Society

The authorities in Kenya say 90% of the fire that engulfed the famous Aberdares National Park and forest in central Kenya has been contained. Firefighters and local residents have been battling the huge blaze since Saturday. Initial reports indicate it could be a case of arson but the government says …

The sound of heavy gunfire heard in Guinea Bissau’s capital created panic among some civil servants nearly a week after an attempted coup. But the attack by unknown gunmen was not on government buildings but rather the offices of a private radio station. Capital Radio’s equipment – including its transmitter, …

UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed has visited areas affected by the civil war between government and allied forces and Tigray rebels in Ethiopia’s Amhara region, the BBC reports. Ms Mohammed on Sunday visited a mass grave and the state broadcaster Fana tweeted photos: #Ethiopia: #UN Deputy Secretary-General witnesses mass grave, …

Four men in Nigeria have been charged with the murder a 20-year-old woman in a suspected ritual killing case that has shocked the country. But the men, aged between 18 and 20, were not asked to enter a plea during their first court appearance on Thursday in south-western Ogun state, …

Twenty-six people died on Wednesday after lightning struck a high-tension power cable on the outskirts of the Congolese capital Kinshasa, causing it to snap and fall on houses and a market, the authorities said. The victims included 24 women and two men and another two people were seriously injured, Democratic …

Nigerian security forces said they managed to eliminate three suspected kidnappers in Edo state in the south of the country, while many others fled. Army spokesman Onyema Nwachukwu said the men were part of a notorious gang that was intercepted as it set up an ambush on a major highway. …

A student from the Kenyan city of Mombasa was whipped after eating five chapatis instead of one allowed at the educational institution. The schoolboy, 13, is now in hospital, according to reports. Teachers have been accused of beating up the boy with a hosepipe but the school administration says it …

At least 16 people were rescued when the bank they were on was surrounded by water, authorities in Mozambique said. The administrator of Chemba district, Paulo Quembo, said that two boats were sent on Monday to the site on the Zambezi River in order to avoid a tragedy. He said …

Over the weekend, attacks by gunmen on motorbikes in two communities in Nigeria’s Niger State left dozens dead and kidnapped, local media reported. The raids come two weeks after authorities in Nigeria launched a major military operation to crack down on bandits in the area. Residents of Galadima Kogo and …

One of Sierra Leone’s most senior judges, Nicolas Brown-Marke, is holding a session inside the Makeni prison facility in the north of the country, local media report. His is seeking to “right the wrong” of people spending long years in prison before conviction or acquittal, as well as instances of …