Richard Mihigo. He said distribution will be based on the population of each country. Mr Mihigo said all 54 countries ...

The jihadist group Islamic State West Africa Province (Iswap) has said its fighters killed at least 10 Nigerian soldiers in the town of Magumeri in the north-east. Security sources have confirmed the attack, but not the death toll. Reports suggest the militants arrived in several trucks fitted with machine-guns and overran the army’s positions. Iswap also said 10 Nigerian troops ...

The World Health Organization wants to secure an initial 230 million doses of any COVID-19 vaccine for Africa, officials said Thursday, while emphasising that any vaccine in development should also be tested on the continent. The global vaccine allocation plan, called COVAX, aims to help buy and fairly distribute deliver 2 billion doses of approved vaccines by the end of 2021. “This ...

The US assistant secretary for African affairs, Tibor Nagy, has held talks with Rwandan ambassador to the US over the arrest of Paul Rusesabagina, who was portrayed in a Hollywood film about the Rwandan genocide. Rwandan officials said Mr Rusesabagina, 66, was arrested under an international warrant for leading “terrorist movements”. But his daughter told the BBC the allegation was ...

The charity Save the Children is warning that nearly 70,000 children in sub-Saharan Africa are at risk of dying from extreme hunger before the end of the year. It says that the Covid-19 lockdown measures have meant families are facing a serious decline in their livelihoods, and nutritious food is becoming increasingly hard to find, or expensive. The charity says ...

Ethiopia’s government has demanded an explanation from the US over a report that it has reduced its funding of Ethiopia as the dispute continues over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (Gerd). Last week, Foreign Policy magazine reported that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has approved the withholding of up to $130m (£98m) in a bid to pressurise Ethiopia into coming ...

Recent heavy rains and flooding have killed 51 people in Niger, Reuters news agency quotes officials as saying. More than 26,000 houses have collapsed and some 280,000 people are in need of help, President Mahamadou Issoufou said. In Sudan, 89 people have died as a result of rains and flooding, AFP news agency reports, quoting officials. More than 38,000 homes ...