BBC News Africa

UNCopyright: UN

The UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo says it has suspended some of its peacekeepers in response to reports of serious misconduct.

It said it had a policy of zero tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse.

AFP news agency reports the accusations are against eight South African peacekeepers.

The Monusco mission has faced previous accusations of sexual abuse.

It has more than 14,000 troops in eastern DR Congo.

In recent years there have been several protests against the UN which is accused of failing to protect civilians against attacks by numerous armed groups.

AFPCopyright: AFP

Mali's ruling junta says they are still examining Air France's request to resume flights to the country.

Relations between former colonial power France and Russia-allied Mali have hit rock bottom since the 2020 military coup.

This August, France's national airline stopped flying to Mali in the wake of the military coup in neighbouring Niger.

Earlier this week Air France said it would start flying to Mali again from Friday onwards, saying it had reached a deal with the transitional authorities.

But this was later contradicted by Mali's transport ministry, which said it was still considering Air France's request to start flying to the country and it remained suspended for the time being.

Mali also accused the airline of having "unilaterally suspended" flights earlier without properly informing the authorities and customers beforehand. Air France has since said it is postponing flights to and from Mali until further notice.

South Africa is ready to mediate in the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian territories, says President Cyril Ramaphosa.

He is calling for an immediate ceasefire and says his country can draw on its experience of conflict resolution in Africa and beyond, Mr Ramaphosa added in the statement on Thursday.

The South African president said the atrocities against civilians were deeply concerning, and called for the immediate and unconditional opening of humanitarian corridors to reach people in need.

Electricity, water and fuel supplies to the Gaza strip have been cut off by Israeli authorities, who say they will only end the blockade once all Israeli hostages are returned.

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

Cameroonian authorities have denied abandoning victims of the deadly landslides in the capital, Yaoundé.

Sunday's landslide in the low-income Mbankolo neighbourhood left at least 31 people dead and destroyed homes, displacing families.

The local administrator in charge of coordinating emergency assistance said people complaining of not having a place to stay had chosen not to go to the temporary accommodation provided by the government.

Daouda Ousmanou told the BBC that some homeless victims opted to join their family members elsewhere, while about 16 others were being taken care of at a centre several kilometres away from the disaster site.

"These people are taken care of, but not all the victims are at the resettlement site," he said.

But some victims have said they still have not received any aid.

"All persons listed receive their aid after in-depth verification," insisted Mr Ousmanou, adding that other people from elsewhere had been claiming the government aid.

So far, Cameroonian authorities say about 40 families have received assistance from the government, and more had been expecting to get theirs on Wednesday.

AFPCopyright: AFP

Ghana's annual inflation rate has seen a small decline of two percentage points and in the 12 months to September prices rose by just over 38%.

The country's statistics body on Wednesday said food prices remain the main driver of the inflation rate.

The West African country is facing its worst economic hardship in over a generation marked by a cost-of-living crisis and huge public debt.

The government introduced tough measures including increasing utility tariffs, a review of existing taxes and the introduction of new ones to boost domestic revenue.

In May, the cocoa and gold-rich country secured a $3bn (£2.4bn) loan from the IMF to help ease the economic problems it faces.

GeCopyright: Ge

The authorities in South Africa's Western Cape province are searching for six prisoners who escaped from the holding cell of a magistrates' court

One of the prisoners has been arrested but the other five are still on the run.

Authorities say that the prisoners, aged between 20 and 33, are "armed and dangerous".

The prisoners were waiting to be transported to a correctional detention facility after appearing in court earlier on Wednesday.

"Preliminary investigation suggests that the detainees overpowered one of the police officials and disarmed him. Several shots were fired in the direction of the police officials, but no-one was hit or wounded," police spokesman Malcolm Pojie told South Africa's News 24 outlet.

He added that the offenders escaped on foot.

The offenders were on trial for multiple serious charges, including murder, attempted murder, aggravated robbery and assault.

Following their escape, the authorities have further charged them with escape from lawful custody, attempted murder and robbery of a firearm.

AFPCopyright: AFP

Kenya will end a six-year agreement that allowed more than 100 Cuban doctors to work in Kenyan hospitals.

Health Minister Susan Nakhumicha said on Wednesday that the move will help address challenges faced by Kenyan health workers, including the lack of employment opportunities.

“We have decided not to renew the agreement with the Cuban doctors. Our very own healthcare professionals are committed to the cause,” she said.

A 2017 deal established an exchange programme in which Cuban doctors would help fill the gap in county hospitals while Kenyans would travel to Cuba for specialised medical training.

It was unpopular with Kenyan medical professionals, who argued that local doctors had the requisite training just as their Cuban counterparts did.

There were also concerns that the Kenyan government was paying the Cuban professionals much more than their Kenyan counterparts – even as some locally trained doctors remained unemployed.

Doctors and other health workers in Kenya have often gone on strike to demand higher wages, better working conditions and for more doctors to be hired.

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

Zimbabwe’s main opposition party, the Citizen’s Coalition for Change (CCC), has rebuffed reports that its president, Nelson Chamisa, has been expelled from the party.

The rumour followed a "press statement" supposedly issued by Sengezo Tshabangu, who purports to be the party’s interim secretary-general.

The statement announced Mr Chamisa's expulsion for a litany of charges, including embezzlement of party funds and nepotism.

The document is the subject of much social media debate, with some suggesting a party split is imminent.

This is despite FactCheckZW, a website that seeks to verify reports, dismissing the statement as a fake.

CCC’s spokesperson Promise Mkwananzi told the BBC that Mr Tshabangu was not a member of the party but a “minion” of the ruling Zanu-PF party.

Mr Mkwananzi said Mr Chamisa was “in full control of the party” and presided over a Citizens' National Assembly meeting on Wednesday.

The assembly, said to be the highest decision-making body in the party, discussed a turbulent few days for the party in which a letter written by Mr Tshabangu led to 15 CCC members losing their parliamentary seats. Protests in parliament then led to the suspension of all CCC MPs for six sittings and the docking their pay.

The assembly said the CCC's legal department would give the Speaker of parliament two weeks to rescind the recall of the 15 CCC members.

Should the Speaker refuse to comply with their request, Mr Mkwananzi said the party's MPs and councillors would "disengage" from parliament and local councils and it would "activate" unspecified "citizens' actions".

The FBI and the Office of Ghana’s Special Prosecutor (OSP) are looking into the assets and financial transactions of embattled former minister Cecilia Abena Dapaah and her associates in the US.

In a post on social media app X, the OSP said: "This collaborative effort is to ascertain the lawfulness of Ms Dapaah and her associates' wealth, both in the context of their funds transitioning from Ghana to the United States and vice versa."

The former sanitation minister is currently under investigation by the OSP on allegations of corruption and corruption-related offences stemming from the discovery of over $1m (£813,300) in cash at her residence.

The money came to public attention after it was stolen by two domestic staff - and Ms Dapaah herself called the police.

She was forced to resign when some Ghanaians and MPs questioned the source of the money.

The former sanitation minister is now reported to have filed an application in court seeking to stop the Office of the Special Prosecutor from investigating her and her husband.

Ms Dapaah denies all allegations.

Read more:

• Ghana minister Cecilia Abena Dapaah reported a robbery. Why was she arrested?

FBCCopyright: FBC

The top student in this year’s national exams in Ethiopia has said she is "very pleased".

Hanan Neji may have excelled, but overall the national performance was one of the worst the country has ever seen.

Many Ethiopians have been expressing their shock over the mass failure rate after only 3.2% of students passed in the Grade 12 university entrance exams this year.

Only 27,000 of the 815,000 candidates who sat the exams will be able to directly go to university. Nearly half of all participating schools did not have a single student attaining the required pass mark, according to the education ministry.

But Ms Neji, from the capital, Addis Ababa, who scored 649 out of 700, told the BBC she was “very pleased” with the result.

“The exam was not tough. If you are prepared, it was an exam you could do,” she told the BBC, adding that many students had not prepared themselves well.

“There was no cheating and [many were not] able to do the exam. I think that’s why most students failed,’’ she said.

It is the second year in a row that Ethiopia has seen a mass failure of students. Last year, Education Minister Berhanu Nega called the results “shocking” after only 3.3% of nearly 900,000 students passed.

The number of students who reached the required pass mark this year is below the enrolling capacity of universities across the country.

The poor performance comes after authorities began sending students to university premises to sit their exams in order to stop cheating.

It is another headache for the country in the aftermath of a deadly war and other crises, with millions of children leaving school due to violence, drought and displacement.

EPACopyright: EPA

George Weah, Liberia's president, will accept the result of Tuesday's general election, an official from his party has said.

Jefferson Koijee, secretary general of the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change, told reporters: "This man has said many times that the peace of this country is above his own."

But Mr Koijee ruled out the possibility of defeat for Mr Weah, a 57-year-old former football star.

Election officials said the turnout for Liberia's fourth post-war was high.

Votes continue to be counted - the electoral commission will begin to release the results at 16:30 local time (17:30 BST).

Mr Weah is expected to face his strongest challenge from former Vice-President Joseph Boakai, 78, of the Unite Party. Mr Boakai was deputy to Ellen Johnson Sirleaf when she was president.

King Charles will acknowledge the "painful aspects" of the UK's history with Kenya when he makes a state visit to the East African country next month, his office says.

He will be joined by Camilla when he flies to Kenya following an invitation from President William Ruto, whose country is celebrating the 60th anniversary of its independence from Britain.

Kenya won independence from the UK in 1963 and the two nations have enjoyed a close relationship since.

Not forgotten, however, is the violent colonial legacy of the Mau Mau uprising which led to a period known as the Emergency.

Chris Fitzgerald, deputy private secretary to the King, said: "The King and Queen's programme will celebrate the close links between the British and Kenyan people in areas such as the creative arts, technology, enterprise, education and innovation.

"The visit will also acknowledge the more painful aspects of the UK and Kenya's shared history, including the Emergency (1952-1960).

"His Majesty will take time during the visit to deepen his understanding of the wrongs suffered in this period by the people of Kenya."

Read more:

• What is the Mau Mau uprising?
• British Mau Mau abuse papers revealed