By Dominic Wabwireh with other agencies More than 100 suspected jihadists have been freed in Mali under a deal to halt attacks on fuel convoys that had paralyzed the capital, Bamako, official and security sources told AFP on Sunday. Since September, the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM) had repeatedly targeted tanker convoys, causing acute fuel shortages. A local elected official confirmed the release of “more than 100 jihadists” in exchange for “the opening of a corridor to allow convoys of tanker lorries to pass through.” Truce until Tabaski Several security sources said the truce will…
Author: Montage Africa
Kenyans enlisted to fight for Russia in the war against Ukraine will be granted amnesty on their return home, the East African nation’s foreign minister has said. The announcement follows Musalia Mudavadi’s recent visit to Moscow to tackle the issue and where it was agreed that no more Kenyans would be recruited. Under Kenya’s laws it is illegal for the country’s citizens to be conscripted into foreign armies – an offence that can carry up to a 10-year prison sentence. The foreign ministry estimates that 252 Kenyans have been illegally conscripted to fight on the front line – a trend that…
By Dominic Wabwireh with other agencies Torrential rains and flash floods have killed at least 81 people across Kenya this month, authorities said, as heavy downpours continue. In Kisumu County, entire villages have been submerged, with about 1,200 hectares of farmland destroyed and crops swept away. The worst-hit area is Nyakach, where more than 3,000 families have been displaced after the Sondu Miriu River overflowed. “We have lost farmlands due to massive erosion… and many crops,” said local chief Seth Oluoch Agwanda, adding that residents have been moved to more than eight evacuation centres. Flood victims say they have nowhere…
The dust settled on another thrilling edition of the legendary Safari Rally Kenya as the third round of the 2026 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) concluded Sunday amid scenes of celebration across the Rift Valley. Japan’s Takamoto Katsuta and co-driver Aaron Johnston secured a historic maiden victory in the WRC, conquering the brutal terrain after four days of high drama on the toughest gravel rally in the world. The Toyota Gazoo Racing (TGR) WRT pair inherited the lead during a chaotic Saturday morning when multiple frontrunners retired in the killer Sleeping Warrior stage. TGR team-mates Oliver Solberg, Sébastien Ogier and…
Sudan’s army has denied it carried out a deadly attack on a major hospital on Friday night in a city in the west of the country held by its rivals, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said 64 people – including 13 children, two nurses and a doctor – had died in the strike on el-Daein Teaching Hospital and 89 others had been wounded. “Enough blood has been spilled,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus posted on X, urging the warring parties to end the conflict, which started nearly three years ago. The RSF said…
By Dominic Wabwireh with other agencies Finland has been named the world’s happiest country for the ninth consecutive year, according to the World Happiness Report 2026 published Thursday, which also highlights the stark decline in well-being among young people linked to heavy social media use. Iceland, Denmark, Sweden and Norway join Finland in the top 10. Costa Rica climbed to fourth place, attributed to strong family bonds and social connections. Afghanistan remains the unhappiest nation, followed by Sierra Leone and Malawi. Social media’s toll on youth The report, produced by Oxford’s Wellbeing Research Centre in partnership with Gallup and the…
Britain’s smaller overseas aid budget will be targeted at areas in “greatest crisis and conflict”, the foreign secretary has said, as she announced some countries face “significantly” reduced grants. Yvette Cooper told MPs that funding will be “fully protected” next year for Ukraine, Palestine, Lebanon and Sudan, while Mozambique and Pakistan are among those having the biggest cuts to their direct grants. The government announced last year it would cut about £6bn from the overseas budget by 2027 in order to fund an increase in defence spending. Aid groups criticised the “reckless” cuts and Labour MP Sarah Champion warned the…
XTransfer, the world’s leading B2B cross-border financial platform, was honoured to have its Chief Strategy Officer, Neil Ni, speak at the Inclusive FinTech Forum 2026 in Rwanda, underscoring the company’s growing expansion across Africa to deliver more inclusive financial services for SMEs engaged in international trade across the continent. Neil joined the panel discussion, “Securing the Global Payments Highway: Cybersecurity for Real-Time Cross-Border Transactions” during the forum to share perspectives on how the industry can strengthen cybersecurity, anti-money laundering (AML) controls, and operational resilience as cross-border payments scale in speed and volume. Drawing on XTransfer’s experience supporting SMEs in international…
By Rédaction Africanews with agencies Tributes are pouring in from across the world for South African anti-apartheid activist, human rights campaigner, and constitutional lawyer, Nicholas “Fink” Haysom, who died on Wednesday at the age of 73 following a short illness. Haysom was living in New York where he was serving as the United Nations special representative for South Sudan. He helped draft South Africa’s post-apartheid constitution and had an extensive international career focused on democratic governance, constitutional and electoral reform, and peace building. UN secretary-general António Guterres said he was “saddened” by his death describing Haysom as a principled lawyer,…
By Rédaction Africanews with AP In a hotel lobby in Dakar, a young man keeps his eyes fixed on the entrance, his back pressed against the wall. He says he has been in hiding since his family rejected him for being gay, and after police questioned a close friend. Originally from Touba, a city central to Senegal’s Sufi Muslim tradition, he now lives discreetly with another friend who is unaware of his identity. His experience reflects a broader climate of fear in a country where homosexuality is criminalised, and where authorities are now pushing to strengthen those laws. Accounts like…