Image source, AFP

"Kenya may face its first-ever cyclone," President William Ruto has told citizens in a national address, as the country reels from deadly flooding and landslides that have affected hundreds of thousands of people.

Officials estimate more than 200 people have died in Kenya since March, with a further 90 missing. A further 155 people have died in Tanzania, and 29 in Burundi.

Speaking on Friday, the Kenyan president said no corner of the country had been spared the "havoc" and warned that the situation was expected to worsen in the coming days with the arrival of more extreme weather.

"This cyclone, named Hidaya, could hit any time and is predicted to cause torrential rain, strong winds and powerful and dangerous waves which could potentially disrupt marine activities in the Indian Ocean and settlements along the Kenyan coast," he said.

"Our country must act decisively and swiftly to mitigate the devastating impacts of the present crisis and protect life and property."

President Ruto has also ordered that all schools be closed indefinitely following the heavy rains.

Residents near 178 bodies of water have been told to leave as flooding is set to worsen.

Image source, Getty Images

The Kenyan authorities have denied reports that highly poisonous snakes in the capital city, Nairobi, were swept from their cages by raging floods.

Online reports had stated that dangerous reptiles, including crocodiles, were displaced by the intense flooding that continues to devastate large parts of the country.

In a statement, the National Museums of Kenya said that all snakes and other exhibits were well preserved, external.

“This is to inform the public that at the National Museums of Kenya, the safety and security of all our live exhibits is paramount,” reads a public notice.

The museum's snake park in Nairobi is a popular attraction, with visitors stopping by to look at a range of reptiles.

The National Museums of Kenya reassured the public that all reptiles have been accounted for, allaying fears that they could be roaming around the city and posing a risk to residents.

At least 210 people have died as a result of flooding across the country.

Image source, Getty Images

The Catholic Church in Uganda is facing a critical shortage of altar wine, local media report.

The shortage is said to have persisted since February. It is being attributed to the war in Gaza, which has delayed imports.

Local media report that the church’s holding firm, JW InterServices, this week alerted dioceses regarding the matter, and advised them to cautiously use the stock they already had.

The church gets its wine from Spain and the product is normally shipped through the Mediterranean and the Red Sea.

But because of a change in route, a consignment that had been due to arrive at the beginning of April, was now due by the end of this month.

“The ships have been diverted to take longer and safer routes through the Atlantic and the Indian Ocean which has caused a major crisis and delays of their arrival to Mombasa port,” the Observer newspaper quoted, external JW InterServices’ managing director, Father Asiku Alfred Tulu, as saying.

Altar wine is an important part of the ritual of Holy Communion - through which Christians remember the sacrifice of Jesus' death.

The Russians are said to be sharing a wing of Niger's main airport, but not mingling with US troops.

BBC Newsday
World Service radio

A senior UN official warns that the situation in Sudan will have significant effects well beyond the Horn of Africa unless more is done to address the year-old civil war between the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Speaking to BBC Newsday, Toby Harward, the UN Deputy Humanitarian Co-ordinator for Sudan, described the situation in and around the city of El Fasher in North Darfur as "catastrophic":

The senior UN official described increasing arbitrary killings, the burning of entire villages, intensifying air bombardments and a tightening siege that is preventing the delivery of humanitarian aid.

El Fasher is the last city in the Darfur region still under army control and fears are growing that the paramilitary RSF and its allied militias are preparing an attack.

An estimated 250,000 people were killed in Liberia's two civil wars between 1989 and 2003.

Ashley Lime
BBC News, Nairobi

Image source, Gerald Anderson/Anadolu via Getty Images

In the wake of devastating floods, the Kenyan government says it has set up more than 100 camps to house over 27,500 people.

That is a fraction of the more than 190,000 people who have been affected by the floods, according to government data. So far, 210 people are known to have died.

President William Ruto is expected to address the nation amid growing pressure to declare the floods a national disaster.

People living near 178 dams and reservoirs that have "filled up or nearly filled up" across the country were on Thursday directed to evacuate within 24 hours.

At the same time, a vacation notice was given to people living within 30m of the Nairobi River system and other water courses across the country.

Compulsory evacuation along rivers in the capital, Nairobi, was ongoing as the government provided logistical support, temporary shelter and essential supplies to those affected, Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki said.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport will hear an appeal about a map of Morocco on a football shirt which has angered Algerians.

The BBC explains why the biggest crypto-exchange platform in the world faces legal trouble in Nigeria.

Image source, Getty Images

A dozen Malawians have been arrested in Israel for leaving their designated work stations in farms to seek employment in a town, the authorities say.

They were among 40 foreign workers who abandoned their farm work in southern Israel to seek jobs at a bakery in Bnei Brak city, east of Tel Aviv, Malawi's Information Minister Moses Kunkuyu told local media.

He did not say if Malawi was engaging with the Israeli authorities on the matter, but he urged Malawians there to respect the terms of their employment and avoid engaging in illegal activities.

Austin Chipeta, the leader of the Malawi Society in Israel, told Malawi's The Nation news website that the group, which fled the Arava and Lion farms, was detained at a maximum security prison in south Tel Aviv, near Shapira neighbourhood, pending deportation.

Salaries at the farms were low and the Malawians were seeking better paying jobs in nearby towns, Mr Chipeta said.

Last year, 221 Malawians departed for Israel to work as farm labourers in a labour export deal signed between the two countries in 2022.

The deal is aimed at generating more foreign exchange revenue for Malawi and providing employment opportunities for its citizens.

However, the deal has faced criticism and controversy, with some opposition politicians and human rights groups expressing concerns about the secrecy surrounding the deal and the potential risks to workers’ safety.

According to Israel's Haaretz newspaper, at least 17 foreign students brought over by an Israeli government farming programme have ended up as victims of modern slavery, external [article paywalled].

Read more:

• Kenya follows Malawi in sending farm workers to Israel amid Hamas war

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Russian forces have entered an air base in Niger where US troops still remain following the Nigerien junta’s decision to expel them from the country.

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin confirmed that Russian military personnel had entered an air base but were in a separate compound.

He told a news conference in the US that it was not a significant issue as they did not have access to US personnel or equipment.

“Airbase 101 where our forces [are], is a Nigerien air force base that is co-located with an international airport in the capital city. The Russians are in a separate compound and don’t have access to US forces or access to our equipment,” he said.

A senior US defence official had earlier told the Reuters news agency that the situation was “not great but in the short-term manageable”.

US and Russia's military and diplomatic relationships have been frosty since Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Before the Niger coup last year, the US had been the country's key partner alongside other allies in the fight against Islamist insurgents in the region.

Niger is in Africa's Sahel region, which is considered the new global epicentre of the Islamic State group.

After the coup, Nigerien military leaders have sought closer ties with Russia, after souring relations with Western countries, including France.

Two humanitarian workers have been killed by gunmen and three others wounded in Sudan’s South Darfur, an aid agency said.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said in a statement that two of its drivers were killed by gunmen on Thursday in the volatile region, external.

"The team was on its way back from Layba to assess the humanitarian situation of communities affected by armed violence in the region when the incident occurred," it added.

The gunmen are yet to be identified and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which controls South Darfur, has yet to comment on the incident.

The ICRC called for the immediate protection of all civilians, including humanitarian workers and medical personnel.

"They must never be directly attacked," it added.

Nearly 20 aid workers had been killed in the Sudanese conflict since it erupted in April last year, according to the UN.

Image source, Reuters

Former South African President Jacob Zuma will honour summons by the governing African National Congress (ANC), his new party says.

The ANC on Thursday announced it had served Mr Zuma with a notice to appear before its disciplinary panel after he declared support for a rival party in this year's general election.

Mr Zuma is now the leader and face of the Umkhonto weSizwe (MK) party and he has been campaigning for it ahead of elections later in May. He was suspended from ANC in January.

MK party spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela said that Mr Zuma was not a coward and would attend his disciplinary hearing, EyeWitness news website reported, external.

It is scheduled for next Tuesday.

He is reportedly facing two counts - one for publicly endorsing the MK party and another for registering as a candidate for the elections under the new party.

Mr Zuma, who was president from 2009 to 2018, still enjoys considerable political clout in South Africa and has recently garnered major media attention.

Image source, AFP

Two Nigerian soldiers will face trial over a drone bombing that killed dozens of civilians last year in the north-western Kaduna state, the defence headquarters has said.

It said the soldiers would face “a court martial for acts of omission or commission with respect to the incident”, in which at least at least 85 civilians were killed.

The strike on 3 December happened during a Muslim religious celebration. The state governor then said the civilians were "mistakenly killed" by a military drone "targeting terrorists and bandits”.

President Bola Tinubu ordered an investigation into the “bombing mishap”.

On Thursday, a military spokesman said they had concluded a “painstaking investigation” and had initiated disciplinary action.

Maj Gen Edward Buba emphasised that the incident had been a “mistake”.

He said the military is taking precautions to ensure there are no such strikes on civilians in future.

Image source, Reuters

Kenya's President William Ruto is due to address the nation amid mounting pressure to declare the ongoing heavy floods a national disaster.

State House spokesman Hussein Mohamed, who made the announcement, did not give details about the address set for Friday.

But President Ruto is expected to speak about the ongoing heavy rains that have killed at least 188 people since March and displaced hundreds of thousands.

The address comes a day after the cabinet warned that the coastal region was likely to be hit by a cyclone, accompanied by heavy rainfall, large waves and strong winds that could affect activities in the Indian Ocean.

The cabinet, which met for the second time this week, also said that average to above-average rains would continue being experienced across the country.

The government has ordered people living near 178 dams and reservoirs to evacuate immediately or be forced to move to safer grounds.

Opposition leader Raila Odinga has appealed to the president to declare the floods a national disaster to pave the way for international support.

Neighbouring Tanzania, where at least 155 people have been killed in flooding and landslides, is also expected to feel the force of Cyclone Hidaya.

Wazir Khamsin
BBC News

Image source, EPA

Liberian President Joseph Boakai has signed an executive order to set up a long-awaited war crimes court, more than two decades after the end of the country's devastating civil wars.

The order is a major step towards establishing the tribunal, which Mr Boakai said would help to bring ''justice and closure".

About a quarter of a million people died in Liberia's two civil wars between 1989 and 2003.

The conflicts saw widespread atrocities including mass killings, rape and the forced recruitment of child soldiers.

Some in Liberia have opposed the court's creation, saying it risks reopening old wounds.

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