Africa

3 April 2025ShareSaveWycliffe Muia & Damian ZaneBBC NewsShareSaveJeans form a part of Lesotho's textile exports to the US Lesotho was slapped with the White House's highest tariff rates in the list released by US President Donald Trump on Wednesday.
Americans bringing goods in from the small southern African country will have to pay an additional 50% import tax.
The US has a big trade deficit with Lesotho, which sells textiles – including jeans – and diamonds to America.
The 50% rate for Lesotho was part of what Trump described as “reciprocal tariffs” imposed on imports from dozens of countries, including 20 in Africa. All nations face a minimum rate of 10%.
Responding to the news, Lesotho's Trade Minister Mokhethi Shelile said his government would send a delegation to Washington to argue against the new trade measure.
“My biggest concern was the immediate closure of factories and job losses,” the AFP news agency quotes him as telling journalists on Thursday…

3 April 2025ShareSaveFarouk ChothiaBBC NewsShareSaveDA leader John Steenhuisen pictured with President Ramaphosa (L) and Deputy President Paul Mashatile (R) not long after their coalition was formedSouth Africa's coalition government is on shaky ground, with the sharp divisions between its two biggest parties – the African National Congress (ANC) and Democratic Alliance (DA) – exposed in a crucial vote on the national budget.
The centre-right DA voted against the fiscal framework – a key part of the budget – after rejecting an increase in VAT, and demanding a cut in spending across all government departments.
The ANC, which positions itself as a centre-left party, refused to bow to what it called the DA's demand for an “austerity budget”.
It demonstrated its political acumen by winning the support of a slew of smaller parties – both inside and outside government – to get the fiscal framework through parliament by 194 votes to 182.
The DA filed papers in court to challenge t..

A selection of the week’s best photos from across the African continent and beyond.

2 days agoShareSaveChiamaka EnenduBBC NewsShareSaveMassad Boulos has business interests in AfricaThe US and the Democratic Republic of Congo are in talks over a minerals deal in the resource-rich central African nation, according to a senior US official.
“You have heard about a minerals agreement. We have reviewed the Congo's proposal. I am happy to announce that the president and I have agreed on a path forward for its development,” US senior adviser for Africa, Massad Boulos, said after meeting Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi in Kinshasa.
Mr Boulos, who is Tiffany Trump's father-in-law, did not expand further on the proposals, but did indicate the involvement of US firms.
“Rest assured, American companies are operating transparently and will stimulate local economies,” he said.
DR Congo, home to vast natural reserves like lithium which is essential for battery and electric vehicle production, has been battling Rwandan-backed M23 rebels, who have seized large are..

2 days agoShareSaveNatasha BootyBBC NewsShareSaveThis mother and child managed to escape to Italy from LibyaLibyan authorities have accused aid groups of plotting to change the country's ethnic make-up by encouraging African migrants to stay there, and has ordered them to close their offices.
Ten groups have been singled out – including Doctors Without Borders, the UN refugee agency, and Norwegian Refugee Council.
“This plan to settle migrants of African origin in our country represents a hostile act. It aims to change the demographic composition of the country and threatens the balance of Libyan society,” said Internal Security Authority spokesman Salem Gheit on Thursday.
It echoes a similar announcement made by Tunisia two years ago, which was swiftly condemned as anti-black racism.
Both nations sit on the Mediterranean coast and are key transit points for African migrants crossing the sea to Europe.
Since the overthrow of Libya's leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 there has be..

2 days agoShareSaveBarbara Plett UsherBBC News, Port SudanShareSaveKhartoum lies in ruins after two years of warThe UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has said he is appalled at what he described as “credible reports” of extrajudicial killings of civilians by the Sudanese army, after it recaptured the capital Khartoum last week.
In a statement Volker Türk called for a full investigation into the allegations.
He expressed his concern over the “credible reports of numerous incidents of summary executions of civilians in several areas of Khartoum, on apparent suspicions that they were collaborating with the Rapid Support Forces.”
Videos have been circulating for several days on social media of alleged killings of civilians by armed men, purportedly in and around Khartoum.
The BBC has not been able to independently verify the footage, but the UN Human Rights Office said it believed the videos were credible evidence of abuse.
We are currently awaiting a response from the Sudanese ar..

Teams from across the continent, created to boost the health of older women, face off in a tournament.

3 days agoShareSaveKhanyisile NgcoboBBC News, JohannesburgShareSaveProtests have erupted in South Africa over the alleged rape of a young girl six months agoSouth Africa's Police Minister Senzo Mchunu has tried to reassure people that a “thorough investigation” is now “fully under way” into the alleged sexual abuse of a seven-year-old girl that has sparked nationwide protests.
Outraged citizens have been calling for justice for Cwecwe – the pseudonym given to the child to protect her identity.
The case was first reported to the police six months ago, but a lack of progress in the investigation prompted Cwecwe's frustrated mother to speak out on the matter.
South Africa has one of the highest rates of sexual violence in the world, with rape being the most reported crime against children.
Speaking at a briefing on Friday, Mchunu confirmed that the matter was first reported to police on 16 October last year.
A medical examination was then carried out, alongside an assessment by ..

4 days agoShareSaveMansur Abubakar & Abubakar MaccidoBBC NewsShareSaveHunters from arid northern Nigeria often go to the lush south to look for wild animals, which they sellA Nigerian man has told the BBC how he managed to survive an attack on his hunting party that left 16 of his companions dead, and shocked the nation.
The group of young men, mostly in their 20s, was travelling in the back of a truck when they were stopped by vigilantes.
“They asked us to alight from the vehicle and without saying much, one of them hit our leader on the shoulder with an axe,” Abubakar Shehu, 20, told BBC Pidgin.
“Then they started beating us. I was able to dodge a couple of punches and tackles and ran as far as I could.
“I fell into a ditch, got up and was able to hide in an unused property for many hours before coming out around 10pm,” he said.
While hiding, he could hear the shouts and cries of his friends as they were being beaten and then burnt to death.
“I could hear all the noise from what has..

Some African countries got privileged access to US markets, but the future of that deal is uncertain.