Seventeen human skulls buried in metal boxes have been unearthed at a suspected shrine in the centre of Uganda, police told AFP on Tuesday.

Children foraging for firewood outside Kabanga village near Mpigi town, about 40 kilometres (24 miles) west of the capital Kampala, made the grisly discovery on Monday, according to local media.

Police said residents told officers there were metallic boxes containing what appeared to be skulls buried in a shrine.

“We swiftly moved in and dug up the place, and so far we have recovered 17 human skulls,” regional police spokesman Majid Karim told AFP.

“We are conducting more excavations to ensure there are no more skulls other than what we have so far recovered,” he said.

He added that the remains were being examined to determine their age and sex, as well as when they may have been buried.

He urged the public to remain calm, saying some residents had been left in shock.

Officers will “investigate the matter to establish the circumstances surrounding the recovery of these skulls and who could be behind this act”, Karim said.

It is not clear how the skulls ended up at the site.

Local media reported residents as saying that people had previously gathered at the location to worship.

Police said the suspected owner of the site is on the run, having been linked to a separate case involving the murder of a prominent traditional Baganda leader, entrepreneur Daniel Bbosa.

The killing in Kampala was reportedly carried out by hired gunmen as Bbosa returned home from work in February this year.

Mpigi district, although densely populated, remains semi-rural, with agriculture dominating local trade.

Coffee and bananas are the major cash crops and staple foods, and there is a major road linking the villages to Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Tanzania.

Unidentified attackers have killed five forest rangers and seven soldiers in a national park in the north of Benin, the conservation group African Parks said Saturday.

The attack happened overnight Thursday to Friday not far from the Mekrou River in W National Park, the group said in its statement.

“African Parks has made arrangements to identify the bodies of its personnel and to inform the rangers’ families, for whom it will provide support at this tragic time,” it added.

Contacted by AFP, Benin’s army has not yet responded.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, but violence from a jihadist uprising with its origins in the Sahel region has spilled over the borders into Benin.

The authorities in Benin have attributed an increasing number of attacks there to groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group.

In June, seven soldiers were killed by unknown attackers in the Pendjari National Park, which is also in the north of the country.

Officials in Benin rarely comment on such attacks, but in April 2023 have reported around 20 cross-border incursions since 2021.

In January 2022, Benin deployed nearly 3,000 soldiers to patrol its borders in an effort to tackle the growing threat.

A Cape Town school is investigating allegations of racist bullying after a video emerged that appears to show pupils pretending to auction off their black classmates, the provincial education department said Friday.

The video shared on WhatsApp and leaked to the media shows at least two male black pupils behind a gate in a fenced-off area as several mixed-race “coloured” students appear to be shouting bids for them.

The video, entitled “Slavery at school is crazy”, was “deeply disturbing and hurtful”, Western Cape Education Department spokesperson Bronagh Hammond said.

The school has opened a disciplinary investigation into allegations of racist bullying, she said.

News24 cited a parent as saying that a group of boys had tried to force her son into a cage but he escaped.

“They were picking up black boys and putting them in the cage,” the unidentified woman was quoted as saying.

Although a minority nationally, mixed-race South Africans who identify themselves as “coloured” mostly live in the Western Cape province, of which Cape Town is the capital.

Allegations of racism at South Africa schools persist 30 years after the first all-race election in 1994 put an end to white minority rule under the apartheid system.

Twelve white pupils from the Pretoria Girls High School were suspended this week for allegedly making racist comments against their black classmates in a WhatsApp group.

Dr. Iziaq Salako, the Minister of State for Environment, mentioned that Africa is the most susceptible continent to climate change, loss of species, and biodiversity destruction.

He made this statement on Thursday in Abuja during a validation workshop for the early action support project aimed at implementing the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

After four years of consultations and negotiations, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework was established during the fifteenth Conference of the Parties.

This framework aims to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, builds on the convention’s past Strategic Plans, and outlines a pathway for global harmony with nature by 2050.

Eight months ago, the federal government initiated the process through a workshop to launch the Early Action Support Project.

Salako, who endorsed the confirmed National Biodiversity Targets and Indicators for the Nigeria National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan, reaffirmed the Federal Government’s dedication to protecting species at risk from over-exploitation and to enhancing and expanding protected areas.

The confirmed National Biodiversity Targets and Indicators for the Nigeria National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan serve as a policy tool to integrate its components into broader strategies and plans, such as national sustainable development plans, national development plans, poverty reduction strategies, and other relevant national sectoral and cross-sectoral plans, in alignment with national priorities.

Salako said, “It is clear that we must use all of the tools at our disposal to reduce the threats to biodiversity, and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework is guiding our way. The African continent is more vulnerable to climate change, species loss, and biodiversity destruction than others. African environments and resources, including that of our country, have been hit hard by decades and centuries of exploitation mostly perpetrated by other countries, especially in the global north. And now our environments, our wildlife, our lands, and our peoples are most at risk.

“But Nigeria and the rest of African nations are leading the way to protect our planet’s biodiversity. Because Africa will be the most affected by the biodiversity and climate crisis, we are united in being the most ambitious in protecting our lands, our seas, our wildlife, and our people. This is our role today, as trustees of the Nigerian people, to shine the beacon of hope for the natural world. Let ambition guide you as you validate the goals, targets, and indicators that will guide Nigeria’s response to the biodiversity crisis.

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“National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan is the policy instrument for national implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity. To accelerate action towards achieving the vision for biodiversity and living in harmony with nature by 2050, NBSAP must be rapidly aligned and validated with the new goals and targets of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.”

The minister emphasized that the KMGBF should be transformed into decisive actions, aligning national objectives, targets, and strategies with the critical nature of the crisis.

“Let us unite to ensure that our call for ambition for the expansion of protected areas is matched with equal ambition on finance, on halting human-induced extinction of wild species, on mutual accountability to halt forest loss and degradation, on securing species recovery and the restoration of jeopardized ecosystems,” he added.

The Country Representative of the Food and Agriculture Organisation, Koffy Kouame, praised Nigeria’s commitment to incorporating agrifood systems into its national plans.

Kouame, represented by FAO’s Climate Change Specialist, Nifesimi Ogunkua, promised assistance with the execution and assessment of the NBSAPs.

“At FAO, we stand shoulder to shoulder with Nigeria in this endeavour. Our commitment extends beyond mere words, as we pledge our full support to the implementation and evaluation of the NBSAPs. We recognise the importance of a holistic approach and are ready to work closely with Nigeria to achieve these goals.

“To facilitate this process, FAO has developed an impressive array of tools, frameworks, and approaches specifically designed to support the realisation of the Global 2030 targets. We believe that by leveraging these tools, Nigeria will significantly achieve its KMGBF national targets.

“FAO is open to collaborating with other partners in Nigeria. We understand the importance of collective action, and our doors are open. We are ready to work hand in hand with government agencies, non-governmental organizations, and other stakeholders to ensure the successful Implementation of the NBSAPs,” he stated

The death toll from a landslide in a remote area of southern Ethiopia has risen to at least 146, a local official said Tuesday, warning that the number could rise.

The disaster occurred at around 10:00 am (0700 GMT) on Monday following heavy rains in Gofa, a mountainous area of South Ethiopia’s regional state.

“The number of dead from the sudden landslide that happened in Geze-Gofa district of Gofa zone has passed 146,” a statement from the Gofa zone Communications Affairs Department said, quoting local official Habtamu Fetena.

Habtamu said the bodies of 96 men and 50 women had been found, adding that the search was “continuing vigorously” and warning that the number of dead could increase.

The local authority had given a death toll of 55 on Monday but there is scant information about the disaster due to the remoteness of the region.

Images shared on Facebook by the local authority on Monday showed large crowds of people near a devastating scene of tumbled red soil.

The photographs showed people using their bare hands to dig through the dirt in search of survivors, with no sign of official rescue services.

– Vulnerable to climate disasters –

Gofa zone is roughly 450 kilometres (270 miles) from the capital Addis Ababa, a drive of about 10 hours, and is located north of the Maze National Park.

“The area of the disaster is rural, remote and very mountainous,” an Ethiopian refugee living in Kenya who said he is from a district neighbouring Geze-Gofa told AFP.

“The soil in that area isn’t strong, so when heavy rains and landslides happen, the soil immediately runs down to the ground below.”

Ethiopia, the second most populous country in Africa with around 120 million people, is highly vulnerable to climate disasters including flooding and drought.

The South Ethiopia regional state has been battered by the short seasonal rains between April and early May that have caused flooding and mass displacement, according to the UN’s humanitarian response agency, OCHA.

It said in May that “floods impacted over 19,000 people in several zones, displacing over a thousand and causing damage to livelihoods and infrastructure”.

The southern region area has experienced tragic landslides previously, with at least 32 people killed in 2018 after two separate landslides within a week of each other.

Nigeria and the Republic of South Africa on Saturday reiterated their call for an immediate ceasefire and end to the conflict in Sudan.

The two countries also called for the commencement of a process to expedite access to humanitarian assistance in the country.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar and Mr Ronald Lamola, Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, South Africa, stated this in a joint statement by Alkasim Abdulkadir, Special Assistant on Media and Communications Strategy to Tuggar.

The ministers spoke on the outcome of their meeting on the sidelines of the African Union Executive Council in Accra, Ghana.

The ministers exchanged views on regional and continental matters, including peace and security on the African continent.

In particular, the two countries expressed grave concern at the on-going conflict in Sudan.

The conflict has resulted in the loss of innocent civilian lives, exacerbated the humanitarian crisis, displaced millions of people, affecting women and children, and led to the total destruction of critical infrastructure.

The ministers reiterated called for an immediate ceasefire, an end to the conflict and the commencement of a process to expedite access to humanitarian assistance.

They urged the international community to take urgent concrete and practical steps to facilitate peaceful resolution of the conflict in Sudan in an inclusive manner.

The ministers also reaffirmed the existing strong historical bilateral relations, bonds of friendship and solidarity between South Africa and Nigeria.

They expressed commitment towards redoubling their efforts to expand and deepen cooperation between the two countries in various sectors.

In this regards, the ministers promised to finalise preparations for the upcoming session of the Bi-National Commission, scheduled to take place in South Africa.