AFP Africa

Brahim Diaz and Ayoub El Kaabi scored second-half goals as hosts Morocco got their Africa Cup of Nations bid off to a winning start by beating minnows Comoros 2-0 in the tournament’s opening game on Sunday.Soufiane Rahimi had a penalty saved in a frustrating first half for much-fancied Morocco, but Diaz fired home from inside …

Hosts Morocco off to winning start at Africa Cup of NationsSun, 21 Dec 2025 21:16:07 GMT Read More »

Nigerian authorities have secured the release of 130 kidnapped schoolchildren taken by gunmen from a Catholic school in November, a presidential spokesman said Sunday, after 100 were freed earlier this month.”Another 130 abducted Niger state pupils released, none left in captivity,” Sunday Dare said in a post on X.In late November, hundreds of students and …

Nigerian government frees 130 kidnapped Catholic schoolchildrenSun, 21 Dec 2025 20:30:39 GMT Read More »

Nine people were killed when gunmen opened fire at a bar outside Johannesburg early Sunday, police said, in the second such shooting in South Africa this month.Ten more were wounded in the early morning attack at the tavern in the impoverished Bekkersdal township in a gold mining area around 40 kilometres (25 miles) southwest of …

Gunmen kill 9, wound 10 in South Africa bar attackSun, 21 Dec 2025 17:21:30 GMT Read More »

Hundreds of Colombian ex-soldiers have been drawn to Sudan with the promise of bumper Emirati paychecks. What many found instead was death in a faraway war marked by mass killing, rape, famine and child recruitment.An AFP investigation has uncovered how Colombian mercenaries ended up on the other side of the world through a network of …

From the Andes to Darfur: Colombians lured to Sudan’s killing fieldsSun, 21 Dec 2025 16:01:21 GMT Read More »

They survived the bombs and bullets, but many lost an arm or a leg when M23 fighters seized the city of Goma in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo nearly a year ago.Lying on a rug, David Muhire arduously lifted his thigh as a carer in a white uniform placed weights on it to increase …

DR Congo’s amputees bear scars of years of conflictSun, 21 Dec 2025 06:58:34 GMT Read More »

Morocco carry a huge weight of expectation into their opening game at the Africa Cup of Nations on Sunday as the hosts, with star man Achraf Hakimi returning from injury, aim to see off stiff competition to claim continental glory.Senegal, reigning champions Ivory Coast, Mohamed Salah’s Egypt and a Nigeria side led by Victor Osimhen …

Pressure on Morocco to deliver as Africa Cup of Nations kicks offSun, 21 Dec 2025 02:35:43 GMT Read More »

A Burkinabe teenager who used artificial intelligence to post fake news of a French coup on Facebook got more than he bargained for.As well as millions of views and tens of thousands of “likes”, he also acquired a certain notoriety — and French President Emmanuel Macron, for one, was not amused.And what he had planned …

Burkinabe teen behind viral French ‘coup’ video has no regretsSat, 20 Dec 2025 01:16:50 GMT Read More »

A hamstring injury sustained in a Dutch league match has ruled Ivory Coast striker Sebastien Haller out of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, which kicks off in Morocco on Sunday. Haller scored the winning goal in last year’s AFCON final as hosts Ivory Coast came from behind to beat Nigeria 2-1 in Abidjan.The striker had …

Haller, Aouar out of AFCON, Zambia coach dramaFri, 19 Dec 2025 22:01:41 GMT Read More »

The UN Security Council voted unanimously Friday to extend the deployment of the UN’s peacekeeping mission in Democratic Republic of Congo by one year as Washington called for Rwanda and M23 forces to respect a regional peace deal.The MONUSCO mission of 11,500 military personnel is one of the blue helmet missions endorsed by the United …

UN Security Council votes to extend DR Congo mission by one yearFri, 19 Dec 2025 20:49:42 GMT Read More »

Hardik Pandya led India’s batting assault with his 16-ball 50 to set up a 30-run win over South Africa and clinch the series 3-1 in the fifth T20 on Friday.A punishing 105-run fourth partnership between Pandya, who hammered 63 off off 25 balls, and Tilak Varma (73) swept India to 231-5 at the world’s biggest …

Pandya blitz powers India to T20 series win over South AfricaFri, 19 Dec 2025 17:59:39 GMT Read More »