In a historic first for the FIFA World Cup, Tunisia have parted ways with head coach Sabri Lamouchi just days after a lopsided opening Group F defeat to Sweden at the 2026 tournament, marking the earliest dismissal of a manager in the competition’s history. The North African side suffered a 5-1 thrashing at the hands of Sweden on Sunday at Estadio Monterrey in Guadalupe, Mexico, a result that triggered immediate speculation about Lamouchi’s future. While initial reports claimed the Frenchman had been relieved of his duties straight after the final whistle, multiple sources confirmed to BBC Sport Africa that Lamouchi still led a team training session on Monday. The Tunisian Football Association later made the separation official, announcing that the 54-year-old’s contract had been terminated by mutual agreement. Stepping into the role with immediate effect is veteran manager Herve Renard, who has previously held top jobs with the Morocco and Saudi Arabia national teams, and will remain at the helm through the conclusion of the 2026 World Cup. Lamouchi’s exit comes after just five months in charge of Tunisia, having been appointed in January following the exit of Sami Trabelsi, who stepped down after the team’s round of 16 defeat to Mali at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations. Across his five matches in charge, Lamouchi only managed to secure one victory: a narrow 1-0 win over Haiti in his debut fixture at the post. In Tunisia’s two pre-tournament warm-up matches earlier this June, the side fell 1-0 to Austria before a demoralizing 5-0 defeat to world powerhouse Belgium that offered an early sign of the challenges the team would face in Mexico. Speaking shortly after the Sweden defeat, Lamouchi acknowledged the severity of the performance, calling the opening loss “painful” for the squad. “Starting the competition with this bad of a loss is indeed difficult,” he said. “We made too many mistakes, and this is not something that we can do. We are shooting ourselves in the foot, we are hurting ourselves.” While manager dismissals after poor tournament starts are not unprecedented in World Cup history, Lamouchi’s departure is the first to occur after just a single match. The previous instances of early sackings date back to the 1998 World Cup, when Tunisia let go of Henryk Kasperczak after two opening matches without a win, and South Korea dismissed Cha Bum-Kun following two straight opening defeats. More recently, Spain sacked Julen Lopetegui just two days before the 2018 tournament kicked off, after he agreed to take the Real Madrid head coaching role mid-competition. Now, with Renard newly installed at the helm, Tunisia turn their focus to their remaining Group F fixtures against Japan and the Netherlands as they fight to keep their 2026 World Cup campaign alive.
标签： Africa
非洲
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Solar cold storage helps African farmers cut losses and reach global markets
On a crisp early morning in Kenya, smallholder farmer Yvonne Anyonyi Mumiah walks between neat rows of aromatic rosemary, fragrant basil and other fresh produce bound for grocery store shelves across Europe. Not long ago, her livelihood hung on a knife edge: a single transport delay or unseasonable heatwave could turn an entire season’s hard work into spoiled, unsellable waste. Today, that uncertainty has been replaced by security, thanks to an accessible solar-powered cold storage service that keeps her harvest fresh until it is ready to ship.
Mumiah’s new solution comes from SoKo Fresh, a Kenyan cold-chain enterprise that offers a flexible pay-per-use model, billing farmers only for the volume of produce they store. This innovative approach is part of a rapidly growing movement across Africa that leverages renewable energy to solve one of the continent’s most persistent agricultural crises: widespread post-harvest food loss.
According to estimates from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation, as much as 40% of all food grown across Africa goes to waste between the moment it is harvested and the moment it reaches consumers. The root cause of this crisis is not poor farming practice, but gaping holes in infrastructure: insufficient, inadequate storage, transportation and processing systems that leave perishable goods vulnerable to spoilage.
Unlike traditional cold storage, off-grid solar-powered cold rooms, cooling hubs and warehouses do not require connection to Africa’s often unreliable and expensive main electricity grids. This model is already gaining traction across multiple sub-Saharan nations, including Kenya, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Rwanda and South Africa.
For millions of smallholder farmers like Mumiah, purchasing a personal standalone solar cold storage unit – which costs roughly $30,000 upfront – is entirely out of reach. That makes shared pay-per-use models transformative. “You can do everything right on the farm, but if the produce is not stored properly, you lose both the product and income,” Mumiah explained. “We are no longer forced to sell immediately because we fear the produce will spoil. We can wait for collection and still maintain quality.” This flexibility alone has boosted both the quality of her harvest and her overall income.
As climate change drives rising global temperatures and disrupts supply chains around the world, reliable cooling infrastructure has become more critical than ever. Across major agricultural nations like the United States, China, Japan and the Netherlands, sophisticated, extensive cold-chain networks keep fresh produce marketable for weeks after harvest. But for most of Africa, this essential infrastructure has long been a missing link in the agricultural value chain.
Rising temperatures have only worsened the crisis: extreme heat speeds up spoilage for perishable goods from leafy greens and fruits to dairy and fresh fish. Meanwhile, inconsistent grid power makes traditional electric or diesel-powered refrigeration prohibitively expensive and impractical for most rural farming communities.
“Cold storage remains one of the missing links in Africa’s agricultural value chains,” said Emmanuel Aziebor, regional director for Africa at CLASP, a non-profit organisation that supports the deployment of energy-efficient, productivity-driving technologies. “When farmers can store produce for longer, they gain access to better markets, reduce waste and increase incomes.”
Early data from on-the-ground projects already confirms this impact. SoKo Fresh reports that it has cut average post-harvest spoilage for participating farmers from as high as 50% to less than 2%, while helping producers boost their per-kilogram earnings by up to 50%.
The model is being adapted to fit local agricultural needs across the continent. In Nigeria, leading firm ColdHubs has installed solar-powered walk-in cold rooms in major agricultural hubs, allowing farmers and local traders to rent space by the day instead of taking on the cost of buying their own equipment. In Rwanda, solar refrigeration supports dairy cooperatives, streamlining milk collection and cutting waste for small-scale dairy farmers. In Ethiopia, cold-chain investments are expanding rapidly to support the country’s fast-growing horticultural export sector.
Analysts note that these solar-powered innovations deliver two key public benefits at once: they strengthen African food security at a time of growing climate risk, and they cut greenhouse gas emissions compared to traditional cold storage solutions. Most legacy cold storage systems in off-grid areas rely on diesel generators, but solar alternatives eliminate fuel costs, reduce operating expenses, and cut the carbon footprint of agricultural supply chains.
Yet experts argue that the most transformative impact of these projects is economic, not just environmental. For decades, international development efforts across Africa have prioritized expanding household electricity access, but far less attention has been paid to how that power can be used to generate income for rural communities. “We have neglected the conversation around how people can turn electricity into opportunity,” Aziebor noted. “We keep extending electricity infrastructure, but unless people can use that power productively, the economic benefits never fully materialize.”
Cold storage is just one of many solar-powered productivity tools transforming African agriculture. Solar-powered irrigation systems now enable year-round farming instead of relying on erratic seasonal rains, while solar milling and processing equipment allow rural communities to add value to their crops close to the farm, cutting transport costs and increasing earnings.
Despite the clear success of pilot projects, widespread scaling across the continent faces one major barrier: access to affordable funding. “The challenge today is not demonstrating that these systems work,” said Carol Koech, vice president for Africa at the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet. “It is building enough bankable projects that can attract larger pools of investment and scale across countries.”
While grants, low-interest loans and donor support can help cover the high upfront capital costs of building new cold storage hubs, industry leaders note that attracting large-scale commercial investment remains challenging. Most African agricultural markets are fragmented, and the sector is dominated by millions of small-scale producers, which many institutional investors see as a high-risk profile. “These investors see emerging technologies as high risk because we lack enough proven business models with reliable returns,” SoKo Fresh CEO Denis Karema said. “That makes funding for our type of projects expensive.”
This reporting on climate and the environment from The Associated Press is supported by funding from multiple private foundations, and AP maintains full editorial control over all content. Details of AP’s standards for working with philanthropic partners, a full list of supporters, and an overview of funded coverage areas are available at AP.org.
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South Africa marks 50 years since Soweto uprising, but challenges linger for its youth
JOHANNESBURG — June 16, 2026 marks 50 years since one of the most pivotal moments in South Africa’s fight against apartheid: the Soweto Uprising, a student-led protest that redefined the trajectory of the nation’s liberation movement against white minority rule. On that fateful day in 1976, hundreds of young demonstrators took to the streets of Soweto to oppose the discriminatory apartheid education system, only to be met with deadly force from state police; official records estimate more than 200 young people were killed in the violence, a massacre that shocked the world.
Today, June 16 is nationally honored as Youth Day, a permanent tribute to the lives lost and the courage of the students who led the uprising. Historians widely recognize the 1976 protest as a critical turning point in the anti-apartheid struggle. What began as a local demonstration quickly sparked mass uprisings across every region of South Africa, galvanizing widespread public resistance to apartheid and forcing the international community to confront the brutal realities of state-enforced racial oppression against Black South Africans.
Half a century later, as the nation gathers to honor the uprising’s legacy, lingering and new challenges facing South Africa’s youth remain a source of deep concern. For survivors, activists, and young people born after the end of apartheid in 1994, the promises of liberation have yet to be fully realized for the country’s younger generation. Systemic racial inequality, crippling youth unemployment, widespread intergenerational poverty, and growing social crises including drug and alcohol abuse continue to block opportunity for millions of young South Africans.
Soweto, South Africa’s oldest and most iconic township, remains dotted with permanent memorials to the 1976 uprising that draw thousands of local and international visitors each year. The most famous of these is the Hector Pieterson Memorial, named for a 13-year-old protester killed on June 16. A Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph of Pieterson’s lifeless body being carried by a fellow student became the global symbol of the uprising, printed on front pages across the world to expose apartheid’s brutality. Murals of protesting youth line the township’s streets, alongside the larger June 16 Memorial Acre that preserves the history of the day.
For survivors like Seth Mazibuko, who took part in the protest as a teen, these landmarks carry more than historical significance — they are painful, vivid reminders of the violence that shaped his life. Mazibuko, now an elder of the liberation movement, recalled the chaos of the day in a recent reflection: when police first fired tear gas to disperse the crowd of thousands of students, shifting winds blew the gas back toward officers, forcing them to release attack dogs on the demonstrators. “We used stones to chase the dogs back to them,” he remembered. Mazibuko was arrested shortly after the uprising, spending 18 months in pre-trial detention before being sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment on Robben Island, the same prison that held Nelson Mandela for nearly three decades, where he served his sentence alongside other anti-apartheid political prisoners.
For South Africa’s “born free” generation — young people born after the formal end of apartheid — the legacy of the uprising is mixed. Many express gratitude for the freedom won by the protesters of 1976, but share deep frustration at the unaddressed crises that shape their daily lives. Nineteen-year-old Sima Poto, who visited the June 16 Memorial to mark the 50th anniversary, pointed to systemic poverty as the root of modern youth struggles. “I would say the issues of poverty and crime are the most pressing ones,” she said. “It is poverty that is leading many of them into crime.” Zola Mguli, 29, who works with the Southern African Alcohol Policy Alliance on campaigns to reduce substance abuse, acknowledged the progress South Africa has made while calling on young people to continue the fight for equality. “I am grateful to belong to a generation that has grown up in freedom, even as significant challenges remain,” Mguli said. “Things are not going as well as our forefathers hoped, there is still racism, alcoholism and other things we are battling with. But if we, the youth, rise up, we can do better.”
Leading South African historian Noor Nieftagodien, who has extensively studied the Soweto Uprising, echoed the urgency of retaining the movement’s original political meaning 50 years on. He described the 1976 student movement as both a traumatic and transformative moment that placed young people at the center of the anti-apartheid struggle, reshaping liberation politics permanently. “This was a generation that was young, gifted, and Black,” Nieftagodien said. “They wanted equal education. The idea of Black power resonated with this new generation of young people. Black consciousness was kind of electrifying; it inspired university students and then increasingly also students in high schools.”
Nieftagodien raised a key critique of how the day is commemorated today: after apartheid ended, the national government declared June 16 a public holiday, but over time, the political meaning of the uprising has been watered down by apolitical celebratory events. “It has lost its meaning,” he argued. “What has happened is that we’ve had the day marked with concerts, etc. I’m all for concerts. But, in fact, in so doing, the kind of celebrations that have been organized have been disinvested from politics, from a critical understanding of what happened.”
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Witnessing joy amid the death: BBC travels to epicentre of Ebola outbreak
Against a backdrop of widespread loss and death in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Ituri province, moments of joy have broken through at local Ebola treatment facilities — moments that could turn the tide in the fight against the unfolding outbreak.
On a Friday just after noon, a dozen frontline healthcare workers in green scrubs formed two lines along the marked exit path of Mongbwalu’s Ebola treatment center, singing hymns of gratitude as they escorted 49-year-old Daniel Kitambala out of the facility. Two consecutive negative diagnostic tests confirmed he had cleared the rare Bundibugyo Ebola strain after three weeks of care, bringing the subsistence farmer his long-awaited discharge.
“That disease is terrible. I was feeling very ill when I came here. But God is great, I am well now,” Kitambala told the BBC, beaming with relief as he carried a bag of his sterilized personal items. Raising his hands three times in a victory salute, he urged community members to seek prompt care if they develop Ebola symptoms, echoing a message that has slowly started to shift local skepticism of treatment facilities.
Ituri province was declared the epicenter of the new Ebola outbreak just over a month ago, but health officials now confirm the virus has likely spread undetected in the region for months. To date, more than 140 confirmed deaths have been recorded from the Bundibugyo strain, which kills roughly one in five people it infects. Five frontline health workers have already died from the virus, with several more still undergoing treatment, though updated infection prevention protocols and personal protective equipment have lowered risk for care teams since the outbreak was formally declared. A new on-site laboratory installed at Mongbwalu’s hospital two weeks ago also cut wait times for test results from more than a week to just 24 hours, speeding up care and contact tracing.
For months, dangerous misinformation and local myths have undermined response efforts. The most widespread belief, dubbed the “coffin curse,” blames a series of early deaths on the burning of a broken coffin that carried a deceased person from the provincial capital Bunia for burial in Mongbwalu, rather than the virus itself. Long before the outbreak was confirmed, false rumors that treatment centers spread disease circulated through communities. In May, attackers set fire to an Ebola treatment tent at Mongbwalu hospital, and a treatment center in the second outbreak epicenter of Rwampara was burned two days later, mirroring attacks on care facilities during the 2018-2020 Ebola outbreak in neighboring North Kivu.
But a string of recent recoveries has begun to turn public opinion. Deogratias Kasereka, a 55-year-old pastor, became the first patient to be discharged from the Mongbwalu center a week before Kitambala, and his safe return home has already driven more community members to seek care voluntarily.
“We have seen a huge difference in the community since the first patient recovered and returned home. More people are coming here now seeking treatment,” said Dr. Richard Lukodu, medical director of Mongbwalu hospital. Lukodu added that he remains optimistic that these success stories will help rebuild trust in local healthcare, a critical shift after years of violence fueled by misinformation around Ebola response.
Mongbwalu mayor Sesereki Mandro Israel confirmed that the situation is gradually improving, after early misdiagnosis slowed response — initial tests targeted more common Ebola strains, not Bundibugyo, delaying confirmation of the outbreak. Community leaders have since been mobilized to educate residents on Ebola symptoms and direct suspected cases to treatment centers.
In Rwampara’s reopened treatment center, where strict safety protocols separate patients from visitors via glass barriers, 2-meter gaps, and isolated cubicles for severe cases, Mireille Gahindo is already looking ahead to her discharge. Both Gahindo and her 11-month-old child tested positive for Ebola after the infant developed a fever that failed to respond to initial local care, and both are now recovering. “I feel very happy. I’m looking forward to going back home,” she said, eager to reunite with her two other young children and her husband.
For many local families, the pain of the outbreak has already been profound. Eli Asimwe Bawere, who came to the Rwampara center to visit his sister, brother, and stepmother, told the BBC he had already lost his mother and sister-in-law to the virus. “We have mourned a lot. We don’t want to mourn any more,” he said.
Every patient recovery brings a small, vital wave of hope to a region grappling with widespread death, but health officials warn major gaps remain in the response. To fully stop transmission, every contact of a confirmed Ebola case must be traced and monitored — officials confirm many exposed people are still missing, meaning the fragile optimism of recent weeks could quickly fade if the virus continues to spread undetected.
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‘Greatest feeling ever’: Cape Verdeans tell BBC of joy at holding Spain to draw
Tucked off the western coast of Africa, the tiny island archipelago of Cape Verde — home to just under 500,000 residents — erupted in nationwide celebration this week after its underdog men’s national football team held European and world champion Spain to a scoreless draw in their first ever FIFA World Cup group stage match.
The streets of the capital city Praia were flooded with jubilant fans from the final whistle onward, where the thunderous roar of vuvuzelas, rhythmic chants of national pride, and blaring car horns drowned out all other sounds. For locals, sharing a point against one of the most decorated teams in international football felt far more than a draw — to many, it was a victory that will be remembered for generations.
“It was an emotional moment,” Isa Conceição, a local supporter who watched the match in a packed downtown fan zone, told the BBC. Like thousands of fellow fans, she wore the team’s iconic blue national jersey, a visible display of pride for the Blue Sharks’ unprecedented run to the global tournament. By the time the referee blew the final whistle, communities across the entire island nation had broken out into wild, spontaneous celebration. “Being a small country and being able to achieve such a good result against Spain, a football powerhouse, is the greatest feeling ever,” Conceição added.
Men, women, and children packed public spaces across the country, dancing and singing along to the Cape Verdean Football Federation’s official 2026 World Cup anthem *Nos Óra Dja Txiga* — a phrase in Cape Verdean Creole that translates to “our time has come.” The line has taken on new meaning for the team’s fans, after the underdog side edged continental heavyweight Cameroon to qualify for the World Cup for the first time in the country’s history.
Heading into Group H, Cape Verde entered the tournament ranked as the lowest seed, drawn alongside two former World Cup champions: Spain and Uruguay, plus Asian side Saudi Arabia. The shock result against Spain has already turned global public opinion in their favor, with even visiting international supporters praising the team’s tenacious performance.
Pauline, a tourist visiting from France, told reporters that Cape Verde’s standout performance stemmed from one simple factor: “They played with their hearts. That’s all that matters.” A first-time Congolese visitor to the islands echoed that sentiment, noting “I thought Spain was going to win the match, but the energy, the speed of Cape Verde was just amazing.” Many other foreign tourists, drawn to Cape Verde’s famous idyllic beaches and tropical landscapes that draw roughly one million visitors every year, also said they were rooting for the tiny underdog side.
Across residential neighborhoods in Praia and beyond, the country’s blue, red, and white national flag hung from windows, balconies, and even the edges of rooftops. Drivers cruising city streets added to the celebration, leaning on their horns and yelling in celebration, with most displaying small national flags from their side mirrors or car windows.
The Blue Sharks’ tight, disciplined defensive performance against one of the world’s top offensive teams has already lifted domestic expectations, with many fans now holding out hope that the side can advance beyond the group stage. The team will face Uruguay next, followed by a final group fixture against Saudi Arabia, matches that will determine whether their historic World Cup run continues.
Even if the side fails to advance past the group stage, however, Cape Verdeans across the country say they already consider the tournament a success. The team’s performance has already put the small island nation in the global spotlight, and residents say they will remain fiercely proud of the impact the squad has had in lifting Cape Verde’s international profile. This story was reported by BBC correspondent Michel Mvondo, reporting on location from Praia, Cape Verde.
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The 40-year-old keeper who inspired Cape Verde’s historic debut
When the final whistle echoed across Atlanta Stadium on matchday one of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the first person the broadcast cameras found was Cape Verde’s veteran goalkeeper Josimar Dias, universally known by his nickname Vozinha. Tears streamed down the 40-year-old’s cheeks, as the full weight of the historic moment he had just delivered for his tiny island nation finally set in: his side had held four-time World Cup winners Spain, one of the pre-tournament favorites, to a stunning 0-0 draw.
The stands erupted into blue, red and white chaos as thousands of traveling Cape Verde supporters, who had cheered nonstop through 90 minutes of relentless Spanish pressure, flooded together to celebrate. Players embraced each other wildly on the pitch, their joy unconfined. Even neutral fans watching in the stadium and around the world were swept up in the underdog story, joining in the celebrations by full time.
Against the reigning European champions, Vozinha turned in the performance of a lifetime to secure a heroic clean sheet and what is already the most iconic result in Cape Verde’s 50-year history as an independent footballing nation. Named player of the match for his seven crucial saves, Vozinha opened up about the emotion of the moment after the final whistle, explaining that his tears came from a deeply personal place.
“I cried because I grew up with my grandparents,” he told reporters. “Unfortunately they were not here. They died a few years before. They were everything for me, everything for my life. And also because of my mum. She didn’t manage to be here because of the visa. Because of the money you have to pay for the visa, we didn’t manage on time. I would like her to be here.”
Beyond the personal grief and longing, Vozinha emphasized that the result was a product of the one strength his small side has always relied on: collective unity. “Our best weapon is our unity,” he said. “Regardless of the player who arrives today, or the player who is 10 or 15 years old, the way we treat our family is our greatest strength. Everyone thought that we came here just to enjoy the World Cup, but no, we know that we have teams that we will always respect, because this is our first time, but we are here to compete, and we are here to fight for our country.”
For Vozinha, this history-making moment was decades in the making. Born in Mindelo on the island of São Vicente, Cape Verde, an isolated archipelago 600 kilometers off the west coast of Africa, he faced barriers to football from the very start of his career. Opportunities for young talent on the islands are extremely limited, and even when he proved himself as one of the best young goalkeepers on his island, he was repeatedly passed over because selectors thought he was too short.
It took until 2012, when he was 25 years old — considered extremely late for a player to turn professional — for Vozinha to kick off his pro career, moving to former colonial ruler Portugal to chase opportunities. He spent years bouncing between clubs across Slovakia, Angola, Moldova and Cyprus before settling at second-tier Portuguese side Chaves, never giving up on his dream of reaching the World Cup with his national side. At one point, he even considered walking away from international football, but his lifelong dream pushed him to keep going.
Even his name carries a connection to World Cup history: his father originally wanted to name him Valdano, after Argentine 1986 World Cup winner Jorge Valdano, but Cape Verdean authorities rejected the name, so he was named Josimar instead, after Brazilian defender Josimar, who became a global star at that same 1986 tournament. Decades later, on a new World Cup stage, Vozinha has written his own chapter of football history.
At 40 years and 12 days old, Vozinha entered the record books as the oldest player to debut in a nation’s first ever World Cup match, breaking the record set just days earlier by Curaçao’s Eloy Room. Only Egypt’s Essam El Hadary, who debuted at 43, has ever been older when making their first World Cup appearance. His seven saves against Spain also put him in rare company: he is only the second goalkeeper over 40 to make seven or more saves in a single World Cup match, after Northern Ireland’s Pat Jennings, who made 10 against Brazil on his 41st birthday in 1986.
Every save Vozinha made was greeted by the Cape Verde crowd like a winning goal, and the moment quickly went viral around the world. Brazilian YouTube channel CazeTV, which holds World Cup broadcast rights in Brazil, encouraged their audience to follow Vozinha on Instagram — and in less than 24 hours, his follower count surged from 50,000 to more than five million. When reporters told him of his new global fame, he simply laughed and said, “That is crazy.”
Football pundits around the world were quick to praise Vozinha and the entire Cape Verde side for their historic performance. Former Scotland winger Pat Nevin said the goalkeeper “lit up this game”, telling BBC 5 Live: “He has been absolutely brilliant. He’s done it at 40 years of age. Every single camera is on him, all his players are pointing to him. It is a beautiful moment. Cape Verde spent the vast majority of the game in their own 18-yard box — not all of it, and when they broke they were brave and they broke in numbers. To do that and to keep that level of concentration, you don’t do that if you’re a bunch of individuals, you only do that if you’re a team.”
Former England defender Lee Dixon, commentating for ITV, echoed that praise, saying: “It’s absolutely fantastic. A brilliant performance. They deserve that point more than anything and Spain almost don’t deserve a point. They walk off disappointed but the night is Cape Verde’s. What a performance from every single one of them, the centre halves, the full-backs, that man there crying – I’m almost crying myself.”
For Cape Verde, a nation of just 590,000 people that ranks as the third smallest country ever to qualify for a World Cup, no bigger in area than the English city of Sheffield, this result carries far more weight than a single point in the group stage. It is a testament to the power of perseverance, teamwork, and the underdog spirit that makes the World Cup the world’s most beloved sporting event. By the final whistle, neutrals across the globe had already fallen for Cape Verde’s story — and a 40-year-old goalkeeper who spent his whole life chasing a dream had turned that dream into history.
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South African jazz icon Abdullah Ibrahim dies in Germany at age 91 after a brief illness
South Africa’s globally revered jazz icon Abdullah Ibrahim, who delivered a landmark performance at Nelson Mandela’s 1994 presidential inauguration, has passed away at the age of 91, his family confirmed in an official statement released Monday.
The pianist and composer, who earlier in his career performed under the stage name Dollar Brand, died peacefully in Germany following a brief illness, with his close family members by his side, the statement said.
Born in Cape Town, Ibrahim built a seven-decade-long career that catapulted him to international acclaim as a pioneering bandleader, composer and pianist. He crafted a one-of-a-kind sonic fusion that blended classic jazz structures with distinct traditional South African musical styles, turning his work into a global cultural bridge that resonated deeply with audiences across every continent. Beyond his artistic legacy, he was a vocal supporter of the anti-apartheid movement, using his platform to advance the cause of racial equality in his home country.
One of the most high-profile moments of his career came in 1994, when he performed at the inauguration of Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s first democratically elected president, cementing his status as a defining cultural figure of the post-apartheid era. His last public performance in South Africa took place this past March at the Cape Town International Jazz Festival, where he once again drew widespread praise for the masterful musical skill that defined his decades-long career.
In a tribute to her life partner, Dr. Marina Umari highlighted that Ibrahim carried South Africa and its people with him until the end of his life. “His love for his country never wavered, no matter where in the world he found himself,” she shared.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa joined the global chorus of tributes, honoring Ibrahim’s contributions to the anti-apartheid struggle and his enduring cultural impact. “Today our nation mourns the passing of an international icon and global citizen whose profound creations honored the South Africa that shaped his political commitment and musical brilliance,” Ramaphosa said.
Ibrahim’s many career honors include an Honorary Doctorate in Music from the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) and the Order of Ikhamanga — one of South Africa’s highest civilian awards — both of which he received in 2009 from then-President Jacob Zuma.
Alan Winde, premier of the Western Cape province, Ibrahim’s home region, celebrated the musician for weaving South Africa’s complex history and extraordinary cultural richness into every note of his work. “South Africa has lost a legend,” Winde said. “Abdullah Ibrahim represented everything that makes South Africa and the Western Cape so remarkable. His music told the story of our unique cultural diversity and past.”
Per his family’s arrangements, Ibrahim will be laid to rest in Bavaria, Germany, where he resided in his later years. His family noted that while his life has ended, his music and legacy will continue to inspire listeners around the world for generations to come.
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South African jazz legend Abdullah Ibrahim dies at 91
South Africa has lost one of its most influential cultural figures: Abdullah Ibrahim, the legendary pianist and composer who forged a distinct, beloved genre of South African jazz, has died at the age of 91. In an official statement shared by his family, Ibrahim passed away peacefully in Germany following a brief illness, surrounded by his loved ones.
Born Adolph Johannes Brand in 1934, Ibrahim grew up in the coastal city of Cape Town, where he discovered his passion for music at an extraordinarily young age. By seven years old, he was already picking out melodies on a household piano and developing his innate gift for composition. That early spark grew into an extraordinary eight-decade career that produced dozens of landmark recordings, cementing his status as a giant of global jazz.
His 1974 composition *Mannenberg* remains one of his most enduring works, and it became inextricably tied to the anti-apartheid movement that fought to end white-minority racist rule in South Africa. Ibrahim first performed under the stage name Dollar Brand early in his career, adopting the name Abdullah Ibrahim after converting to Islam in the late 1960s.
As a teen performer cutting his teeth in Cape Town’s vibrant mid-20th century music scene, Ibrahim played in swing groups, led his own trio, and eventually co-founded the Jazz Epistles, a groundbreaking sextet that featured another of South Africa’s most celebrated jazz talents, Hugh Masekela. The rising group’s trajectory was cut short by the tightening grip of apartheid, the formal system of racial segregation enforced by the state starting in 1948. Under apartheid, jazz was widely viewed as a countercultural force that promoted racial integration, and it was systematically marginalized by the government. Political pressure forced the Jazz Epistles to disband, and Ibrahim made the difficult decision to relocate to Switzerland.
It was there that American jazz legend Duke Ellington discovered Ibrahim’s talent, sponsoring his move to the United States and helping him launch his international career. As outlined in a previous profile by BBC Radio 3, Ibrahim went on to develop a one-of-a-kind sonic identity: he wove the traditional vocal and harmonic patterns of his South African roots with the rhythmic drive and spontaneous improvisation that defines core jazz tradition.
Though he spent decades living outside his home country, Ibrahim never severed his connection to South Africa, returning frequently to perform, record, and engage with local audiences. His final public performance took place just three months before his death, at the Cape Town International Jazz Festival, where he delivered the kind of captivating, masterful set that audiences had come to expect over his lifetime.
World leaders and loved ones have paid tribute to Ibrahim in the wake of his passing. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa honored Ibrahim, noting that his work celebrated the South Africa that shaped both his unwavering political commitment and his extraordinary musical brilliance. Ramaphosa added that Ibrahim enriched global life through his artistic gifts and his commitment to building a more just, equitable world. Dr. Marina Umari, Ibrahim’s partner, also shared a moving tribute, saying he carried South Africa and its people in his heart until the end, and his love for his country never faded no matter where he lived in the world.
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Empty seat at World Cup for imprisoned French sports journalist
As the 2026 FIFA World Cup unfolds across North America, a quiet but powerful act of solidarity has emerged within the French national team’s press operations, drawing global attention to the detainment of a French sports journalist in Algeria. Across every match France has played in the tournament, an empty seat has been deliberately left vacant in the press box, and a similar empty chair sits at every official team press conference — all to advocate for Christophe Gleizes, a football reporter for Paris-based outlet So Foot who has been imprisoned in Algeria since 2024.
Gleizes, who specialized in coverage of African football, was arrested during a reporting trip to Algeria in May 2024, where he was researching a feature on JSK, a top club based in the northern city of Tizi Ouzou. In 2025, he was convicted of supporting terrorism and handed a seven-year prison sentence. The conviction stems from allegations that he communicated with a supporter of self-determination for Algeria’s Kabyle minority, a charge that press freedom advocates have rejected as criminalization of routine journalistic work.
The show of support for Gleizes ramped up on Monday, ahead of France’s highly anticipated group stage match against Senegal at New Jersey’s New York Stadium. Before head coach Didier Deschamps began his pre-match press conference, attending French sports journalists held up printed scarves emblazoned with the words “Free Gleizes” to honor their colleague. Even Gleizes’ official 2026 World Cup press accreditation — personally approved by FIFA President Gianni Infantino — was displayed prominently at the conference, a visible reminder of the seat he should have filled.
Gleizes’ mother, Sylvie, traveled to the 2026 World Cup specifically to amplify calls for her son’s release. In an interview with BBC Sport on the grounds of the New York Stadium on Monday, she shared that her son, cut off from most outside contact in prison, feels disconnected from the global football community he has spent his career covering.
Major press freedom and journalist bodies in France have rallied behind Gleizes’ cause. Following his 2025 sentencing, representatives from roughly 40 French media outlets issued a joint statement condemning the imprisonment, arguing that “the imprisonment of a journalist for carrying out his profession is a red line that must never be crossed.” French journalists’ unions have formally called on the Algerian government to reverse the conviction and release Gleizes immediately.
The solidarity action extended into the question-and-answer portion of Deschamps’ press conference on Monday. Veteran L’Equipe journalist Vincent Duluc asked a routine question about hydration breaks in the upcoming match on Gleizes’ behalf. Responding to the gesture, Deschamps expressed his public support, saying “I hope for his sake and his family’s that he can be here as soon as possible and ask his questions himself.”
The coordinated demonstration within the high-profile World Cup press corps has brought new international visibility to Gleizes’ case, turning a global football stage into a platform for press freedom advocacy.
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MSF staff abused Sudanese refugees in sex-for-food scandal
The global medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has publicly acknowledged that its personnel have been accused of committing sexual abuse against at least 59 Sudanese refugees who sought safety across the border after fleeing Sudan’s ongoing civil war. The disturbing allegations detail patterns of exploitation that targeted vulnerable displaced people, including underage girls, with perpetrators often coercing survivors by offering life-saving food or informal employment in exchange for sexual favors.
All of the reported offenses took place in refugee-hosting regions of eastern Chad, with incidents traced back to 2024, roughly one year after Sudan’s full-scale civil conflict erupted and triggered a mass exodus of civilians seeking refuge outside the country’s borders. According to MSF’s official statement to the Associated Press, the organization has already terminated the employment of 18 staff members linked to the abuse allegations, but investigators have not been able to identify and hold accountable other named suspects in the case.
Findings from an internal MSF investigation published in July also noted that the documented patterns of exploitation may meet the legal definition of sexual trafficking. MSF further confirmed that many survivors chose to remain silent about their abuse out of fear that retaliation would result in them being cut off from critical humanitarian aid, which is already a scarce and life-sustaining resource for displaced populations. For survivors who did come forward to file official reports, many received no meaningful response or support services, and the organization’s existing formal complaint mechanisms were found to be largely ineffective at addressing allegations.
In an official response to AP’s investigative reporting on the scandal, MSF acknowledged the gravity of the abuses. “This misconduct represents a serious breach of MSF’s values and responsibilities, and we deeply regret the harm caused,” the organization said.
To contextualize the scale of vulnerability facing Sudanese refugees, Sudan entered full-scale civil war in 2023 after a brutal power struggle collapsed the fragile partnership between the country’s regular military and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a powerful paramilitary group. Today, the crisis is widely classified as the world’s most severe humanitarian catastrophe: more than 11 million Sudanese have been displaced from their homes, with over a million fleeing to neighboring countries including Chad, and 28 million people across Sudan face acute food insecurity. While no definitive full death toll has been compiled, estimates place the number of conflict-related deaths between 150,000 and as high as 400,000.
Sexual violence has been extensively documented as a deliberate weapon of war throughout the Sudanese conflict, with combatants targeting men, women, and children of all ages — including infants as young as 12 months old. This recent abuse scandal within MSF also fits into a broader, long-running pattern of sexual exploitation allegations against humanitarian personnel working across the globe, even after repeated public pledges from aid organizations to root out such abuse and protect vulnerable populations.