The "protest" at the opening of the Museum of West African Art in Benin, Edo state looks bad for Nigeria. The museum was meant to host returned Benin Bronzes, but now won't due to rivalry between the ex & former Edo governors. As a Nigerian friend said, "Who wants to return the Bronzes to us now?"

This is such a lame hit job on @meghamohan.bsky.social, who is an incredibly talented, sensitive, thoughtful journalist, unlike those at the Telegraph who wrote, edited and signed off on this. Also, digging out an email sent in 2018? Extra lame.

Maybe Keir should demand the heads of major US news networks any time they imply Britain is on the brink of civil war or that we live under sharia law. Or does it not work both ways?

Whew this pulls absolutely no punches

Professor Alex de Waal quoted in a piece on the devastation of El Fasher, Sudan, at the hands of the paramilitary group RSF. @theguardian.com @rachelmsavage.bsky.social @elenamorresi.bsky.social @worldpeacefdtn.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...

Not surprising, but still such a huge shame. Teen Vogue did really interesting journalism and their US politics coverage was great

I had a really fun day in Johannesburg recently hanging out with female cycling group Girls On Bikes and "stance" crew Sentech Croozers. "It is a political statement to see people of colour on bikes, in suburbs."

A massacre foretold: the reports of atrocities that emerged from the Sudanese city of El Fasher after it fell to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces last weekend followed a grimly familiar pattern. "I don’t think that there can be a head of state or a foreign minister who wasn’t warned."

Was about to pack black tea for a trip to East Asia and then realised what I was doing & thought better of it. I am painfully British but I will be drinking lots of delicious Oolong, Puer and Jasmine tea ☕🍵

Sudan's RSF has arrested Abu Lulu, who appeared in numerous videos killing unarmed civilians in El Fasher. “However, many Sudanese did not buy into this and launched a hashtag: ‘You are all Abu Lulu’ – meaning the entire militia acts like him," said Mohamed Suliman, a Sudanese researcher

The Heritage Foundation created an entire program, Project Esther, to use antisemitism as a pretext to shut down US higher education. They are now defending a guy who has friendly chats with Holocaust deniers. Never take these people seriously when they say they care about fighting antisemitism.

Obsessed with this 🐦‍⬛

Today In Focus with our Caribbean Correspondent Natricia Duncan is a must listen. Her bravery to keep reporting on Hurricane Melissa and the destruction it wrought on Jamaica, when she was also trying to keep her daughter & niece safe from the storm, is incredibly moving.

Egypt's cast $1bn antiquities museum will finally open tomorrow, near the Pyramids of Giza, after two decades under construction.

That run chase by India, WOW! Just extraordinary 🥹 Defeating Australia! At home! The highest run chase in a cricket world cup knockout match, men or women! Onions all round.

This is so grimly telling

Yesterday was painful. I had to switch off to focus on work, but I probably would have done so anyway as I can't bear to watch when wickets are tumbling 😂 Also England's collapse doesn't negate how outstanding Wolvaardt was. At one point the forecasts were for 260 and then she smashes out 169!

Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces killed hundreds of patients and staff inside a hospital in El Fasher, according to the World Health Organization and the Sudan Doctors Network. “We’re not looking at small numbers, we’re looking at dozens and hundreds and, eventually, there will be thousands.”

Violent protests have broken out in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania's largest city, after an election where the two main opposition candidates were disqualified and government critics abducted, arrested or killed

The videos that seem to be coming out of El Fasher are truly horrific. I just watched one, which I must emphasise I have not verified, that appears to show bodies strewn around a hospital and an RSF fighter shooting a seated man in the head at close range.

Most African countries are urbanising rapidly, but public transport is failing to keep up. Me and my colleagues joined commuters in Johannesburg, Abidjan and Nairobi to take readers on a typical journey across our cities. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...

Public transport has failed to keep up with rapid urban growth in Africa, with hours-long traffic jams a common feature of many metropolises. Carlos Mureithi, @rachelmsavage.bsky.social & @eromoegbejule.bsky.social talk to commuters in Nairobi, Joburg, & Abidjan www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...

African gerontocrats are having a bumper year. In another surprise to no one, Alassane Outtara, 83, has won a fourth term as Ivory Coast's president. I was surprised, though, by the magnitude of victory - 89.77% of the vote. It helps to disqualify your biggest opponents and clamp down on protests.

Former Gambian dictator Yahya Jammeh says he will return to the country from exile in November, nine years after he was ousted. Gambia’s Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission found Jammeh responsible for murders, torture, sexual violence & enforced disappearances.

Sudan's army admitted it has withdrawn from El Fasher, its last urban stronghold in Darfur. The UN human rights office said that the RSF reportedly carried out “summary executions” of fleeing civilians, “with indications of ethnic motivations for killings”.

YouTube's algorithm being shady as hell promoting Lily Allen's pre-divorce AD video 👀 (Make of the other recommendations what you will)

If I never see another Vogue World post on Instagram again I will be happy. To quote André Leon Talley: "It's a famine of beauty! My eyes are starving for beauty!"

In a surprise to precisely no one, 92-year-old Paul Biya has been declared the winner of Cameroon's presidential election. That gives Biya an 8th term in office. (Also I'm obsessed with Chantal Biya's bouffant peeking over the top below. Desperately want a long read on her aesthetic.)

I too would like Torsten Bell and his parliamentary staff to develop chronic back problems

The RSF says it has captured the city of El-Fasher, which it has besieged since May 2024, as Sudan's brutal civil war rages on. Famine was declared in a displacement camp there last August, while 260,000 people have been trapped inside the city itself without aid

CHUCKY PIG SUPREMACY I had no idea woodlice nicknames were so localised in the UK

I was at Johannesburg Pride (which is so fun & joyful!) and a 19yo baby bisexual complimented me on my necklace. We chat and he offloads about finding it hard to meet people etc. I say lots of wise things about how things happen when the time is right. Am I... a middle-aged queer now?

Altogether now... "SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLE"

This is a very moving and sobering feature about three 19 and 20-year-olds, from Ghana, Malawi and South Africa, almost two decades after they were profiled by The Guardian as babies and then 10-year-olds. All of them are struggling, but striving to live better lives.

The double jasmine in my garden smells incredible right now. There may be cold rainy snaps, but spring in Joburg is pretty great.

A German tourist was told to give up smoking while being mugged on a hike on Signal Hill in Cape Town

“It’s like an episode of 24. You know Jack Bauer will win but you don’t know what happens before then.” Deja vu for Cote d'Ivoire, as Alassane Ouattara seeks a fourth term as president while cracking down on opposition and protests. Great @eromoegbejule.bsky.social report

When I arrived in Madagascar, there was a party going on in the Place du 13 Mai. Gen Z protestors were overjoyed the president had been overthrown. Many were grateful to the army. Some were worried about the new military regime. All said that they would continue their fight for political reform.

this is obviously appalling - and he should lose his job - but it's also really quite shocking; I first met Calgie when he was a baby reporter in his early twenties and sure, he was always a Tory, but he was....fine and normal? right-wing radicalisation is out of control in SW1

A view from a coup. Colonel Michael Randrianirina being sworn in as president by Madagascar's constitutional court yesterday

Madagascar's new military leader, Colonel Michael Randrianirina, is due to be sworn in as president today, by the continental court (I've heard both 10am and 12pm-1pm). Gen Z protestors I've spoken to are mostly grateful to the military for supporting them, but they all say they will stay vigilant

The mood in Madagascar's Place 13 Mai was positively festive today, as people enjoyed live music and speeches celebrating the overthrow of President Andry Rajoelina. Meanwhile, Colonel Michael Randrianirina, head of the elite Capsat military unit, said he would be sworn in as president within days.

Long time Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga has died aged 80, a source in his office told Reuters. An Indian newspaper reported he died of a heart attack while receiving medical treatment in the city of Kochi. Odinga lost five presidential elections in total.

The elite Capsat military unit says it has taken power in Madagascar, after the parliament impeached president Andry Rajoelina following weeks of anti-government protests. Rajoelina claimed on Facebook he was still in control, but as he's also reportedly fled Madagascar it looks like the game is up

R.E. The NYT story on the ADF's more recent activity in the UK. As I said when I shared the story before, this is not new. But I didn't make the very important point that Katelyn and @sydney-bauer.com made, which is that trans journalists in particular have been tracking this since at least 2018

Too many Bildungsromans make singular events the be all and end all of the main character's life. It's unrealistic and lazy. What do you mean you saw something you shouldn't have when you were eight years old and it screwed you up for life? Spies, Never Let Me Go, etc. Profoundly annoying

If you need something to make you feel better about your competence at life, this is for you. South Africa's finance minister accidentally named the wrong M. Maseko to the Public Investment Corporation board: former treasury official Mpumelo Maseko instead of ex-PIC employee Mpumelelo Maseko

Madagascar's president said he was safe, without saying where, after an attempt to kill him, according to an AFP translation of his live Facebook video address. "I was forced to find a safe place to protect my life today. In all this, I never stop looking for solutions."

Madagascar's president said on his official Facebook that he was going to address the nation, first at 7pm local time. Then it was delayed to 8.30pm, after the presidency said armed forces had taken control of state media. Then it was delayed again to 9.30pm - which was half an hour ago.