Tanzania population rises to 61.7 million

DODOMA, Tanzania

Tanzania’s population expanded by 16 million in ten years to 61.7 million, President Samia Hassan announced from Dodoma on Monday.

Tanzania's commercial capital Dar es Salaam is poised to become one of the world's most heavily populated cities in the years to come with current population of 5.38 million people, followed by Mwanza with 3.69 inhabitants while the semi-autonomous archipelago of Zanzibar is home to 1.9 million people, an increase of 600,000.

The East African country's population grew from 44.9 million in 2012 to more than 60 million, according to the census carried out earlier this year, with president saying the numbers reflected an annual increase of 3.2 percent.

"Such population might not be a big deal for a huge country like ours but it's a burden when it comes to allocating resources and delivering social services," Hassan said during an event broadcast live from the capital Dodoma.

"We need to start preparing development projects for these people and make necessary reforms in our policies to match with the current numbers," Hassan said, pointing out that the country's population was projected to reach 151.2 million in 2050.

Dar es Salaam, which lies on Tanzania's Indian Ocean coast, grew from a fishing village to become the country's largest city.

A World Bank report in 2019 said Dar es Salaam was "one of the fastest growing cities in Africa, and with a growth rate of 6.5 percent, it is expected to reach 10 million residents by 2030.

"Because of this rapid growth, the city faces serious congestion and mobility challenges, which are worsened by an undeveloped road network."

President Hassan said the census results showed there are 59.8 million in Tanzania mainland and 1.9 million in the Zanzibar islands.

Of the total population, 31.7 million are females, and 30 million are males.

The Tanzania National Bureau of Statistics conducted the Population and Housing Census (PHC), the sixth since independence in 1964, from August 23 to September 4.

Tanzania’s population stood at 44.9 million in the 2012 census.

"Path to peace in eastern DRC lies in diplomatic processes" - Kagame

KIGALI, Rwanda

Rwanda President Paul Kagame said Monday that the means to a peaceful end of hostilities in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo lies in diplomatic processes which were launched in Kenya’s capital Nairobi and Luanda, the capital of Angola.

He made the remarks following Sunday’s phone talks with the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, about the escalating conflict in eastern DRC.

The DR Congo accuses Rwanda of backing the rebels, a charge Kigali has persistently denied.

Sunday’s talks came as rebels gained ground, capturing some key towns in the Rutshuru territory in the DR Congo North Kivu Province after days of fighting.

In a tweet, Kagame said he held a “good discussion” with Guterres on the conflict in eastern DR Congo. “The ways and means to de-escalate the conflict and address the issues to a peaceful end in eastern DR Congo are with us building on the Nairobi, Luanda and other international efforts,” the Rwandan leader said.

We just have to commit ourselves to apply them, he said.

Kagame and his Congolese counterpart Felix Tshisekedi in July held talks aimed at defusing tensions between the two neighbouring countries.

The talks, brokered by Angola president, Joao Lourenco in Luanda, were convened amid tensions over allegations that Rwanda is backing the M23 rebels in the DR Congo. The summit agreed upon dialogue and a “roadmap” which includes the reactivation of a joint intelligence team as well as addressing the issue of Rwandan rebels of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) based in the DR Congo.

But on Saturday, the tensions between the two countries hit a new low after Kinshasa expelled Rwandan ambassador to the country Vincent Karega amid intensified fighting between the M23 rebels and DR Congo government troops in the North Kivu province. 

Rwanda in a statement Sunday ‘regretted’ the decision to expel its ambassador.

The Nairobi process launched by the East African Community bloc in April, meanwhile, emphasizes dialogue under the chair of former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta.

However, Kinshasa has said it will not accept talks with M23, saying it is a terrorist group being externally supported to continue the war, which presents a challenge.

Guterres expressed deep concerns over the resumption of the hostilities which have so far resulted in civilian casualties, displaced thousands, and led to the injury of four peacekeepers from the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO).

"The Secretary-General urges the M23 and other armed groups to immediately cease hostilities and to disarm unconditionally,” a statement issued by the Secretary General’s spokesperson after the talks said.

At least 132 die in India bridge collapse

GUJARAT, India

Authorities in India say at least 132 people have died following the collapse Sunday of a recently renovated, century-old suspension bridge over the Macchu river in the western state of Gujarat.

People gather as rescuers search for survivors after a suspension bridge collapsed in Morbi town in the western state of Gujarat, India, Oct. 31, 2022.

Many people have been hospitalized and officials say they fear the death count could rise.

Local media reports said Monday that the nearly 150-year-old bridge opened five days ago after undergoing “seven months of repair work by a private firm.” The reports said the Morbi city bridge had not, however, received the local government’s fitness or safety certificate.

Hundreds of people had crowded onto the bridge during celebrations for the Hindu festival of Diwali, officials said.

Emergency workers and teams of military personnel have been deployed to the site to help in the rescue operation.

Authorities are planning to stop water supply to the river from the nearby check dam and use pumps to de-water the river to speed up the search operation, Agence France-Press reported.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was in Gujarat at the time of the accident, said he was “deeply saddened by the tragedy” in his home state. His office has announced compensation for the families of the dead.

Concerns rise as Russia resumes grain blockade of Ukraine

KYIV, Ukraine

Russia resumed its blockade of Ukrainian ports on Sunday, cutting off urgently needed grain exports to hungry parts of the world in what U.S. President Joe Biden called a “really outrageous” act.

Biden warned that global hunger could increase because of Russia’s suspension of a U.N.-brokered deal to allow safe passage of ships carrying grain from Ukraine, one of the world’s breadbaskets.

“It’s really outrageous,” Biden said Saturday in Wilmington, Delaware. “There’s no merit to what they’re doing. The U.N. negotiated that deal and that should be the end of it.”

Biden spoke hours after Russia announced it would immediately halt participation in the grain deal, alleging that Ukraine staged a drone attack Saturday against Russia’s Black Sea Fleet off the coast of occupied Crimea. Ukraine has denied the attack, saying that Russia mishandled its own weapons.

Ukraine’s Infrastructure Ministry reported Sunday that 218 ships involved in grain exports have been blocked — 22 loaded and stuck at ports, 95 loaded and departed from ports, and 101 awaiting inspections.

One of the blocked ships, carrying 40,000 tons of wheat for Ethiopia under a U.N. aid program, could not leave Ukraine on Sunday as a result of Russia’s “blockage of the grain corridor,” Oleksandr Kubrakov, Ukraine’s minister of infrastructure, said on Twitter. The ship, Ikaria Angel, was stuck in the Black Sea port of Chornomorsk.

The Istanbul-based UN center coordinating the ship passages later said the Ikaria Angel was among six vessels that began moving out but hadn’t yet entered a humanitarian corridor. The center reported on plans to move and inspect other ships on Monday but it wasn’t clear whether Russia would agree.

The grain initiative — an example of rare wartime cooperation between Ukraine and Russia — has allowed more than 9 million tons of grain in 397 ships to safely leave Ukrainian ports since it was signed in July. U.N. chief António Guterres had urged Russia and Ukraine on Friday to renew the deal when it expires Nov. 19. The grain agreement has brought down global food prices about 15% from their peak in March, according to the U.N.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskky expressed outrage at Russia’s decision. Referring to the Ikaria Angel, he said in his nightly video address Sunday, “This bulk ship with wheat for the U.N. food program and other vessels with agricultural products are forced to wait, because Russia is blackmailing the world with hunger.”

Two initiatives to revive the grain deal were reported Sunday.

Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar was in talks with his counterparts to “solve the problem and to continue the grain initiative,” his agency said, adding that no more grain ships would leave Ukraine but those already waiting near Istanbul would be inspected on Sunday or Monday.

At the United Nations in New York, Guterres delayed a trip by a day to engage in talks aimed at ending Russia’s suspension of the grain export deal. Russia also requested a meeting Monday of the U.N. Security Council to discuss the topic.

Analysts say Russia’s withdrawal shows that it sees the grain deal as another way to pressure Ukraine.

“By leaving the deal now and putting the blame on Ukraine, it aims to slow Ukrainian attacks around the Black Sea,” said Mario Bikarski, a Economist Intelligence Unit analyst. Russia could be hoping that Ukraine’s Western allies might ask it to focus its forces elsewhere to save the grain deal, he said.

More conflicting details emerged Sunday about the alleged attack on Russia’s Black Sea Fleet.

The city council of Mariupol, a Ukrainian port now controlled by Russia, claimed on Telegram that Ukrainian special services had destroyed at least three Russian warships near the city of Sevastopol on the Russian-annexed Crimean Peninsula.

But an adviser to Ukraine’s Interior Ministry claimed that the Russians’ “careless handling of explosives” had caused blasts on four Russian warships. Anton Gerashchenko wrote on Telegram that the vessels included a frigate, a landing ship and a ship that carried cruise missiles.

Reports have surfaced for months of Ukrainian sabotage of Russian warplanes and ammunition depots on Crimea and Zelenskky has vowed repeatedly to recapture the strategic Black Sea peninsula that Russia annexed in 2014.

Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed Sunday that one Ukrainian drone that reportedly attacked Sevastopol appeared to emanate from a civilian ship carrying agricultural products from Ukraine. The ministry claimed an inspection of the wreckage showed the drones used Canadian-made navigation and their launch point was the Ukrainian coast near the port of Odesa.

Independent verification of each side’s claims was not possible.

Ukraine appears to have targeted the Black Sea Fleet and other Russian military infrastructure on Crimea — far from the front lines but a critical launching pad for attacks against Ukraine — since the spring, although it often doesn’t confirm its responsibility.

On the battlefront, Russian missile attacks kept pounding key front-line hot spots in Ukraine. The Russians shelled seven Ukrainian regions over the past 24 hours, killing at least five civilians and wounding nine more, Ukraine’s presidential office said.

In the eastern Donetsk region, where the fighting is ongoing near the cities of Bakhmut and Avdiivka, eight cities and villages were shelled.

In areas that Ukraine has recaptured, residents are still recovering bodies of killed civilians, Donetsk Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenko said.

“Over the past 24 hours alone, in three de-occupied towns and villages, we found abandoned bodies of Ukrainian civilians,” Kyrylenko said.

Ukraine’s Interior Minister Denys Monastyrskiy said Sunday that Russian forces were mining territories they leave behind twice as densely as during the first months of the war.

Power outages were reported Sunday in the occupied Ukrainian city of Enerhodar, home to the closed Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, Europe’s largest. Ukrainian and Russian officials traded blame for the shelling that caused the blackout.

Lula the "shoe shiner" becomes Brazil president

SAO PAULO, Brazil

Luiz Inácio “Lula” da Silva has been elected the next president of Brazil, in a stunning comeback following a tight run-off race on Sunday. His victory heralds a political about-face for Latin America’s largest country, after four years of Jair Bolsonaro’s far-right administration.

A supporter of Lula da Silva reacts while gathering with fellow supporters on the day of the Brazilian presidential election run-off, in Brasilia, Brazil October 30, 2022.

The 76-year-old politician’s win represents the return of the left into power in Brazil, and concludes a triumphant personal comeback for Lula da Silva, after a series of corruption allegations lead to his imprisonment for 580 days. The sentences were later annulled by the Supreme Court, clearing his path to run for reelection.

“They tried to bury me alive and I’m here,” he said in a jubilant speech to supporters and journalists on Sunday evening, describing the win as his political “resurrection.”

“Starting on January 1, 2023, I will govern for the 215 million Brazilians, not just the ones who voted for me. There are not two Brazils. We are one country, one people, one great nation,” Lula da Silva also said.

He will take the reins of a country plagued by gross inequality that is still struggling to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic. Approximately 9.6 million people fell under the poverty line between 2019 and 2021, and literacy and school attendance rates have fallen. He will also be faced with a deeply fractured nation and urgent environmental issues, including rampant deforestation in the Amazon.

This will be his third term, after previously governing Brazil for two consecutive terms between 2003 and 2010.

The former leader’s victory on Sunday was the latest in a political wave across Latin America, with wins by left-leaning politicians in Argentina, Colombia and Chile. But Lula da Silva – a former union leader with a blue-collar background – has sought to reassure moderates throughout his campaign.

He has built a broad alliance including several politicians from the center and center-right, including historical opponents from the PSDB, Brazil’s Social Democrat Party. Among these politicians is his vice-president, former São Paulo governor Geraldo Alckmin, who has been cited by the Lula camp as a guarantee of moderation in his administration.

On the campaign trail, Lula da Silva has been reluctant to show his cards when it came to outlining an economic strategy – a tendency that earned sharp criticism from his competitors. “Who is the other candidate’s economy minister? There isn’t one, he doesn’t say. What will be his political and economic route? More state? Less state? We don’t know…,” said Bolsonaro during a live transmission on YouTube on October 22.

Lula da Silva has said that he would push Congress to approve a tax reform which would exempt low-earners from paying income tax. And his campaign received a boost from centrist former presidential candidate Simone Tebet, who came third in the first round earlier this month and gave Lula da Silva her support in the run-off. Known for her ties with Brazil’s agricultural industry, Tebet said in an October 7 press conference that Lula da Silva and his economic team had “received and incorporated all the suggestions from our program to his government’s program.”

He has also received the support of several renowned economists highly regarded by investors, including Arminio Fraga, a former president of the Brazilian Central Bank.

Lula da Silva received more than 60 million votes, the most in Brazilian history, breaking his own record from 2006.

But despite the huge turnout from his supporters, his victory was by a narrow margin – Lula da Silva won 50.90% of the vote and Bolsonaro received 49.10%, according to Brazil’s electoral authority.

His biggest challenge now may be unifying a politically fractured country.

Hours after the results were announced, Bolsonaro had yet to concede defeat or make any public statement. Meanwhile, videos on social media showed his supporters had blocked highways in two states to protest against Lula da Silva’s victory.

“We will only leave once the army takes over the country,” one unidentified Bolsonaro supporter said in a video taken in the southern state of Santa Catarina.

Lula da Silva will need to pursue dialogue and rebuild relationships, said Carlos Melo, a political scientist at Insper, a university in São Paulo. “The president can be an important instrument for this as long as he is not only concerned in addressing his base of voters,” he said.

With more than 58 million votes cast for his rival Bolsonaro – who had been endorsed by former US President Donald Trump – Lula da Silva will have to form “pragmatic alliances” with parts of the center and the right that bought into his predecessor’s politics, adds Thiago Amparo, professor of law and human rights at FGV business school in São Paulo.

At the same time, he will have to deliver to match supporters’ expectations, Amparo added. “Many voters went to the ballot expecting that, not just to get rid of Bolsonaro, but with memories of better economic times during Lula’s previous governments.”

Many will be watching for potential change to the 2017 Labor Reform Act, which subjected more workers’ rights and benefits to negotiation with employers, and made union contributions optional. Lula da Silva had said previously that he would revoke the act but recently changed the verb to “review” following criticisms from the private sector.

He may find that enacting his agenda is an uphill battle, Amparo warns, especially with a hostile Congress. Seats that were from the traditional right are now occupied by the far right, who are not open to negotiation and not easy to deal with, underlines Amparo.

In the latest elections, Bolsonaro’s Liberal Party increased its representatives in the lower house from 76 to 99, while in the Senate it doubled from seven members to 14. Lula da Silva’s Workers’ Party has also increased its number of deputies from 56 to 68 and senators from seven to eight – but overall, conservative-leaning politicians will dominate the next legislature.

That friction will require some compromises, points out Camila Rocha, a political scientist at the Cebrap think tank. “[Bolsonaro’s] Liberal Party will have the highest number of representatives and important allies and will make real opposition to the government, [Lula da Silva’s] Worker’s Party will have to sow a coalition with [traditional rightwing party] União Brasil in order to govern, which means the negotiation of ministries and key positions,” Rocha told to CNN.

AU appeals for ceasefire as rebels advance in DR Congo

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia

African Union officials on Sunday appealed for an end to the growing violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a day after rebels made further progress there and Kinshasa expelled Rwanda's ambassador.

In their statement on Sunday, the AU officials called for an immediate ceasefire.

All parties, they said, should "respect international law, the safety and security of civilians and the stability at the borders of all countries in the region".

The DR Congo government said on Saturday it was expelling Kigali's envoy over what it said was Rwanda's backing for the M23 rebels making fresh inroads in the east of the country.

Rwanda, which denies the accusation, on Sunday expressed regret at the decision, adding that its troops at the two countries' border were on "high alert".

The AU on Sunday urged all the parties to engage "in a constructive dialogue" to ensure peace in the troubled region, calling them to peace talks in Nairobi next month.

Angola's President Joao Lourenco said he would dispatch his Foreign Minister Tete Antonio to DR Congo to mediate the dispute. 

But Kinshasa's announcement late Saturday suggests they have lost patience with regional mediation efforts.

In recent days "a massive arrival of elements of the Rwandan element to support the M23 terrorists" against DR Congo's troops had been observed, said government spokesman Patrick Muyaya.

Condemning what he described as a "criminal and terrorist" adventure, he announced the expulsion of Rwanda's envoy Vincent Karega.

Hours earlier, reports had come in that the M23 rebels had seized more territory in the vast mineral-rich DRC, prompting the UN peacekeeping mission to increase its "troop alert level" and boost support for the army.

The longrunning dispute has already been the object of several regional peace initiatives, including one by the seven nations of the East African Community (EAC) coordinated by former Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta.

Kenyatta said on Sunday he was "profoundly concerned" by the escalation of conflict and the resulting humanitarian crisis.

The EAC, he said, called for an end to the fighting and unhindered access for aid work.

Hours after Kinshasa's announcement late Saturday, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said he was trying to reach both DR Congo President Felix Tshisekedi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame.

The UN peacekeeping mission MONUSCO meanwhile condemned the latest advance by the M23 rebels at Kiwanja and Rutshuru in the east, saying their "indiscriminate strikes" were hitting the civilian population.

M23, a mostly Congolese Tutsi group, resumed fighting in late 2021 after lying dormant for years, accusing the government of having failed to honour an agreement over the demobilisation of its fighters.

It has since captured swathes of territory in North Kivu, including the key town of Bunagana on the Ugandan border in June.

Relations between Rwanda and DR Congo have been strained since the mass arrival in the eastern DRC of Rwandan Hutus accused of slaughtering Tutsis during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.

Kinshasa has regularly accused Rwanda of carrying out incursions into its territory, and of backing armed groups there. Kigali has denied involvement. - AFP

Eleven die in stampede at Fally Ipupa concert in DR Congo

KINSHASA, DR Congo

A stampede left nine spectators and two police officers dead during a packed concert by African music star Fally Ipupa at the biggest stadium in DR Congo's capital, the interior minister said Sunday, blaming the organisers.

Too many people had been allowed into Kinshasa's 80,000 capacity Martyrs' stadium on Saturday night, Interior Minister Daniel Aselo Okito told the Actualite.cd news website.

"Eleven people dead... including two police," the minister told reporters at the stadium, sending condolences to relatives of the casualties.  

He deplored the frequent "loss of human life and damage to equipment" during events held at the stadium.

The organisers "went beyond 100 percent capacity... they must be punished", the minister said.

"It was a stampede," that caused the deaths, a policeman on the scene told the official Congolese Press Agency ACP.

"The music-lovers suffocated."

Kinshasa police chief General Sylvain Sasongo had earlier told ACP nine people had died, amid reports the venue had been absolutely jammed with people for the local favourite's performance, with one witness saying "even the corridors" of the stadium were overflowing.

ACP, which had reporters in the stadium covering the concert, said police had cordoned off three areas to secure the pitch, the VIP stand and the stage.

"Under the pressure of the crowd, the police could not hold out long," ACP said.

On his Facebook page, Fally Ipupa said he was horrified to learn what had happened.

"Despite all the measures taken for the strict respect of security requirements, unfortunate and dramatic events marred the end of the concert. 

"It appears from elements at our disposal that after jostling at the exit and around the stadium compatriots were dragged to their deaths.

"I am deeply shocked and offer my most heartfelt condolences to all the families concerned.

"May God in his deep mercy comfort their broken hearts."

The singer-songwriter, "like all Congolese singers", had arrived several hours after the show had been scheduled to start, ACP reported.

The Kinshasa-born 44-year-old, who blends traditional African harmonies with urban musical genres, is one of Africa's leading musicians whose albums sell world-wide.

The disaster comes hours after the more than 150 people were killed in a stamped at a Halloween event in Seoul, South Korea.

DR Congo expels Rwandan ambassador as M23 rebels gain ground

KINSHASA, DR Congo

The authorities in Kinshasa on Saturday announced they were expelling the Rwandan ambassador as M23 rebels they accuse Kigali of supporting made fresh gains in the east of the troubled country.

The announcement, made by government spokesman Patrick Muyaya, came after a government meeting to assess the security situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The latest advance by rebel fighters prompted the UN peacekeeping mission there to increase its "troop alert level" and boost support for the army.

Muyaya said that in recent days "a massive arrival of elements of the Rwandan element to support the M23 terrorists" against DR Congo's troops had been observed.

"This criminal and terrorist adventure" had forced thousands of people to flee their homes, he added.

Given Rwanda's continued support for the rebels, the defence council, presided over by President Felix Tshisekedi, had decided to ask the government to give Rwandan ambassador Vincent Karega 48 hours to leave the country.

M23 rebel fighters have seized control of Kiwanja and Rutshuru-centre along the strategic RN2 highway in the eastern province of North Kivu, local officials and witnesses told AFP by telephone earlier Saturday.

Rebels had also been seen at Rugari, just 30 kilometres (20 miles) down the RN2 from the provincial capital Goma, which it links with the north and Uganda.

Four peacekeepers were wounded by mortar fire and shooting at Kiwanja, the mission announced.

"Kiwanja and Rutshuru-centre are in M23 hands," said civil society representative Jacques Niyonzima.

"The rebels have held two meetings and told local people to go about their work and those displaced to return to their villages, saying security was now guaranteed," he said.

At Kiwanja, "in our area we recorded three deaths, a man, a woman and her child, killed by shells that landed on houses", said local resident Eric Muhindo.

A general hospital official in Rutshuru added: "There were several wounded in Kiwanja after a small amount of resistance".

"Calm has returned. People are moving about and shops are opening," the official said, asking not to be named.

The UN's MONUSCO mission condemned "the hostile acts of M23" and called for an immediate halt to the fighting.

The mission said on Twitter it was providing "air support, intelligence and equipment" as well as medical assistance.

The peacekeepers said they were "mobilised in support" of DRC's army after residents reported at least 10 people dead since Sunday and dozens more injured near the RN2.

MONUSCO said it had set up an "operations coordination centre" with the army and was carrying out reconnaissance and surveillance flights, but did not provide further details about the alert level.

M23, a mostly Congolese Tutsi group, resumed fighting in late 2021 after lying dormant for years, accusing the government of having failed to honour an agreement over the demobilisation of its fighters.

It has since captured swathes of territory in North Kivu, including the key town of Bunagana on the Ugandan border in June.

The front line between Congolese troops and M23 rebels had been calm in recent weeks until last week, when clashes erupted again.

Last Sunday, M23 fighters captured the village of Ntamugenga in the Rutshuru area. It lies four kilometres (less than three miles) from the RN2 where the clashes spread on Thursday.

The UN humanitarian affairs office in the DRC said this week around 34,500 people had fled the Rutshuru region.

The group's resurgence has destabilised regional relations in central Africa, with the DRC accusing its smaller neighbour Rwanda of backing the militia.

Rwanda denies the charges and counters that DRC works with a notorious Hutu rebel movement involved in the 1994 genocide of Tutsis, the Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), which Kinshasa also denies. 

A report by independent UN experts seen by AFP in August found that Kigali had provided direct support to the M23.

And this week a US representative to the United Nations spoke of Rwandan defence forces providing assistance to the M23.

Angola's President Joao Lourenco said he would dispatch his Foreign Minister Tete Antonio to DR Congo to mediate the dispute, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said following a phone call between the leaders.

Guterres said he was urgently trying to speak to both Tshisekedi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame.

M23 first leapt to prominence in 2012 when it briefly captured Goma before a joint Congolese-UN offensive drove it out.

The militia is one of scores of armed groups that roam eastern DRC, many of them a legacy of two regional wars that flared late last century.

Relations between Kigali and Kinshasa appeared to have improved when Tshisekedi took over as president in DR Congo in 2019 and held several meetings with Kagame.

But the revival of M23 put an end to that rapprochement.

South Africa recognises King Misuzulu kaZwelethini

DURBAN, South Africa

Tens of thousands of South Africans participated Saturday in a ceremony to formally recognise King Misuzulu kaZwelithini as head of South Africa's most influential traditional monarchy.

The event took place in a football stadium in the coastal town of Durban.

"I understand that history has chosen me at this time, when the Zulu and other nations are facing several challenges . Among the challenges are poverty, unemployment, a trust deficit in government and traditional leadership structures, climate change disasters, economic meltdown, food insecurity, famine disease that do not only ravage our people but also our economies", said King Misuzulu kaZwelithini, King of the Zulu nation.

After the King's speech, South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa handed over a large framed certificate officially recognising the 48-year-old new ruler.

The coronation ceremony comes after a year of bitter feuding over the royal succession that has spilled into the courts.

Misuzulu ascended to the throne once held by his late father, Goodwill Zwelithini, who died in March 2021, after more than 50 years on the throne.

Somali president claims death toll reached at least 100

MOGADISHU, Somalia

In Somalia, the death toll from Saturday's twin bomb attack in the capital, Mogadishu, has climbed to at least 100, according to authorities.

Two cars packed with explosives were detonated minutes apart near the busy Zobe junction followed by gunfire.

"I witnessed the first explosion then I fled the area. As I was in shock because of the first blast, another explosion rocked the same area. There are deaths and injuries, but I don’t know the exact number of the casualties", said witness Adam Hassan. 

Another witness, Ahmed Abukar, added: 

"I was in the attack area when the first explosion went off. After that, I ran away.  

"I saw many dead people, but I don’t have the death and injuries toll. May Allah have mercy on the dead people and help the injured to recuperate", he said. 

The attack happened at the same busy junction where a truck packed with explosives blew up in October 2017, killing more than 500 people and injuring more than 290.

Somali president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud denounced the attack and blamed the al Shabaab extremists.

"So far, people who died have reached 100 and 300 are wounded, and the number for both the death and wounded continues to increase" (...) "We and the Muslim Somali people are at war with these men (al Shabaab, Ed.). At the time we are talking, there is fighting against them (al Shabaab, Ed.) going on in many parts of the country whether it is Galmudug, Hirshabell, Southwest or Jubaland States", announced Somali President, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud.

The al Shabaab extremists have been seeking to overthrow the fragile foreign-backed government in Mogadishu for about 15 years.

Its fighters were driven out of the capital in 2011 by an African Union force but the group still controls large parts of the countryside.

Car bombs at Somali education ministry leave scores of casualties

MOGADISHU, Somalia

Two car bomb explosions at the education ministry in Somalia's capital Mogadishu killed or wounded scores of people on Saturday, police and the state news agency said.

It was not known who was behind the blasts but the Islamist group al Shabaab frequently carries out bombings and gun attacks in Mogadishu and elsewhere.

"Two car bombs hit the walls of the ministry," police captain Nur Farah said.

The first explosion hit the ministry then the second blast occurred as ambulances arrived and people gathered to help the victims, Farah told Reuters.

A police officer guarding the ministry, who gave his name as Hassan, told Reuters he saw at least 12 bodies and more than 20 people wounded.

State news agency SONNA, said the blasts had caused "scores of civilian casualties including independent journalist Mohamed Isse Kona."

A Reuters journalist near the blast site said the two explosions occured within minutes of each other and smashed windows in the vicinity. Blood from victims of the blasts covered the tarmac just outside the building, he said.

"The second blast burnt our ambulance as we came to transport the casualties from the first blast," Abdikadir Abdirahman of the Aamin Ambulance Service told Reuters.

A driver and a first aid worker had been injured in the blast, he said.

Al Qaeda-allied al Shabaab, which has been fighting in Somalia for more than a decade, is seeking to topple the central government and establish its own rule based on a strict interpretation of sharia law.

US orders diplomats' families to depart Abuja

ABUJA, Nigeria

The US has ordered its non-emergency staff and families to leave the Nigerian capital, citing a risk of "heightened terror attacks."  

The United States on Thursday ordered its non-emergency diplomatic staff and families of government employees to leave Nigeria's capital Abuja due to a "heightened risk of terrorist attacks."

The announcement came only two days after the department said that — amid concerns — it would permit nonessential staff at the embassy in Abuja to leave voluntarily. 

The order to leave the capital was announced on Thursday in a revised State Department advisory which warned American citizens to reconsider travel to the African nation due to terrorism, crime, and other threats.

"The department (has) ordered the departure of family members of US government employees from Abuja due to the heightened risk of terrorist attacks there,'' the advisory said.

The US State Department did not specify what the likely targets might be. However, a country summary for Nigeria warns that "terrorists may attack with little or no warning," targeting malls, markets, hotels, restaurants, bars or schools."

The security move comes just days after the embassy on Sunday called on US citizens to limit their movements due to an "elevated risk of terror attacks in Nigeria, specifically in Abuja". 

The US embassy in Abuja had warned of an "elevated risk of terror attacks'' in the city, with possible
targets include government buildings, places of worship and other public places.

It urged Americans there to avoid all nonessential movements and crowds. Britain, Canada and Australia had repeated the warning.

Nigeria has been in conflict with an Islamic insurgency in its northeast for over a decade.

While Abuja — home to six million people — has been seen as safe, insurgents linked to the so-called "Islamic State" have claimed several attacks in the areas surrounding the capital in the last six months.

The Department of State Services —Nigeria's secret and intelligence police — has urged calm, saying that "necessary precautions'' are being taken to prevent such attacks. - Agencies

UN urges revival of negotiations on disputed Western Sahara

UNITED NATIONS

The U.N. Security Council called for a revival of U.N-led negotiations on the disputed Western Sahara in a resolution adopted Thursday that expressed “deep concern” at the breakdown of the 1991 cease-fire between Morocco and the pro-independence Polisario Front whose decades-old dispute shows no sign of ending.

FILE - Polisario Front soldiers during a shooting exercise near Mehaires, Western Sahara on Oct. 13, 2021.

The vote was 13-0 with Russia and Kenya abstaining.

Morocco annexed Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony believed to have considerable offshore oil deposits and mineral resources, in 1975, sparking a conflict with the Polisario Front. The United Nations brokered the 1991 cease-fire and established a peacekeeping mission to monitor the truce and help prepare a referendum on the territory’s future that has never taken place because of disagreements on who is eligible to vote.

Morocco has proposed wide-ranging autonomy for Western Sahara. But the Polisario Front insists the local population, which it estimates at 350,000 to 500,000, has the right to a referendum.

The U.S.-drafted resolution extended the mandate of the U.N. peacekeeping mission charged with carrying out the referendum, known as MINURSO, until Oct. 31, 2023.

The resolution calls on the parties to resume U.N.-led negotiations without preconditions, “taking into account the efforts made since 2006 and subsequent developments with a view to achieving a just, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution, which will provide for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara.”

It says this should be done “in the context of arrangements consistent with the principles and purposes of the Charter of the United Nations and noting the role and the responsibilities of the parties in this respect.”

Kenya’s U.N. Ambassador Martin Kimani said his government voted for the resolution last year in hopes that the U.N. mission would return “to its core objective of implementing a referendum for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara.

But he said progress has been limited and the resolution adopted Thursday “continues a gradual but noticeable shift away from the mandate and will not assist the parties to achieve a just, lasting, and mutually acceptable political solution as originally intended.”

U.S. deputy ambassador Jeffrey DeLaurentis welcomed the council’s support, saying the Biden administration continues “to view Morocco’s autonomy plan as serious, credible, and realistic.”

He called a political solution “vital to promoting a peaceful and prosperous future for the people of Western Sahara and the region.”

But the Polisario Front ended the cease-fire in November 2020 and resumed its armed struggle following a border confrontation with Morocco which continues today, and in comments after the vote the two sides remained at odds about the future.

The resolution calls on the parties to “to demonstrate political will and work in an atmosphere propitious for dialogue in order to advance negotiations.” It expresses “strong support” for Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ personal envoy for Western Sahara, Staffan de Mistura, and “strongly encourages” Morocco, the Polisario Front and neighboring countries Algeria and Mauritania to engage with him.

Two round-table meetings of the four parties in December 2018 and March 2019 failed to make any headway on the key issue of how to provide for self-determination.

But Morocco’s U.N. Ambassador Omar Hilale said after Thursday’s vote that they were “very fruitful and positive and substantial” because “we had very deep discussion on autonomy, on the guarantees, on the need for Polisario to design and to accept autonomy, and also on the elections.”

He expressed hope that de Mistura “will succeed in calling for another round-table,” lamenting that a year has been lost because Algeria, which backs the Polisario, has said it will not attend.

“Let’s hope that the wisdom will prevail in Algeria, and we can come back to the round-table because there will be no solution without discussion all together and having compromise” on Morocco’s autonomy proposal, Hilale said.

He claimed that the resolution adopted Thursday “irreversibly consecrates, like the resolutions of the council since 2007, the pre-eminence, credibility and seriousness of the Moroccan autonomy initiative as the sole and only solution to this regional dispute.”

The Polisario Front’s U.N. representative, Sidi Omar, strongly disagreed.

He said the Security Council resolution refers to the referendum but again fails to empower MINURSO with “practical and concrete measures” to implement its mandate and carry out a referendum.

The Saharwi people “will continue using all legitimate means, including the armed struggle, to defend our inalienable and individual rights to self-determination, independence, and to restore the sovereignty over the entire territory of the Saharwi, our democratic republic,” Omar said.

He said the Polisario Front will only participate in direct negotiations with Morocco under the auspices of the U.N. and the African Union to enable the Saharwi people to exercise their free and democratic right to self-determination.