Russia has deployed up to 200 military instructors to Equatorial Guinea in recent weeks to protect the presidency, sources told Reuters, showing Moscow is expanding its footprint in West Africa despite a recent defeat in Mali.

Russia has reportedly sent up to 200 troops to Equatorial Guinea to protect the presidency, as it continues to expand its presence in Africa. Media reports say that the Russians are training elite guards in the country’s two main cities – the capital Malabo and Bata.

Russia has deployed around 200 military instructors to Equatorial Guinea in recent weeks to protect the presidency. ・Russia has deployed around 200 military instructors to Equatorial Guinea to protect the presidency.

South Africa’s government says it will not help a group of illegal miners inside a closed mine in the country’s North West province as part of an official policy against illegal mining.

South Africa's government says it will let thousands of illegal miners starve until they accept their fate and emerge from an abandoned shaft to face arrest.