Africa

2 days agoShareSaveKhanyisile NgcoboBBC News, JohannesburgShareSaveMcebisi Jonas has previously served as South Africa's investment envoySouth Africa has appointed a special envoy to the US in an effort to ease tensions between the two countries, which have worsened since Donald Trump's return as president.
President Cyril Ramaphosa announced Mcebisi Jonas's selection, adding that he would be “entrusted with [advancing] South Africa's diplomatic, trade and bilateral priorities”.
Jonas, a former deputy finance minister, made headlines when he made corruption allegations against a wealthy family linked to former President Jacob Zuma.
The US last month expelled South Africa's ambassador, Ebrahim Rasool, over remarks he had made about the Trump administration.
Ramaphosa's office said Jonas would be “serving as the official representative” of the president and South Africa.
“He will lead negotiations, foster strategic partnerships and engage with US government ..

19 hours agoShareSaveJessica Rawnsley, Natasha Booty & Ahmed RouabaBBC NewsShareSaveThe latest rift comes days after tentative steps had been made to mend relationsAlgeria has asked 12 French embassy staff to leave the country within 48 hours, France's foreign minister has said.
Jean-Noël Barrot added that it was linked to the indictment of three Algerians in France on Friday, one of whom is a consular official.
They are accused of involvement in the abduction last year of Amir Boukhors, 41, an outspoken critic of Algeria's government with an audience of more than one million people online. He had reportedly been granted asylum in France in 2023.
Barrot urged Algeria to “abandon” the expulsions and said France was ready to “respond immediately” if they went ahead.
Never before have French authorities arrested an employee from the Algerian consulate, and the fallout has set back recent attempts to improve relations between the two countries.
It also points to a power stru..

23 hours agoShareSaveKhanyisile NgcoboBBC News, JohannesburgShareSaveChief Albert Luthuli won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1960A South African court has begun a fresh inquest into the death of one of the most renowned campaigners against the racist system of apartheid, which had initially been described as accidental.
A 1967 inquest ruled that Chief Albert Luthuli was walking on a railway line when he was struck by a train and died after fracturing his skull.
Activists and his family have long cast doubt on the official version of events, and have said they welcomed the re-opening of the inquest.
Luthuli, who at the time of his death was the leader of the then-banned African National Congress (ANC), won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1960 for spearheading the fight against apartheid.
The ANC went on to lead the struggle against white-minority rule and came to power in 1994, following the first democratic elections.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has said that it “will be presenting evi..

2 days agoShareSaveThomas MackintoshBBC News, LondonRegan MorrisBBC News, Los AngelesShareSaveUS Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem says conditions in Afghanistan and Cameroon no longer merited the measureThousands of Afghans and Cameroonians will have their temporary deportation protections terminated, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has said.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem found the conditions in Afghanistan and Cameroon no longer merited US protections, according to a statement from DHS assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin.
An estimated 14,600 Afghans previously eligible for temporary protected status (TPS) are now set to lose it in May, while some 7,900 Cameroonians will lose it in June.
TPS is granted to nationals of designated countries facing conditions – such as armed conflict or environmental disasters – which make it unsafe for them to return home.
The status typically lasts for up to 18 months, can be renewed by the incumbent homeland security sec..

2 days agoShareSavePaul NjieBBC News, LibrevilleShareSaveGen Brice Oligui Nguema has been handed a seven-year mandate by an electorate relieved that the Bongo era is now past Gabon's military leader Gen Brice Oligui Nguema – who in 2023 led a coup that ended a near-60-year dynasty – has won Saturday's presidential election with more than 90% of the vote, provisional results show.
Ahead of the vote, critics argued that the new constitution and electoral code were designed to give Oligui Nguema a comfortable pathway to the top job.
Some opposition heavyweights who could have posed a serious political challenge were excluded from the race.
His election victory consolidates his grip on power, nearly two years after he masterminded the demise of President Ali Bongo, whose family had been in power in Gabon since 1967.
Oligui Nguema, 50, faced seven other candidates, including former Prime Minister Alain Claude Bilie-by-Nze, who served under the Bongo regime, and two stalwarts of th..

One person in Zamzam described things as “extremely catastrophic” after three days of assaults.

2 days agoShareSaveJessica RawnsleyBBC NewsShareSaveTanzanian opposition leader and former presidential candidate Tundu Lissu has also been arrested and charged with treasonTanzania's main opposition party has been barred from participating in this year's election, days after its leader was charged with treason.
Ramadhani Kailima, director of elections at the Independent National Elections Commission, said that Chadema had failed to sign a code of conduct document that was due on Saturday, meaning the party was disqualified from October's elections.
Last week, Chadema's leader Tundu Lissu was arrested and charged with treason following a rally in southern Tanzania at which he called for electoral reforms.
The CCM party, which has governed Tanzania since 1977, is expected to retain power following the latest developments.
“Any party that did not sign the code of conduct will not participate in the general election,” Mr Kailima said on Saturday, adding that Chadema w..

Desperate residents have been fleeing floodwaters by wading or paddling to safety in homemade canoes.

Who is Gen Brice Nguema, the man who overthrew the president he was supposed to protect?

Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema swaps his uniform for a suit in a bid for electoral success.