Nobel Prize Tanzanian novelist Abdulrazak Gurnah has said he was “surprised and humbled” to be awarded the 2021 Nobel Prize for Literature. The Swedish Academy praised Gurnah for his “uncompromising and compassionate penetration of the effects of colonialism”. The prize is awarded by the Swedish Academy and is worth 10 million Swedish crowns ($1.14m […]
By James Gallagher Health and science correspondent hildren across much of Africa are to be vaccinated against malaria in a historic moment in the fight against the deadly disease. Malaria has been one of the biggest scourges on humanity for millennia and mostly kills babies and infants. Having a vaccine – after more than a […]
By Karen Schoonbee BBC News, Cape Town The biggest corruption trial in Mozambique’s history is under way at a maximum security prison, at the same time as the credibility of the country’s judicial system is on trial in neighbouring South Africa. The scandal involves more than $2.7bn (£2bn) of undisclosed state debts – money which […]
By Peter Mwai BBC Reality Check Reality Check With concern mounting about the food situation in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, there are conflicting claims about why supply trucks are stuck there, unable to transport further crucial supplies. The UN says hundreds of aid trucks which made the journey up to Tigray from other parts of […]
Rwandan genocide A former Rwandan army colonel convicted for his role in the massacre of some 800,000 people in the 1994 genocide has died in Mali, where he was in prison. Théoneste Bagosora, 80, was a senior figure in Rwanda’s ministry of defence at the time of the killings. A UN-backed criminal tribunal sentenced […]
Sudan says that “forces of darkness” linked to the ousted President Omar al-Bashir were behind Tuesday’s failed coup attempt. “Remnants from the previous regime” were “intent on aborting the civilian democratic transition”, said Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok in a separate message. He described it as an “orchestrated coup attempt”. Bashir, who had been in power […]
Sahel Islamist insurgency The head of the Islamic State group in the Sahara has been killed by French troops, President Emmanuel Macron has said. Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahrawi formed Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) in 2015. The group is blamed for most attacks in the region, including the targeted killing of French […]
Haiti’s Prime Minister Ariel Henry has been banned from leaving the country amid an investigation into his alleged involvement in the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse. A prosecutor is seeking charges against Mr Henry, who has been asked to explain his links with a suspect in the killing, Joseph Felix Badio. Records show the two […]
A BBC Panorama investigation has found evidence that suggests one of Britain’s biggest companies paid a bribe to the former Zimbabwean leader Robert Mugabe. Documents show British American Tobacco (BAT) was involved in negotiations to pay between US$300,000 and US$500,000 to Mugabe’s Zanu-PF party in 2013. The documents also reveal BAT was paying bribes in […]
By Lucy Fleming BBC News Ethiopians are marking the start of a new year, with feasting in many homes despite the difficulties caused by rising prices and the war and hunger crisis raging in the north. Find out more about Ethiopia’s unique calendar and cultural heritage. 1) The year lasts 13 months Not only that […]
