Image source, Getty Images

The South African government has called on the International Crime Court (ICC) to issue an arrest warrant for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by mid-December.

Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni said if the ICC did not do this, it would signal a "total failure" of global governance.

"The world cannot simply stand by and watch," she said.

Israel says it is defending itself following the 7 October attack by Hamas which saw 1,200 people killed and more than 200 taken hostage.

It says it is trying to minimise civilian casualties but Ms Ntshavheni said the Israeli government was trying to "clear most of Gaza of Palestinians and occupy it".

South Africa, along with Bangladesh, Bolivia, Comoros and Djibouti, submitted a referral to the ICC to investigate whether war crimes and crimes against humanity have been committed in Gaza.

South Africa has long been a vocal supporter of the Palestinian cause.

The country has announced the withdrawal of its diplomats from Israel, and suggested that the position of Israel's ambassador to Pretoria was becoming "untenable".

Read more: South African divisions exposed by Israel-Hamas conflict

Paul Njie
BBC News

Image source, AFP

Chadian opposition leader Succès Masra has met with Transitional President Mahamat Déby as part of the national reconciliation programme initiated by the military-led government.

They held talks on Monday at the presidency alongside an envoy of Democratic Republic of Congo President Félix Tshisekedi, who facilitated an agreement between both parties last month in Kinshasa.

“It was the first meeting which will be followed by others to enable us respect the agreement,” Mr Masra told the BBC, adding that more proposals will be submitted to “make the transition acceptable to everyone, to land softly with elections where each and every one can present their societal projects to Chadians”.

His meeting with the military leader came barely a day after he urged his supporters at a grand rally to embrace reconciliation with the transitional government, and not seek revenge over the violent repression of protests in October 2022.

“We are people who intend to bring the country to a better destination for all Chadians, and in order to achieve that we must distinguish between justice and revenge,” Mr Masra said in an interview with the BBC.

The leader of the Transformers party also expressed his desire for Chad to be “part of modernity and democracy, without which the future of this country cannot be guaranteed”.

Mr Masra’s message of appeasement comes ahead of a referendum on 17 December, where Chadians are expected to vote the country’s new constitution. The referendum is meant to pave the way for the organisation of elections, ending the military transition and returning the country to civilian rule.

But some members of the opposition have called for a boycott of the referendum, while also criticising government’s announcement of amnesty for those involved in the violent episodes on 20 October last year which left about 50 people dead according to authorities.

Image source, Getty Images

South Africans should not let the Israel-Gaza conflict "deepen divisions", said President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday.

This comes after a pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian protest clashed in Cape Town last week.

The president addressed this incident in his weekly letter saying it was "troubling and unacceptable".

President Ramaphosa and the ANC have expressed solidarity with Palestinians.

He said "support for the Palestinian struggle cannot be equated with antisemitism".

Mr Ramaphosa went on to condemn an Israeli newspaper that called his government's support for the Palestinians a sign of the country "encouraging pogroms" against the South African Jewish community.

The letter urged South Africans to not turn against each other as this conflict unfolds.

Last week, South Africa referred Israel’s government to the International Criminal Court (ICC) over its actions in the Gaza conflict.

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 1,200 people died and more than 230 people were taken hostage.

Image source, EPA

President William Ruto has said that he is aiming to secure opportunities for Kenyans to find employment in Germany, amid a worsening unemployment crisis in his country.

He made the shortly before departing for Europe for a G20 meeting.

More than a dozen African leaders are heading to the German capital, Berlin, to seek economic opportunities, including labour export deals and increased investment in Africa’s economy.

“Germany’s chancellor was in Kenya about three to four months ago. I am travelling to Germany tonight because he promised us that we would secure 200,000 jobs. I must go follow up on those opportunities,” Mr Ruto said on Sunday.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz, whose recent visits to Africa have included trips to Kenya and Nigeria, has shown interest in boosting investment on the continent, especially in the critical minerals and green energy sectors.

This conference, under the heading of G20 Compact with Africa, aims to strengthen economic ties between African and G20 countries.

Thirteen African countries are part of the programme - Benin, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Morocco, Rwanda, Senegal, Togo and Tunisia.

Leaders from other African countries, including Kenya and Nigeria are attending the event as guests.

The vehicle Hannes Strydom was travelling in collided with a minibus taxi, local media report.

Richard Hamilton
BBC World Service newsroom

Image source, Reuters

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has opened a Global Food Security Summit in London.

The conference is a joint initiative between Britain, Somalia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), as well as organisations such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Representatives from more than 20 countries are attending.

Mr Sunak announced a new virtual hub to link British scientists with global research into climate-resilient crops.

As the summit began, the UN urged donors to urgently increase their aid and invest in long-term solutions to tackle what it called the root causes of hunger.

Delays at South Africa's port of Durban has led to a huge backlog in dealing with the cargo.

An estimated 70,000 containers are waiting to be off-loaded from more than 60 vessels, local media report.

It will take at least seven weeks to clear the build-up, Moneyweb reports, external.

Businesses are blaming the port authority, Transnet, for failing to fix faulty equipment at the port, eNCA reports, external.

Moneyweb says that the problem in Durban is having an impact n trade on across the region.

Image source, Getty Images

Former Springboks rugby player Hannes Strydom, who was part of the squad that won South Africa’s historic first Rugby World Cup in 1995, has died.

Strydom died in a car accident in Mpumalanga province on Sunday night.

He was aged 58.

Strydom’s ex-Springboks teammate Kobus Wiese told News 24 that Strydom’s car, which had one other person travelling in it, collided with a taxi.

He is the fifth member of the 1995 Springboks team to have died.

In their historic World Cup win at Johannesburg’s Ellis Park stadium, the team defeated New Zealand’s All Blacks 15-12.

The game, which was the first major sporting event in post-apartheid South Africa, was seen as an important moment in the reconciliation of the country, with President Nelson Mandela championing racial unity under the slogan “One Team, One Country.”

Image source, AFP

Madagascar’s incumbent President Andry Rajoelina has taken a massive early lead in last Thursday’s election, boycotted by some parties, with votes from 37% of polling stations counted by Sunday evening.

President Rajoelina currently leads with 62.4%, trailed by Siteny Randrianasoloniaiko at 12.2% and ousted ex-president Marc Ravalomanana at 11.2%.

In the polling stations tallied so far, Madagascar’s electoral commission said turnout was 43%.

Some opposition candidates who withdrew from the presidential contest have attributed the record low voter turnout to their calls to voters to boycott the election.

"The elections did not respect the required democratic standards and this was proven by the participation rate, which was the lowest in Madagascar's electoral history," opposition politician Hajo Andrianainarivelo said after Thursday's vote.

The run-up to the poll was marred by chaos, with 10 of the 12 opposition presidential candidates boycotting the poll, after failing to block Mr Rajoelina from running over his joint French citizenship.

They denounced President Rajoelina's bid for a third term and also raised concerns about the poll's credibility.

In the weeks leading up to the vote, there were demonstrations and clashes with police. A curfew was also imposed in the capital, Antananarivo, on the eve of the poll.

The Nigerian artists are the first winners in the new category at the Billboard Music Awards in the US.

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Nigeria's music megastar Burna Boy has emerged the winner of the Top Afrobeats Artist in the 2023 Billboard Music Awards in the US.

Fellow Nigerian Rema, alongside Selena Gomez, won the Top Afrobeats Song for Calm Down.

The two awards were among the nine new categories introduced this year to recognise the diversity and growth of the global music industry.

In his acceptance remarks, Burna Boy dedicated his win “to Africa and every artist coming out of Africa now”.

Rema said the honour for the song Calm Down “is a celebration of unity and the global domination of Afrobeats”.

He thanked Selena Gomez, Nigeria record label Mavin Records and his fans among others for their support.

Selena Gomez credited Rema for the award.

“This is honestly Rema’s doing. He chose me to be a part of such an incredible song.”

This year's ceremony for the first time took place at multiple locations, with Mariah Carey and David Guetta among the performers.

The private Catholic-run Godfrey Okoye University (GOUNI) in south-eastern Nigeria’s Enugu state has received court approval to conduct a mass burial of 33 bodies abandoned at the mortuary of its teaching hospital.

Some of the bodies have remained unclaimed for 18 years, the university's Vice-Chancellor Christian Anieke said on Sunday.

The university has given families a 21-day ultimatum to claim the bodies, before the planned mass burial.

“I am appealing to those who have corpses in the mortuary to come and remove them. We are talking about human beings here and not animals. Go and check if your relation is there,” Mr Anieke was quoted as saying by the Lagos-based Daily Sun newspaper.

The university teaching hospital intends to clear bodies to allow the facility to be upgraded.

The South African authorities have warned of a heatwave, with higher-than-average maximum temperatures expected in some parts of the country this week.

The weather service said on Sunday that heatwave conditions resulting in persistently high temperatures were expected in parts of Eastern Cape, Mpumalanga, Limpopo, Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal provinces.

The authorities have urged people to take precautions by avoiding exposure to the sun and drinking lots of water among other measures.

A heatwave is a period of hot weather where temperatures are higher than is expected for the time of year.

It can be dangerous especially for the vulnerable, including elderly people, children and people with underlying health conditions. It can cause heat exhaustion, heat stroke and dehydration.

The heatwave forecast comes a week after parts of Gauteng province were struck by a hail storm.

The storm caused extensive damage, blocking highways and damaging gardens, vehicles, car parks, buildings, roads and other property.

Emery Makumeno
BBC News, Kinshasa

Image source, AFP

The former Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Augustin Matata Ponyo, has withdrawn from next month's presidential election.

He said he would now be backing Moïse Katumbi, a millionaire businessman and former governor of the Katanga region.

Representatives of DR Congo's main opposition parties held talks earlier this week on how to ensure the election would be fair, and to investigate the possibility of a joint candidate to challenge President Félix Tshisekedi.

Mr Ponyo says he believes other opposition candidates will follow in his footsteps to withdraw in support of Mr Katumbi.

Both served during the time of former President Joseph Kabila - Mr Ponyo as PM for more than four years and Mr Katumbi as governor of the copper-rich Katanga province for nine years.

Mr Tshisekedi, who's seeking a second term, was among several candidates who officially launched their campaigns on Sunday.

The run-up to the 20 December vote has been tense.

Human rights groups have been accusing the authorities of cracking down on dissent and freedom of expression - charges the government denies.

Image source, Reuters

The bodies of two employees of Kenya's tax agency who had been swept away by floods while driving in the coast region on Friday were recovered on Sunday.

The Kenya Coast Guard also retrieved the body of a man who was swept away while riding his motorbike.

On Saturday, the authorities said that 10 people had been confirmed dead at the coast following three days of unrelenting heavy rains and floods.

More than 20,000 families have been displaced across the four affected counties of Mombasa, Kilifi, Kwale and Tana River, the Coast regional police commissioner Rhoda Onyancha said.

Overall, dozens of people have died and thousands displaced across the country since the beginning of November after heavy rains and floods caused by the El Niño weather phenomenon.

The heavy rains and resulting floods have killed dozens more in neighbouring countries, including Somalia and Ethiopia.

Read more about El Niño

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

Richard Hamilton
BBC World Service newsroom

Image source, AFP

The Sudanese authorities in the disputed area of Abyei say at least 32 people have been killed after gunmen stormed local villages.

The Information Minister for Abyei, Bolis Kuoch, said more than 20 others were wounded when men opened fire on Sunday morning.

He said UN peacekeepers intervened to stop the violence but one of the peacekeepers was killed.

There have been ongoing hostilities between communities in Abyei over land and resources.

The region, rich in oil reserves, lies on the border between Sudan and South Sudan and is considered to be part of both countries, since a peace agreement was signed in 2005.

Last week the UN Security Council extended the mandate of its peacekeeping mission there for one more year.

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