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Kitesurfers are flocking to the windswept beaches of Western Sahara, attracted by some of the best conditions in North Africa. Once largely overlooked, the region is slowly emerging as a niche tourism hotspot, even as it remains a disputed territory claimed by both Morocco and the pro-independence Polisario Front, backed by Algeria. Visitors are discovering pristine coastline and challenging waters, bringing fresh attention – and new tensions – to this politically sensitive desert region.

Votes were being counted late Saturday in Ivory Coast after citizens cast their ballots to elect a new leader. Longtime President Alassane Ouattara is seeking a fourth term while his key contenders were barred from the race.

Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on Sunday said that it had taken control of the city of El-Fasher, the last major urban centre in western Darfur still outside its control. Local pro-army fighters accused the RSF of running a “media disinformation campaign” and insisted that residents were still fighting the paramilitary group.

Four people were killed on Sunday in clashes between security forces and opposition protesters in Cameroon’s largest city, Douala, the regional governor said. Supporters of opposition candidate Issa Tchiroma defied a protest ban in several cities ahead of Monday’s expected announcement of presidential election results.

Ivorians headed to the polls to vote in the country’s presidential elections on Saturday. Five candidates – among them President Alassane Ouattara – are competing for the top job, while several key rivals have been excluded from the race.

Polls opened in the Ivory Coast on Saturday to elect a new leader as longtime President Alassane Ouattara seeks a fourth term after key contenders were barred from contesting. Reporting from the densely populated neighbourhood of Treichville, FRANCE 24 Journalist Justice Baidoo said “people look very eager to cast their ballot”, with some arriving as early as 6am. Leading up to the election, some 700 people had been arrested during several protests across the country, said Baidoo.

Cape Verde’s once-turquoise coastline has taken on a reddish hue in recent years, as warming waters fuel the spread of invasive seaweed. But rather than stand by, local women have decided to act. Each day they gather the seaweed from the shore, lay it out to dry in the sun, and carry it back to their village — where it’s processed into natural fertiliser.

Voters in Ivory Coast cast ballots Saturday to elect a new leader as longtime President Alassane Ouattara seeks a fourth term, while his key contenders were barred from the race. The election is the latest example of aging men continuing to hold power in Africa, which boasts the youngest population in the world. Cameroon’s Paul Biya, 92, Uganda’s Yoweri Museveni, 81, and Equatorial Guinea’s Teodoro Mbasogo, 83, are some other older African leaders still in power.

Liberia, a west African nation founded to take in freed American slaves, has said it would be willing to accept Salvadoran national Kilmar Abrego Garcia if the US deports him. The US wrongly deported Abrego Garcia in March, where he was incarcerated in El Salvador’s notorious CECOT mega-prison before returning to the US in June.

Candidates in Ivory Coast’s presidential election held their final rallies as the campaign officially concluded in the West African nation of 30 million people. The country goes to the polls with incumbent President Alassane Ouattara seeking a fourth term that would bring his rule over the cocoa-rich nation to almost two decades. For in-depth analysis and a deeper perspective, François Picard welcomes Dr. Alex Vines, Africa Director at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR). He warns that “‘there will need to be a moment where political leadership in Cote d’Ivoire changes.”