Prime Ndikumagenge
BBC Great Lakes

Image source, EPA

The government of Rwanda says it has sent humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people in Gaza.

In a brief written statement sent to BBC Great Lakes, the government’s deputy spokesman, Alain Mukuralinda, said the donation was sent to the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organisation (JHCO) and had arrived in the Jordanian capital, Amman.

It was made "in support to the ongoing international rescue effort", Mr Mukuralinda wrote.

The donation comprised 16 tonnes of food items, medicines and medical supplies, he said, adding "Rwanda reiterates the need for a de-escalation to protect the lives of innocent civilians".

Rwanda is one of the countries on the continent that has close ties with Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the Rwanda in 2016.

Both countries share "haunting similarities to the genocide of our own people", Mr Netanyahu wrote in the visitor’s book after touring a memorial for the victims of Rwanda's 1994 genocide.

More than 800,000 people, mostly ethnic Tutsis, were massacred in 1994. Six million Jewish people were killed in the Holocaust during the World War Two.

BBC Newsday
World Service radio

Image source, Getty Images

A project has been launched to collect DNA samples from 500,000 Africans or people of African heritage in order to redress an imbalance in current research.

Genetic research is becoming increasingly significant in finding cures for certain illnesses - but very few of the DNA samples used as the basis for the studies come from those whose origins are in Africa.

The Meharry Medical College in Nashville in the US now wants to address this.

Anil Shanker, senior vice-president of research and innovation at the college, told the BBC's Newsday programme that in the past African-Americans in the US were sometimes not included in DNA studies or were reluctant to come forward because of a mistrust of medical research.

Researchers will initially be collecting samples at colleges in the US as well as the University of Zambia, but they want to widen the net in Africa, the AFP news agency reports.

He said the project to collect the samples would take five years and the information would be stored with a non-profit organisation, the Diaspora Human Genomics Institute.

Read more on this story:

• How decoding African DNA could help fight disease

Image source, NTV

An man who claimed to be a Kenyan Catholic priest has joined a Catholic splinter group and married.

Edwin Gathang’i Waiguru was ordained into the Catholic Charismatic Church before his marriage on Sunday in Kiambu country, just north of the capital, Nairobi.

He had not been officially ordained by the Catholic Church, where priests are supposed to commit to a life of celibacy, as was earlier reported,

Standing next to his bride, Margaret Wanjira Githui, Edwin Waiguru said it was “possible to serve God and have a family and have a lovelywife", external.

"God did not make a mistake when he created a man and a woman and He said it is not good for somebody to be alone."

Hundreds of the couple's family and friends went to witness the ceremony conducted by Bishop Patrick Mulau of the Kirinyaga Charismatic, NTV reports.

Correction 24 October 2023: This story has been amended to clarify that Edwin Gathang’i Waiguru was not an ordained Catholic priest.

Nomsa Maseko
BBC News, Johannesburg

Image source, Getty Images

South Africa’s third biggest political party, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), has held a protest outside the Israeli embassy in the capital, Pretoria.

Party leader Julius Malema once again called for the closure of the embassy after saying Israel's government had “no respect for humanity".

Mr Malema also urged retailers in the country to remove Israeli-produced goods from their shelves by the end of October.

"If they don't remove products from Israel, we'll remove them ourselves. We don't want Israeli products sold in South Africa, we don't want food from people who have the blood of innocent people on their hands," said Mr Malema.

The governing African National Congress (ANC) held a similar picket outside Israel's embassy on Friday.

ANC Deputy Secretary-General Nomvula Mokonyane called on South Africans to boycott imports from Israel in solidarity with the Palestinians.

Ms Mokonyane also reiterated South Africa's calls for an immediate ceasefire to hostilities in the Middle East.

Last week, a spokeswoman for the ANC Women’s League resigned, accusing the party of failing to see the "Jewish side of the story" in the Israel-Palestine conflict.

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

About 817 suspected cholera cases have been recorded in three Sudanese states, including 35 deaths, local media report.

The cases were reported in Gedaref, South Kordofan and Khartoum states, privately owned al-Rakoba news website reported, citing the World Health Organization (WHO).

The UN last week said that months of conflict in Sudan had left millions of people at risk of cholera, dengue, measles, malaria and other diseases without sufficient containment capacities.

The WHO has also warned that the lives of more than 9,000 kidney patients were in danger because of the limited number of dialysis centres in the country.

Sudan's hospitals have been hit hard by the conflict between the army and a paramilitary force, with many stopping operations amid fighting.

The conflict has killed more than 9,000 people and displaced nearly six million others, according to the UN.

Top pick Victor Wembanyama and 7ft 4in forward Bol Bol feature among five of the finest African players to watch in the 2023-24 NBA season.

Image source, AFP

The European Union has begun steps to impose sanctions on members of Niger's military junta, three months after they took power in a coup.

The EU Council announced on Monday, external that it had "adopted a framework" that will allow it to impose sanctions on "individuals and entities responsible for actions that threaten the peace, stability and security of Niger".

The council also said that the sanctions would apply to individuals who undermine Niger's constitutional order, democracy or rule of law, as well as individuals who commit human rights violations or abuses.

The sanctions will include travel bans, asset freezes and bans on the provision of funds to sanctioned individuals.

"With today’s decision, the EU strengthens its support to [West African bloc] Ecowas’ efforts and sends a clear message: military coups bear costs," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said.

However, the EU said that it would allow humanitarian exemptions to asset freeze measures.

The European move follows the imposition of sanctions on Niger by the regional bloc Ecowas and the suspension of aid by the US government.

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

Image source, Reuters

Nearly 200 French soldiers have left Niger's south-western Ouallam town amid ongoing withdrawals from the Sahel nation, state-owned Tele Sahel TV station reports.

It said that 193 French soldiers based in Ouallam left their camp for Chad on Sunday.

The troops reportedly left with 28 lorries as well as 24 armoured personnel carriers and other support vehicles.

Chad had agreed to offer a "corridor" for the withdrawal of the French soldiers from Niger back to France. The withdrawal exercise began on 5 October.

France deployed some 1,500 soldiers to Niger to help counter a deepening jihadist insurgency since 2015.

The French troops were based in the capital Niamey, Ouallam and Ayorou - near the border with Mali.

Chris Ewokor
BBC News, Abuja

Image source, Reuters

Nigeria’s Supreme Court has begun hearing the opposition’s challenge to the February 2023 presidential election result.

The poll was won by Bola Tinubu but his main opponents - Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi - want the country's highest court to overturn the judgement of the Election Petition Court, which upheld Mr Tinubu's victory.

The legal challenge threatens to heighten tensions and continue the polarisation of the country along political party lines.

It may take a few weeks before the seven judges on the Supreme Court panel make a ruling on the matter.

If it upholds the decision of the lower court, that would be following a pattern seen in previous elections in Africa’s most-populous nation where a presidential election result has never been overturned.

Nonetheless, Mr Abubakar has said he will be presenting new evidence to the court relating to the debate over whether the president had presented a fake educational certificate to the electoral commission as proof of his eligibility.

But Mr Tinubu is opposing the presentation of new evidence.

He is asking the court not to grant his opponent's application to introduce fresh and additional evidence to support the new claim.

The Election Petition Court had earlier ruled that both opposition candidates had failed to prove that the election was flawed.

The judges declared that the petitioners were unable to prove their case that there had been over-voting and voter suppression.

Image source, AFP

Google has honoured the late Nigerian footballer Rashidi Yekini with a doodle on what would have been his 60th birthday.

Yekini overcame poverty and homelessness to make his mark as one of Nigeria’s greatest football stars.

The Google doodle recreates Yekini's celebration during the 1994 World Cup.

It depicts the moment when, following scoring against Bulgaria, Yekini ran into the net and clutched it with both arms while tearfully celebrating after scoring Nigeria's first-ever World Cup finals goal.

"Many consider it one of the most iconic goal celebrations in football history and it served as inspiration for today’s Doodle artwork," said Google.

Nigeria went on to beat Bulgaria 3-0. The team later went into the Round of 16 where they were knocked out by Italy.

Yekini is still the Super Eagles' all-time leading scorer with 37 goals.

His international career aside, Yekini was also prolific at club level - seeing huge success with Shooting Stars of Nigeria, Ivory Coast's Africa Sport and Vitoria Setubal of Portugal, among others.

He helped Shooting Stars reach the final of the African Champions Cup (forerunner of the African Champions League) in 1984 and made his debut for Nigeria the same year.

He was named the African Footballer of the Year in 1993.

Yekini earned the nickname “Goalsfather” for his for his extraordinary ability to repeatedly outwit goalkeepers and score.

He died in 2012.

Read more about his life:

• Rashidi Yekini: Nigeria's record scorer remembered

Image source, AFP

Kenyan President William Ruto has said that the country will not experience El Niño rains as had been predicted, citing a forecast by Kenya's meteorological department.

"The meteorological department has now said there will be no El Niño. We will only have heavy rains but they will not reach a destructive level," Mr Ruto said on Sunday.

He urged Kenyans to use the new prediction of abundant rainfall to produce more food from farming to ensure that the country was food secure.

The El Niño weather phenomenon occurs when sea surface temperatures in the tropical eastern Pacific rise to about 0.5C above average. This ultimately releases more heat into the atmosphere, creating wetter and warmer air.

Experts had warned that El Niño rains could hit Kenya and other East African countries from mid-October.

Warnings that the heavy downpours could cause flooding, infrastructure damage and possible deaths prompted the Kenyan government to put the military on standby in case of emergencies.

Kenya last experienced El Niño rains in 1997, which left a trail of destruction, especially to the roads.

Read more on the weather phenomenon:

• What are El Niño and La Niña, and how do they change the weather?

Image source, AFP

Tanzania has signed a 30-year port management agreement with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), despite opposition to the deal.

Under the agreement, Dubai Port (DP) World will run four berths or quays at Dar es Salaam, Tanzania’s largest port.

The Emirati firm and the Tanzania Ports Authority will also collaborate in managing three other berths at the port.

The partnership includes an investment of $250m (£205m) by DP World to upgrade infrastructure at the port over the next five years.

The deal has drawn criticism from several activists, citizens and opposition politicians, who say that it favours the Emirati company at Tanzania’s expense.

The government has detained more than 22 people opposed to the deal, although some have been freed, according to the rights group Amnesty International.

Tanzanian authorities say the deal does not involve all port operations in the country and that they retain the right to withdraw from the contracts at any time if necessary.

The East African country hopes to boost national revenue and enhance efficiency under the new deal.

The governor of Nigeria's central Kogi state, Yahaya Bello, has denied he was the target of an assassination attempt along the busy Lokoja-Abuja highway.

His spokesperson Kingsley Fanwo had earlier been quoted by local media as saying that gunmen "dressed in military uniforms" attacked Mr Bello's convoy on Sunday.

Mr Fanwo said the attackers waylaid the governor’s convoy and started shooting sporadically at his vehicle.

But in a statement, the governor said the claims were false and should be disregarded.

He said that the incident was just a "fracas" between his security team and soldiers who were manning the highway.

Image source, Kenyans for Palestine/X

Kenyan police have released three people who were arrested for participating in a pro-Palestinian meeting in the capital, Nairobi.

The three were freed on Sunday without charges after widespread criticism from some Kenyans, politicians and human rights groups.

They said they were holding a "solidarity meeting".

Kenyan MP Yusuf Hassan condemned the arrests.

The head of Amnesty International in Kenya, Irũngũ Houghton, said that the disruption of the meeting was “unlawful” and “deeply disturbing”.

It had been organised by the Kenya Palestinian Solidarity Committee after police stopped an earlier demonstration that the group had planned outside the US embassy.

President William Ruto has expressed his government’s full support for Israel in the ongoing conflict.

Richard Hamilton
BBC World Service Newsroom

Image source, AFP

Fighting has again erupted in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo between pro-government forces and rebels from the M23 group.

Residents say the rebels have occupied the town of Kitshanga in North Kivu province since Saturday.

Several people have been taken to hospital with gunshot wounds, a local radio station reported.

"The rebels are in Kitshanga and we are trying to find a way to retake the town," a security source told AFP news agency.

The area has changed hands several times since the beginning of the year.

Fighting resumed three weeks ago after a six-month truce. The area was previously patrolled by an international force provided by Congo's neighbours.

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