Africa News

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Understanding the value of gold: Prices, global reserves, and market trends

Gold prices have quadrupled in one decade, attracting investors amid economic uncertainty and geopolitical tensions.

Houthi supporters gather for a demonstration in Sanaa, the Houthi-controlled capital, rallying against Israel and showing solidarity with Palestinians. [Ahmed Mohammed/AFP]

Thousands of mourners gathered in Islamabad, Pakistan, on Saturday to bid farewell to victims of Friday's catastrophic suicide bombing at a Shia mosque. The community assembled for funeral prayers, arranging coffins as they mourned the attack that killed at least 32 worshippers and wounded 170 others. [Anjum Naveed/AP Photo]

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani in Doha. Addressing the 17th Al Jazeera Forum on February 7, 2026 — a three-day conference analysing Middle East geopolitical shifts — Araghchi criticised what he described as a "doctrine of domination" enabling Israel to enhance its military capacity while advocating for regional disarmament of other nations. His comments coincided with Iran's latest nuclear discussions with the United States, following the breakdown of earlier talks when Israel initiated an unprecedented bombing campaign against Iran last June, leading to a 12-day conflict. [Handout/Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs via Reuters]

Tents housing displaced Palestinians stand amid destroyed and heavily damaged buildings in the Muqusi area of Gaza City. According to the Ministry of Health, Israeli forces have killed at least 576 Palestinians and wounded 1,543 in Gaza since the October 10 "ceasefire". The ministry reports that the total death toll during Israel's genocidal war on Gaza since October 7, 2023, has reached 72,027, with 171,651 people injured. [Omar Al-Qattaa/AFP]

Syrian government forces have entered the northeastern city of Qamishli, a key Kurdish-majority stronghold of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), following a ceasefire agreement. Military vehicles were seen driving along city roads as troops moved in. The deal ends weeks of escalating tensions and armed clashes with advancing government forces, establishing a framework for the SDF's integration into Syria's state institutions. [Bakr Alkasem/AFP]

Thousands gathered in the town of Bani Walid to mourn at the funeral of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the most prominent surviving son of Libya's former dictator Muammar Gaddafi, following his assassination on Tuesday. [Khaled Suleiman/Reuters]

A resident stands amid the charred remnants and destroyed homes in Woro, Kwara State, after an attack that killed nearly 200 people across Nigeria's Kwara and Katsina states. This marks the deadliest outbreak of violence the region has experienced in months. These attacks unfold against the backdrop of Nigeria's escalating security crisis, fuelled by armed rebellion activity and criminal gangs. [Light Oriye Tamunotonye/AFP]

Smoke billows from the aftermath of an Israeli air raid on a building in the southern Lebanese village of Ain Qana. On February 2, Israel's military conducted air raids across multiple locations in southern Lebanon after announcing planned attacks on Hezbollah targets and issuing evacuation warnings for buildings in two villages. Although a November 2024 truce aimed to halt more than a year of hostilities, including two months of full-scale war between Israel and the Iran-backed group, Israel has continued with regular strikes on Lebanon while maintaining troops in five areas it considers strategically important. [Mahmoud Zayyat/AFP]

A displaced Sudanese woman carries plastic water containers at the Abu al-Naga displacement camp in Gadarif state, approximately 420km east of the capital, Khartoum. On February 5, United Nations-backed experts warned that famine is spreading throughout Sudan's western Darfur region, as the ongoing war between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has left millions hungry, displaced, and without access to humanitarian assistance. Since April 2023, the conflict has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced 11 million, and created what the UN describes as one of the world's worst humanitarian crises. [AFP]

Amid plummeting temperatures, workers restore damaged sections of Kyiv's Darnytska combined heat and power plant following Russian air attacks. These recent attacks on Ukraine's power infrastructure have left millions without electricity, heat and water amid freezing temperatures, plunging the war-torn nation into a new humanitarian crisis. [Roman Pilipey/AFP]