Image source, Getty Images

The UN human rights office says it's still "extremely worried about the impact" of the UK's government plans to send some migrants to Rwanda if they arrive in the UK through illegal routes.

UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman has insisted Rwanda is a safe country for migrants.

She said on Sunday that she believed the Rwanda policy would have "a significant deterrent effect" so that people would stop making the journey across the Channel to the UK.

But the UN human rights office said assessments done by the UN refugee agency showed that the asylum system in Rwanda was "not robust enough".

"There are also concerns about respect for the right to freedom of assembly and freedom of expression in Rwanda. Those concerns do remain today," spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani told the BBC's Newsday programme.

"We have a lot of evidence of how these plans [off-shore asylum facilities] go wrong," she added.

Image source, Democratic Alliance/Twitter

South Africa's main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, re-elected John Steenhuisen as its leader on Sunday, as it campaigns to unseat the ruling African National Congress (ANC) in next year's national elections.

Mr Steenhuisen garnered 83% of the votes, to beat his opponent, former Johannesburg executive mayor Mpho Phalatse, who only obtained 17%.

He will lead the party for the next three years.

In his acceptance speech, Mr Steenhuisen said the DA will work with other “like-minded parties” ahead of the 2024 elections.

He, however, ruled out working with the ruling ANC and the smaller opposition party, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) in the upcoming elections.

Mr Steenhuisen took over the reins of the party in November 2019 following the resignation of then DA leader, Mmusi Maimane.

President Cyril Ramaphosa will be seeking re-election under the ANC - whose popularity has declined in recent years.

Image source, Reuters

Kenya's President William Ruto decision to reverse a hardline approach amid waves of protests by the opposition opened the door for talks, opposition leader Raila Odinga has told the BBC.

On Sunday President Ruto addressed the nation for the first time since the protests began over the high cost of living and alleged electoral irregularities.

The president agreed to one of Mr Odinga's demands - a bipartisan engagement in parliament on the formation of the next electoral commission.

But he suggested he won't engage the opposition leader on his other demands, including the cost of living and legitimacy of his presidency.

In a BBC interview, Mr Odinga welcomed Mr Ruto's "climbdown" and insisted that all issues must be put on the table.

BBC World Service

Local officials in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo say a landslide killed at least 19 people on Sunday morning.

An official in the village of Bulwa in North Kivu province said the death toll was likely to rise.

He said some members of a group of women and children who had been washing laundry in a mountain stream were buried after the ground collapsed beneath them.

The search for more victims will resume on Monday.

The region has been battered for months by heavy rains which have triggered flooding and mudslides.

Image source, RPF-Inkotanyi/Twitter

Rwanda's ruling party, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF-Inkotanyi), on Sunday elected its first woman vice-chairperson as President Paul Kagame retained the chairmanship position.

Consolee Uwimana was elected by 1,945 votes - about 93% of the votes cast.

Observers say promoting her is the party's way of giving more power to women and keeping the ethnicity quota balanced in its top leadership.

Ms Uwimana is a veteran banker and businesswoman who served as a senator until 2019.

Rwanda's next general elections is scheduled for 2024.

President Kagame has been president of the East African nation since 2000. A controversial referendum in 2015 removed a two-term constitutional limit for presidents.

On Sunday, Mr Kagame got 99.8% of the total votes to retain leadership of the ruling party.

Rwanda has one of the world’s highest proportions of women in parliament and government

Ferdinand Omondi
BBC News, Nairobi

Image source, Reuters

Kenya opposition leader Raila Odinga has called off protests planned for Monday to allow for bipartisan discussions on the formation of the country’s electoral commission.

Mr Odinga spoke an hour after President William Ruto asked him to call them off and allow for dialogue.

The opposition has been protesting twice a week against the cost of living, the formation of a new electoral commission and questioning the president’s election last year.

President Ruto has agreed to one demand and proposed a bi-partisan engagement in parliament on the reconstitution of the electoral commission.

But his statement did not mention the cost of living. He also asked Mr Odinga to respect the constitution and the Supreme Court, which validated his election last year.

In his speech, Mr Odinga acknowledged the president’s calls for dialogue and described Mr Ruto’s statement as important.

But he warned that protests would resume within one week if the talks did not bear fruit.

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In 2002, the Eritrean government extended its programme of compulsory national service to make it open-ended.

Instead of serving 18 months as the government had originally decreed, most students finishing secondary school would be conscripted and forced to remain in government service indefinitely - either serving in the army or in civilian jobs.

The Eritrean government said conscription was necessary because the recently ended war with neighbouring Ethiopia could break out again.

But the prospect of working for the state for an indefinite period, without a proper salary, prompted many young Eritreans to begin trying to escape to neighbouring countries and to Europe.

Over the past 20 years hundreds of thousands have left. It’s an exodus that continues to this day.

Rob Walker speaks to Semhar Ghebreslassie who began her national service working as a teacher in 2008.

This programme contains descriptions of sexual violence.

(Picture: Eritrean migrants. Credit: Getty Images)

David Attenborough recounts his very personal experiences with the mountain gorillas of Rwanda. Ever since they were discovered over a century ago, these remarkable creatures have been threatened by loss of habitat, poaching, disease and political instability. But despite all odds their numbers have increased. David tells the extraordinary tale of how conservationists like Dian Fossey have battled to save the mountain gorilla from the brink of extinction.