Money-saving measures are announced by President Lazarus Chakwera following IMF funding.

The artefacts, collected at the start of the 20th Century, go on display at West Berkshire Museum.

Image source, Ox Kraal/X

South Africa's National Rugby Union star Retshegofaditswe Nche, commonly known as "Ox" has received the the highest honour from the Barolong-boo-Seleka traditional community.

Queen Kgosi Gaboilelwe Moroka wa Barolong bestowed the honour on Nche during a home-coming ceremony held on Wednesday, weeks after his team won a historic fourth World Cup title for South Africa.

Fans say Nche's contributions were instrumental in propelling the Springboks to victory, particularly in the semi-final.

Queen Moroka gave him the title of “Tlotlo ya Morafe wa Barolong-Boo-Seleka”, which translates to “Honour of the Nation” and is given to “esteemed individuals who stand out for exceptional achievements and have served the nation and interests of the country”, according to a statement.

Nche is the first recipient of the award.

Excited crowds lined the streets of Nche’s hometown to cheer and welcome the rugby hero as he toured the town.

Queen Moroka said she hoped the honour would help people draw inspiration from Nche, who became a world a champion despite growing up in a small village.

“I feel honoured and this should be an inspiration to everyone that it is possible,” Nche told national broadcaster SABC.

Ian Wafula
Security reporter, BBC News

Kenya's parliament has approved the sending of 1,000 police officers to Haiti to help quell gang violence despite a court order that has barred the deployment pending the hearing of a case.

MPs supporting the motion said the country was part of the global community and could not ignore when other countries were in need.

They also argued that Kenya has a history of peacekeeping missions such as in Somalia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sierra Leone.

Those opposed said the country is facing its own security challenges and cannot afford to spare any of its officers.

The approval was passed in a voice vote moments before the start of a High Court session which was hearing a case challenging the mission. The court had earlier blocked the deployment saying the petitioners had raised issues of national importance.

Charles Midega, the lawyer of one of the main petitioners, told the BBC that it was a brazen act by parliament to discuss the deployment despite an order in place.

He added that he would raise it with the judge.

Kenya’s interior minister had said earlier that the deployment will only happen within the legal framework.

The country had pledged to send its officers to the Caribbean nation after its Prime Minister Ariel Henry called for international help. The country has experienced months of unrest from gang violence.

Read more on the proposed deployment:

• Haiti crisis: Can Kenyan police officers defeat the gangs?

Kenya's parliament has approved sending a contingent of police officers to help quell gang violence in Haiti, despite a court order barring the sending of the officers pending the hearing of a case.

The MPs' decision came on Thursday, just as the court was hearing a petition on the legality of the deployment.

Paul Njie
BBC News, Yaoundé

Image source, AFP

The UN Security Council has extended the mandate for another 12 months of the UN peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic - known as Minusca.

Fourteen of the 15 council members voted on Wednesday to renew the mission, asking it to continue advancing reconciliation and durable peace through political, security and institutional means.

Minusca was also urged to protect human rights and assist in preparations for local elections in 2024 and 2025.

Russia abstained from the vote, after its representative said the resolution to extend the mandate contained some elements which did not reflect the current situation in the country.

Moscow maintains close ties with the CAR, and the influence of people believed to be from the Wagner mercenary group, is perceptible in the government’s fight against local rebels.

The Russian and Central African forces have been accused of atrocities and human rights violations in their operations.

The UN has maintained its peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic since 2014, a year after a civil war plunged the country into political instability.

The mission is made up of 4,400 troops and 3,020 police officers whose priority is to protect civilians and preserve the country’s territorial integrity.

Rebel groups continue to stage attacks in several parts of the mineral-rich country, despite the 2019 agreement on peace and reconciliation.

Image source, Reuters

South Africa has referred Israel’s government to the International Criminal Court (ICC) over its actions in the Gaza conflict, President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Wednesday.

“As South Africa we have accordingly, together with many other countries in the world, saw fit to refer this whole Israeli government action to the International Criminal Court. We have put through a referral because we believe that war crimes are being committed there,” President Ramaphosa said.

He did not disclose the other countries involved in referring Israel to the ICC.

He added that they did not condone Hamas’s earlier attack on Israel but were opposed to Israel’s ongoing actions, which they “believe warrant investigations by the ICC”.

Israel has argued that its bombing and invasion of Gaza are acts of self defence following the 7 October Hamas attack on Israel in which more than 1,400 people died and more than 230 people were taken hostage.

It also says that Hamas is using civilian buildings such as hospitals as cover for its fighters and weapons making them legitimate targets.

The ICC is an international court that investigates and tries individuals accused of committing grave crimes of concern to the global community, such as war crimes or genocides.

South Africa has been one of the most vocal supporters of Palestinians in the ongoing conflict with Israel.

Several of the country’s leaders have publicly supported the Palestinians and there have also been pro-Palestine demonstrations.

Tracy Bircham
BBC World Service News

Two journalists in Togo have been sent to prison for defaming a government minister on social media.

Newspaper editor Loic Lawson and freelance reporter Anani Sossou had accused the housing minister of failing to disclose the full details of a burglary at his home.

They said the politician reported the crime to the police, but did not declare that more than $600,000 (£485,000) in cash was stolen.

He subsequently took legal action against them.

The media watchdog, Reporters Without Borders, has called for the pair's immediate release.

Image source, Getty Images

A row has emerged over Saudi Arabia’s repatriation of 177 Nigerians on Monday, shortly after their arrival at the airport in Jeddah.

Saudi authorities reportedly abruptly revoked the Nigerians’ visas mid-flight for unknown reasons, but cleared the 87 others on the 264-passenger Air Peace flight.

Saudi Arabia’s embassy in Nigeria on Wednesday said, external that the repatriated passengers did not “fulfil the entry conditions” and “submitted incorrect information to obtain a category of visa that doesn’t apply to them, which was discovered upon their arrival”.

But Air Peace has disputed Saudi Arabia's statement, external, saying on Wednesday that the visas of all passengers were "vetted to be valid" using Saudi Arabia’s verification systems before check-in.

The airline added that it had sent the passenger manifest to Saudi authorities before departure but they did not cancel any visa or raise any concerns at the time.

On Tuesday, Nigeria’s foreign affairs ministry said that 18 of the repatriated Nigerians were denied entry as they had criminal records, external and were banned from the country.

Many of the repatriated Nigerians had reportedly travelled to go on a pilgrimage to the Islamic holy city of Mecca.

It follows a Supreme Court ruling that a policy to send illegal migrants to Rwanda was unlawful.

Yusuf Akinpelu
BBC News, Lagos

Image source, Getty Images

Nigeria's two biggest workers' unions have suspended a nationwide strike after reaching a deal with the federal government.

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) began the stay-away, which was described as indefinite, on Tuesday over unpaid salary arrears of workers in Imo state and a recent assault of NLC President Joe Ajaero.

The unions said in a joint statement on X that the government had apologised and promised to investigate the incident.

“Some of the perpetrators have been arrested, and we were given high assurances that all others will be fished out and prosecuted,” the statement read.

Meanwhile, the unions are still at loggerheads with the government over the rising cost of living and hike in fuel prices caused by the removal of the fuel subsidy.

The two-day strike saw ports in Lagos state shut, school schedules disrupted and railway travel cancelled.

Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

Image source, Reuters

Initial results from the presidential run-off election in Liberia point to an extremely tight race.

With almost a quarter of the results in, President George Weah has 49% of the votes, just behind the opposition's Joseph Boakai who has over 50%.

In the first round, both men were also neck and neck - with the third placed candidate securing just 2% of the vote.

Neither President Weah nor Mr Boakai achieved more than 50% of the vote in the first round of the election, triggering the run-off.

The same two candidates also faced each other in the 2017 election, which ended in a run-off comfortably won by President Weah.

The final run-off results are expected to be released within 15 days of the 14 November polling date.

Liberia is still struggling with the long-term impact of civil wars and the economic fall-out from the 2014-16 Ebola outbreak as well as the Covid-19 pandemic.

Peter Jegwa
Lilongwe, Malawi

Image source, Getty Images

Malawi’s President Lazarus Chakwera has suspended with immediate effect all international travel involving himself and all government officials.

He has also ordered all ministers currently outside the country to return home.

Speaking in a televised address on Wednesday night, he also announced restrictions on local travel and a reduction by half of the fuel allocation to cabinet ministers and senior government officials.

The measures will be in place until the end of the financial year next March.

Some similar austerity measures were also announced during the Covid pandemic but had limited impact as they were not strictly enforced.

The president asked the minister of finance to make provisions for a reasonable wage increase for all civil servants in the next budget review.

He also directed a reduction of income tax in the new budget so as to help workers whose pay has lost value as result of inflation.

The president’s move comes as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved a four-year credit facility for Malawi worth $174m (£140m), just days after the country devalued its local currency.

Last week, the central bank announced a 44% drop in the value of the local currency, the kwacha.

Analysts suggest the devaluation may have been a condition for securing the IMF credit facility.

Our African proverb of the day:

Click here to send us your African proverbs.

Graveyards, bridges and harvests are swept away in the worst floods to hit Somalia in a century.

When Morocco beat Spain at last year's World Cup, it was a result that struck at the core of a long, complicated relationship between the two countries.

The Rwanda plan is in tatters - and it is very difficult to see how the PM can salvage its flagship policy.

That's it for now from the BBC Africa Live team, but we'll be back on Thursday morning.

Until then, you can get the latest African news on the BBC News website , externalor listen to our Focus on Africa podcast for stories behind the news.

A reminder of our wise words of the day:

Click here to send us your African proverbs.

We leave you with a photo of Nimfasha Berchimas of the USA celebrating after scoring a goal against Burkina Faso in their match at the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Indonesia:

Image source, Getty Images

Ish Mafundikwa
Harare

Image source, AFP

A court in Zimbabwe has ordered a prominent businesswoman to pay a fine of $5,000 (£4,000) for trying to smuggle gold worth more than $330,000 out of the country in her handbag.

Henrietta Rushwaya, the president of the Zimbabwe Miners Federation, was also given a suspended 18-month sentence.

In some African cultures she is considered a niece of President Emmerson Mnangagwa, but they are not related by blood.

Rushwaya, a strong supporter of the ruling party, was caught with gold bars weighing 6 kg at the main international airport in the capital, Harare, in 2020 as she was about to fly to the United Arab Emirates.

She did not have an export permit.

At the time she said she had accidentally picked up the wrong handbag. The gold has been forfeited to the state.

Brentford's Yoane Wissa scores as DR Congo begin their 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifying campaign with a 2-0 win over Mauritania.