South African President Cyril Ramaphosa pledged to help the victims of devastating east coast floods on Wednesday, as the death toll rose to 259 from heavy rains that washed out roads and disrupted shipping in one of Africa's busiest ports.

It was market day in Moura, a remote town in central Mali, when witnesses said Malian troops backed by Russian mercenaries descended in helicopters and opened fire on bewildered residents.

The last surviving alleged attacker, Salah A., said he hoped his apology would help the relatives of those killed. One hundred and thirty people were killed in the atrocities claimed by the "Islamic State" armed group.

Cristiano Ronaldo's sister has paid tribute to their family's "little angel" after the Manchester United star revealed his newborn son had died.

Although El Salvador has seen a fall in the number of homicides, the country suffers from another type of crime that the government avoids talking about. Gangs are stepping up kidnappings and forced disappearances, terrorising the most vulnerable, who increasingly end up dead. Faced with the authorities' silence, who keep no official register, victims' loved ones are speaking out. Our regional correspondents Laurence Cuvillier and Matthieu Comin report.

We look at reaction to how Republican lawmakers in Florida may have just made an expensive mistake by revoking Disney's special status, as retribution for the company's opposition to the state's "Don’t say gay" bill. The papers are also discussing the situation in the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol and what the coming weeks could mean for the war. Finally, The New York Times reports on how shaved heads "have people buzzing".

South African police Sergeant Busisiwe Mjwara was searching the Msunduzi River for three people who were swept away in heavy flooding when she and her dog drowned. Their deaths highlight the risks to emergency services personnel when they are called upon to save victims of extreme weather events, which are becoming more frequent as the climate warms.

Dozens of charred bodies were buried in mass graves on Tuesday (April 26) in Nigeria's Imo state as the stench of decomposing flesh hung in the air after more than 100 people were killed during a weekend explosion at an illegal oil refinery. A group of men, some bare-chested and without shoes, used shovels to dig three graves at the site of the explosion, a swampy open space surrounded by burnt out cars and palm trees.

French soul singer Ben (formerly Ben l'Oncle Soul) who spent years in San Francisco, New York and Paris, is back with a new cover album entitled 'Red Mango'. In this new work, he and the Monophonics put a reggae rocksteady spin on songs by pop’s biggest artists, from John Lennon to Rihanna.He popped by the FRANCE 24 studios to talk about his music and tease his next original album.

A total of 98 people were killed last year when a beachfront condo in Florida collapsed. The tragedy sparked numerous investigations and calls for more vigorous safety inspections.

Hope is all but lost that eight miners trapped in a flooded mine in Burkina Faso for a month may have survived. Also, suspects are arrested in Mali after authorities say they foiled a coup attempt earlier this month. And advocates calling for tax reform on the continent say that lawmakers should be on the sharp end of pushing for changes that will tackle an unequal system.

Ougadougou Rescue workers have found no survivors in a rescue chamber deep inside a flooded zinc mine in Burkina Faso, the government and the mine owner said on Tuesday, all but extinguishing hope that eight missing miners could still be alive after a month.