Senegal bans protests by Ousmane Sonko’s supporters

The authorities in the Senegalese capital, Dakar, have banned protests planned for Friday by supporters of opposition leader Ousmane Sonko.

On 1 June, a court in Dakar acquitted Sonko on charges of rape and issuing death threats but sentenced himto two years in prison for “corrupting” a young woman in 2021.

Under Senegal’s penal code, “corrupting” is described as “anyone who offends against morality by inciting, promoting or facilitating the debauchery or corruption of young people of either sex under the age of 21”.

Violence sparked by the two-year jail term claimed the lives of at least 16 people and injured hundreds last week.

Sonko, a former tax inspector, is the mayor of Ziguinchor city and chairman of the Patriots for Work, Ethics and Fraternity (Pastef) party.

He came third in the 2019 presidential election with 15.7% of the vote.

Sonko’s supporters consider his sentencing politically motivated and part of a government plot to stop him standing in a presidential election scheduled for February 2024.

Friday’s protests were also about fears President Macky Sall may attempt run for an unconstitutional third term in office.

The opposition has vowed to hold the banned demonstrations on Saturday.

Russian killed by shark off Egyptian beach resort

A Russian citizen has been killed by a shark off the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Hurghada.

A tiger shark attacked the man as he was swimming off the city’s Dream Beach on Thursday afternoon, Egyptian and Russian officials say.

An eyewitness caught the moment of attack on camera and shared the video with Reuters. It shows the man, in his early 20s, thrashing about in the sea before being dragged under water.

According to Reuters, a diver described how a lifeguard at a nearby hotel had raised the alarm and people had rushed to help, but were unable to get to the man in time.

Swimming, snorkelling and other water sports in the area have been banned for two days, starting from Friday, Egypt’s environment ministry said.

The shark had been captured by a specialist team and was being examined to determine the cause of the attack, it added.

Russian Consul-General Viktor Voropayev named the man as V Yu Popov, saying he had been living in Egypt for a while and was not a tourist, the Tass news agency reports.

The consulate passed on its condolences to his family and friends, and urged Russians be vigilant when in the water and abide by swimming and diving bans imposed by the Egyptian authorities, Tass said.

The withdrawal of the subsidies - which Mr Nunes Júnior said was aimed at cutting government spending - came into effect on 1 June, leading into a steep rise in fuel prices.

The oil-rich nation has since experienced a wave of protests, with more expected over the weekend.

On Monday, five people died and eight were injured after police opened fire on a group of protesters the city of Huambo.

Angola is one of the largest oil exporters in sub-Saharan Africa.

Sharp rise in child deaths after Tigray loses food aid

brutal two-year conflict between forces loyal to Ethiopia’s government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front.

The conflict came to an end last November when the two sides signed a peace deal in South Africa. Aid then began trickling in, though some areas still remain inaccessible.

Burkina Faso offers bounty for 20 ‘wanted terrorists’

The government of Burkina Faso has offered a bounty of up to $293,000 (£233,700) for 20 “wanted terrorists”.

Justin

Welby criticises Uganda clergy for backing anti-gay law

The spiritual head of the Anglican Church has urged the clergy in Uganda to reject a new anti-gay law just approved by President Yoweri Museveni.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, said there was no justification for Anglicans to support legislation that went against Christian teaching.

The leader of the worldwide Anglican communion said he had written to Stephen Kaziimba, the head of the church in Uganda, to express his “grief and dismay” that the church has supported the law.

Gay sex is now punishable by life in prison, while what the law calls “aggravated homosexuality”, including transmitting HIV, attracts the death penalty.

Angolan economy minister fired amid fuel protests

Angolan President João Lourenço has sacked the minister responsible for economic and social development following protests triggered by the government’s decision to end fuel subsidies

He replaced Manuel Nunes Júnior, a seasoned minister and economics professor, with the central bank governor, José de Lima Massano, a statement said.

In the month since the US and the UN suspended food aid to Ethiopia’s warravaged Tigray region, doctors at the biggest hospital there say seven malnourished children have died.

That marked increase in May makes up more than half of the 13 total deaths since the start of year, staff at the Ayder Referral Hospital in Mekelle told the BBC.

What is more, medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) says nearly 70% of health facilities in Tigray have been deliberately vandalised and had equipment looted to make them “non-functional”.

At present, 32 children are in very critical condition and receiving treatment in an intensive care unit at the Ayder Referral Hospital.

“Children in the ward are most vulnerable and thought couldn’t recover with food assistance outside of the hospital,” medic Simret Nigusse told the BBC’s Tigrinya service, adding that international humanitarian agencies were wrong to halt operations in Tigray.

USAid and the UN World Food Programme (WFP) froze aid to Tigray after discovering that food shipments were being diverted and sold at local markets.

This week both went a step further, announcing they would be suspending food to the whole of Ethiopia, with some exceptions for only the most vulnerable.

Tigray suffered from dire shortages of food, fuel, cash and medicines during a

The security ministry published on its Facebook page on Thursday the list of the 20 individuals “actively wanted for their involvement or complicity in planning or carrying out terrorist acts” in the Sahel country.

According to French public broadcaster RFI, several people on the list were already included in a previous notice published a year ago by the army.

An eight-year Islamist insurgency has killed more than 14,000 people and displaced over two million in Burkina Faso.

This announcement came days after gunmen killed more than 20 people in attacks, most of them security forces.

The insurgency has been described as the world’s most neglected displacement crisis by the Norwegian Refugee Council.

Sudan rivals agree 24-hour truce, Saudi Arabia says

Saudi Arabia has announced another attempted ceasefire between the warring military factions in Sudan.

The Saudi foreign ministry said the Sudanese army and its paramilitary rivals had agreed a 24-hour truce.

It is due to begin on Saturday at 05:00 GMT.

Saudi Arabia and the United States have made repeated mediation efforts since the fighting erupted in April.

The foreign ministry in Riyadh warned that if the ceasefire failed, it would consider suspending peace efforts. BBC