Africa

Flash floods have killed at least 37 people in Morocco’s coastal Safi region, according to state-owned television. Cars and mounds of rubbish were seen sweeping through the main port city of Safi after torrential rain hit on Sunday. Dozens of people have been receiving treatment in hospital for their injuries, …

The Ugandan military has confirmed it is holding a Catholic priest who went missing nearly two weeks ago, accusing him of involvement in “violent subversive activities”. In a brief statement, the military said Father Deusdedit Ssekabira had been arrested, was in “lawful custody” and would be charged in court. The …

Karnie SharpBBC Focus on Africa, South Africa’s west coast BBC Martinus Fredericks is fighting to get the land back for his Nama people There is a disturbing contrast along South Africa’s remote west coast. The 800km (500 mile)-journey north from Cape Town starts with views of outstanding natural beauty which …

Bushra MohamedBBC World Service Mahad Mohamud Mahad Mohamud was deported from the US five weeks ago Mahad Mohamud is slowly readjusting to the heat, chaos and tension of Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, after being deported from the US city of Minneapolis last month just as winter was closing in there. Somalis …

Toyin Adedokun / AFP via Getty Images Parts of Nigeria’s biggest city, Lagos, have been turned into an “open-air gallery”, in the words of the organisers of the city’s first street art festival. “We believe art shouldn’t be confined to galleries and museums,” Osa Okunkpolor, a Nigerian graffiti artist known …

With captain and reigning African footballer of the year Achraf Hakimi facing a race to be fit for the finals, the hosts may need to find inspiration from elsewhere. Real Madrid playmaker Brahim Diaz was top scorer in qualifying with seven goals, but Azzedine Ounahi, who pulls the strings in …

A popular Ghanaian social media influencer known as Abu Trica, whose real name is Frederick Kumi, has been arrested over allegations he orchestrated a romance scam that defrauded elderly Americans of over $8m (£5.9m). Prosecutors said he used AI tools to create fake online identities, targeting victims through social media …

Some 200 West African soldiers, mainly from Nigeria and Ivory Coast, are in Benin to support the government following Sunday’s failed coup, Benin’s foreign minister says. The attempt was foiled after Nigeria deployed fighter jets to drive the mutineers out of a military base and state TV headquarters, where they …

Ethiopian police have arrested a sixth popular TikTok creator days after five other influencers were detained over allegations of wearing “indecent attire” at a public event in the culturally conservative country. Adonay Berhane, 25, is a lifestyle and motivational creator with close to four million followers, who was named “TikToker …

A Kenyan court has suspended the implementation of a “landmark” $2.5bn (£1.9bn) health aid deal signed with the US last week over data privacy concerns. It follows a case filed by a consumer rights lobby seeking to stop the alleged transfer and sharing of Kenyans’ personal data under the agreement. …

Ghana has deported three Israeli nationals who arrived in the country on Wednesday in what appears to be a tit-for-tat move over the alleged mistreatment of Ghanaian nationals at Ben Gurion International Airport in Israel. Seven Ghanaians, including four members of an official delegation attending a cyber-security conference in Tel …

Nicolas NégoceBBC Africa BTV Most of the soldiers who appeared on state TV early on Sunday morning are on the run A senior government official in Benin has told the BBC that the leader of Sunday’s failed coup is taking refuge in neighbouring Togo. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the …

The US has imposed sanctions on a network it says is recruiting former Colombian soldiers and training individuals to fight in Sudan’s civil war. Eight entities and individuals – primarily of Colombian nationality – have been aiding the Sudanese paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign …

At least 19 people have been killed and a further 16 injured after two buildings collapsed in the Moroccan city of Fez. The two four-storey residential buildings that came down early on Wednesday morning contained eight families, state media report, citing local officials. Several Moroccan news outlets report that the …

Indianapolis Zoo The Prince of Wales has paid tribute to pioneering elephant conservationist Iain Douglas-Hamilton, who died aged 83 at his home in Nairobi on Monday. Douglas-Hamilton spent his life studying and campaigning to protect African elephants, becoming a world-leading expert on their behaviour in the wild. His groundbreaking research …

Paul MellyWest Africa analyst AFP via Getty Images Plotters misjudged the national mood and Benin’s neighbours learnt from past errors Had last week’s coup attempt in Benin been successful, it would have become the ninth to take hold in the region in the last five years alone. Just a few …

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has sentenced a Sudanese militia leader to 20 years in prison for atrocities committed during a civil war more than two decades ago. Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman had been convicted in October on 27 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Darfur …

Eleven Nigerian military officers were detained in Burkina Faso after their aircraft made an emergency landing in the country, Burkinabè security sources told the BBC. The Air Force C-130 aircraft entered Burkina Faso’s airspace on Monday without authorisation, according to the country’s Territorial Administration Minister Emile Zerbo. In a joint …

Security has been tightened across Tanzania with police and military seen patrolling major cities ahead of anticipated anti-government protests called to coincide with independence day. By midday, however, no demonstrations had begun. Residents in Dar es Salaam, Arusha, Mbeya, Mwanza and several other urban centres reported an unusually slow start …

Barbara Plett UsherAfrica correspondent AFP via Getty Images Millions have fled the fighting which began in April 2023 Sudan’s air force has carried out bombings in which at least 1,700 civilians have died in attacks on residential neighbourhoods, markets, schools and camps for displaced people, according to an investigation into …