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.

Former child soldiers are providing new information about the leader of the notorious Lord's Resistance Army. Kony has been on the run since 2005 when the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant.

Islamabad has issued a warning to Afghanistan's Taliban leadership, accusing it of giving shelter to militants. In turn, the Taliban claim Pakistani bombings recently killed dozens of civilians on Afghan soil.

Mamady Doumbouya says it will take 39 months to shift back to civilian rule. The junta leader seized power in a coup in September.

A military junta in Guinea said its transition back to civilian rule will probably take more than three years, a proposal likely to upset West Africa's political bloc that has called for a swift return to constitutional order after last year's coup. Colonel Mamady Doumbouya, the head of the junta that took power in September, told state television late on Saturday that after political consultations he was considering a transition of 39 months, the first time he has proposed a timeline.

Guinea's ousted former president Alpha Condé is no longer allowed to leave the country after authorities moved to prosecute him for violence that broke out over his bid for a third term. After not having a health centre for almost 20 years, a community in Darfur is finally able to access medical care due to the opening of a new clinic. And film lovers in Paris can enjoy NollywoodWeek Film Festival, a curated selection of Nigerian films challenging the status quo.

The hard-line Islamist group has told Afghan women to cover their faces in public — the latest backslide on promises to retain women's rights after the Taliban seized power last August.

An election committee composed largely of pro-Beijing figures voted for John Lee, a former security official, to be the new leader of Hong Kong. Lee, the only candidate in the vote, replaces Carrie Lam in July.

The Taliban have further curbed women's rights with their latest veil compulsion decree. Afghanistan's civil society faces an uphill task to challenge the group without adequate support from the international community.

Former Somali leader Hassan Sheikh Mohamud won the presidency again on Sunday in a vote by parliamentarians behind blast walls in an airport hangar as a popular election remains impossible in the conflict-wracked nation.

Since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan last year, international aid for the country has dried up. The pandemic and the ongoing food crisis have complicated an already dire economic situation. Unicef says that as more families are pushed deeper into poverty, they are forced to make desperate choices, such as putting children to work and marrying girls off at a young age. Our France 2 colleagues report.

Mohammed Yasin Malik told the court that the charges of terrorism against him were "concocted, fabricated and politically motivated."