Youssef Taha
BBC World Service News

Image source, EPA

An Egyptian official has described as "utterly baseless" allegations in leaked Pentagon documents that Cairo planned to secretly produce and supply Russia with 40,000 missiles.

The denial, by an unnamed source, has been carried by several pro-government news channels.

The documents were obtained by the Washington Post from a leaked trove of US defence department papers.

As part of the denial, the official was quoted as saying Cairo did not take sides in the Ukraine war.

The Kremlin described the allegations as "just another canard".

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More on this topic:

Ukraine war: Who leaked top secret US documents - and why? - BBC News

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UN chief António Guterres has said the people of Somalia are the greatest victims of climate change despite not contributing to it.

Mr Guterres called for massive international support at the start of a visit to the country which in the midst of a severe drought.

The UN has launched a multi-billion dollar appeal for Somalia where millions are facing famine.

More on this topic:

• Somalia drought: One boy's fight to save his family from starvation

Emmanuel Igunza
BBC News, Nairobi

Image source, AFP

Kenya’s President William Ruto says the country will not take out loans to pay civil servants even as union groups threatened to go on strike over unpaid March salaries.

President Ruto blamed the salary delays on the country’s huge public debt, with some of the loans coming to maturity this month.

He said the salaries would be paid from taxes collected by the revenue authority.

At least two workers umbrella bodies have issued notices to down tools this week if they are not paid their dues.

Speaking to local media on Monday, the president's chief economic adviser said the salaries would be paid by end month but advised the government to cut on wastage of public funds.

Kenya’s public debt now amounts to sixty five percent of the national revenue.

The country needs more than $420m (£338m) monthly to pay the salaries and pensions for civil servants.

This comes just weeks after the World Bank and the IMF separately issued warnings that sub-Saharan Africa was sinking into a new debt crisis, with many countries at high risk of debt distress

BBC World Service
Newsroom

The US aid charity, Catholic Relief Services, says two of its staff have been killed in the troubled Amhara region of north-central Ethiopia.

Chuol Tongyik and Amare Kindeya were shot in their vehicle as they returned to the capital, Addis Ababa, from an assignment.

Recent days have seen unrest and massive anti-government protests in the Amhara region by people unhappy at an official order for the dissolution of regional special forces.

These fought alongside federal troops in the recent Tigray war.

Protesters say the move would leave them exposed to attacks from neighbouring regions.

Image source, Getty Images

South African opposition party the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has called on Indian police to arrest and prosecute the Dalai Lama for child abuse after a video of his inappropriate interaction with a boy went viral.

In the clip, the 87-year-old Tibetan spiritual leader is seen kissing a young boy on the lips and asking him to "suck his tongue" at a public event. The incident appears to have taken place at the Dalai Lama's temple in Dharamshala in February.

Following an international outcry over the issue, the Dalai Lama has apologised, saying that he regretted the incident.

Sticking one's tongue out can be a form of greeting in Tibet.

The EFF said the “lame apology” should be rejected as it came a month after the incident.

Its statement said, external the Indian authorities needed to send a stern warning "to all those who dare to harm children that they will be prosecuted harshly regardless of their status".

The Dalai Lama has been living in exile in India since fleeing Tibet in 1959, following an uprising against Chinese rule there.

Kenya's ruling coalition has named individuals who will represent the government in negotiations with the opposition.

The seven-member team - five MPs and two senators - was announced after a meeting chaired by President William Ruto on Tuesday.

The opposition names its team last week.

Earlier this month, President Ruto agreed to talks with the opposition on electoral reform, but said they must taken place within the parliament.

Opposition leader Raila Odinga accepted the invitation and suspended recent protests, but insisted that the clergy and non-state groups be involved too.

Three people, including a police officer, were killed in the demonstrations with hundreds of others injured. Mr Ruto said the violence was detrimental to the economy.

Emmanuel Igunza
BBC News, Nairobi

Image source, AFP

Elon Musk’s SpaceX company has delayed the launch of Kenya’s first earth observation satellite by 24 hours citing unfavourable weather conditions at the launch base in California.

The satellite named Nation-1, or Taifa-1 in Swahili, was to be deployed aboard a Falcon 9 rocket alongside other satellites from other countries.

A statement from the Kenya Space Agency said the delay was due to “unfavourable upper-level wind conditions” that would “affect the rocket’s flight trajectory”.

The launch is now expected to take place on Wednesday 12 April at Vandenberg Air Force Base.

The main mission of the satellite will be to provide data for use in agriculture, food security, land management and environmental monitoring.

Taifa-1 was fully designed and developed by a team of Kenyan engineers with testing done in collaboration with a Bulgarian aerospace manufacturer.

Kenya sent its first experimental nano-satellite from the International Space Station in 2018 in collaboration with Japan. It was built by students from the University of Nairobi.

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

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Sudanese civilian groups and the ruling junta have missed a deadline to form a civilian-led transitional government amid disagreements on security reforms and other issues.

According to a timeline set up by the parties, a new prime minister and other posts should have been announced on Tuesday.

The deadline lapsed after the parties twice failed to sign a final transition deal over disagreements on the integration of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) into the army.

A joint committee from the military and RSF, which was set up to discuss contentious issues, reportedly suspended the talks for one day for further consultations, Al-Intibaha website reported.

Meanwhile, the RSF has reportedly sent “about 14 armoured vehicles” to the capital, Khartoum, “in anticipation of any emergency”, Paris-based Sudan Tribune news site reported.

Citing an unnamed RSF official, the Sudan Tribune said that the vehicles had been stationed in Zurq locality on the border with Libya and were on their way to Khartoum “as part of RSF's plans to deploy its forces in the city”.

The Sudanese army and the RSF have in recent weeks been mobilising their troops in the capital.

It follows divisions between Sudan's deputy leader - who is the RSF commander Gen Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemeti - and military chief Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, raising fears of confrontations between the army and the RSF.

Kalkidan Yibeltal
BBC News

The authorities in two cities in Ethiopia’s Amhara region have introduced night-time curfews as anti-government protests continue to spread across the region.

Dessie and Debrebirhan cities followed another city, the historic Gondar, in putting the restrictions. Both cities witnessed mass rallies on Monday.

Holding demonstrations without permits and the carrying of weapons by civilians was already banned.

Protests broke out and quickly spread last week in response to an order from the federal government to dissolve a paramilitary unit, the Amhara Special Forces (ASF).

The authorities say the move will help create a strong unified security force and is being implemented in all of Ethiopia’s 11 regions.

But opponents in Amhara say the move will leave the region vulnerable to attacks from its neighbours.

Debrebirhan, located 130km (80 miles) north of the capital, Addis Ababa, has further prohibited tens of thousands of displaced people, who have fled violence in neighbouring Oromia region and are sheltered in the city, from moving out of their camps.

More on this story:

• Ethiopia's Amhara region hit by protests over move to dissolve regional forces

Ferdinand Omondi
BBC News

Image source, Somali National TV

United Nations Secretary General António Guterres has arrived in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu.

There's little information on the purpose of his visit.

Local media reports that he is widely expected to address Somalia's worsening humanitarian situation and show solidarity with its people in their fight against extremism.

The UN estimates that about eight million people require humanitarian assistance, and a "significant segment" of that population is on the brink of famine after five consecutive failed rainy seasons.

On Islamist insurgency, the Somali government has gained ground in its war with al-Shabab, mainly in central Somalia.

Most of the progress is down to local discontent with the group, which has led to the formation of clan militias who have since built alliances to push back on al-Shabab, according to the Crisis Group.

Mr Guterres will meet Somali's national leaders and a presser is expected from Villa Somalia.

Image source, Somali National TV

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• Somalia’s men in sarongs taking on al-Shabab militants
• Somalia drought: One boy's fight to save his family from starvation

Image source, AFP

The Kenyan government has admitted that it is facing a cash crunch that has delayed the payment of salaries for thousands of public workers.

It says it had to make tough decisions on whether to pay the salaries or service millions of dollars in external debt, due this month.

The treasury has also failed to remit funds to the nation's counties - devolved areas that oversee public services like health and education.

Workers in ministries, agencies and county governments have been the most affected by the delays in paying salaries for March.

Finance Minister Njuguna Ndung’u said the government was facing financial constraints triggered by underperforming revenues and limited access to credit.

Two unions representing national and county government employees have issued notices of their intention to boycott work.

Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has blamed the crisis on the former government which he accuses of borrowing heavily while in power and raiding the treasury before it left power last year. But he has not provided any evidence of the allegations.

Presidential economic adviser David Ndii said the situation was not a crisis, terming it as an "operational liquidity crunch".

In a television interview, Mr Ndii said that the government was expecting $500m (£460m) from a syndicated loan and civil servants' salaries would be cleared by the end of next week.

Kenya’s public debt now amounts to 65% of revenue. The country needs more than $420m monthly to pay the salaries and pensions for civil servants.

Peter Jegwa
Lilongwe, Malawi

Image source, AFP

Malawi President Lazarus Chakwera has pardoned a former cabinet minister who was serving a five-year sentence after being convicted for abuse of office.

Uladi Mussa was sentenced in 2020 to six years in prison over corruption linked to the illegal issuing of passports.

His release was an act of mercy in the Easter season, Homeland Security Minister Ken Zikhale Ng’oma said.

Mussa remains an influential politician in the country after serving as minister under four different presidents between 1994 and 2019.

His involvement in the passport scam took place during the tenure of former President Joyce Banda.

In 2019, the US government imposed a travel ban on him and his spouse over his role in the scandal.

Mussa was released together with 199 other convicts, who “committed minor offences and have demonstrated good behaviour during their stay in prison”.

They include a driver who was arrested and charged last year after refusing to give way to President Chakwera’s convoy.

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Tens of thousands of people demonstrate in Amhara against the decision to scrap regional forces.

18-year-old Adama Bojang is being linked with Europe's elite after firing The Gambia to the final of the Under-20 Afcon.

Runners must forage for food and make their own fires to keep warm in a new ultra-marathon in the Tanzanian bushlands.

Deeply moving and laugh-out-loud funny, Mission: Joy gives unprecedented access to the friendship between His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the late Archbishop Tutu. The self-described ‘mischievous brothers’ were filmed over five days by an award-winning team who captured a relationship built on truth, honesty and, most importantly, joy.

The film goes behind the scenes at the Dalai Lama’s residence in Dharamsala, where Archbishop Tutu and the Dalai Lama recount stories from their lives, both having lived through periods of incredible difficulty.

With genuine affection, mutual respect and a healthy dose of teasing, the two friends impart lessons gleaned from experience, ancient traditions and cutting-edge science to show that it is possible to live with joy in the face of all of life’s challenges, from the extraordinary to the mundane. Mission: Joy is an antidote for our times.