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.

Miners are believed to be suffering from a lack of food, water and other basic necessities after police closed off the entrances used to transport supplies.

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.

South Africa's government says it will not help an estimated 4,000 illegal miners inside a closed mine in the country's North West province who have been denied access to basic supplies as part of an official strategy against illegal mining.