Author: Montage Africa

Mike Henson Former Sale second row Hyron Andrews has died at his Johannesburg Lions’ team hotel before their Champions Cup match at La Rochelle on Saturday. A statement from SA Rugby stated that his death had been an “accident” and that the 31-year-old had “died after a fall”. The public prosecutor in La Rochelle is investigating, with local reports claiming Andrews suffered a heart attack while in the shower. “We are heartbroken by the passing of Hyron,” said Lions chief executive Rudolf Straeuli. “He was not only a gifted rugby player, but also a cherished member of our Lions family…

By MOGOMOTSI MAGOME The late Mozambican president and freedom fighter Samora Machel will be remembered Monday at a joint ceremony by South Africa and Mozambique to mark 40 years since he tragically died in a mysterious plane crash. The ceremony is set to take place in Mbuzini, an area in South Africa’s Mpumalanga province near the plane crash site. Machel was Mozambique’s leader after it gained independence from Portuguese colonial rule in 1975 until his untimely death in 1986. His death sent shock waves throughout the continent, where he was an outspoken and revered anti-colonial voice. An inquiry into the…

By AFP, AP and Reuters Kenyan health authorities say an eighth Ebola case has been detected in the East African nation. Director-General for Health Patrick Amoth told Kenya’s Citizen TV that of the 38 people tested on Sunday, one had returned a positive result. end of list“He is a 49-year-old man who is not a healthcare worker. He developed fever, headache and muscle pain,” he said. Amoth said the man, who worked as a patient attendant cleaning utensils and linens, was likely exposed to Kenya’s first Ebola case, discovered earlier this month. He developed symptoms on Saturday, was quarantined and…

By AFP, AP and Reuters Pope Leo XIV has thanked some 15,000 Catholic faithful gathered in St Peter’s Square during his Sunday address, his first major public appearance since lung cancer surgery. “Now that this delicate phase is behind me, I will gradually resume my activities, always with God’s help and your prayers,” Leo said. end of listThe 71-year-old pontiff addressed the crowd from a window overlooking the square at the Vatican, where a week ago on the same occasion of the traditional Angelus blessing, he revealed that a nodule had been found in his lung and would be surgically…

The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer (MD/CEO) of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), Mr. Akintunde Sawyerr, has received an Award of Excellence in Educational Transformation and Youth Empowerment from the Arewa Female Students Association (AFSA) in recognition of his leadership and contributions to expanding access to education in Nigeria. Four AFSA members from tertiary institutions across Northern Nigeria presented the award during a courtesy visit to NELFUND headquarters in Abuja on Monday, October 12, 2026. During the visit, the association commended NELFUND’s digitised and transparent student loan system, which provides direct payment of institutional fees to schools and monthly upkeep…

By Rédaction Africanews An Ethiopian Airlines flight bound for Tel Aviv was forced to turn back mid-air between Sunday and Monday after Israel refused to let it land because one of its pilots was Indonesian. Israeli TV broadcaster Channel 12 reported Monday that the plane was about an hour into its flight from Addis Ababa, and still in Ethiopian airspace, when the order was issued. The plane returned to Addis Ababa and the pilot was replaced. The aircraft then departed again and was allowed to land in Tel Aviv. Ethiopian Airlines said the incident was a mistake. The company said…

By John Power The economy of the Middle East and Central Asia is set to shrink in 2026 amid the fallout of the US-Israel war on Iran, with countries such as Kuwait and Qatar facing double-digit contractions, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The region’s gross domestic product (GDP) is forecast to contract by 0.3 percent this year, a sharp downgrade from the 1.9 percent expansion projected in April, the IMF said in its latest economic outlook on Tuesday. end of listThe IMF cited the prolonged disruption to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, a conduit for one-fifth of global oil…

Zimbabwean writer Simbarashe Kundizeza has denied using artificial intelligence (AI) to write his short story, which won this year’s Caine Prize for African Writing. His statement comes a week after he scooped the £10,000 ($13,000) award and a recent article in The Atlantic said AI-detection software Pangram had shown his work about a boy whose family falls on hard times was entirely AI generated. “For the avoidance of doubt, I wrote The Blue Fighter,” he posted on X. The accusation has caused an uproar on social media and Caine Prize chair Ellah Wakatama told the BBC she was shocked that…

By Rédaction Africanews and AFP Somali-born Sagal Abdi-Wali became London’s newest member of parliament on Monday, being sworn in to represent Holborn and St Pancras in Britain’s House of Commons. The 42-year-old won last week’s by-election to replace former prime minister Keir Starmer as MP for the central London constituency. Abdi-Wali came to Britain as a child refugee. She spent much of her life in the London borough of Camden, working with charities and schools before becoming leader of the local council. Her candidacy drew significant attention from Britain’s Somali and wider African communities – reflecting her journey from refugee…

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN The Supreme Court agreed on Tuesday to consider if a Nigerian man is ineligible for asylum because he cooked meals at a camp for leaders of a group that the U.S. government considers to be a terrorist organization. The high court, granting a request by President Donald Trump’s administration, will hear arguments on whether Izuchukwu Ozurumba’s cooking job for leaders of the Unknown Gunmen qualifies as providing “material support” for a terrorist group. The Justice Department asked the Supreme Court to review a decision by the Richmond, Virginia-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to vacate Ozurumba’s…