BBC World Service

Nigeria's anti-corruption agency says it has recovered a further $445,000 (£357,000) during its ongoing investigation into the Ministry of Poverty Alleviation.

This is in addition to around $24m that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) announced last week it had already recovered from the ministry.

It has been investigating the suspended Nigerian minister, Betta Edu, and her predecessors over allegations of diverting Covid-19 funds and a World Bank loan.

Dr Edu has not commented on the EFCC's latest statement, but she has previously denied any wrongdoing.

Read more:

• Nigeria recovers $24m in poverty minister investigation - EFCC

Image source, Getty Images

About 90% of pharmacies in Liberia are selling stolen medicine donated by aid organisations, the US Agency for International Development (USAid) says.

USAid Mission Director Jim Wright at the weekend said such "acts of fraud" prevented Liberians from receiving donated essential medicines.

“That is unacceptable. That means that medicine is only available to patients that have enough money to buy them,” Mr Wright said.

Following the revelation, six Liberian civil groups have launched a national media campaign aimed at monitoring the distribution of aid medical supplies and raising awareness that donated medicines are free and should not be sold.

Mr Wright called for increased accountability, including the prosecution of those guilty of stealing and selling donated health supplies.

The Liberian authorities are yet to comment on this matter.

Former Zambia captain Rainford Kalaba suffers internal injuries following a fatal car accident on Saturday.

Elettra Neysmith
BBC World Service News

The French government says it hopes an international conference on Sudan being held in Paris will break the wall of silence around the year-long conflict.

France's foreign minister, Stéphane Séjourné, said the Sudanese people had been victims of indifference.

He said the war between the army and paramilitaries had inflicted massive suffering.

France has organised the gathering with Germany and the EU to raise desperately needed humanitarian funds and support mediation efforts.

The civil war has displaced millions, triggered waves of killings and brought Sudan to the brink of famine.

Critics say the international reponse has been pitiful, while the UN's response plan has received only a fraction of the funds it requires.

On the fifth anniversary of a fire that ravaged the French capital's Notre Dame cathedral, Save the Children contrasted the lack of donations for Sudan with the international response to the Paris blaze.

The charity said that in the first 105 days of 2024, the amount of money raised for the crisis in Sudan is less than a fifth of what was pledged in just two days to rebuild Notre Dame.

Read more about the crisis in Sudan:

• 'I have a front-row seat to my country falling apart'
• Sudanese football champions play on 'to distract people from war'
• What is famine, when is it declared and why are Sudan and Gaza at risk?

Image source, Coachella/YouTube

A South African acapella band have received widespread praise after performing with hit US musician Doja Cat at the Coachella music festival.

The Joy joined Doja Cat for her Sunday night headline slot, drawing acclaim for their mashup of the rapper's single "Shutcho".

The group sang in Zulu, delivering what Billboard , externalcalled a "gorgeous" five-part harmony.

Critics interpreted the performance as a nod to Doja Cat's heritage - the Grammy award-winning artist has a South African father.

South Africans on social media praised The Joy, who hail from the coastal city of Durban, for promoting the country's culture on the global stage.

"What a moment," the group wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, after the show.

The performance was watched by a crowd of nearly 100,000 fans gathered at Coachella's main stage. It was also livestreamed to thousands of other viewers online.

Doja Cat made history as the first female rapper to headline Coachella or any major annual music festival in the US.

It is believed that The Joy became the first South African group to perform on Coachella's main stage.

Coachella, an annual music festival in the California desert, draws thousands of people to see some of the world's biggest acts.

It is arguably the biggest and most prestigious US music festival.

Slam poet Emi Mahmoud wants the world not to forget Sudan, one year into its civil war.

Image source, Getty Images

The organisers of the Beijing Half Marathon have opened an investigation into allegations of race fixing involving Ethiopian and Kenyan athletes.

In footage that has gone viral on social media, Ethiopian athlete Dejene Hailu and Kenyan runners Robert Keter and Willy Mnangat appeared to intentionally let Chinese athlete He Jie win Sunday's half marathon.

The African trio seemed to slow down, external as they approached the finish line and repeatedly signalled He to overtake them to the finish line.

He, the 2023 Asian Games marathon gold medallist, was then congratulated by the three African athletes after he won the race by a second.

Some Chinese social media users have criticised He's win as "embarrassing" and unsportsmanlike, amid speculation that the race result was manipulated.

"We are investigating and will announce the results to the public once they are available," a representative of the Beijing Sports Bureau told AFP news agency on Monday.

The marathon's organiser also confirmed the investigation had been launched, AFP reported.

Neither He, Hailu, Keter or Mnangat have commented on the investigations.

Read more on this story:

• Beijing half marathon organisers investigating controversial finish

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

Image source, AFP

Several African countries have called on Israel to show restraint as its war cabinet meets to decide whether to retaliate against an unprecedented Iranian aerial attack on Saturday night.

Iran said it carried out the assault in response to an Israeli air strike on its consulate in Damascus on 1 April. The attack killed Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps officers.

Saturday's assault on Israel involved more than 300 drones and missiles, the vast majority of which were intercepted, Israel's military said.

Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa and Somalia have called for restraint to avoid further escalation.

South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation said in a statement, external on social media platform X that “all parties must exercise the utmost restraint and avoid any act that would escalate tensions in a particularly fragile region”.

Kenyan President William Ruto urged Israel “to show utmost restraint taking into account the urgent need for all parties to walk away from the brink beyond which recovery will be enormously difficult”.

He said the Iranian attack “represents a real and present threat to international peace and security”.

Somalia called on, external "the international community to take swift and decisive action to de-escalate the situation and reduce the risk of further conflict".

The Nigerian foreign ministry urged Israel and Iran, external to "reflect on the universal commitment to peaceful resolution of conflicts".

Image source, AFP

A group of civil and human rights groups in Kenya have demanded for an apology from the country's police chief, after he vowed to take action against striking health workers.

Public hospital doctors from the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) have been striking for just over a month, citing grievances like the non-payment of salary arrears and delays by the government to deploy medical interns.

Clinical officers - who are less qualified than doctors but have similar responsibilities - have also walked out.

Inspector General of Police Japhet Koome on Sunday accused the health workers of being "a public nuisance" by blocking roads and blowing whistles during demonstrations, "thus causing discomfort to patients in hospital and the general public".

"We have information that non-medics with the intention to cause havoc and terror to the public intend to join the ongoing processions, a move that poses a threat to public safety and security," he said, adding that the police "have been instructed to deal with such situations firmly and decisively".

KMPDU and eight civil and human rights groups demanded that Mr Koome retract and apologise for his statements or they would pursue legal action against him.

They also pledged to hold Mr Koome personally liable for any harm that befalls picketing and protesting health workers.

The Newsroom
BBC World Service

Image source, Reuters

Leading human rights charity Amnesty International has joined calls for Nigeria's government to stop Shell from selling its onshore oil business in the country.

The oil and gas firm's proposed sale should be blocked unless human rights in the Niger Delta region are protected, Amnesty said.

The charity argued that a trade by Shell would risk worsening human rights abuses if the pollution caused by the company is not addressed.

It says Shell must provide sufficient funds to clean up the environmental damage it has caused and that local communities should be consulted on the sale, which is worth more than $2.4bn (£2bn).

Activists blame Shell for frequent oil leaks in the Niger Delta, which among other problems, have led to the contamination of groundwater sources.

Nigeria's government has not commented on concerns about the sale.

Shell has previously promised that the new owners would deal with the damages.

Real Madrid's Vinicius Jr "can't fight racism alone" in Spain, says a player banned for confronting a fan about alleged abuse.

Some members of the Namibian ruling party are calling for the expulsion of European Union (EU) envoys from the country over a meeting with a top opposition figure last week.

The envoys met Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) party leader Panduleni Itula last Tuesday, at the residence of German ambassador Thorsten Hutter in the capital, Windhoek.

The meeting has sparked strong criticism from the government and the ruling Swapo party.

Vice-President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah said the meeting amounted to "highly questionable diplomacy", suggesting potential interference in the upcoming elections in the southern African country, local media reported.

In a statement on Sunday, the Swapo Party Youth League (SPYL) condemned diplomats from Germany, Finland, France, Spain and Portugal and called for their expulsion from Namibia, external.

It urged the Namibian authorities to "declare any foreign missions’ representatives who seek to interfere in the internal affairs of our country as persona non grata, without compromise".

But the EU mission in Namibia has denied claims that it discussed state matters or engaged in activities that could interfere in the upcoming elections in November, external.

It said the meeting was an "informal lunch" to discuss "the situation" in Namibia, including Mr Itula's election campaign.

Image source, Reuters

Chad's interim President Mahamat Idriss Déby has started campaigning for the presidential elections meant to restore his country to democratic civilian rule.

He will face nine other candidates in the poll scheduled for 6 May, including the junta-appointed Prime Minister Succès Masra.

"You know me, I am soldier and I hold my promises," Reuters news agency quoted Mr Déby as saying at his first campaign rally in the capital, N'Djamena.

He pledged to strengthen security and guarantee Chad's peace and stability.

Mr Déby initially promised an 18-month transition to democratic rule, after he seized power in 2021, following the death of his father.

But he later postponed the elections until this year, triggering protests that were violently suppressed by security forces.

Mr Déby is widely expected to win the election, which some opposition politicians have branded “a farce”.

His main rival, opposition leader Yaya Dillo, was killed in a shootout with security forces on 28 February. The government had blamed him for a deadly attack on the country's security agency, which he denied.

The Constitutional Court also barred 10 other candidates from vying last month, including two vocal junta critics.

Image source, AFP

Nearly 60 people have died since the start of April in heavy rains and flooding that has hit several parts of Tanzania, the government said.

The coastal region of the East African country is one of the worst affected, with floods damaging thousands of farms there, Mobhare Matinyi, the government spokesperson, said in a statement on Sunday.

"Serious flood effects are experienced in the coast region where 11 people have so far died," Mr Matinyi added.

He said, so far, 58 deaths have been recorded across the country from the flooding.

Last Friday, eight schoolchildren died after their bus plunged into a flooded gorge in the north of the country.

April marks the peak of Tanzania's rainy season. This year has seen the heaviest rainfall of recent years.

The deluge has also led to the deaths of at least 13 people and displaced some 15,000 in neighbouring Kenya, the UN said.

The El Niño weather phenomenon has worsened this year's seasonal rains, weather experts said.

Read more:

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

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Stephen Sackur speaks to Zimbabwean opposition politician Job Sikhala. He was recently released after almost two years in jail. Now he’s promising to build a grassroots movement to challenge the ruling Zanu-PF party. But amid economic crisis and political repression, is change possible?

Peers back five changes to the draft law aiming to revive the UK's Rwanda deportation scheme.

The UK project to set a new land speed record will try to get back on the road with a new driver.

The EU's Sentinel-1 satellite traces how the ground buckled in response to Friday's powerful quake.

Stephen Sackur is in Cape Town to speak to political cartoonist Jonathan Shapiro (Zapiro). Can satire work in a country still recovering from the prolonged trauma of apartheid?