Africa: All of Africa Today - September 7, 2026

Egyptian television presenter Sarah Khalifa and 11 other individuals have been sentenced to death by hanging after being found guilty of drug trafficking. They were accused of operating a criminal gang that imported narcotics ingredients and possessed illegal weapons. Over 750kg of narcotics and raw materials were seized during the investigation, supported by testimony from 20 witnesses and electronic evidence.

Khalifa, host of the crime-focused TV show Mission Impossible, denies the charges and plans to appeal the verdict. Nine others received life sentences, while seven were acquitted. The UN General Assembly has approved a resolution to replace the Mercator map with a more accurate representation of Africa's size. This resolution, backed by 164 countries, including France and the UK, aims to address the distortion caused by the 16th-century Mercator projection, which overstates the size of areas near the poles and understates those near the equator.

Africa appears roughly the same size as Greenland on Mercator maps, despite being 14 times larger. Zimbabwe's trade unions have urged the government to address the country's economic struggles and unemployment by creating jobs instead of targeting illegal street vendors. The National Union of Nurses and Midwives in Kenya has called for a meeting between President Ruto and the governors to resolve a nationwide nurses strike that has crippled healthcare services.

A bus crash in Cape Verde's Fogo Island killed at least 25 people, many of them schoolchildren and teenagers, who were on a privately arranged outing.