Africa

Traditional circumcision knives are prepared by a surgeon a day before the launch of a ritual, known as Imbalu, at Kamu village in Mbale, Eastern Uganda, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Hajarah Nalwadda)

In a remote Ugandan region, a sacred circumcision ritual faces a contentious test of purity

The ritualized circumcision of thousands of boys, known as Imbalu, began Aug. 3 in a remote corner of Uganda and will continue until the end of 2024.

FILE - View of Freetown, Sierra Leone, April 28, 2024. A Sierra Leonean military court has convicted 24 soldiers of their roles in last year's attempted coup. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu, File)

24 Sierra Leonean soldiers are sentenced to long prison terms for failed coup. One gets 120 years

13 year-old Arusi Wegeneza plays a chess game at 'The Soga Chess Club' of the internally displaced persons camp in Kanyaruchinya, Democratic Republic of Congo, Monday, July 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)

A chess club for kids thrives in a Congo refugee camp. It’s about more than the game

Traders at a 'Made In South Sudan' trade expo sell their goods in Juba, South Sudan, on June 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Deng Machol)

As South Sudan’s oil revenues dwindle, even the security forces haven’t been paid in months

A woman sorts through floodwaters near her damaged home near the city of Abu Hamdan in Northern Sudan on Aug. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/ Samira Hassan)

Flooding restricts aid to areas of Sudan facing famine, UN says

AFRICA PULSE

View of Freetown, Sierra Leone, April 28, 2024. The hospital was once known among locals as the "Crase Yard," or yard for crazy people. Now it's known as the Sierra Leone Psychiatric Teaching Hospital. It has helped give the facility, the oldest of its kind in sub-Saharan Africa, a new reputation. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)

Sierra Leone not long ago still chained mental health patients. A transformation is underway

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KEMO CHAM

Metta, a survivor of female genital mutilation, poses for a photograph in the village of Sintet, in Gambia, Friday, July 26, 2024. When Metta, a mother of six from rural Gambia, heard that lawmakers were considering reversing the country's ban on female genital cutting, a centuries-old practice she underwent as a child and now fiercely opposes, she was determined that her voice be heard. She packed her bag and boarded a bus to the capital, Banjul, to join scores of women protesting in front of the parliament in this largely Muslim nation of less than 3 million people in West Africa. (AP Photo/Annika Hammerschlag)

Gambia upheld a ban on female genital mutilation, but the practice continues in secrecy

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MONIKA PRONCZUK

Eva Bulimpikya, right, with Godfrey Tumwesigye, left, in action during a gender violence drama skit at Bundibugyo district, Western Uganda, Sunday, June 29, 2024. In the East African nation of Uganda, a 2020 survey by U.N.-backed local authorities found that 95% of women and girls had experienced physical or sexual violence, or both, after turning 15. (AP Photo/Hajarah Nalwadda)

In this Uganda region, most women report domestic violence. Signed pledges are being used to end it

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RODNEY MUHUMUZA

A pharmacist holds a vial of lenacapavir, the new HIV prevention injectable drug, at the Desmond Tutu Health Foundation's Masiphumelele Research Site, in Cape Town, South Africa, Tuesday, July 23, 2024, which was one of the sites for Gilead's lenacapavir drug trial. (AP Photo/Nardus Engelbrecht)

Experts say a twice-yearly injection that offers 100% protection against HIV is ‘stunning’

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MARIA CHENG, GERALD IMRAY

Esther Bote, 14, walks to school with her friends in a bushy area on the periphery of the Save Valley Conservancy in Zimbabwe, Tuesday, July 9, 2024. The conservancy and the country's parks agency have been running a program for school-age children on how to recognize danger signs and how to coexist with wildlife. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)

In Zimbabwe, schoolchildren face threats from animals. Now they are learning how to spot the dangers

In Zimbabwe, increased wildlife activity near people mean that children are at risk of attacks by animals while walking long distances to and from school.

Algeria's Imane Khelif celebrates after defeating China's Yang Liu to win gold in their women's 66 kg final boxing match at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Boxer Imane Khelif wins gold to cap an Olympics marked by scrutiny over her sex

Algerian boxer Imane Khelif has won a gold medal at the Paris Olympics. She emerged victorious Friday from a tumultuous run at the Games where she endured intense scrutiny and online abuse over misconceptions about her womanhood.

14 year old Abubakar Aminu, who was shot during the recent protest on economic hardship, lies on a mattress at his house In Kano, Nigeria, Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Sani Maikatanga)

As Nigerians marched against hunger, security forces responded with gunshots and force, killing 22

Rights groups say Nigerian security forces used gunshots and force to respond to mass protests against hardship and alleged bad governance in the country.

Mali ousts Swedish ambassador amid strained relations with the West

Mali’s government says Sweden’s ambassador was ordered to leave the country within 72 hours following what it said was a hostile statement by a Swedish minister.

People wave Russian flags during a protest in Kaduna, Nigeria, Monday, Aug 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammed Ibrahim)

Polish diplomats seek release of students and a lecturer detained in Nigeria during protests

Polish diplomats are working to try to free seven Polish citizens who were detained in Nigeria in what Warsaw says is a misunderstanding during protests taking place in the West African country.

Nadia Battocletti, of Italy, reacts after winning the silver medal in the women's 10000 meters final at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Saint-Denis, France. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Italy’s Nadia Battocletti breaks Africa’s stranglehold on 10,000-meter podium with a silver in Paris

For three straight Olympics, nobody born outside of Africa had even come close to finishing on the podium in the women’s 10,000 meters.

FILE - Issa Hayatou, acting FIFA President, speaks during a news conference at FIFA Headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland, Dec. 3, 2015. (Walter Bieri/Keystone via AP, File)

Former FIFA interim president and long-time leader of African soccer Issa Hayatou dies at 77

Former FIFA interim president and long-time leader of African soccer Issa Hayatou has died. He was 77.

FILE - Corneille Nangaa, president of the independent electoral commission, speaks to reporters, Dec. 24, 2018, in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Nangaa was one of the 25 people sentenced to death by a Congolese military court Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay, File)

Congolese military court hands down death sentence to leader of rebel coalition and 25 others

A military court in Congo has sentenced 25 people, including the leader of a rebel coalition, to death.

FILE - Tunisia's President Kais Saied casts his ballot during legislative elections in Tunis, Dec. 17, 2022. (AP Photo/Slim Abid, File)

Tunisia’s president replaces prime minister in the latest shakeup ahead of presidential election

Tunisia’s president has sacked the country’s prime minister and replaced him with another Cabinet member, the latest shakeup in the North African country ahead of the October presidential election.

Tragic boat engine explosion in southern Nigeria kills at least 20, raises regulatory concerns

Local police say the engine of a wooden boat exploded and sank in a river in southern Nigeria, killing at least 20 people.

FILE - Islamic State militants pass a checkpoint bearing the group's trademark black flag in the village of Maryam Begg in Kirkuk, 180 miles north of Baghdad, Iraq, Sept. 29, 2014. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban, File)

Top UN official tells Security Council that Islamic State group, affiliates gaining power in Africa

A top U.N. counterterrorism official has told the Security Council that a vast stretch of Africa could fall under the control of groups affiliated with the Islamic State group and affiliated terrorist groups.

People take part in a protest rally against hunger in Nairobi, Kenya, Thursday Aug. 8, 2024 (AP Photo/Andrew Kasuku)

Police in Kenya fire tear gas at protesters as new Cabinet ministers are sworn in

Police have fired tear gas at protesters calling for the president’s resignation in the Kenyan capital as a new Cabinet was being sworn in.

People wave Russian flags during a protest in Kaduna, Nigeria, Monday, Aug 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammed Ibrahim)

Nigeria detains Polish students and a lecturer for allegedly displaying Russian flags during protest

Nigeria says it has detained seven Polish nationals, including six students and a lecturer, for allegedly displaying Russian flags amid protests against economic hardship in the country.

FILE - This image provided by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases shows a colorized transmission electron micrograph of monkeypox particles (red) found within an infected cell (blue), cultured in the laboratory that was captured and color-enhanced at the NIAID Integrated Research Facility in Fort Detrick, Md. Kenya and the Central African Republic declared new outbreaks of mpox Wednesday, July 31, 2024, as Africa's health officials are racing to contain the spread of the disease in a region lacking vaccines. (NIAID via AP, File)

UN health agency convening experts to determine if the mpox outbreak in Africa is a global emergency

The head of the World Health Organization says he will convene an expert group to determine if the increasing spread of the mpox virus in Africa warrants being declared a global emergency.

FILE - Congo's President Felix Tshisekedi speaks during a news conference at the Elysee Palace in Paris, April 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, File)

Congo’s president accuses former leader of backing a US-sanctioned rebel coalition

Congo’s President Felix Tshisekedi is accusing former leader Joseph Kabila of backing a U.S.-sanctioned coalition of rebel groups.

This is a locator map for Sudan with its capital, Khartoum. (AP Photo)

UN humanitarian official tells the Security Council that aid to starving Sudanese is being blocked

A U.N. humanitarian official tells the Security Council that life-saving supplies are “ready to be loaded and dispatched” to a famine-stricken displacement camp in Sudan but the civil war’s combatants won’t let them through.

FILE - Tunisia's President Kais Saied casts his ballot during legislative elections in Tunis, Dec. 17, 2022. (AP Photo/Slim Abid, File)

Tunisian opposition figure Moussi is sentenced to prison amid crackdown ahead of October election

A potential presidential candidate in Tunisia has been sentenced to two years in prison. It’s another setback to the country’s fledgling opposition challenging President Kais Saied as he seeks a new term in October’s election.

FILE - Anti-government demonstrators set a barricade on fire during clashes in N'Djamena, Chad, on Oct. 20, 2022. (AP Photo, File)

Chad’s military was responsible for deaths of detainees after protests in 2022, a rights group says

Human Rights Watch says Chad’s military was responsible for the deaths of several detainees who were arrested after protests in October 2022.

Mali cuts diplomatic ties with Ukraine, accusing it of aiding a rebel attack in the African country

Mali’s government says it has diplomatic ties with Ukraine accusing Kyiv of aiding a rebel attack that killed dozens of Wagner mercenaries and Malian soldiers in July.

At least 13 killed and 300 evacuated after deadly landslide in southern Ethiopia

A landslide triggered by heavy rains in southern Ethiopia’s Wolaita area killed at least 13 people and the number of fatalities is expected to rise, according to a local official.

FILE - Tunisia's President Kais Saied casts his ballot during legislative elections in Tunis, Dec. 17, 2022. (AP Photo/Slim Abid, File)

Tunisian President Saied files paperwork to run in October’s election

Tunisian President Kais Saied has filed the necessary paperwork to run in the presidential election in October.

A man displays a placard as people protest over economic hardship on a street in Lagos, Nigeria, Monday, Aug 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

Nigerian protesters defy president’s request to stop amid the worst cost-of-living crisis in years

Protests against hardship have continued for a fifth day in several states in Nigeria, a day after the president urged an end to the demonstrations over the worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation.

An army officer gesture to people on the beach following an attack in Mogadishu, Somalia, Saturday Aug. 3, 2024. Police in Somalia said Saturday that many people died and several others were wounded in an attack on a beach hotel in the capital, Mogadishu, the previous evening. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)

Hundreds gather at Somalia beach to condemn attack that killed 37 and demand stronger security

Hundreds of people have gathered at a Somalia beach hotel, the site of an attack claimed by al-Qaida’s East Africa affiliate that left 37 people dead and dozens wounded, to condemn the violence and demand stronger security measures.

FILE- In this file photo taken Monday, April 16, 2018, a U.S. and Niger flag are raised side by side at the base camp for air forces and other personnel supporting the construction of Niger Air Base 201 in Agadez, Niger. The US handed over its last military base in Niger to the country's authorities, the US Department of Defense and Niger’s Ministry of Defense announced in a joint statement on Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Carley Petesch, File)

US hands over its last military base in Niger to the ruling junta

The U.S. has handed over its last military base in Niger — one of two crucial hubs for American counterterrorism operations in the country — to local authorities.

90 Ethiopian migrants are rescued from a property in South Africa, police say

South African police say they have rescued 90 Ethiopian migrants who were being held against their will at a property in Johannesburg.

FILE - Police fired tear gas during a protest in Abuja, Nigeria, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. Nigeria’s leader on Sunday, Aug. 4, called for an end to mass protests against the West African nation’s economic hardship, saying the rallies have turned violent and have become politically motivated. (AP Photo/Olamikan Gbemiga, File)

Nigerian leader calls for end to hardship protests, blaming ‘political agenda’ for violence

Nigeria’s leader has called for an end to mass protests over economic hardship, saying the rallies have turned violent and blaming “a few with a political agenda” for driving them.

FILE - Police fired tear gas during a protest in Abuja, Nigeria, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. Nigerian security forces on Saturday, Aug. 3, 2024, fired bullet rounds and teargas at several journalists and protesters during demonstrations against the country’s economic crisis in the capital city, according to the journalists and videos of the incident reviewed by The Associated Press. (AP Photo/Olamikan Gbemiga, File)

Journalists covering Nigeria protests dodge bullets as police arrest nearly 700 people

Nigerian security forces were firing bullets and teargas at several journalists and protesters during demonstrations against the country’s economic crisis.

Explosion and gunfire rock hotel at popular beach in Somalia’s capital, witnesses say

Authorities and witnesses in Somalia say an explosion and gunfire has rocked a hotel by the beach in the capital city of Mogadishu, and security forces are at the scene.

FILE - Youth play at the beach in a western part of Algiers, Monday, July 17, 2023. The young people who make up more than half of Algeria's population are so disenchanted that they may not vote in next month's presidential election. (AP Photo/Anis Belghou, File)

Algeria courts disenchanted youth as 78-year-old president vies for second term

The young people who make up more than half of Algeria’s population are so disenchanted that they may not vote in next month’s presidential election.

People protest against the economic hardship on the street in Lagos, Nigeria, Friday, Aug 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

Rights group says security forces have killed 9 as Nigeria protests over hardship enter a second day

A rights group says at least nine people have been killed by security forces in Nigeria during mass protests against the economic crisis gripping the country.

16 people killed and dozens critically wounded in bombing in Nigeria’s Borno state, officials say

Police say a bomb exploded in a roadside market in Nigeria’s Borno state killing at least 16 people and wounding several others.

FILE - Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa gestures during his inauguration ceremony at the National Sports Stadium in the capital, Harare, on Sept. 4 2023. Zimbabwe police have arrested 18 political activists and hauled some of them off a plane, their lawyers said Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024 in the latest clampdown by the government. (AP Photo /Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi, File)

Zimbabwe police arrest 18 political activists in latest clampdown ahead of regional summit

A group of lawyers say Zimbabwe police have arrested 18 political activists in what has been criticized as another clampdown on opposition by President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his administration.

People protest against the country’s worst cost-of-living crisis in Lagos, Nigeria, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

Police fire gunshots and tear gas to quell mass protests over Nigeria’s economy. At least 2 killed

Security forces have fired gunshots and tear gas to quell mass protests across Nigeria as thousands, mostly young people, poured onto the streets to rally against the country’s spiraling economy.

FILE - Vials of single doses of the Jynneos vaccine for monkeypox are seen from a cooler at a vaccinations site on Aug. 29, 2022, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. African health officials said mpox cases have spiked by 160% in the last year, warning the risk of further spread is high given the lack of effective treatments or vaccines on the continent. (AP Photo/Jeenah Moon, File)

Mpox cases have surged by 160% in Africa so far this year, but few treatments and vaccines available

African health officials say mpox cases have surged by 160% so far this year, warning the risk of further spread is high given the lack of treatments or vaccines on the continent.

FILE - This image provided by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases shows a colorized transmission electron micrograph of monkeypox particles (red) found within an infected cell (blue), cultured in the laboratory that was captured and color-enhanced at the NIAID Integrated Research Facility in Fort Detrick, Md. Kenya and the Central African Republic declared new outbreaks of mpox Wednesday, July 31, 2024, as Africa's health officials are racing to contain the spread of the disease in a region lacking vaccines. (NIAID via AP, File)

Mpox outbreaks declared in Kenya and Central African Republic. The race is on to contain the spread

Kenya and the Central African Republic have declared new outbreaks of mpox as Africa’s health officials are racing to contain the spread of the disease in a region lacking vaccines.