Blankets and sheets still hang from the blackened windows, used by the desperate to reach safety as flames turned the five-storey building in downtown Johannesburg into a death trap.Others just jumped.Witnesses spoke of parents throwing their babies out into the street, trying to save them, after scrabbling around in vain to find an exit.”It was …

Trapped residents fled through windows in S.African infernoThu, 31 Aug 2023 13:00:14 GMT Read More »

A fire that engulfed a five-storey building taken over for illegal housing killed more than 70 people including children in central Johannesburg overnight, the South African city’s emergency services said on Thursday.Another 52 were injured in what was on track to become one of the deadliest fires worldwide in recent years. Bodies were discovered piled up …

Fire engulfs illegal housing block killing 73 in South AfricaThu, 31 Aug 2023 12:52:55 GMT Read More »

People in the central African state of Gabon awaited a steer on their future on Thursday after rebel army officers brought the curtain down on 55 years of rule by the Bongo family.President Ali Bongo Ondimba, whose father Omar had ruled for more than four decades, was toppled on Wednesday, moments after being declared outright …

Gabon awaits word on its future after end of Bongo eraThu, 31 Aug 2023 10:41:05 GMT Read More »

A fire that engulfed a five-storey building killed more than 70 people including children in central Johannesburg on Thursday, the South African city’s emergency services said.Another 52 were injured, some suffering from smoke inhalation, and were taken for treatment at local hospitals, Emergency Management Services spokesman Robert Mulaudzi said.”We have now 73 fatalities and 52 …

Building fire in S.Africa kills more than 70Thu, 31 Aug 2023 08:49:37 GMT Read More »

More than 50 people have died in a fire that engulfed a five-storey building in central Johannesburg on Thursday, the South African city’s emergency services said.Dozens of others were injured, some suffering from smoke inhalation, and were taken for treatment at local hospitals, Emergency Management Services spokesman Robert Mulaudzi said.”We’re on 52 bodies, which we …

Building fire in S.Africa kills 52Thu, 31 Aug 2023 06:12:02 GMT Read More »

Leaders of the coup in Gabon on Wednesday named a general transitional president after seizing power following disputed elections in which President Ali Bongo Ondimba, whose family has ruled for 55 years, was declared the winner.The claimed takeover sparked condemnation from the African Union and alarm from Nigeria over “contagious autocracy” in a continent where …

Gabon coup leaders make general transitional presidentThu, 31 Aug 2023 03:24:14 GMT Read More »

South Sudan has lurched from one crisis to another since winning independence in 2011, but the country’s basketball team are determined to “change the narrative” on the world stage.South Sudan are competing at the Basketball World Cup, currently taking place in the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia, and have won plaudits for their dynamic play and …

‘Bigger than basketball’: South Sudan win hearts, minds at World CupThu, 31 Aug 2023 02:31:47 GMT Read More »

More than four months into Sudan’s devastating war, arms dealers are struggling to keep up with demand for a trade that is booming, at a deadly cost.”A Kalashnikov? A rifle? A pistol?” said a 63-year-old dealer known as Wad al-Daou, offering his wares with a resounding laugh.”The demand for weapons has soared so high that …

In Sudan’s east, murky arms trade thrives as war ragesThu, 31 Aug 2023 02:29:14 GMT Read More »

Russia on Wednesday vetoed an attempt to keep inside military-run Mali a team of UN experts who had charged that foreign forces — a veiled reference to Moscow-linked Wagner mercenaries — were involved in widespread abuses.Thirteen of the UN Security Council’s 15 members backed a proposal that would have extended by one year targeted sanctions …

Russia vetoes UN resolution on Mali sanctionsThu, 31 Aug 2023 02:15:14 GMT Read More »

General Brice Oligui Nguema, named Gabon’s new leader following a coup, loyally served the central African country’s longtime strongman before turning on his son in Wednesday’s military takeover.Held aloft triumphantly by his troops following the announcement of the coup that ended 55 years of rule by the Bongo family, the elite republican guard chief is …

Gabon’s army strongman, a ‘Caesar’ caring for his menWed, 30 Aug 2023 22:23:16 GMT Read More »