BBC World Service

At least three children - two brothers and their sister - have been killed in the collapse of an apartment building in Egypt.

Three other siblings were also hurt. Six more injured people were rescued from the rubble of the collapsed two-storey apartment building in Ihnasiya district in the province of Beni Suef.

It is not yet known what caused the collapse, but such incidents occur regularly in Egypt in poorer areas where many buildings are badly constructed.

Nigeria's High Commissioner to the UK has branded as "travel apartheid" the UK's decision to put the West African state on its red list, meaning travellers have to pay to isolate in a quarantine hotel.

Speaking to the BBC, Sarafa Tunji Isola said: "The reaction in Nigeria is that of travel apartheid.

"Because Nigeria is actually aligned with the position of the UN secretary general that the travel ban is apartheid, in the sense that we're not dealing with an endemic situation, we are dealing with a pandemic situation, and what is expected is a global approach, not selective."

Mr Isola added that Omicron "is classified as a mild variant - no hospitalisation, no deaths. So the issue is quite different from the Delta variant."

UK government minister Kit Malthouse said the wording "travel apartheid" was "very unfortunate language".

"We understand the difficulties that's created by these travel restrictions, but we're trying to buy a little bit of time so that our scientists... can work on the virus and assess how difficult it's going to be for us to cope with as a country," he told the BBC.

Image source, Getty Images

Africa's largest mobile phone company MTN has announced mandatory Covid-19 vaccines for its staff from January but it will give exemptions on "certain clearly defined grounds".

"For those staff who are not exempt from vaccinations either through risk assessment or agreed exclusions but still refuse vaccination, MTN will not be obliged to continue the employment contract," the South Africa-based company said in a statement., external

It is the biggest company yet to state it would terminate employment contracts for non-compliance by workers, according to the Bloomberg news agency.

“The science is clear. Vaccination against Covid-19 reduces rates of serious infections, hospitalisation, and death," MTN Group chief executive officer Ralph Mupita said.

"As an employer, we have a responsibility to ensure that our workplaces are guided by the highest standards of health and safety, and that has informed our decision to make Covid-19 vaccination mandatory for our staff,” he added.

Latest data showed that across Africa, only 7% of people have been fully vaccinated compared with a global population vaccination rate of 55%.

“The fight against Covid-19 needs a global, comprehensive and equitable allocation of vaccines,” Mr Mupita added.

MTN has a presence in 17 African countries, including Nigeria, Uganda and Zambia

Samba Cyuzuzo
BBC Great Lakes

Image source, Rwanda Correctional Service

A Rwandan court has sentenced to five years in prison a former director of Kigali's main prison for stealing money from a British inmate.

Innocent Kayumba, who was sentenced on Friday evening alongside his former deputy Eric Ntakirutimana, has appealed against the judgement, a court document shows.

The court acquitted an IT specialist inmate who used his skills to hack the victim’s Visa card after telling the court that he was forced by the prison director to do so.

He said he was asked to "decode" the card kept by the prison authorities after they realised that the bank account linked to it had a large sum of money.

A British-Egyptian inmate had told the court that more than £7,000 ($9,300) was taken away from his account using his card last year without his knowledge.

The court ruled that Mr Kayumba and his deputy conspired to the theft while the IT specialist was coerced to work for them, hence found not guilty.

Mr Kayumba, a senior military officer, was transferred to the prison services in 2014, heading a prison in western Rwanda before moving to the capital’s main prison.

He was arrested early this year.

Emmanuel Igunza
BBC News, Nairobi

Image source, AFP

A presidential aspirant in Kenya has promised loans of between $4,400 (£3,300) and $8,800 to all newlyweds should he be elected to the top seat in next year's general elections.

Machakos Governor Alfred Mutua, who was launching his presidential manifesto on Sunday, said the low-interest loan payable within 20 years will help families "start life with dignity".

"What is the effect of all this? Dignity for all of us, improvement of the living standards and quality of homes countrywide and no more mud houses,” said Mr Mutua.

He also said his government would encourage tree-planting to be counted as part of dowry payment.

"When you are going to pay dowry, you should say how many trees you’ve planted,” Mr Mutua said during the launch that was broadcast live on local television stations.

But this promise has drawn sharp criticism and ridicule from Kenyans online.

Nearly a dozen politicians have already begun campaigns to succeed incumbent President Uhuru Kenyatta, who is on the last months of his 10 years in office.

They include veteran opposition leader Raila Odinga and current Deputy President William Ruto, who are seen as the main contenders in the August 2022 polls.

The economy, youth joblessness and fighting corruption have emerged as key issues in the agendas of those seeking the presidency, but past elections have shown that Kenyans largely vote along ethnic tribes or coalitions rather than policy issues.

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

A rights group in Nigeria has asked the court for "an order of perpetual injunction" to restrain the government from unlawfully shutting down telecommunication networks in any part of the country.

The injunction wants President Muhammadu Buhari and the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy Isa Pantami stopped from suspending communication services.

The move by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) to move to court comes three months after the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) ordered operators to suspend all telecommunications networks in some states in the north-western region.

This was after the military began an offensive against bandits blamed for rampant cases of kidnapping and killings in the region. The NCC has been joined in the suit as a defendant.

Bandits operating mainly in parts of north-western Nigeria were reportedly using phones for co-ordinating themselves and getting information about troop movements from informants in the communities.

In October, the Sokoto state asked the government to restore telecommunication services in 14 local government areas of the region "in view of concerns expressed by security outfits in the state that the outage was affecting the smooth conduct of their work".

Security agents are battling to contain a wave of kidnappings that started in December 2020 and has led to the abduction of thousands of people, mainly students.

Amelie Osborn-Smith says her brain went into "overdrive" as she fought off the reptile in Zambia.

The Newsroom
BBC World Service

Image source, AFP

Hundreds of people have taken part in protests on beaches in South Africa against planned exploration for offshore oil and gas by the multinational energy company, Shell.

On Friday, a court dismissed an application to halt an underwater seismic survey by the company.

Protesters in Cape Town and Gqeberha waved signs and demanded the survey be halted because of possible harmful effects on marine wildlife.

The survey is due to take place along the Eastern Cape's Wild Coast, a stretch of Indian Ocean shoreline with several nature reserves.

Shell says the five-month survey will not harm wildlife.

But the protesters do not agree: "We don't want it here because our families live off this ocean. They fish crayfish amongst other things here and sell it to get money so they can feed families because there are no jobs," one demonstrator said.

"It's actually just horrendous that they are even considering this... We will stop it; everybody will oppose this," another said.

Nigeria joins 10 other African nations on the UK's coronavirus red list which requires travellers to quarantine for 10 days after they arrive in the country. The British government says the restrictions are necessary because Nigeria is now second only to South Africa in terms of linked cases to the Omicron Covid mutation. However, groups like the World Health Organisation have warned against travel restrictions suggesting they are an over-reaction. Professor Christian Happi is Director of the African Centre of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases at Redeemer's University, Ede, in Nigeria. He considers the ban “arrogance or ignorance” and believes Nigeria “should put a travel ban towards the UK”. He also said moves like this erode confidence in pandemic management and could prevent scientists from sharing information in the future.

Picture: Travelers look at a flight information notice board at Cape Town International Airport as restrictions on international flights take effect, Cape Town, South Africa, 28 November 2021. Copyright: European Pressphoto Agency / Nic Bothma)

Image source, AFP

The trial of suspected organisers of a failed coup in Madagascar is set to begin on Monday.

Some 21 accused persons, among them French nationals, will appear in a court in the capital Antananarivo.

They are accused of plotting to assassinate President Andry Rajoelina. They have all denied the charges.

One of the accused, Paul Rafanoharana - a French-Malagasy - is a former adviser to the president.

His lawyer is quoted by the AFP news agency as saying that the trial is unfair as the time given for preparation was limited and that access to his client was difficult.

BBC World Service

Image source, AFP

At least 12 soldiers in Niger have been killed by gunmen in a clash in the south-west of the country, a government official said on Sunday.

Security forces came under heavy fire from hundreds of fighters near the village of Funio on Saturday.

The official said dozens of militants had also been killed.

Militants linked to the Islamic State group have been blamed for a wave of attacks in the Sahel region of West Africa in recent years.

Mayeni Jones
BBC News, Lagos

Image source, AFP

Nigeria has become the latest country to be added to Britain's travel red list - which imposes stringent coronavirus testing and quarantine restrictions on people who wish to enter.

They will have to pay for and self-isolate in a pre-booked government-approved hotel for 10 days.

Ten southern African countries have already been added to the travel red list, because of fears about the Omicron coronavirus variant.

The government says the decision is temporary and will be reviewed in three weeks.

The travel industry has described the changes as a "hammer blow".

There's concern that Omicron could spread quickly and even replace the Delta variant around the world.

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The electoral commission names Adama Barrow the winner despite his opponents questioning the vote.

The 20-month school closure in Uganda could have a long-term impact on many lives there.

Despite engaging better with the African continent recently, the ex-colonial power faces a backlash.

Rape survivor Sgt Catherine Tladi has secured several convictions for rape in South Africa's courts.

At least 23 die as a bus taking a church choir group to a wedding plunges into a flooded river.

Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

Image source, Getty Images

The president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Felix Tshisekedi, has sacked the head of the state-owned mining company.

Albert Yuma had been at the helm of Gecamines for more than a decade.

A close ally of former president Joseph Kabila, Mr Yuma strongly denied allegations that he was involved in multi-million dollar corruption scandals.

He described himself as a patriotic reformer of the industry.

President Tshisekedi says cleaning up the mining sector is a key priority and he had been under international pressure to remove Mr Yuma.

As the world’s biggest supplier of cobalt, DR Congo stands to gain massively from the global switch to electric vehicles.

But activists say miners are routinely exploited and it’s clear the Congolese population has not benefited much from the vast mineral wealth.

Rights groups have long complained that the mining sector is riddled with corruption and human right abuses.

Namibian sporting icon Rudie van Vuuren says co-hosting the 2027 Cricket World Cup is 'one of the biggest things that will ever happen' for his country.