BBC News Africa

Local officials in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo say a landslide killed at least 19 people on Sunday morning.

An official in the village of Bulwa in North Kivu province said the death toll was likely to rise.

He said some members of a group of women and children who had been washing laundry in a mountain stream were buried after the ground collapsed beneath them.

The search for more victims will resume on Monday.

The region has been battered for months by heavy rains which have triggered flooding and mudslides.

BBCCopyright: BBC

RPF-Inkotanyi/TwitterCopyright: RPF-Inkotanyi/Twitter

Rwanda's ruling party, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF-Inkotanyi), on Sunday elected its first woman vice-chairperson as President Paul Kagame retained the chairmanship position.

Consolee Uwimana was elected by 1,945 votes - about 93% of the votes cast.

Observers say promoting her is the party's way of giving more power to women and keeping the ethnicity quota balanced in its top leadership.

Ms Uwimana is a veteran banker and businesswoman who served as a senator between 2003 and 2013.

Rwanda's next general elections is scheduled for 2024.

President Kagame has been president of the East African nation since 2000. A controversial referendum in 2015 removed a two-term constitutional limit for presidents.

On Sunday, Mr Kagame got 99.8% of the total votes to retain leadership of the ruling party.

Rwanda has one of the world’s highest proportions of women in parliament and government

ReutersCopyright: Reuters

Kenya opposition leader Raila Odinga has called off protests planned for Monday to allow for bipartisan discussions on the formation of the country’s electoral commission.

Mr Odinga spoke an hour after President William Ruto asked him to call them off and allow for dialogue.

The opposition has been protesting twice a week against the cost of living, the formation of a new electoral commission and questioning the president’s election last year.

President Ruto has agreed to one demand and proposed a bi-partisan engagement in parliament on the reconstitution of the electoral commission.

But his statement did not mention the cost of living. He also asked Mr Odinga to respect the constitution and the Supreme Court, which validated his election last year.

In his speech, Mr Odinga acknowledged the president’s calls for dialogue and described Mr Ruto’s statement as important.

But he warned that protests would resume within one week if the talks did not bear fruit.

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

More than 40 South Sudanese soldiers have arrived in the Democratic Republic of Congo to join an East African force fighting a rebel group.

It is not clear when the rest of the 750 troops promised by South Sudan will be deployed.

They are part of a seven-nation regional force created last June to try to stabilise eastern DR Congo by supervising a withdrawal of M23 rebels.

Rwanda denies it backs the group which has seized large parts of North Kivu province, triggering a humanitarian crisis.

Staff at a secondary school in Nigeria have been charged with manslaughter over the death of 12-year-old girl, with a trial expected to begin in May.

The Chrisland High School pupil died of asphyxiation and electrocution, an autopsy has shown.

Since her death, the school has been shut down. The same school was temporarily closed last year after an alleged case of sexual violence involving students on a trip to Dubai.

Recently, several other schools in Lagos have been closed after alleged incidents that resulted in the death of students - variously involving bullying, a fatal accident and a suspected drowning during a swimming lesson.

Parents and residents of various schools are calling for stricter monitoring.

Others have called for strong sanctions against the affected schools to ensure management are held to account and future tragedies are avoided.

Said Fadhaye/IOMCopyright: Said Fadhaye/IOM

Six women and five men from Ethiopia are known to have died in a road accident in Somalia, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) says.

They were being transported by smugglers who reportedly planned to take them to Yemen via the port city of Bosaso, the IOM adds.

But the lorry carrying them overturned on Tuesday, a short distance from Bosaso. The IOM has only just released the details.

Investigations into how it happened are still under way, but at this stage local authorities say they believe the lorry had a mechanical issue and that no other vehicle was involved.

They confirm that 11 bodies have been buried. At least 20 other passengers were injured, the IOM says.

"We have buried the bodies and injured ones are being treated at Bosaso General Hospital," Bosaso municipality representative Mohamed Jama told the BBC.

.Copyright: .

Equatorial Guinea has suspended more than 300 fishing vessels for fraudulently flying its flag, Vice-President Teodoro Nguema Obiang has said.

He said of the 368 vessels fishing under the Equato-guinean flag, only 20 were registered with the ministry of transport and the International Maritime Organisation.

"The rest have been suspended for fraud. The next step is to put in place control and contract acquisition policies for the legal use of our flag," he posted on Twitter on Thursday.

This is not the first time the country has taken action against vessels illegally flying its flag.

In April 2022, Equatorial Guinea suspended 395 vessels for illegally sailing under its flag.

It followed the sinking of Xelo - a fishing vessel - in Tunisian territorial waters.

The vessel, allegedly flying the Equatorial Guinea flag, sank under suspicious circumstances, prompting the country to file a criminal lawsuit against its owners.

Mr Obiang Mangue subsequently sought international assistance and urged other countries to report vessels illegally flying the Equatorial Guinea flag.

Tunisia has introduced strict water rationing in the face of a prolonged drought that has severely depleted the country's main reservoirs.

The use of potable water on agricultural land is banned until the end of September, a move which the farmers' union says will result in a disastrous harvest.

Residents say that drinking water has been cut overnight in parts of the capital, Tunis, and in other cities in a bid to limit consumption.

Water levels in Tunisia's main dam have fallen to just 16% of maximum capacity.