Global Pulse

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  • Morocco wants tourists to visit Western Sahara. Some say it’s tightening its control

    Morocco wants tourists to visit Western Sahara. Some say it’s tightening its control

    A low-cost promotional email from Irish carrier Ryanair, advertising cheap €30 return flights from Madrid to the coastal Saharan city of Dakhla as a “Moroccan adventure”, has pulled back the curtain on a growing controversy at the intersection of global tourism and a 50-year-old unresolved territorial dispute. As the $35 ticket price and a flood of new accommodation options from budget hostels to luxury retreats draw growing numbers of international tourists to the region, the labeling of Dakhla and other Western Sahara destinations as part of Morocco has ignited fierce debate over international law, corporate responsibility, and the sovereignty of the Sahrawi people.

    Western Sahara, classified by the United Nations as a non-self-governing territory, has been mired in conflict since Spanish colonial withdrawal in 1976. Morocco promptly claimed the resource-rich territory as its own “southern provinces”, launching an armed conflict against the indigenous Sahrawi independence movement, the Polisario Front. A 1991 UN-brokered ceasefire established a framework for a binding referendum on self-determination, but the vote has never been held. Today, Morocco occupies and administers roughly 80% of the territory, while the Polisario Front controls a small eastern sliver and continues to advocate for full independence.

    Tourism to the Morocco-controlled portion of Western Sahara has surged in recent years, official data from Morocco’s Ministry of Tourism shows. Visitor numbers have jumped more than 50% over the past seven years, rising from 490,297 in 2019 to 743,133 in 2025. This rapid growth has been driven heavily by expanded air access: alongside Morocco’s national carrier Royal Air Maroc, major European airlines including Ryanair, Transavia France, and Binter Canarias now operate direct routes to the territory from European hubs. Most of these carriers, including Ryanair and Transavia France, explicitly list Western Sahara destinations as part of Morocco in their marketing and booking platforms. Only Binter Canarias breaks from this approach, correctly labeling the territory as Western Sahara. Transavia France has stated it only operates routes in line with official authorizations it has received, while Ryanair has declined to comment on the controversy.

    Tourists who have traveled to the region note the tourism sector is still in its early stages. Tom Ruck, a 29-year-old British traveler who flew to Dakhla with Ryanair, reported that dozens of new resort developments remain largely empty, with only a small trickle of family holidaymakers visiting so far. Ruck added that he received a Moroccan entry stamp in his passport, and Moroccan flags are displayed universally across the city, reflecting Rabat’s de facto control of the area.

    The practice of labeling Western Sahara as part of Morocco has drawn sharp criticism from human rights campaigners, legal experts, and the Polisario Front, who argue that it normalizes and legitimizes what they view as Morocco’s illegal occupation in violation of international law. Erik Hagen, a spokesperson for advocacy group Western Sahara Resource Watch, warned that mislabeling the territory distorts public understanding of its status and raises critical questions about corporate due diligence in occupied, politically sensitive regions. Major international travel booking platforms, including Expedia, Booking.com, and Trivago, have also been drawn into the row: all three currently list hotels in Western Sahara as located in Morocco. Booking.com says it adds general disclaimers for disputed regions and advises travelers to check official government travel advisories, while Expedia has declined to comment and Trivago has not yet issued a statement.

    Andrea Maria Pelliconi, an expert in international human rights law at the University of Southampton, argues that airlines and booking platforms have a clear legal obligation to distinguish Western Sahara’s disputed status from sovereign Moroccan territory. She warns that companies that fail to make this distinction could face potential litigation on multiple fronts, including violations of international law and the Sahrawi people’s inherent right to self-determination, as well as breaches of EU consumer protection and fair competition rules.

    Pressure from advocacy groups has already yielded some shifts in industry practice: last year, home-sharing platform Airbnb changed its policy and stopped labeling Western Sahara listings as part of Morocco.

    For the Polisario Front, the growing tourism push is a deliberate strategy by Morocco to cement its claim to the territory through a fait accompli, while leaving most tourists uninformed of the underlying dispute. Sidi Breika, the Polisario Front’s representative to the UK and Ireland, emphasized that all economic and tourism projects in the illegally occupied territory violate the Sahrawi people’s inalienable right to self-determination, a right explicitly recognized by the United Nations. Breika added that the movement is monitoring Ryanair’s activities closely and is actively considering legal action against the carrier.

    Recent diplomatic developments have tilted in Morocco’s favor: in October 2024, the UN Security Council voted to prioritize Morocco’s proposal for an autonomous status for Western Sahara as a path forward, while extending the mandate of the UN peacekeeping mission in the region for another year. The push for the resolution was led by the United States, which first formally recognized Morocco’s claim to Western Sahara in 2020 under the Trump administration, as part of a deal that saw Morocco normalize relations with Israel. Despite this shift, the formal international legal position still requires a mutually agreed political solution to the dispute under UN supervision, and the Polisario Front has repeatedly rejected Morocco’s autonomy proposal.

    Breika stressed that the Sahrawi people’s position remains unwavering: investments in tourism and other economic projects can never replace the Sahrawi people’s right to freely determine their own future.

  • Young men storm a Congo hospital treating Ebola patients to demand bodies of their kin

    Young men storm a Congo hospital treating Ebola patients to demand bodies of their kin

    On Sunday evening, violent unrest disrupted the frontline of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s fight against a rapidly expanding Ebola outbreak, when a group of angry young men breached the compound of Mongbwalu General Hospital — a key facility treating Ebola patients in the heart of the epidemic zone in eastern Congo. As gunfire echoed through the surrounding area, medical personnel were forced to make a frantic, rushed evacuation of all patients receiving care at the site.

    Dr. Richard Lokudu, the hospital’s medical director, confirmed to the Associated Press in a phone interview that the attackers’ core demand was the handover of two bodies of their relatives held at the facility. In the chaos of the incursion, no immediate information on injuries or casualties was available. Lokudu noted that the entire hospital had been placed on full alert amid the unfolding situation, and he was unable to provide additional details as events continued to develop.

    This attack marks the third act of violence targeting Ebola healthcare infrastructure in just seven days, laying bare the deep, multi-layered challenges facing public health workers as they attempt to contain an outbreak the World Health Organization has already designated a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. Local resistance to Congolese public health rules has been driven by cultural traditions around burial, which conflict with mandatory safety protocols designed to stop Ebola transmission.

    Bodies of Ebola victims carry extremely high levels of the virus, and traditional funeral practices — including close contact during preparation for burial and large community gatherings — are major drivers of further spread. To curb this risk, Congolese authorities have issued a mandate requiring that all burials of suspected Ebola victims be overseen by trained official personnel wherever possible. This policy has sparked repeated backlash from local communities, who often reject restrictions on accessing their loved ones’ remains. Just two days before the hospital attack, the government announced a ban on funeral wakes and any gatherings of more than 50 people in the affected northeastern region to slow transmission.

    The string of attacks began on Thursday, when a separate treatment center in the nearby town of Rwampara was burned to the ground by community members after officials blocked family members from retrieving the body of a local man who had died from suspected Ebola. Two days later, on Saturday, residents of Mongbwalu attacked and set fire to an isolation tent set up by the international humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders for suspected and confirmed Ebola cases. In that incident, 18 patients with suspected Ebola infections fled the facility and remain unaccounted for, a development that poses major new transmission risks, according to Lokudu.

    As violence against health workers has escalated, official case counts have shown a sharp jump in the scope of the outbreak. Earlier on Sunday, the Congolese Ministry of Communication announced via the social platform X that the country had recorded 904 suspected Ebola cases, most concentrated in northeastern Ituri Province. That number marks a significant increase from the previous count of just over 700 cases shared just days prior. The ministry also reported a total of 119 suspected deaths from the virus, though a breakdown of regional figures it released added up to 220 fatalities. Officials could not be reached immediately to clarify the discrepancy in the death toll.

    This outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, a rare variant for which no targeted vaccine is currently available. The virus spread undetected through Ituri for weeks after the first reported death in late April in Bunia, the provincial capital, because authorities initially tested for a more common Ebola strain and returned negative results, delaying detection and response.

    New developments have also called into question the timeline of the outbreak’s origins. On Saturday, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies announced that three of its volunteer workers had died from Ebola in Mongbwalu. The agency reported that the three workers believe the volunteers contracted the virus on March 27, while handling dead bodies during a humanitarian mission unrelated to the Ebola response. If this infection date is confirmed, it would push the start of the outbreak back by nearly a month, explaining how the virus was able to spread widely before being detected. The WHO has assessed that the outbreak poses a “very high” risk to Congo — an upgrade from its previous “high” rating — while noting that the risk of global spread remains low.

  • Mamelodi Sundowns win African Champions League title

    Mamelodi Sundowns win African Champions League title

    South African club side Mamelodi Sundowns has secured its second continental African Champions League crown, holding on for a 1-1 away draw against Morocco’s AS FAR that was enough to seal a 2-1 aggregate victory in the competition’s 2025 final.

    Heading into the second leg hosted at Rabat’s 70,000-capacity Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, the South African side already held a 1-0 advantage from the opening fixture last Sunday, earned via a well-taken strike from defender Aubrey Modiba. The atmosphere in the ground was tense and intimidating for the visitors from kickoff, with nearly a full crowd overwhelmingly rooting for AS FAR, who were chasing their first African top-flight club title since 1985.

    The deadlock on the night was broken five minutes before halftime, when Video Assistant Referee (VAR) review prompted referee Omar Artan to award the hosts a penalty. Mamelodi Sundowns left-back Divine Lunga was judged to have fouled Moroccan winger Reda Slim while attempting a clearance, and forward Mohamed Hrimat stepped up to calmly slot the spot-kick past goalkeeper Ronwen Williams, drawing the overall tie level.

    But just seven minutes into first-half stoppage time, Mamelodi Sundowns responded with a stunning equaliser that would ultimately decide the title. A cross from Brayan Leon was flicked into space by Tashreeq Matthews, and midfielder Teboho Mokoena unleashed a blistering 15-yard half-volley that crashed in off the underside of the crossbar. The goal put the South Africans back ahead on aggregate, and under the competition’s away goals rule, it left AS FAR needing two more strikes to claim the trophy.

    AS FAR had a golden chance to turn the tie back in their favour in the 77th minute, when another VAR review awarded the Moroccans a second penalty. The spot-kick came after Williams spilled a low shot from Ahmed Hammoudan and brought down Youssef El Fahli while trying to recover the loose ball. Hrimat stepped up for a second attempt from 12 yards, but Williams, who gained fame for saving four penalties in a 2023 Africa Cup of Nations shootout against Cape Verde, produced another heroic stop, diving left to push the effort over the bar with his left arm.

    Late substitute Jalal-Eddine El Khfiyef sent a late opportunity over the crossbar as AS FAR pushed for the winning goal they needed, and Mamelodi Sundowns held firm through eight minutes of stoppage time to confirm their win. This title marks the club’s first African Champions League triumph since their maiden victory in 2016, and it comes one year after the side fell to Egyptian club Pyramids in the 2024 final.

    Alongside the title, Mamelodi Sundowns claims a record-breaking $6 million in prize money and secures a automatic spot at the 2029 FIFA Club World Cup. Notably, the continental victory comes just 24 hours after the side lost their eight-year streak as South African domestic league champions, finishing second behind Orlando Pirates in the 2025 season.

  • Ebola outbreak poses massive challenges, warns nurse

    Ebola outbreak poses massive challenges, warns nurse

    As the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) grapples with a rapidly accelerating Ebola outbreak that has already claimed hundreds of lives, a senior leader from international medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has sounded the alarm over crippling gaps in the global response to the crisis.

    Kate White, an MSF programme manager with hands-on experience responding to previous Ebola outbreaks across Africa, departed Manchester Airport on Sunday to join the international relief mission deployed to the affected region. In the lead-up to her departure, she outlined the cascading challenges that aid groups are facing on the ground, starting with a critical shortage of deployable resources.

    Already, the outbreak has taken a devastating toll on frontline responders: three Red Cross volunteers, who were working to manage remains of Ebola victims — one of the highest-risk roles in any outbreak response — died earlier this month after contracting the virus. Official figures place the current toll at more than 200 suspected deaths and over 850 suspected cases across the affected regions, with the World Health Organization (WHO) confirming last week that transmission is outpacing early projections. The WHO has already designated the event a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), the highest level of global public health alert.

    What makes this outbreak uniquely dangerous, responders and public health officials agree, is the absence of ready-to-use medical tools to fight it. No approved vaccine exists for this specific strain of Ebola, and while experimental candidates are in late-stage development, none have been cleared for widespread deployment. There are also no approved antiviral treatments targeted at this variant, leaving clinicians only able to provide supportive care rather than curative treatment.

    White called the lack of accessible, scalable countermeasures decades after the first major Ebola outbreaks a stark indictment of global public health priorities. “After all these years of responding to Ebola outbreaks across the continent, we still don’t have comprehensive medical countermeasures — vaccines, treatments, rapid-rollout diagnostic testing — that we can deploy immediately,” she said. “That says a great deal about the current state of global health equity.”

    She also raised alarms over additional logistical barriers, including airspace closures that are slowing the movement of frontline workers and critical life-saving supplies into affected zones. “The sheer volume of resources we need to get into the DRC right now is massive, and any delay puts more lives at risk,” she added.

    Beyond treatment and supplies, White emphasized that major improvements to diagnostic capacity are urgently needed across all affected geographic areas. Faster, more widespread testing ensures that patients without Ebola are not unnecessarily held in treatment centres, allowing them to return to their families quickly once they recover from other unrelated illnesses. Current testing gaps mean that goal remains out of reach, she said.

    A years-long pattern of small, contained Ebola outbreaks in remote rural African regions has shifted in recent decades, as urbanization brings growing human populations into closer contact with the natural animal reservoirs that host the virus. Ebola, a viral hemorrhagic fever that jumps from animals to humans, typically causes flu-like symptoms including fever, headache and fatigue that emerge between 2 and 21 days after exposure. As the disease progresses, patients develop vomiting, diarrhoea, and in severe cases organ failure and uncontrolled bleeding. The virus spreads through direct contact with infected bodily fluids such as blood or vomit, making proper personal protective equipment for frontline workers non-negotiable.

    This specific outbreak carries additional unique challenges: the epicentre is located in a conflict-affected region of the DRC, where insecurity complicates access for aid workers, and the virus circulated undetected for a significant period of time before being identified. “By the time we picked it up, it had already been spreading for quite a while, which means we don’t have a full picture of all transmission chains,” White explained. “Without that clarity, getting the outbreak under control becomes far more difficult.”

    As responders on the ground work to screen travellers, trace contacts, and slow transmission, White stressed that immediate scaled-up support from the international community is critical to turning the tide of the outbreak.

  • Attacks on Ebola treatment centers are one of several problems affecting Congo’s outbreak response

    Attacks on Ebola treatment centers are one of several problems affecting Congo’s outbreak response

    The declaration of the ongoing Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo as a global public health emergency has laid bare the cascading, interconnected crises that are crippling authorities’ and aid groups’ efforts to contain the spread of the virus. Most vividly highlighted by recent arson attacks on two Ebola treatment centers in Ituri Province — the core of the current outbreak — these overlapping challenges range from long-running violent conflict to systemic underfunding and deep-rooted community distrust, turning what should be a coordinated public health response into one of the world’s most intractable humanitarian emergencies.

    Decades of persistent instability have left eastern Congo mired in chronic insecurity, with dozens of separate rebel factions operating across the region, many with alleged foreign backing or ties to extremist groups like the Islamic State. While Ituri Province, where the outbreak was first detected, remains nominally under Congolese government control, that authority is extremely fragile. The Ugandan Islamist Allied Democratic Forces, a faction linked to IS, has carried out consistent attacks on civilian targets across the province, and worsening insecurity in the years leading up to the outbreak already forced hundreds of medical workers to flee their posts. A pre-outbreak assessment from Doctors Without Borders described overwhelmed local health facilities and “catastrophic” living conditions across large swathes of Ituri, setting the stage for a rapid, unchallenged spread of the virus.

    The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimates that nearly 1 million Ituri residents have been displaced from their homes by ongoing conflict, meaning the Ebola outbreak is unfolding in a region already shattered by displacement and broken public infrastructure. Public health experts have flagged particularly high risk of explosive spread in large overcrowded displacement camps surrounding Bunia, the provincial capital where the first confirmed Ebola cases were recorded.

    As of the latest updates, Congolese authorities have recorded more than 700 suspected cases and over 170 suspected deaths, the vast majority in Ituri. The outbreak has already spilled beyond the province’s borders: cases have been confirmed in North Kivu and South Kivu, eastern provinces partially controlled by the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group, and across the international border into neighboring Uganda. This fragmented territory — with some areas under government control, others under rebel authority, and a patchwork of independent aid groups operating across all regions — has made unified, consistent outbreak response nearly impossible.

    Compounding the security and infrastructure challenges is a devastating wave of international aid cuts implemented last year by the United States and other wealthy donor nations. Public health experts say these cuts gutted local health systems’ already limited capacity to detect and respond to new infectious disease outbreaks, a critical gap in a region that has weathered more than a dozen previous Ebola outbreaks on its soil.

    Aid groups working on the ground in the outbreak zone report they lack almost all the essential supplies needed to mount an effective response: personal protective equipment for frontline health workers, diagnostic testing kits, and even body bags required for the safe burial of contagious Ebola victims. Julienne Lusenge, president of local aid organization Women’s Solidarity for Inclusive Peace and Development, which runs a small hospital near Bunia, said the group has pleaded for additional support from international partners with little result. “We only have hand sanitizer and a few masks for the nurses,” Lusenge said. Complicating matters further, this outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, for which no widely approved vaccine or targeted treatment currently exists.

    The deepest crisis facing response efforts, however, is widespread backlash and anger from local communities, a resentment that boiled over into the arson attacks on treatment centers in Rwampara and Mongbwalu, the two hardest-hit towns in the outbreak. Colin Thomas-Jensen, impact director at the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative, explained that this anger stems from decades of neglect: local residents have endured years of violence from foreign-linked rebel groups, with little protection from their own government or international peacekeeping forces. A second major flashpoint has been strict Ebola burial protocols, which require authorities to take charge of burials to limit transmission when families would traditionally prepare bodies and host large funeral gatherings.

    Witnesses and police confirm the first arson attack in Rwampara was carried out by a group of local young people seeking to retrieve the body of a friend who had died of Ebola. The crowd accused the international aid group operating the center of covering up the true cause of death and lying about the scope of the outbreak. In response to rising spread and community unrest, Congolese authorities have now banned all funeral wakes and public gatherings of more than 50 people across northeastern Congo, and deployed armed soldiers and police to guard safe burials carried out by aid workers.

    Speaking on the overlapping emergencies derailing the response, the nonprofit Physicians for Human Rights described the situation as a perfect storm of catastrophe. “A devastating set of emergencies are converging,” the group noted, turning a public health crisis into one of the world’s worst ongoing humanitarian disasters.

  • East Africa wants to curb imports of used clothes. But it’s not easy

    East Africa wants to curb imports of used clothes. But it’s not easy

    Even torrential downpours cannot dampen the energy of Nairobi’s Gikomba Market, East Africa’s largest open-air second-hand clothing hub. When a BBC reporting team visited, flooded walkways did not stop throngs of shoppers, many donning rubber boots, from squeezing through packed aisles in search of affordable, quality second-hand garments known locally as mitumba. This bustling scene sits at the heart of a decade-long regional debate: how can East Africa grow a vibrant domestic fashion industry when its markets are flooded with cheap, imported cast-offs from the U.S., Europe and China?

    Local clothing designers across the region say they stand no chance against the price point of mitumba. “We’re competing with second-hand clothing, but we can’t compete on price,” explains Zia Bett, founder of Kenyan womenswear label Zia Africa, who supports a full ban on mitumba imports. Elizabeth Paul, owner of Kuya Creations in Tanzania’s Dar es Salaam, echoes this frustration: a single new dress in her shop costs a minimum of 50,000 Tanzanian shillings (£14.50), a price that can buy shoppers 10 pre-owned garments at local mitumba markets.

    The debate over mitumba is not new. A decade ago, the East African Community (EAC), the regional bloc counting Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda among its members, moved to implement a region-wide ban on second-hand clothing imports to protect local manufacturing. The plan collapsed after heavy diplomatic pressure from the U.S., a top mitumba exporter, which threatened to revoke EAC nations’ access to the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) — a trade deal that allows duty-free access to the U.S. market for thousands of African goods. Now, the conversation has reignited, with member states taking divergent approaches to regulation.

    Uganda has led the charge with a new 30% additional levy on mitumba imports, layered on top of existing 35% import duty and 18% VAT. Officials say the tax serves two goals: cutting environmental damage from textile waste and supporting domestic garment production. Uganda’s president has previously drawn controversy for describing second-hand clothing as cast-offs from deceased white people, framing the trade as incompatible with national economic development. The new tax has faced fierce pushback from mitumba traders, who note the industry supports millions of livelihoods across the region. “This has to be a free economy,” argues Ugandan mitumba trader Aaron Sekky. “The second-hand trade supports so many people.” His point is widely shared by proponents: the mitumba supply chain extends far beyond street retailers, supporting importers, wholesalers, tailors who repair damaged garments, and food vendors at markets. Industry research from the Mitumba Consortium Association of Kenya (MCAK) estimates up to 4.9 million East Africans rely on the trade for income.

    Neighboring Kenya recently saw a proposed overhaul of mitumba taxation dropped quickly after widespread public backlash over fears it would push up prices for consumers. Kenya already charges a 30% customs duty on used clothing imports, 5 percentage points higher than the tariff on new clothing imports. Current trade data confirms Kenya is Africa’s largest mitumba importer: the country brought in nearly 180,000 tonnes of second-hand clothing in 2022, a 76% jump from 2013 import volumes. A 2024 government-backed study in Uganda found mitumba is the most popular category of clothing in the country, outstripping both imported new clothing and locally manufactured garments.

    Critics of the unregulated mitumba trade argue the employment argument masks deeper economic downsides. “Retail is the most limited form of job creation you can have in an economic sector, versus production, marketing and distribution,” explains Dr Andrew Brooks, a King’s College London academic and author of *Clothing Poverty: The Hidden World of Fast Fashion and Second-hand Clothes*. “If you’re just importing things and selling things, you’re doing very, very little to contribute to your nation’s economy.” Kenya Fashion Council board member Lisa Kibutu adds that most mitumba-related jobs are low-income, hand-to-mouth roles that offer little room for upward social mobility. Still, Kibutu acknowledges mitumba fills a critical gap for low-income Kenyans: “When I left Kenya in the 80s, you would see poor people without clothing. Right now even the poorest person has decent clothing.”

    Affordability is no longer mitumba’s only draw, however. Today, shoppers across income levels seek out second-hand garments for their quality and unique style. “Most of the clothes have good quality… they last long,” says Najma Issa, a shopper at Dar es Salaam’s Ilala mitumba market. Twenty-two-year-old Juma Awadh agrees, noting he buys mitumba “because of quality and they look unique.” Even with Tanzania’s 35% import tax on used clothing, Ilala Market remains constantly crowded with shoppers.

    Rwanda is the only EAC member that held firm to its 2015 commitment to restrict mitumba, after other nations backed down to U.S. pressure. In 2016, Rwanda raised mitumba import taxes from $0.20 to $2.50 per kilogram, prompting the U.S. to impose a 30% retaliatory tariff on Rwandan clothing exports. Rwandan authorities say the policy has delivered clear results: before the tax hike, mitumba made up 26% to 32% of all garment and textile imports, a figure that dropped to just 2% to 7% in the two years after the change. Local garment exports have also grown, indicating the domestic industry is expanding, officials say. Even so, smuggling of mitumba from neighboring countries remains widespread, with police regularly seizing illegal bales of second-hand clothing. Rwanda also hit an unexpected hurdle: with mitumba supply reduced, many consumers shifted to buying cheap new fast fashion imports from Asia, rather than purchasing locally made garments.

    Environmental concerns have added new urgency to the mitumba debate. Environmental activists note that more than one in three second-hand garments shipped to East Africa are too low-quality to be resold, and end up in local landfills. A 2023 estimate from the non-profit Changing Markets Foundation confirmed this trend for Kenyan imports. “There is no infrastructure to dispose of these massive amounts of textile waste, and official dump sites have been overflowing for years,” Greenpeace says. MCAK chairperson Teresia Wairimu Njenga pushes back on this framing, arguing mitumba is actually more environmentally friendly than mass-producing new clothing: “Can you imagine what would happen to Kenya if we are manufacturing 198,000 tonnes [of new clothes] per year?”

    Global regulation could soon reshape the mitumba trade: signatories to the Basel Convention, the global treaty governing waste, are currently debating whether to reclassify used garments — most of which now contain plastic-based synthetic fibers — as controlled waste, which would lead to tighter restrictions and higher import costs globally.

    Many industry stakeholders across East Africa say a full ban on mitumba is impractical right now, given the gaps in local manufacturing capacity. Ugandan designer Joel Okalany, whose brand Ekikumba Fusion upcycles mitumba into new statement pieces, says the region’s garment sector is still underdeveloped: “The reality is, we are not yet ready for our own manufacturing to take off. In farming, the person who uses a tractor is more efficient than the person who uses the horse. In the tailoring industry, we are still at the level where we are using the horse.” Even Rwanda’s government acknowledged this reality in a 2022 report, saying it would delay implementing a full mitumba ban because of “current domestic gaps in the production of textiles and apparels.”

    A shared frustration across both mitumba traders and local designers is the flood of cheap new clothing from China and Turkey, which undercuts both sectors. Designers like Zia Bett say cheap counterfeit garments copy high-end designs and sell for a fraction of the price of authentic local pieces. Still, Bett remains optimistic about the future of East African fashion, arguing the region should focus on building premium, desirable local brands rather than just competing on price: “We need to focus on storytelling and content and quality. I think what the question should be now is: ‘How do we build brands that people choose – and not just afford?’”

    For Njenga and other mitumba proponents, the solution is not a ban, but coexistence. “We should allow them to coexist,” Njenga says. “Let’s not kill mitumba – give the consumer power of choice.”

  • Moroccan king pardons Senegalese fans jailed over chaotic Africa Cup final

    Moroccan king pardons Senegalese fans jailed over chaotic Africa Cup final

    Weeks after a chaotic 2025 Africa Cup of Nations final sparked diplomatic tension and legal repercussions, Morocco’s monarchy has granted a royal pardon to 18 Senegalese soccer supporters who were imprisoned for hooliganism connected to the match, according to an official announcement from the Royal Cabinet released Saturday.

    The 18 fans faced sentencing in February on charges ranging from vandalism of tournament sports infrastructure to committing violent acts during the high-stakes final. They received prison sentences reaching up to 12 months, and a number of the group have already fully served their court-ordered terms.

    In its official statement, the Royal Cabinet outlined the reasoning behind the pardon: Citing the deep, centuries-old fraternal bonds between the Kingdom of Morocco and the Republic of Senegal, King Mohammed VI approved the humanitarian gesture timed to coincide with the major Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha.

    The unrest that led to the charges unfolded in January during the tournament’s final match, hosted on Moroccan soil. The game descended into chaos when Senegalese supporters tried to push past security barriers and storm the playing pitch. The incident triggered a temporary walk-off from Senegalese national team players, who were protesting a controversial late penalty decision that favored the host nation.

    Senegal ultimately held on to secure a 1-0 victory on the pitch and lifted the tournament trophy, but the Confederation of African Football (CAF) took the unprecedented step of stripping Senegal of the title shortly after, awarding the championship to Morocco instead. Senegalese authorities confirmed in the immediate aftermath that they had filed an official appeal against CAF’s ruling.

    In the weeks that followed the match, the post-match unrest escalated into broader social tension. Rights groups operating in Morocco documented a sharp spike in hate speech targeting sub-Saharan African residents of the country, prompting senior political leaders from both Morocco and Senegal to publicly call for calm and restraint. The two nations’ heads of state reaffirmed their commitment to preserving long-standing friendly bilateral ties, and signed dozens of new bilateral agreements focused on expanding cross-border trade and mutual investment to strengthen cooperation.

  • Red Cross volunteers die from suspected Ebola in DR Congo

    Red Cross volunteers die from suspected Ebola in DR Congo

    A devastating chapter of the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has claimed the lives of three Red Cross volunteers, who likely contracted the virus while handling deceased bodies before public health officials identified the growing epidemic, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) has confirmed.

    The three volunteers – Alikana Udumusi Augustin, Sezabo Katanabo and Ajiko Chandiru Viviane – were working on a non-Ebola related community project in the conflict-affected eastern province of Ituri when they were exposed to the virus on March 27, weeks before the outbreak was formally detected. They passed away between May 5 and May 16 in Mongbwalu, the town now recognized as the epicenter of the epidemic, and are counted among the earliest recorded fatalities of this outbreak.

    As of the latest updates, the outbreak has been linked to more than 170 suspected deaths and over 750 suspected cases across eastern DRC. Paying tribute to the fallen workers, the IFRC honored them for serving their local communities “with courage and humanity” in a public statement.

    On May 24, the World Health Organization (WHO) upgraded the public health risk assessment of the DRC outbreak from “high” to “very high”, acknowledging the rapid spread of the virus. WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus noted that while the regional risk across the African continent remains categorized as “high”, the global risk level is still classified as “low”.

    A particularly challenging aspect of this outbreak is the Ebola strain involved: the rare Bundibugyo variant, which has no licensed, proven effective vaccine and carries a mortality rate of roughly one third of all confirmed infections. Health authorities have repeatedly emphasized that Ebola spreads easily through contact with bodily fluids of infected people, and remains highly contagious in deceased bodies even after death, making safe body management a high-risk task.

    The outbreak has already spread beyond DRC’s borders. Neighboring Uganda confirmed three new confirmed cases on May 24, bringing the country’s total to five confirmed infections. The Africa Centres for Disease Control (Africa CDC) issued an urgent alert the same day, warning that 10 additional African countries – Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic, the Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Zambia – face significant risk of imported cases and local spread.

    Response efforts have been complicated by both community distrust and ongoing armed conflict in eastern DRC. On May 23, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) reported that an Ebola treatment tent it had set up in Mongbwalu was burned by local community members. The organization noted that the rapidly evolving outbreak has left many residents with deep uncertainty and fear, adding that the incident underscores the urgent need for sustained community engagement and trust-building to enable effective response.

    The unrest follows another incident a day earlier, when an angry crowd in a separate district of Ituri set fire to part of a local hospital after authorities blocked the family and friends of a young man suspected of dying from Ebola from taking his body for a traditional burial. Beyond Ituri, confirmed cases have also been detected in North Kivu and South Kivu, where large swathes of territory are controlled by the M23 rebel group. Ongoing armed conflict in these areas has severely restricted access for public health response teams, creating additional barriers to containing the spread of the virus.

  • Electronic music meets orchestra as DJ Black Coffee stuns O2 crowds

    Electronic music meets orchestra as DJ Black Coffee stuns O2 crowds

    On a sweltering 28-degree Celsius Friday afternoon in London, thousands of music fans have packed the sidewalks outside the O2 Arena, queuing eagerly for a sold-out headline show from one of the world’s most celebrated electronic music talents. Backstage, as a full live orchestra runs through its final rehearsals and a film crew captures every moment for a coming documentary, South African superstar Black Coffee – the Grammy-winning DJ born Nkosinathi Maphumulo – sits calmly preparing for one of the biggest performances of his decades-long career. Fresh off this sold-out London spectacle, he is set to fly directly to Spain to kick off his annual summer residency in Ibiza, a gig that has cemented his status as a mainstay of the global dance scene.\n\nGreeted mid-interview by his special guest for the night, multi-platinum US singer Alicia Keys, Black Coffee smiles and apologizes gently, noting he is keeping her waiting to wrap up the conversation. For the iconic artist, this O2 Arena performance is far more than just another stop on a world tour: it marks the full-circle culmination of a musical journey that first brought him to London’s underground club circuit decades ago.\n\n“I played this venue’s smaller Indigo room years ago, so stepping into the main arena has always been a huge milestone for me,” he shared in the pre-show interview with the BBC. This concert’s production is one of the most ambitious of his career: a three-hour immersive experience billed as *Afropolitan House O2*, pairing his signature deep house beats with the live orchestra, A-list guest performers, and unannounced surprise appearances. Maphumulo notes that London’s long, storied history as a global hub for club culture means audiences here expect a one-of-a-kind experience that cannot be replicated anywhere else. “London’s crowd is punchier, groovier, and the city’s club scene has deep ties to Ibiza’s culture,” he explains. “I had to craft an entirely unique set just for this night.”\n\nBeyond the milestone show, London holds a deeply personal meaning for the DJ: it was the first global city that helped launch his career beyond South Africa’s borders. “One of my earliest breakout singles blew up here,” he recalls. “London was always a core part of my dream. I basically grew up as an artist here.”\n\nBehind his stratospheric global success lies a powerful story of resilience in the face of unthinkable tragedy. In 1990, amid nationwide celebrations following Nelson Mandela’s release from prison, a 20-something Maphumulo was involved in a devastating car crash that claimed two lives and left him with a permanent, disabling injury to his left arm. “That accident completely changed my entire life,” he says. “It was a massive setback, and I was still just a kid who’d always dreamed of being a DJ. But one day I just made the choice: I wasn’t going to stop chasing that dream.”\n\nThat relentless grit turned him into one of the most commercially successful and respected musical exports Africa has ever produced. Even with all his success, however, he remains outspoken about the gaps in support that hold back the next generation of South African artists. “We still haven’t built the sustainable infrastructure to take young artists from zero to a sustainable career,” he argues. “Every artist has to scramble to find their own path right now – some make it, far more don’t. What we need is structured systems that guide emerging talent step by step.”\n\nMaphumulo is equally vocal about redefining how African artists are framed and recognized on the global stage. While the phrase “African excellence” has become a popular celebration of the continent’s rising creative stars, he rejects the limiting label outright. “I don’t like that wording,” he says. “I just want excellence. If we want to be seen as global players, we should show up as global players – not ‘African global players.’” He argues that artists from the African continent no longer need to wait for validation or opportunities from Western institutions in Europe and North America. “Whatever seats we haven’t been offered at the table, we need to build our own tables. We can’t keep waiting for an invitation.”\n\nThat uncompromising philosophy shaped one of the proudest moments of his career: his Grammy Award win. Maphumulo deliberately chose not to enter the award ceremony’s genre categories specifically designated for African or world music, instead opting to compete directly against mainstream international peers in broad, open categories. “That win was very strategic,” he explains. “I wanted to be nominated alongside my peers – the people I tour with, work alongside, travel with. We don’t need a smaller, separate table.” He believes that win marked a critical turning point for African artists, who are increasingly breaking into global markets on equal footing rather than as niche acts. “It may not click for a lot of people right now, but that moment was a landmark for music from the African continent.”\n\nAs the interview wraps up, stage managers call Maphumulo to the wings, the show moments from starting. When the house lights drop, the orchestra weaves lush orchestration around his signature steady beats and vivid, soulful melodies, while large-scale shadow projections dance across a massive circular curtain hanging above the decks. True to his reputation, Black Coffee delivers a performance that lives up to decades of buildup, leaving the sold-out crowd screaming for more.

  • South African Gaza flotilla activists allege they were shocked with electricity in Israeli detention

    South African Gaza flotilla activists allege they were shocked with electricity in Israeli detention

    JOHANNESBURG — After returning to their home countries over the weekend, dozens of international activists who participated in the Global Sumud Flotilla, a mission to break Israel’s years-long blockade on the Gaza Strip and deliver humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians, have come forward with detailed, harrowing allegations of systemic abuse, beatings and torture at the hands of Israeli soldiers during their detention.

    The 50-vessel flotilla was intercepted by Israeli forces this past Monday while sailing in international waters, approximately 400 kilometers off Israel’s Mediterranean coast. All activists on board were taken into custody and transferred to Israel’s K’tziot Prison, where they were held for several days before being released.

    Multiple activists have shared consistent accounts of cruel treatment behind bars. Several detainees reported being subjected to electric shock during interrogations focused on their roles in the aid mission. Faizel Moosa, a South African activist and a former anti-apartheid campaigner who endured state detention during the fight against white minority rule, said the abuse he experienced at the hands of Israeli soldiers was far worse than any mistreatment he faced under apartheid.

    “We were denied access to clean water for extended periods. The food we were given was unfit for human consumption. We were blocked from using toilets for many hours, and when we protested the inhumane conditions, Israeli forces opened fire on us with rubber bullets,” Moosa explained. “Having lived through detention under the apartheid regime, this treatment was far worse. That tells you everything about what Palestinians endure at the hands of Israel every single day.”

    Moosa added that abuse was harsher for activists confirmed to be South African, a reference to South Africa’s landmark case against Israel at the International Court of Justice, where Pretoria has accused Israel of committing acts of genocide in Gaza. The South African delegation’s legal arguments have drawn global attention and broad support from the international community.

    Dr. Margaret Connolly, a member of the flotilla’s 15-person Irish contingent and sister of Irish President Catherine Connolly, described conditions in the detention facility as openly dehumanizing, saying she had never experienced fear like it in her life. She told reporters after arriving home to a cheering welcome in Dublin Saturday that some detainees were beaten with rifle butts, while dozens of detainees had their clothing seized and were denied blankets in cold cells, forcing them to huddle together to avoid hypothermia.

    Connolly added that Israeli forces confiscated her full medical kit upon intake, preventing her from providing necessary care to injured detainees. When makeshift bandages crafted from bread bags and torn shirt sleeves were created to treat wounds, those were also confiscated by guards. “They intentionally wanted us to suffer,” she said, noting that many of the shouting guards carried American accents and repeatedly taunted detainees, saying “You should have thought of this before you came.”

    Connolly also criticized her own government’s policy toward Israel, calling out Dublin’s refusal to implement economic sanctions against the country over its military campaign in Gaza.

    Three Chilean activists from the flotilla also returned home Saturday, and they echoed the allegations of abuse while also condemning their own government for failing to act to secure their timely release. Víctor Chanfreau, Claudio Caiozzi and Carolina Eltit were greeted by hundreds of pro-Palestinian supporters waving Palestinian flags at Santiago’s international airport. Eltit described being beaten and held in catastrophic conditions: “We had no toilet paper, one single bathroom for 190 detained people, we were left lying tied hand and foot directly in the burning sun.”

    Chanfreau accused the Chilean Foreign Ministry of “negligence” in its diplomatic efforts to secure the group’s release, saying “The Chilean government acted terribly, and this is no surprise.”

    South African activist Qutb Hendricks called on Pretoria to ramp up diplomatic and economic pressure on Israel, urging the government to ban all coal exports and other commercial trade with the country in response to the abuse.

    Israeli officials have forcefully rejected all allegations of mistreatment, calling the claims “false and entirely without factual basis.” As of Saturday evening, the Israeli government had not issued any further response to the detailed accusations released by the returning activists.