Africa

Two-time world champion Zolani Tete has been shot dead outside his home in South Africa.

The 38‑year‑old was killed in what has been described as an ambush in Mdantsane, Eastern Cape on Friday.

Officials said Tete was in his car waiting for the gate to his house to open when two armed suspects in balaclavas emerged from a vehicle and fired “multiple shots” at him and a 27‑year‑old female passenger, who remains in hospital.

South Africa’s minister of sport, arts and culture, Gayton McKenzie, said: “South Africa has lost one of the finest fighters it has ever produced.”

The two suspects fled the scene and a major investigation has been launched, McKenzie added.

Tete held the WBO bantamweight title from 2017 to 2019, as well as the IBF super-flyweight title in 2014.

Tete beat Liverpool’s Paul Butler in 2015 in one of the eight times he fought in the United Kingdom.

He also holds a Guinness World Record for the fastest knockout in a title fight, ending his match with Siboniso Gonya inside 11 seconds in 2017.

Tete last fought in July 2022, beating Briton Jason Cunningham by knockout In London, but it was later ruled a no-contest after he failed a drugs test.

He tested positive for anabolic steroid stanozolol and was given a four-year ban by the UK Anti-Doping Agency.

His ban ended on 29 July, 2026 and after his death, manager Mla Tengimfene confirmed he had been training for a comeback fight.

Tete had 29 wins in 34 fights, with four losses and one no-contest.

Egypt’s response to Ethiopia’s new Nile dam plans is centred on diplomacy, international pressure and cooperation with Sudan, rather than trying to stop construction outright. However, the experience of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) has exposed the limits of Cairo’s influence.

The revival of three proposed Blue Nile hydropower projects – Karadobi, Mandaya and Beko Abo – will test whether Egypt can turn more than a decade of opposition into practical leverage over how Ethiopia develops the river.

The projects have been discussed for years. A 2024 academic study drawing on Nile Basin Initiative-sponsored work listed all three among proposed Blue Nile projects and noted that Karadobi and Beko Abo were considered alternatives in one potential three-dam configuration.

What is new is Ethiopia’s reported move to advance them. In March, the country’s Water and Energy Ministry announced plans for the projects, according to subsequent reporting. Their combined generating potential has been reported at about 5,700 megawatts, although the figures and specifications could change because the projects remain at the planning stage.

The announcement came months after Ethiopia inaugurated the GERD in September 2025, despite years of objections from Egypt.

Why does Ethiopia want more dams?

For Ethiopia, developing the Blue Nile is closely tied to electricity generation, economic growth and energy security. Addis Ababa argues that expanding hydropower is essential for a country where millions of people have historically lacked reliable access to electricity.

The three projects fit into that wider strategy. However, their eventual impact on Egypt and Sudan will depend on what Ethiopia builds and how the facilities are operated.

Ezekiel Gebissa, an Ethiopian professor at Kettering University in the United States, told Al Jazeera that the consequences would depend on the scale and purpose of the projects. “Smaller dams could generate electricity for local communities without significantly reducing the volume of water reaching downstream countries,” he said, while projects linked to large-scale irrigation could have greater implications for Egypt and Sudan.

The impact will depend on various factors, including reservoir size, filling schedules, water releases and operating rules. A dam designed mainly for electricity generation would have different consequences from one linked to large-scale irrigation.

For now, the projects represent a potential new source of tension rather than proof that they will reduce the water reaching Egypt.

Why is Egypt concerned?

For Egypt, the Nile is the country’s main source of freshwater. Any major change upstream is viewed through the lens of national security.

Cairo’s concern is not Ethiopia generating electricity. It is what happens when water is stored and managed upstream, particularly during periods of drought. Egypt has therefore pushed for rules covering dam operations, drought management, water releases and information sharing.

Last September, Egypt again raised the issue at the United Nations Security Council, arguing that Ethiopia’s inauguration and operation of the GERD violated its international obligations and called for a binding agreement. Those were Egypt’s stated legal and political positions, not findings by the council.

The dispute reflects two different priorities. Ethiopia views the Blue Nile as a resource for development, while Egypt seeks guarantees over the water flows on which it depends.

What did the GERD change?

The GERD demonstrated both the reach and the limits of Egypt’s diplomatic strategy.

Ethiopia inaugurated the dam on September 9, 2025, after years of negotiations with Egypt and Sudan failed to produce the binding agreement Cairo wanted. The nearly $5bn project, funded largely by Ethiopia itself, has an installed generating capacity of about 5,150 megawatts and is now a major part of Ethiopia’s electricity system.

For Egypt, the lesson was clear: diplomatic pressure could raise international attention but could not prevent Ethiopia from completing the project.

The focus has therefore shifted. Instead of trying to stop a single dam, Cairo is now seeking a role in how existing and future projects are designed, filled and operated.

Sudan’s role

Sudan remains central to Egypt’s approach because it lies between Ethiopia and Egypt and is directly affected by developments on the Blue Nile.

However, Khartoum is not simply aligned with Cairo.

Sudan could benefit from more predictable river flows and Ethiopian electricity, while also seeking greater transparency, information sharing and safeguards around upstream projects.

Mekki Elmograbi, a Sudanese governance expert, said transparency from Ethiopia was the starting point for cooperation. “Ethiopia must share more information with Sudan and Egypt; transparency is the first step toward cooperation,” he told Al Jazeera. “Who knows whether the new projects are good or bad for Sudan if there is not enough information?”

Elmograbi said Sudan should seek cooperation with both Ethiopia and Egypt to ensure major projects do not harm its interests. But Sudan’s ability to play a larger diplomatic role is constrained by its ongoing war.

While Sudan shares some concerns with Egypt, it also has its own relationship with Ethiopia and its own priorities, including access to electricity and effective management of the river.

What leverage does Egypt have?

Egypt’s strategy has centred on diplomacy, international pressure and cooperation with Sudan, aimed at pushing Ethiopia towards greater transparency and negotiated rules.

The experience of the GERD shows that Cairo’s strongest tools are political and diplomatic rather than coercive. Egypt can raise international attention, seek support from regional partners and push for agreements on issues such as data sharing, drought management and dam operations.

The challenge is that these tools are unlikely to give Egypt the ability to stop Ethiopia from pursuing new hydropower projects or to control decisions made in Addis Ababa.

Horn of Africa analyst, Abdiwahab Sheikh, told Al Jazeera that Egypt has “meaningful but limited leverage” over Ethiopia. He said Cairo’s strongest tools are diplomacy, alliances, international law and coordination with Sudan, while economic pressure is weaker and military coercion carries significant risks.

The three Blue Nile projects will test whether Egypt can convert diplomatic pressure into practical influence. For Sheikh, the path forward lies in negotiated rules rather than confrontation.

“A practical arrangement is possible if Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan accept transparent information exchange, advance notification, adaptive dam-management rules and mechanisms for addressing droughts and downstream impacts.”

A first group of deportees, out of an expected total of 1,200, has landed at the Roberts International Airport in Monrovia, Liberia, from the United States.

Thursday’s flight is part of an expanding trend of third-country deportations under the administration of US President Donald Trump, whereby foreign nationals are sent to countries that are not their own.

The inaugural flight carried 20 people, largely from Latin American countries like Venezuela and Cuba.

After landing, the group boarded a bus and was taken away by Liberian authorities without being allowed to speak to reporters.

The flight follows an agreement, announced on Tuesday, between the US and Liberia that will bring up to 1,200 deportees to the African country over the coming year.

Liberia is part of a growing list of countries striking agreements with the Trump administration.

Since taking office for a second term as US president in 2025, Trump has inked deals with at least 35 countries to accept third-country deportees, according to the nonprofit Human Rights First.

In exchange, some of those countries have received financial aid and trade deals. Senate Democrats in February estimated that at least $40m had been spent on such deals in the first year of Trump’s second term.

The US, for example, awarded Liberia $5m this year for “migration management activities”.

But in announcing the transfer deal earlier this week, Liberia’s Ministry of Information denied any reports that it agreed to the deportations for financial motives.

“The transfer of persons to Liberia is not a transaction with a quid pro quo,” the ministry said in a statement. “Liberia has not demanded or received any compensation or promise of reward in exchange for its consent to participate in the program.”

Liberia’s Information Minister Jerolinmek Piah also told the news agency Reuters that the International Organization for Migration and the United Nations refugee agency would help provide services for the deportees.

Those brought to Liberia will be allowed to apply for asylum and are “free to depart the country when they so desire”, according to Tuesday’s statement.

Liberia has said that the deportees are not “criminals and are not being prosecuted in any manner”.

“Liberia, the first black African independent nation on the African continent, has a long history of accepting people seeking refuge from political and other crises,” the ministry’s statement said.

“As a matter of fact, Liberia itself was founded as a refuge for freed slaves from the United States of America and other parts of the world.”

But critics have questioned whether smaller countries in Africa and elsewhere are being used as a “dumping ground” for US deportees, and whether the immigrants forcibly sent abroad will have adequate access to the resources they need.

Some have characterised such third-country deportations as excessively punitive, stranding migrants and asylum seekers in places where they sometimes cannot even speak the language.

The Trump administration, meanwhile, has framed the third-party deportations as necessary for immigrants whose home countries will not accept them. It has also framed the removals as a form of deterrence.

Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo on Thursday estimated that, this year alone, roughly 2,300 Mexican citizens have been deported from the US to his country, as opposed to being sent directly to Mexico.

Media outlets, including CBS News, have reported that the manouevre is part of an effort to disincentivize Mexican nationals from returning to the US without legal immigration status.

Arevalo explained, however, that such deportees are swiftly sent back to Mexico. “They are arriving in planes of Guatemalan returnees, and what we have done is process them as in transit, ‌in coordination with the Mexican immigration authorities,” he said.

Crude oil and natural gas supplies have been disrupted worldwide by the United States-Israel war on Iran, but one energy sector appears to be cashing in – coal.

This week, South Africa’s thermal coal producer Thungela Resources said it had doubled its half-year profits as the war has forced more countries to buy the fuel.

Although abundant and relatively cheap to produce, coal is considered one of the dirtiest fossil fuels.

Mining it causes water pollution, and burning it releases enormous amounts of carbon into the atmosphere, which contributes to global warming.

In recent months, several countries, especially in Asia, have reversed or delayed promises to scale back on coal production.

Global coal consumption was already rising in 2025 with the Eurasia region and the US using the fuel to power artificial intelligence data centres, according to the World Bank.

Here’s what we know:

Why is more coal being used?

The US-Israel war on Iran has triggered a global energy crisis. Soon after strikes on Tehran began on February 28, Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz, through which about one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies were shipped during peacetime.

Negotiations to reopen the strait are ongoing.

Its closure has reduced oil and gas supplies and caused oil prices to soar, prompting many countries to fall back on the most readily available alternative to keep the power on – coal.

While coal prices have also risen, the fuel is still much cheaper than oil – and is more readily available.

No region has been more impacted than Asia, which largely depends on the Gulf for its energy needs. About 82 percent of oil and gas shipments through the Strait of Hormuz went to Asia in 2022, according to the US Energy Information Administration. China, India, Japan and South Korea were the top destinations.

Besides being unable to ship exports through the strait, Gulf countries caught up in the conflict have also been badly impacted by Iranian strikes. Qatar, for example, was forced to declare force majeure on its delivery contracts in March when Iranian drones hit its Ras Laffan oil facility – the world’s largest LNG complex – forcing it offline. Iran’s attacks had knocked out 17 percent of Qatar’s LNG exports by March, state officials said.

Similarly, the United Arab Emirates’s Das Island LNG terminal, Fujairah oil terminal, Ruwais Refinery Complex and other energy sites have been attacked during the conflict. Facilities in Saudi Arabia and Oman have also been hit.

Where has coal use increased?

According to an analysis by the energy data company Ember, coal output will rise globally by 1.8 percent by the end of 2026 compared with 2025 in a “worst-case” scenario.

This represents a notable uptick considering that countries are meant to be transitioning away from coal, experts said.

Since the war began, several Asian countries have announced plans to increase coal-fired electricity generation.

Japan has lifted restrictions on older, high-emission coal plants to cope with the energy shocks while South Korea has delayed the shutdown of coal-powered plants it promised to wind down by 2040.

In Bangladesh, the government at first imposed power cuts, closed universities and rationed fuel sales for vehicles before announcing it had ramped up coal-powered electricity generation.

Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam have also increased coal-powered electricity generation to preserve dwindling gas reserves.

In Pakistan, data from the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority showed that by July, electricity generated from imported coal had risen by 90 percent compared with the same period the previous year.

China and India already consume 70 percent of the world’s coal and are also major producers. In India, where electricity demand is increasing partly due to more intense heatwaves, the government plans to launch several new coal-mining projects that will see global supplies increase by 2.5 billion tonnes a year, according to the Global Energy Monitor.

Germany also said it won’t jeopardise electricity generation because of earlier climate promises it made while Italy has pushed back its coal phase-out plans from late 2025 to 2038.

Who is making a profit from coal?

Indonesia is the top coal exporter by a wide margin, followed by Australia and Russia.

In March, Jakarta reversed previous plans to curb coal production and reduce oversupply in a bid to benefit from the rising prices. Prices were set at $131.85 per tonne in July, compared with $102.20 in the previous year.

South Africa’s Thungela, meanwhile, reported doubled profits from January to June, compared with the same period of 2025, driven largely by higher production from its Ensham mines in Queensland as well as higher demand and higher prices at both Ensham and its South Africa operations.

Production at Ensham rose by 38 percent in the first half of the year – during the peak of the conflict – to 2.2 tonnes, compared with 1.6 tonnes in the previous period.

The company reported 4.80 South African rand ($0.30) in headline earnings per share – or HEPS, a primary metric of profitability used in South Africa. That’s up from 1.92 rand ($0.12) in June last year.

In a statement, Thungela said prices will likely remain high as European and Asian markets prepare for winter.

What does this mean for the drive for clean energy?

In 2021, more than 40 countries, including Indonesia and Vietnam, promised to scale back coal use at the COP26 global climate summit. India and China did not sign up, however. Last year, South Korea joined the Powering Past Coal Alliance, which helps coal-dependent economies transition away from the fuel.

However, the Middle East crisis has upset those plans largely because many countries do not have sufficient renewable energy-generating capacity to fall back on, said Nick Hedley, an energy transition analyst at South Africa-based Zero Carbon Analytics.

“For the likes of Bangladesh, it’s easy to lift coal use when global gas supplies are disrupted because the country invested heavily in coal infrastructure in recent decades, and much of that capacity has been sitting idle,” he said.

“Coal becomes cheaper than imported gas when gas prices surge. Importantly, coal still cannot compete with renewables on cost,” Hedley added.

It’s not all doom, however. Analysts noted that upticks in some places are being offset by long-term declines in coal use in places like Europe.

China’s domestic coal production also fell this year as the government tightened oversight following a deadly explosion in May at the Liushenyu coal mine, where 82 people died. Beijing has also made large investments in renewables.

In addition, the breakdown of global fossil energy supply chains could make clean alternatives more competitive and force more countries to invest in them, Hedley pointed out.

“The lesson here is that Asian countries need to speed up their shift to clean energy and electrification to safeguard themselves against future global crises,” he concluded.

One point.

That is what separated South Africa and New Zealand in the 2023 Rugby World Cup final, as the Springboks went back-to-back to become the first nation to win the tournament four times.

Rassie Erasmus’ world champions sit top of the rankings and have also won back-to-back Rugby Championships. They are indisputably the game’s dominant force.

Their predecessors as rugby union’s supreme team were the All Blacks, who won their own back-to-back World Cups, in 2011 and 2015.

The landscape may have changed and their roles may have reversed of late, but they remain the game’s most glamourous and marketable teams.

And now they are poised to begin that most rare of modern phenomenons – a multi-week tour that includes a proper Test series.

This year’s Rugby Championship – the southern hemisphere’s premier international competition – has been cancelled to make room for the All Blacks’ tour of South Africa, leaving Australia and Argentina to arrange their own fixtures.

The first Test is on Saturday, when Dave Rennie – just three Tests into his reign as New Zealand coach – takes his side into the first of three Tests in South Africa as part of what has been dubbed the ‘Greatest Rivalry’ tour.

A fourth game – not part of the official series – will also be played in Baltimore, marking the first Test between the two long-time rivals on American soil.

Within an increasingly competitive sporting landscape, BBC Sport looks at why the tour is happening and what it could mean for the future of international rugby union.

The Indomitable Lionesses outshine their opponents to claim first final victory on their fourth attempt in Morocco.

Cameroon claimed their first Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) title when they thumped surprise package Malawi 3-0 in the final, with Marie Ngah’s first-half double helping seal victory on Sunday.

Cameroon had lost three finals but made it fourth-time lucky against a Malawi side making their debut at the continental championship. Ranked 153 in the world and 32nd on the African continent, Malawi had a fairytale run to the decider.

The two finalists had already sealed their place at the Women’s World Cup in Brazil next year, along with fellow semifinalists Morocco and Algeria. The latter finished third after winning the bronze medal fixture on penalties on Saturday.

Under pressure, FIFA chief Gianni Infantino was all smiles as he handed the Indomitable Lionesses their medals in the presence of Confederation of African Football President Patrice Motsepe, with several players requesting photographs with the Swiss.

Infantino has long enjoyed the support of many on the African continent as he bids for re-election next March, despite revelations of his now-abandoned plans to sell a stake in future World Cups, which drew worldwide condemnation.

Cameroon dominated the first half and led 3-0 at the break after a superb performance against an outgunned Malawi.

Ngah reacted quickest to a loose ball in the box to give them the lead from close range after 20 minutes and they doubled the advantage on the half-hour mark as Naomi Eto added a second.

Malawi were clinging on and hoping to make it to halftime without any further damage but Ngah scored her second in the third minute of added time from Eto’s pass.

Cameroon are the fourth different winners of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations since it was first played in 1998.

Nigeria have a record 10 titles, while Equatorial Guinea have two and South Africa one.

Gombe, Nigeria – On a weekday morning in Pantami District, Gombe, the streets fill with the familiar rush of motorcycles carrying students, workers and traders across the city. But increasingly, some pass almost silently – a subtle sign of a transport shift driven not by climate policy, but by Nigeria’s soaring fuel prices.

One pedestrian did not realise a motorcycle was behind him until the rider sounded its horn. Unlike the petrol-powered bikes that dominate Nigerian roads, the electric motorcycle moved almost noiselessly and produced no exhaust fumes.

Electric motorcycles are gradually appearing across Gombe as riders seek relief from rising fuel costs following President Bola Tinubu’s removal of Nigeria’s fuel subsidy in May 2023, forcing many to rethink how they travel and earn a living.

The bikes, which typically cost about 1 million naira (about $735), remain out of reach for many households. But those who have made the switch say the savings on fuel and maintenance are significant.

Subsidy shock

Tinubu announced the end of Nigeria’s longstanding petrol subsidy during his inauguration on May 29, 2023, triggering a sharp increase in fuel prices across the country.

In Gombe, petrol now sells for about 1,365 naira ($1) per litre (0.26 gallons), compared with roughly 200 naira (15 cents) before the subsidy was removed. The increase has driven up transport costs and squeezed household budgets across Nigeria.

The economic pressure has coincided with growing concern about the environmental impact of the country’s ageing fleet of petrol-powered motorcycles and vehicles. According to the World Bank, road transport is a major contributor to air pollution in Nigerian cities, with vehicle emissions adding significantly to levels of harmful particulate matter.

A cheaper ride

For Ayuba Abubakar, a farmer and resident of Gombe, the switch to an electric motorcycle was prompted by a friend’s visit earlier this year.

After buying the bike, he rode from Gombe to Kumo and back and was surprised by how little battery power the journey consumed.

“I usually spend the day moving around Gombe without charging,” Ayuba told Al Jazeera. “When I travel to remote areas, I charge it.”

Ayuba said he has been using the bike for about three months and has so far avoided the mechanical problems that often come with petrol-powered motorcycles.

“My charger once burned out because I didn’t use a stabiliser,” he said. “Apart from that, I’ve had no major maintenance costs.”

He estimates that the bike has saved him about 5,000 naira ($3.7) a week in fuel expenses.

“Even with those savings, the price needs to come down for most Nigerians to afford it,” he added.

Ahmed Aminu, another rider in Gombe, told Al Jazeera that he no longer spends money on engine oil, while Yakubu Sule, who also owns an electric motorcycle, told Al Jazeera that he chose it largely because of its quiet operation.

Power constraints

Despite the enthusiasm of early adopters, unreliable electricity remains one of the biggest obstacles to wider use of electric motorcycles.

Nigeria’s electricity supply is notoriously inconsistent, and many households receive only a few hours of power each day. The challenge has become more pronounced under Nigeria’s service-based tariff system, which classifies customers into bands according to the amount of electricity they receive.

For Muhammad Abubakar, chief executive officer of Sustenaa, a clean-energy company, the problem is fundamental.

“If we end up charging these bikes with generators, then what’s the point?” Abubakar told Al Jazeera. “We will just be moving the emissions from the exhaust pipe to the generator pipe, and we are back to square one.”

He argues that solar-powered battery-swap stations are a more realistic solution than relying on riders to charge their motorcycles at home.

Abubakar also warned that Nigeria must plan for battery recycling as electric mobility expands. He called on the government to reduce import duties on electric-bike components, support battery-swap operators, establish recycling standards and integrate electric mobility into existing solar mini-grid projects.

For now, electric motorcycles remain a niche option in Gombe. But as fuel prices remain high and battery-swap infrastructure slowly expands, the quiet motorcycles appearing on the city’s streets may offer a glimpse of how economic pressure is beginning to reshape transport across Nigeria.

“When you look at how many bikes are pumping out smoke daily across Lagos, Kano and Port Harcourt, air pollution levels are alarming,” he said. “Even if we start with a fraction of the commercial bike fleets, the improvement in air quality could become visible relatively quickly.”

Twenty-six more bodies have been recovered from the ferry that capsized on a lake in Zimbabwe on Tuesday, increasing the death toll to 72.

Police investigations suggest that the boat was overloaded when it overturned on Lake Kariba. It was carrying an estimated 153 people when it left Kariba town harbour, but its maximum authorised capacity was for just 90 passengers.

Among the victims were at least 18 children, including 16 under the age of 10, according to state broadcaster ZBC. Among the youngest identified victims were one-year-old Wendy Ndandarika and 14-month-old McDonald Nyasha Gumpo and Hailly Tauro, according to local media reports.

The captain, Sign Patsikadova, 59, is also among the confirmed dead.

Search and recovery operations involving police divers, military personnel and local fishermen continued on Saturday, authorities said.

Disaster management officials said 77 people were rescued shortly after the vessel capsized. Many were taken to a nearby island before being transferred to health facilities in Kariba town.

Survivors told reporters that high winds generated choppy waves that flooded the boat shortly after departure. Passengers had urged the operator to turn back towards the shore, but the vessel continued into open water before rolling over.

Some homes have lost more than one relative.

The government has declared a national disaster and deployed welfare agencies to distribute food to affected households.

“It has been difficult to know who to console first, as almost every homestead has lost a relative, and the worst cases more than five relatives at once,” Solomon Machipisa told local outlet The Herald.

The ferry served as a vital lifeline for remote fishing communities along the lake, connecting them to food supplies, markets and essential services. Its loss has already begun affecting food deliveries, with shops that depended on the vessel facing shortages, residents told The Herald.

Accidents on the lake, the world’s largest man-made reservoir by volume, are relatively rare, making the sinking one of the country’s worst maritime disasters in decades.

Lake Kariba lies on Zimbabwe’s border with Zambia, more than 300km (186 miles) northeast of the capital Harare.

Adre, Chad – Sahra remembers growing up in el-Geneina, the capital of Sudan’s West Darfur state, determined to outperform the boys in her class.

After sitting her national examinations in 2005 and 2006, she decided she wanted to become a teacher. She volunteered in classrooms while pursuing a university degree, eventually specialising in education administration.

Then, in April 2023, war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) tore apart the life she had built.

The conflict has devastated Sudan, forcing millions of people from their homes. Chad, which shares a long border with Sudan to the east, has received a large share of those fleeing the fighting.

Sahra is now among nearly one million Sudanese refugees who have crossed into Chad, helping make it one of Africa’s largest refugee-hosting countries.

In eastern Chad, thousands of families arrived to find little more than open ground and trees to shelter under. For many children, there was no school to return to.

In 2024, Plan International and partner organisations established a primary school in one refugee camp. The school now has 1,059 pupils and 30 teachers – Sahra is the head teacher.

Teachers, administrators and child welfare workers have been recruited from the refugee community, allowing people who fled Sudan to help provide services for families displaced alongside them.

Leading from the front line

Chad was already facing a serious education crisis before the latest influx of refugees from Sudan. More than two million young people cannot read or write, and, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), three out of four pupils nationwide are taught by people whose own education ended at secondary school.

The refugee influx has added pressure to an education system already short of classrooms, teachers and basic facilities.

“Illiteracy is very dangerous,” Sahra says. “I want the children to be optimistic about the future because education prevents them from early marriage and violence.”

To accommodate the number of pupils, the school runs two shifts, one in the morning and another in the evening. Lessons cover mathematics, science, history, geography, Arabic and French.

But teaching in exile comes with its own difficulties.

Sudanese teachers have had to adjust to Chad’s curriculum while working across language differences. Chadian children may speak local dialects, while many Sudanese pupils speak Arabic.

“The teaching syllabus in Sudan is easy, but the one in Chad is difficult for us,” says Oummalnas, a teacher who fled el-Geneina in 2024. She teaches mathematics and Arabic.

“We need more workshops to improve our teaching skills and adapt to the Chadian system,” she said.

Protection beyond the classroom

At first, Sudanese and Chadian kids sometimes struggled to get along. Over time, those tensions have eased. The children now learn and play together outside school.

Plan International also provides safe spaces where under-fives can play, socialise and receive psychosocial support in the absence of formal kindergartens.

“We don’t separate education from child protection. It’s an integrated approach that helps create harmony,” said Kefa Mayange, Plan’s Emergency Response Manager for Chad.

For parents in the camp, school is as much about safety as education.

Charfadine arrived with his family during the heavy rains of 2023. Back in West Darfur, his children went to school regularly until the conflict forced them to flee. Three of them now attend primary school in Chad.

“We are happy when they go to school here [in Chad] because it’s a receptive place. It protects them from the violence coming from criminal groups,” he told Al Jazeera.

His hopes remain tied to the country they left behind.

“My ambition is for my children to be teachers to teach coming generations in Sudan and doctors to treat illnesses,” he said.

But not every child has made it into a classroom.

Nasradine, another parent, says hundreds of unaccompanied youngsters who lost their parents while fleeing Darfur remain out of school and wander around the camp.

“If those children remain outside school, our camps will be in danger,” he said. “This group could turn to crime and make our place unsafe. We just want help for those children to go to school.”

A struggle against scarcity

For mothers such as Roukhaya and Zenab, memories of their escape from el-Geneina remain vivid. They walked for about 10 hours to reach the Chadian border.

Yet both say life in Sudan, despite the war, had once felt more manageable than life in the camps.

Roukhaya’s children entered formal schooling for the first time after arriving in Chad. But she has watched older teenagers drop out because there are no high schools or vocational training opportunities for them.

Keeping younger kids in school is a daily struggle, too.

Azraa, a Mobile Unit Supervisor with Plan International, and her colleagues go tent to tent, encouraging parents to keep their children in class. In families with six or seven children, parents may send only two or three to school while the others stay behind to collect firewood, fetch water or look for casual work.

Every Friday, community centres hold awareness sessions reminding families that education remains important, even in displacement.

These efforts are happening despite a severe shortage of resources. Kefa says the refugee response in eastern Chad remains one of the most underfunded humanitarian responses in the world.

Children make up more than half of the refugee population, yet the 2026 Sudan Regional Refugee Response Plan received only 17 percent of the funding it required, leaving an 83 percent shortfall. Education remains among the least supported sectors.

At Sahra’s school, the shortage is visible every day.

There are no flush toilets, no electricity and no accessible facilities for children with disabilities. Pupils sit packed together on the ground or share benches.

Teachers and parents are asking for basic improvements: solar panels for lighting, a mobile health clinic, school meals and enough desks for pupils.

Abakar Mahamat Nour, an Education Officer with the Economic and Social Development Agency (ADES), a Chadian nongovernmental organisation supporting education and emergency relief, says the arrival of Sudanese teachers has created an opportunity for solidarity across the border.

“Chad and Sudan are like brothers; we share families,” he told Al Jazeera. “Having people like Sahra coming from Sudan to teach our children is a benefit for our country. They help our students gain new cultural perspectives and build new friendships.”

She lost the life she had built as a teacher and education administrator in West Darfur. In exile, she has found herself doing what she had planned to do all along: teaching children.

“Refugees have skills, experience, and dreams,” said Kefa Mayange, Plan’s Emergency Response Manager for Chad. “Like Sahra, we see them as leaders.”

Note: Full names have been withheld for safety and privacy reasons.

Kevin Rideout, a pilot with the evangelical missionary agency SIM International, was abducted in the capital, Niamey, on October 21, 2025.

An American missionary kidnapped in Niger last year has been released after more than nine months in captivity and is now in the care of United States officials, according to his organisation.

Kevin Rideout, a pilot with the evangelical missionary agency SIM International, was abducted in the capital, Niamey, on October 21 by three armed men while heading towards the airport.

“We are grateful to confirm that our good friend and brother in Christ, Kevin Rideout, has been released after over nine months in captivity,” SIM said on Friday, adding that he was in good health and would soon be reunited with his family.

The Reuters news agency, citing The New York Times, reported that Rideout was travelling to the US accompanied by FBI officials. Details of how and where Rideout was released remain unclear, as does the identity of the group that held him during the final stages of his captivity.

After his abduction, the kidnappers were believed to have travelled towards Niger’s western Tillaberi region, where armed groups linked to al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS) operate. Reuters reported in March that Rideout was believed to be held in neighbouring Mali by al-Qaeda affiliate Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM).

Niger and its neighbours Mali and Burkina Faso have struggled with armed groups across the Sahel for years.

The US withdrew its troops from Niger after the military seized power in a 2023 coup, while Niger’s authorities have since strengthened security and diplomatic ties with Russia.

Ebola outbreak has killed 2,128 people out of around 4,566 recorded cases in the DRC, according to government figures.

The latest Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has spread to a sixth province after a death was recorded in previously unaffected Bas-Uele, said the head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

Jean Kaseya said on Thursday that the man died in Buta, the capital of Bas-Uele province, after travelling from Haut-Uele province.

“If we do not stop this outbreak, it will last more than a year and will be the largest in the world,” Kaseya warned. That would also increase the risk of the outbreak spreading to other countries, he added.

The World Health Organization (WHO) says it is spreading faster than any previous one.

The latest outbreak began in the northeastern Ituri province and infections have also been recorded in North Kivu, South Kivu, Haut-Uele and Tshopo provinces.

It has killed 2,128 people out of 4,566 cases recorded, according to government figures. There are no approved vaccines or treatments for the rare Bundibugyo strain of the virus responsible for this outbreak.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Wednesday that “at its current pace”, the outbreak was on track to surpass the deadliest on record, which started over a decade ago and killed more than 11,000 people.

The current outbreak was formally declared on May 15 but the virus had begun circulating in February, health officials said this week.

The WHO hopes to reverse the spread of the virus within three months, but warned that the outbreak would not end by then.

Ebola is rare but highly contagious and can be contracted from bodily fluids and contaminated surfaces and materials, such as bedding and clothing. The disease it causes is severe and often fatal.

Clinical trials of two possible treatments for this type of Ebola began last month in Ituri.

Two vaccines developed specifically for the Bundibugyo virus are being tested in people for the first time, the WHO said on Wednesday.

The UN health agency also plans to test whether an existing Ebola vaccine could protect people against the latest virus after studies in animals showed promising results.

The Ebola outbreak currently ravaging the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) was caused by a new transmission from animals to humans rather than by variants linked to earlier outbreaks, according to a new study published in the medical journal Nature Medicine.

The virus in eastern DRC has killed more than 2,000 people of 4,449 recorded cases, making it the fastest-moving Ebola outbreak on record. It was formally declared on May 15 , though genetic sequencing later revealed the virus had actually begun circulating in February.

On Wednesday, the World Health Organization (WHO) said the current Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus is spreading faster than health authorities can contain it and is on track to become the deadliest outbreak on record.

So what have scientists discovered about how it was transmitted to humans? And can it be contained?

Here’s what we know:

What does the new study say about this Ebola outbreak?

In a report published this week in the medical journal Nature Medicine, researchers from the DRC, Uganda, Belgium and other countries analysed the genetic make-up of virus samples from 22 patients in the DRC and Uganda. They found that the outbreak strain was genetically distinct from previous Bundibugyo Ebola viruses seen in outbreaks in 2007 and 2012.

The report suggested that the virus began with a new animal-to-human transmission incident, which then spread to other people.

The animal source has not been specified but the researchers said the outbreak in Uganda was linked to the outbreak in the DRC.

Earlier, health officials in the region said the outbreak is being driven by the rare Bundibugyo strain of the virus, for which no vaccine has yet been developed.

Krutika Kuppalli, an infectious diseases doctor with experience in Ebola and outbreak response, explained that the study citing a “new animal transmission” as the reason for the outbreak, does not mean that a new form of Ebola has suddenly emerged or that animals are now transmitting the virus differently.

“What the genomic data suggest is that the current outbreak began with a new ‘zoonotic spillover’ event – meaning the virus likely crossed independently from an animal reservoir into a person – rather than resulting from continued circulation or re-emergence of virus from a previous human outbreak,” she said.

“After that initial spillover, the outbreak has been driven predominantly by human-to-human transmission,” she added.

How dangerous is this strain of Ebola?

On Wednesday, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that at its current pace, the current Ebola outbreak is on track to eclipse the West African outbreak of 2014 to 2016. That crisis killed at least 11,300 people of a reported 28,600 cases and accelerated the push to develop a vaccine.

That was a different strain of the Ebola virus known as Zaire and the vaccine developed then does not work for the current strain, which is spreading.

Dr Abdirahman Mahamud, WHO’s director for health emergency alert and response operations, said the agency’s moderate projection has the outbreak peaking within six months. Under a more severe scenario, it could stretch on for nine to 12 months.

“Beyond the zoonotic spillover event from animals to humans, it is the human-to-human transmission dynamics of the Bundibugyo virus that make it dangerous,” Kaja Abbas, associate professor of infectious disease epidemiology and dynamics at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and Nagasaki University, told Al Jazeera.

Dr Kuppalli also emphasised that the way this strain of the virus was initially transmitted to humans does not make it intrinsically more dangerous.

How is it treated?

Kuppalli said the animal origin of the virus does not change required treatment.

“Once someone develops Ebola disease, management is based on the virus causing the illness and the patient’s clinical condition, not whether their infection ultimately originated from an animal or from another person. What matters here is that Bundibugyo virus (BDBV) currently does not have the same licensed, proven virus-specific therapeutics that we have for Zaire ebolavirus,” she said.

“Supportive care, which includes aggressive fluid and electrolyte management, treatment of shock and organ dysfunction, and management of co-infections, remains critical, while investigational therapeutics are being evaluated,” she added.

“Ebola outbreaks have historically begun through zoonotic spillover. The bigger concern is what it tells us about our preparedness: we still do not fully understand where and when these spillover events will occur, making prevention and early detection extremely difficult.”

“In this outbreak, there also appears to have been substantial transmission before the outbreak was recognised, which gave the virus an opportunity to establish multiple chains of transmission,” she added.

What can be done to contain this outbreak?

Researchers who worked on the new study said increasing “decentralised laboratory diagnostics capacity, including genomic sequencing capacity and timely detection ” could help pre-empt future outbreaks.

Clinicians are also working to develop treatments.

“While no licensed treatments or vaccines exist today, experimental therapeutics and vaccines are in the clinical development pipeline that are specifically targeted towards the strains of the Bundibugyo virus currently circulating in the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the DRC and Uganda during 2026,” Abbas said.

While a vaccine against the latest strain is being developed, a WHO official said in May that medical supplies, including personal protective equipment (PPE) ⁠⁠to prevent Ebola, were being sent to ⁠⁠the DRC.

“We have sent 12 tonnes of supply. An additional six are arriving. These include personal protective equipment for ⁠⁠front-line health workers [and] samples,” Anne Ancia, WHO representative in the DRC’s Ituri province, told media in May.

At the forefront of the fight to break the spread in the DRC are health workers who have been treating patients while also dealing with the risk of becoming infected themselves.

More than 100 health workers have been infected and about 35 have died.

The response to the outbreak has been further complicated by several factors, including strikes by unpaid health workers, misinformation and cultural traditions. These have included open-casket family burials of some of those killed by the virus, potentially increasing the risk of further transmission.

Kuppalli said better Ebola preparedness is required, not just focusing on stopping transmission once an outbreak has been recognised.

“We also need much stronger health surveillance at the human-animal interface, broader diagnostics capable of detecting different Ebola viruses and medical countermeasures that work across Ebola species,” she said.

“This outbreak is showing us the consequences when the virus gets a several-month head start.”

How have other countries responded?

Many countries have raised concerns about the latest Ebola virus outbreak and some, such as Bahrain, have suspended entry for 30 days for foreign travellers arriving from South Sudan, the DRC and Uganda.

Neighbouring countries, including Rwanda and Uganda, have introduced measures to prevent the virus from crossing their borders.

Rwanda imposed health restrictions, including barring entry to foreign travellers who had been in the DRC in the previous 30 days.

The US warned that travellers, including US citizens, who have been in the DRC within 21 days before departure will not be allowed to board commercial flights to US destinations.

Governments across Asia have also begun introducing border screening and bolstering quarantine preparedness.

Fulham’s friendly in Malaga turned sour as the Premier League club walked off ahead of a penalty shootout.

Fulham’s preseason match against Malaga turned out to be not too friendly when the English club walked off and coach Alvaro Arbeloa was red-carded for complaining to the referees.

La Liga host Malaga scored a 90th-minute equaliser to make the score 2-2. Malaga said a penalty shootout was scheduled. Fulham said there wasn’t. Malaga kicked a penalty into an open net and claimed the Costa del Sol trophy on Wednesday.

The scenes were an echo of the Africa Cup of Nations final in January when Senegal walked off the field in protest at the awarding of a penalty to Morocco.

In response to the events on the southern coast of Spain, Fulham said on the social media platform, X: “We can confirm that prior to the match, both teams agreed that there would not be a penalty shootout in the event of a draw.”

Former Real Madrid coach Arbeloa was sent off for arguing with the officiating crew at the end of the match.

Malaga said a penalty shootout was scheduled but “Fulham left the pitch claiming that a shootout had not been included in the contract”.

Senegal’s match against hosts Morocco at the 2025 edition of AFCON, which extended into 2026, did eventually resume with the Atlas Lions missing the penalty that had been awarded to them.

The Lions of Teranga went on to win a penalty shootout to claim the trophy.

The title has since been withdrawn from them by the Confederation of African Football after an appeal by Morocco.

Senegal have taken that case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.