NWS Africa Desk
Articles by NWS
Nigeria clears 4,000 illegal miners from national park, but keeping them out is difficult
A military operation by the Nigerian government has driven more than 4,000 illegal gold miners out of the country's largest national park. But the country’s top parks official admits the miners could return, and no transition plan has been announced for the thousands who lost their livelihoods.
Navi Pillay, Jurist Who Got Prison Rights for Mandela, Wins 2026 Nobel Peace Prize
The 85-year-old South African jurist, who rose from anti-aparthide fight to the UN’s top human rights post, has won the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize for advancing international law. She chaired the UN commission of inquiry that concluded in September 2025 that Israel had committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. She joked that she could share the award with US President Donald Trump.
South Africa’s ‘No Vote’ Problem Signals a Global Revolt Against Politics as Usual
From South Africa’s “No Vote” constituency to youth-led protests and anti-establishment movements in India, Britain and beyond, a generation is questioning whether traditional politics can still deliver meaningful change.
Ethiopia and Eritrea: Why Old Enemies Are Drifting Back to War
The two neighbours have severed diplomatic relations amid renewed fighting in Tigray, reviving old border disputes, the unfinished legacy of the Tigray war and Ethiopia’s push for access to the Red Sea
South Asia Mosquito Species Carries Malaria Into Africa’s Cities, Genomic Study Reveals
Traced back to lineages in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the invasive insect used a single port city as a springboard into five countries.
How Morocco’s Shadow Ruptured Algeria’s Relations with the UAE
Behind the ambassador’s expulsion lies a decades-old rivalry over Western Sahara, billions in Gulf investment, and two starkly different visions of Arab foreign policy.
UN General Assembly Adopts Africa's Proposal for a New World Map
Africa’s real land mass (30.4 million km²) is roughly three times the size of Europe, over 14 times Greenland, and larger than the US, China, India, and Brazil combined. The new Equal Earth map renders continents at these true proportions, which is exactly what the resolution is pushing schools, governments, and platforms like Google Maps to adopt going forward.
Kenya Tells Tata Chemicals to Go – and Signals Africa Is Done Just Exporting Raw Minerals
Kenya’s order for Tata Chemicals to leave Lake Magadi is about more than one company: it reflects Nairobi’s push to keep more mineral value at home by linking resource extraction to local manufacturing, jobs and industrialisation.
Ebola Outbreak in DRC Becomes Deadliest in Country’s History: What Travellers Need to Know
From border screenings to quarantine wards, how nations near and far are preparing as DRC’s Ebola outbreak continues to grow.
Mali-France Thaw: Junta Pardons French Spy Amid West Africa’s Bloodiest Year
The Sahel – the arid belt south of the Sahara stretching across West Africa – has become one of the world’s deadliest conflict zones, and this single clemency order may untangle a year-long diplomatic standoff between Bamako and Paris.