African leaders have insisted the war between Russia and Ukraine must end during their peace mission in Ukraine and Russia.

BBC World Service

Nine Egyptian nationals suspected of involvement in the sinking of a trawler carrying hundreds of migrants off the Greek coast last week have pleaded not guilty after appearing in court on Monday.

The men were arrested on suspicion of people smuggling and other offences following the disaster, which saw at least 78 people killed.

Hundreds more are still missing at sea.

The suspects will be back in court on Tuesday, when it will be decided whether they will remain in jail until the start of the trial.

It comes as the Greek authorities continue to face questions about whether they did enough to prevent the tragedy.

Image source, Ministry of Labour and Social Protection/Twitter

A Kenyan cabinet minister is being accused of forcing her way into and then occupying an MP’s house in the capital, Nairobi, that she intends to buy.

Labour Cabinet Secretary Florence Bore said, external she had paid 10% of the $642,000 (£501,000) cost of the house after signing a sale agreement with the MP’s lawyers.

She said the agreement allowed her to occupy the house in the upmarket Karen suburb while she sought a mortgage to pay the rest of the amount in 90 days.

But Edward Muriu, a ruling party MP for Gatanga in neighbouring Kiambu county, said he had signed no such agreement to sell the house that he and his wife own.

He challenged the minister to produce any documents showing proof that they had signed the deal or that she paid the amount she alleges to have paid as deposit.

Mr Muriu accuses the minister of abusing her power by using dozens of police officers to get into the house. The police have not spoken on the issue.

He addressed the media carrying what he said were keys to the house. "How did she get into the house?” he asked, alleging that she had broken into the house.

But in her statement, Ms Bore said the MP had reneged on the deal and attempted to evict her children while she was out of the country, necessitating her to seek police protection.

The MP says he has sought intervention from the president, saying the minister was embarrassing the government and “needs to get out of the house latest by Tuesday this week”.

He says he will then decide whether to pursue a petition in court over the matter

Nine men have appeared in court in connection with last week's migrant boat disaster in Greece.

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

At least two Kenyan soldiers were killed on Sunday and 20 security officers were injured in attacks in the coastal county of Lamu, near the Somali border.

The soldiers were killed in an ambush as they responded to an attack on a paramilitary General Service Unit (GSU) team who were part of a joint force securing the area.

The GSU had been in an armoured personnel carrier vehicle when they ran over an improvised explosive device - 12 of them were injured.

There have been increased attacks by suspected al-Shabab militants in Lamu in recent weeks.

Gunmen killed at least 16 security officers on 13 June in Lamu and neighbouring Garissa county.

Al-Shabab often conducts deadly attacks on Kenya's northern coast and in the north-east, claiming they are retribution for Nairobi sending troops into Somalia in 2011 to battle the group.

Image source, Getty Images

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa says he is encouraged by what he described as the "positive reception" of Ukraine and Russia during a "historic" peace mission to the two warring countries by seven African leaders and representatives, including Mr Ramaphosa.

"It is the first time African leaders have embarked on a peace mission beyond the shores of the continent," Mr Ramaphosa said., external

"We affirmed that the sovereignty of countries should be respected in line with the principles of the United Nations Charter," Mr Ramaphosa wrote in a statement.

"We highlighted the urgent need that the security of both nations should be guaranteed," he continued.

He added that African leaders are primarily concerned for the victims of the conflict, and that "everything should be done to end the fighting to prevent further loss of life, injury, displacement and destruction".

The leaders' proposals included a recognition of each countries' sovereignty as well as continued unhindered grain exports through the Black Sea.

On Monday, the Kremlin said it would continue talks but on Saturday Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared to dismiss large chunks of the plan.

Ukraine also appeared lukewarm.

The African delegation, which included leaders and representatives from South Africa, Egypt, Senegal, Congo-Brazzaville, Comoros, Zambia, and Uganda, met President Volodymyr Zelensky and President Vladimir Putin at the end of last week and over the weekend.

The make up of the group had been designed for breadth and balance, with members from different parts of Africa who have different views on the conflict.

Read more about the delegation here.

Richard Hamilton
BBC World Service Newsroom

Image source, EPA

The Ugandan authorities say they have arrested three people in connection with an attack on a school on Friday in which about 40 people were killed.

Most of the victims were students at the Lhubiria school in the western town of Mpondwe.

Many were burnt to death in their dormitory.

District Commissioner Joe Walusimbi said the arrests followed tip-offs from local residents.

But he added that the Ugandan army was still hunting for the Islamist militants who have been blamed for the attack and reportedly fled into the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Eyewitnesses speak to the BBC about the attack:

• 'Gospel songs interrupted by screaming'

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

Image source, AFP

UN chief António Guterres is about to open an international donors' conference on Sudan in Geneva as a 72-hour ceasefire between the country's warring factions enters its second day.

The UN is organising the event in conjunction with Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Germany.

The Qatari foreign ministry said , externalon Sunday that the conference w0uld “support the humanitarian response in Sudan and the region”.

The people there were in "desperate need", Dominique Hyde from the UN's refugee agency, told the BBC's Newsday programme.

She said that aid agencies needed about $2.5bn (£1.95bn) and only 16% had so far been pledged.

The Sudanese "should receive the same support as was seen for Ukrainians, Afghanis or Syrians", Ms Hyde added.

Sudan was meanwhile reportedly “completely calm” on Sunday, the first day of a new 72-hour ceasefire between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The temporary suspension of fighting took effect at 06:00 local time (04:00 GMT) and was announced on Saturday by mediators Saudi Arabia and the US.

The UN said in a statement on Sunday that some 1.7 million people were internally displaced in Sudan as a result of the conflict.

About 500,000 others have sought refuge in neighbouring countries.

The UN and others have expressed concern over “the rapidly deteriorating situation in Darfur where the conflict has taken on an ethnic dimension”.

Thomas Naadi
BBC News, Accra

Image source, Reuters

Ghana’s Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta has said that the country is making progress in renegotiating its debt repayments with foreign lenders.

This is crucial for the May agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to work. The $3bn-bailout programme agreed was aimed at helping the troubled economy.

Ghana is hoping to restructure its external debt before the first review of the IMF agreement later this year.

Addressing the media in Accra, Mr Ofori-Atta gave indications that the country was in the process of clinching a new deal with its lenders in the coming weeks.

The country is hoping to defer interest payments worth $10.5bn.

The minister said that the IMF programme had created a fertile ground for implementing other measures that would help revive the economy.

He added that Ghanaians should brace themselves for the needed reforms to make it a success.

“In fact, the real work of adjustment, realignment and the path to steady economic growth has just begun. Let us brace ourselves for the needed reform… in order to rebuild the walls of the republic with urgency,” Mr Ofori-Atta said.

Read more on this story:

• Ghana IMF loan: Will $3bn solve the economic crisis?

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

Armed militants in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, looted the residence of the Tunisian ambassador to Sudan, the Tunisian foreign ministry said in a statement on Sunday.

The foreign ministry called the development “a grave violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, and a flagrant violation of the sanctity of the headquarters of diplomatic missions”.

The ministry called for the perpetrators “to be tracked down and held accountable” while calling for restraint and an immediate end to the fighting in Sudan which began in April.

A number of embassies in Khartoum have been ransacked since the start of fighting in April, including those of Qatar, Kuwait, Libya, Jordan and Oman.

Image source, Valdis Dombrovskis/Twitter

Kenya and the European Union have signed a trade deal which, once ratified, will give Kenya tariff-free access to the EU market.

This should mean that Kenyan goods would be cheaper for European consumers, which could increase exports and create more jobs in Kenya.

The deal is expected to enhance Kenya's economic development, with President William Ruto saying it "will stimulate Kenya's manufacturing and export of finished, value-added products out of Kenya".

Trade Minister Moses Kuria termed it a “proud moment” for the country, after signing the EU-Kenya Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis.

The EU is one of Kenya’s biggest markets and sells about one-fifth of all its exports there - these are made up of mostly agricultural products including vegetables, cut flowers, tea and coffee.

Kenya is also expected to gradually lower barriers to EU products.

An EU statement noted that this was a balanced agreement, as it considers “Kenya's development needs by allowing it a longer period to gradually open its market”.

The Newsroom
BBC World Service

Image source, AFP

Votes are being counted in Mali, following a referendum on a new constitution that maps out the process of returning the country to democratic civilian rule.

The military leaders who seized power in 2021 have said they will hand over to an elected government next year.

The revised constitution includes a new second parliamentary chamber to increase representation across Mali.

Critics say it will leave the president with too much power - and that the military should not have a role in the redrafting of the constitution.

Provisional results will be available on Tuesday.

The Newsroom
BBC World Service

Image source, Getty Images

Pope Francis has led prayers at the Vatican for the victims of an Islamist attack on a school in Uganda.

About 40 people - mostly students - were hacked, shot and burned to death in the western town of Mpondwe on Friday night.

The Ugandan army has said it's pursuing the militants, from a group known as the ADF.

They kidnapped six students before escaping across the border into the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The attack has also been condemned by the Ugandan president, Yoweri Museveni who described it as criminal, desperate and futile.

The families of some of the victims have begun burying their loved ones.

Eyewitnesses speak to the BBC about the attack:

• 'Gospel songs interrupted by screaming'

Sofia Bettiza
BBC News, Kalamata, Greece

Image source, AFP

Nine Egyptian men are due to appear in court in Greece in connection with the sinking of a trawler last week that was carrying hundreds of migrants.

Seventy-eight people are confirmed to have died in the disaster but hundreds more are feared to have drowned.

The nine suspects are accused of people-smuggling and other offences.

They were arrested after survivors said they took turns steering the boat, giving orders and communicating with the Greek coastguard.

The Greek authorities are facing mounting questions about whether did enough to prevent the shipwreck.

Read more about the shipwreck:

• Greece boat disaster: Ship tracking casts doubt on Greek Coastguard's account

Dorcas Wangira
Africa health correspondent

Image source, Yoweri Museveni/Twitter

Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni says he is no longer infected with Covid-19.

Eleven days after testing positive, Mr Museveni says he is now “a veteran graduate of the war with that enemy”.

He made his Covid status public on 7 June - his diagnosis was subsequently a subject of widespread debate and speculation across East Africa.

On Sunday, he announced that he had tested negative in a long and wry statement on Twitter.

He urged Ugandans to follow his health strategy by avoiding risk factors such as smoking and alcohol, exercising and eating healthy African food.

Even though the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared Covid over as a public health emergency, it is still a global health threat.

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Coaches from grassroots clubs across the country have been working with youngsters in Africa.