Israeli troops advance toward Gaza City as the Palestinian death toll rises above 9,000

By Wafaa Shurafa, DEIR AL-BALAH Gaza Strip

Israeli troops battling Hamas militants encircled Gaza City on Thursday, the military said, as the Palestinian death toll rose above 9,000. U.S. and Arab leaders raised pressure on Israel to ease its siege of Gaza and at least briefly halt its attacks in order to aid civilians.

A man sits on the rubble as others wander among debris of buildings that were targeted by Israeli airstrikes in Jabaliya refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2023. 

Nearly four weeks after Hamas’ deadly rampage in Israel sparked the war, U.S Secretary of State Antony Blinken was heading to the region for talks Friday in Israel and Jordan following President Joe Biden’s suggestion for a humanitarian “pause” in the fighting. The aim would be to let in aid for Palestinians and let out more foreign nationals and wounded. Around 800 people left over the past two days.

Israel did not immediately respond to Biden’s suggestion. But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has previously ruled out a cease-fire, said Thursday: “We are advancing … Nothing will stop us.” He vowed to destroy Hamas rule in the Gaza Strip.

An airstrike Thursday smashed a residential building to rubble in the Bureij refugee camp several miles south of Gaza City.

One boy, his face covered in blood, cried as workers dug him out of the dirt and wreckage. Others rushed wounded men and women, covered in dust, away on stretchers or wrapped in blankets. At a nearby hospital, doctors tried to stanch the flow of blood from the head of a child laid out on the floor.

At least 15 people were killed, Gaza’s Civil Defense spokesperson said, and residents said dozens more were believed buried. The strike took place in the southern zone where Israel has told residents of the north to flee, but which has also faced repeated bombardment.

Blinken’s visit will unfold as Arab countries, including those allied with the U.S. and at peace with Israel, have expressed mounting unease with the war. Jordan recalled its ambassador from Israel and told Israel’s envoy to remain out of the country until there’s a halt to the war and the “humanitarian catastrophe.”

A flurry of heavy explosions raised clouds of smoke over Gaza City on Thursday. Al Jazeera television, which continues to broadcast from the city, said Israeli airstrikes were hitting an area of apartment towers in the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood.

The barrage hit around 100 meters (yards) from Al-Quds Hospital, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said in post on X. It said there were deaths and injuries but gave no more details.

There was no immediate comment by the Israeli military on the strikes. Israel says it targets Hamas fighters and infrastructure and that the group endangers civilians by operating among them and in tunnels under civilian areas.

The U.S. has pledged unwavering support for Israel after Hamas militants killed hundreds of men, women and children on Oct. 7 and took some 240 people captive.

But the Biden administration has pushed for Israel to let more aid into Gaza amid growing alarm in the region over the destruction and humanitarian crisis in the tiny Mediterranean enclave.

More than 3,700 Palestinian children have been killed in 25 days of fighting — more than six times the 560 children that the U.N. has reported killed in 19 months of war in Ukraine as of Oct. 8. Bombardment has driven more than half the territory’s 2.3 million people from their homes. Food, water and fuel are running low under Israel’s siege, and overwhelmed hospitals warn they are on the verge of collapse.

Israel has allowed more than 260 trucks carrying food and medicine through the crossing, but aid workers say it’s not nearly enough. Israeli authorities have refused to allow fuel in, saying Hamas is hoarding fuel for military use and would steal new supplies.

White House national security spokesman John Kirby said the U.S. was not advocating for a general cease-fire but a “temporary, localized” pause.

In a sign that Israel might be feeling the international pressure, the military put out a late-night statement, in English, insisting it did not want civilians to be harmed.

“I want to make something very clear,” military spokesman Brig. Gen. Daniel Hagari said in a recorded video. “Israel is at war with Hamas. Israel is not at war with the civilians in Gaza.”

Palestinians walk in the street market of Jabaliya refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2023, after an Israeli airstrike. 

Israel and the U.S. seem to have no clear plan for what would come next if Hamas rule in Gaza is brought down — a key question on Blinken’s agenda on his upcoming visit, according to the State Department.

Earlier in the week, Blinken suggested that the Palestinian Authority govern Gaza. Hamas drove the authority’s forces out of Gaza in its 2007 takeover of the territory. The authority now holds limited powers in some parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Military officials said Israeli forces had completely encircled Gaza City, a densely packed cluster of neighborhoods that Israel says is the center of Hamas military infrastructure and includes a vast network of underground tunnels, bunkers and command centers.

Israeli forces are “fighting in a built-up, dense, complex area,” said the military’s chief of staff, Herzi Halevy.

Hagari said Israeli forces were in “face to face” battles with militants, calling in airstrikes and shelling when needed. He said they were inflicting heavy losses on Hamas fighters and destroying their infrastructure with engineering equipment.

Casualties on both sides are expected to rise as Israeli troops advance toward the dense residential neighborhoods of Gaza City.

On Thursday, Israeli planes dropped leaflets warning residents to immediately evacuate the Shati refugee camp, which borders Gaza City’s center.

“Time is up,” the leaflets read, warning that strikes “with crushing force” against Hamas fighters were coming.

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians remain in the path of fighting in northern Gaza, despite Israel’s repeated calls for them to evacuate. Many have crowded into U.N. facilities, hoping for safety.

Four U.N. schools-turned-shelter in northern Gaza and Bureij were hit in the past day, killing 24 people, according to Philippe Lazzarini, general-secretary of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA.

At least 9,061 Palestinians have been killed in the war, mostly women and minors, and more than 32,000 people have been wounded, the Gaza Health Ministry said Thursday, without providing a breakdown between civilians and fighters. The death toll is without precedent in decades of Israeli-Palestinian violence.

Over 1,400 people have died on the Israeli side, mainly civilians killed during Hamas’ initial attack, also an unprecedented figure.

Nineteen Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza since the start of the ground operation. A suspected militant shot to death an Israeli reserve soldier driving near a West Bank settlement Thursday, the military and medics said.

Rocket fire from Gaza into Israel, and daily skirmishes between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah militants, have disrupted life for millions of Israelis and forced an estimated 250,000 to evacuate border towns.

Rockets fired from Lebanon injured two people when they hit the northern Israeli town of Kiryat Shmona, medical services said. Hamas said earlier on Thursday it fired 12 rockets from Lebanon.

Hezbollah attacked Israeli positions in the north with drones, mortar fire and suicide drones. The Israeli military said it retaliated with warplanes and helicopter gunships. Four Lebanese civilians were killed, state media there said.

Four Palestinians, including three teenagers, were shot dead Thursday in different parts of the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Health Ministry said. More than 130 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since the start of the war, mainly in violent protests and gunbattles during Israeli arrest raids.

On Thursday, 342 Palestinians with foreign passports, 21 injured in the fighting and an additional 21 companions left Gaza through the Rafah crossing into Egypt, according to Wael Abu Omar, a spokesman for the Palestinian Crossings Authority.

At least 335 people with foreign passports, and 76 injured and their companions, were evacuated Wednesday, he said.

U.S. officials said 79 Americans were among those who have gotten out. The U.S. has said it is trying to evacuate 400 Americans with their families.

Egypt has said it will not accept an influx of Palestinian refugees, fearing Israel will not allow them to return to Gaza after the war.

Prior to Germany's apologies, instances when former colonial powers expressed 'regrets'

DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania

After unequivocal apologies over colonial-era abuses by Germany in Tanzania bypresident Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Nov. 01, here are some other cases where former ruling powers have said sorry -- or not.

Over 60 Maji Maji uprising rebels were hanged to death in southern Tanganyika (Tanzania) by Germany

- Britain stops short -

Britain has resisted calls to apologise for abuses under its vast empire, but there have been high-level expressions of regret for specific incidents.

On Tuesday, King Charles said "there were abhorrent and unjustifiable acts of violence committed against Kenyans as they waged... a painful struggle for independence and sovereignty. And for that, there can be no excuse."

But the monarch stopped short of offering the apology for Britain's repressive colonial past demanded by some in the East African nation.

Foreign Secretary William Hague had in 2013 expressed in parliament Britain's "sincere regrets" for a crackdown against the 1950s Mau Mau uprising in Kenya, announcing £20 million ($25 million today) compensation.

The same year, Prime Minister David Cameron described the 1919 shooting by British troops of Indian protesters in Amritsar as "deeply shameful".

- France on Algeria -

In 2018 President Emmanuel Macron went further than any of his predecessors in recognising the scale of abuses by French troops during Algeria's 1954-1962 independence war.

But Macron, like his predecessors Nicolas Sarkozy and Francois Hollande, has rejected calls for France to "apologise or repent" for its time in Algeria.

- German massacres in Namibia -

Germany in May 2021 acknowledged that the massacre of Namibia's indigenous Herero and Nama peoples by colonial-era troops in 1904 was an act of genocide.

And on Wednesday German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on a visit to Tanzania expressed his "shame" at crimes committed during Germany's colonial rule in the country.

"I would like to ask for forgiveness for what Germans did to your ancestors here," he said about the colonisation period during which 200,000 and 300,000 Maji-Maji were massacred, according to historians.

- Australia to Aboriginals -

In 2008 Prime Minister Kevin Rudd delivered an historic apology in parliament to the Aboriginal people for injustices committed over two centuries of white settlement.

"We apologise for the laws and policies of successive parliaments and governments that have inflicted profound grief, suffering and loss on these our fellow Australians," Rudd said.

- Belgium to DR Congo -

In 2020, on the 60th anniversary of the Democratic Republic of Congo's independence, Belgium's King Philippe, in a letter to DRC President Felix Tshisekedi, expressed his "deepest regrets" for his country's chequered past.

Historians say millions of people were killed, mutilated or died of disease as they were forced to collect rubber under King Leopold II's rule in the 19th century.

- Dutch apology to Indonesia -

In 2013 The Netherlands apologised to Indonesia for mass killings by its army in the 1940s war of independence, in the first of several apologies for violence during the war.

- Italy to Libya -

In 2008 Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi apologised to Libya for damage during the colonial era.

"It is my duty, as a head of government, to express to you in the name of the Italian people our regret and apologies for the deep wounds that we have caused you," Berlusconi said.

- Japan's Korea remorse -

Japan has apologised several times for its 1910-1945 colonial rule of the Korean peninsula, but deep resentment remains over the issue of sex slaves known as "comfort women".

- Pope seeks forgiveness -

In Bolivia in 2015 and Mexico in 2016 Pope Francis asked for forgiveness for crimes committed in the name of the Catholic Church when Spanish conquerors enslaved indigenous peoples in the Americas.

- Sweden's Samis -

In 1998 Sweden's government apologised to the Sami indigenous people for injustices during colonialisation, when they were forced off their land.

- Canada's children -

In 2008 Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper officially apologised for more than a century of abuses at schools set up to forcibly assimilate indigenous children.

Pope Francis during a July 2022 visit to Canada apologised for abuses at the church-run schools.

Extremists kill 37 villagers in latest attack in Nigeria's northeast

ABUJA, Nigeria

Extremists in northeastern Nigeria killed at least 37 villagers in two different attacks, residents said Wednesday, highlighting once again how deadly islamic extremist rebels have remained in their 14-year insurgency in the hard-hit region.

The extremists targeted villagers in Yobe state’s Geidam district on Monday and Tuesday in the first attack in the state in more than a year, shooting dead 17 people at first while using a land mine to kill 20 others who had gone to attend their burial, witnesses said.

The Boko Haram Islamic extremist group launched an insurgency in northeastern Nigeria in 2009 in an effort to establish their radical interpretation of Islamic law, or Sharia, in the region. At least 35,000 people have been killed and more than 2 million displaced due to the extremist violence concentrated in Borno state, which neighbors Yobe.

Nigeria's President Bola Tinubu, who took office in May, has not succeeded in ending the nation's security crises both in the northeast and in northwest and central regions where dozens of armed groups have been killing villagers and kidnapping travelers for ransom.

The first attack occurred in the remote Gurokayeya village in Geidam when gunmen opened fire on some villagers late Monday, killing 17 of them, according to Shaibu Babagana, a resident in the area. At least 20 villagers who had gone to attend their burial were then killed on Tuesday when they drove into a land mine that exploded, Babagana added.

Idris Geidam, another resident, said those killed were more than 40. Authorities could not provide the official death toll, as is sometimes the case following such attacks.

“This is one of the most horrific attacks by Boko Haram in recent times. For a burial group to be attacked shortly after the loss of their loved ones is beyond horrific,” Geidam said.

The Yobe state government on Wednesday summoned an emergency security meeting over the attacks which it blamed on extremists that entered the state from the neighboring Borno.

“The security agencies have deployed security men to the area and we are studying a report on the infiltration in an effort to stave off future occurrences,” Abdulsalam Dahiru, a Yobe government security aide, told reporters.

"African air transport cost remains a barrier to tourism growth" – Kagame

By Alice Kagina, KIGALI Rwanda

President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame said the high cost of air travel to Africa and within Africa remains a barrier to the growth of the tourism sector, which calls for the implementation of the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM).

President Kagame with other delegates at the official opening of World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) 2023, on November 2. 

He was speaking at the official opening of World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) 2023, on November 2, which convened more tthan1,200 participants in the global tourism industry to recognize the sector’s growth across the continent in recent years and at the same time analyze its challenges.

The three-day summit, which kicked off on November 1, is for the first-time taking place in Africa, and it was hosted in Kigali, under the theme ‘Building Bridges to a Sustainable Future’, to discuss the resilience and sustainable growth, the growing impact of AI, and understanding new and emerging markets, as well as cover the key challenges and opportunities facing the sector.

In his opening remarks, Kagame said that in the commitment to rebuild from the horrific past nearly 30 years ago, Rwanda identified tourism as a key driver of economic growth earlier on, and the results have not been disappointing.

“Every year, we welcome so many visitors who come to Rwanda to enjoy the unique natural beauty, attend sporting events, or participate in gatherings like this. This is a privilege and a trust that we don’t take for granted,” he said.

He gave examples of conservation efforts to build a more sustainable future which have yielded in recognition of Nyungwe National Park as a world heritage site, adding that the country is also investing in the infrastructure and skills to host major sports events such as the Basketball Africa League.

While the travel and tourism industry has recovered strongly globally, Kagame pointed out that the high cost of air travel to Africa and within Africa remains a barrier and the implementation of SAATM is an important priority.

SAATM, commonly referred to as the unified air transport market aims at boosting the aviation industry on the continent by allowing free movement of airlines from one country to another.

“We should not lose sight of our own continental market. Africans are the future of global tourism as our middle class continues to grow at a fast pace in the decades to come. We must work closely together with partners, like the WTTC, to continue developing Africa into a premium destination for global travel.”

He said that Rwanda removed visa restrictions for citizens of every African country as well as many other countries, hence, inviting the delegates to visit different past of the country.

According to available data, Rwanda’s travel and tourism sector attracted $173 million in 2022 and it is forecasted to rise to 194 million at the end of 2023.

In a yet-to-be-launched report on tourism in Africa, it is stated that travel and tourism could increase Africa’s GDP to $50 billion by 2033 and create six million more jobs, however, this will require employing the right approach and galvanized efforts of investment.

Senior Israeli officer killed, three others wounded in fighting

Lt. Col. Salman Habaka

By Emmanuel Fabian, JERUSALEM, Israel

The Israel Defense Forces announces the death of a senior officer during fighting in the Gaza Strip.

Lt. Col. Salman Habaka, 33, the commander of the 188th Armored Brigade’s 53rd Battalion, from Yanuh-Jat, was killed battling Hamas terrorists in the northern part of Gaza.

No further details are given on the circumstances of his death.

Habaka leaves behind a wife and a two-year-old child.

Separately, a reservist of the 679th Yiftah Brigade, a Givati soldier, and a Combat Engineering soldier, were seriously wounded in overnight operations in the northern part of Gaza.

Additionally, a soldier of the Border Defense Corps’ Caracal Battalion was seriously wounded in an incident on the Egyptian border. No further details are given on the circumstances.

Habaka is the most senior officer to have been killed during the IDF’s ground operation in the Gaza Strip.

His death brings the toll to 18 soldiers killed during the ground offensive, and 333 since the beginning of the war.

On the morning of Simchat Torah, October 7th, the day of Hamas' murderous surprise attack, Salman Habaka received a message about a major incident on the Gaza border.

Although his soldiers from the 188th Armoured Brigade's 53rd Battalion were in the Hebron area, he moved part of the force to Tze'elim in southern Israel.

The soldiers from the battalion supplied the forces in the field with machine guns, and six of their tanks joined the battles. The crews were distributed between Be'eri, Kfar Aza, and Nahal Oz. An additional force was sent to the Erez border crossing.

In Kibbutz Be'eri, there were fierce and bloody battles throughout the day. Habaka came to Be'eri with two tanks and joined a group of paratroopers.

Together with the rest of the forces, they pushed back the Hamas terrorists and decided the battle. 

The Bithonistim movement said that Habaka's decision to disperse the tanks proved to be a bold and smart decision since his crews pushed back another wave of terrorists that broke through the Erez crossing and killed the terrorists at the border.

Zambian former president stripped of retirement benefits

LUSAKA, Zambia

Zambia's government has withdrawn retirement benefits and privileges from former President Edgar Lungu following his decision to return to active politics.

Mr Lungu (above) lost the presidency to Hakainde Hichilema in 2021, after which he announced his retirement.

After six years in office, he left the country facing serious economic issues as Africa's most indebted nation.

His return to politics sets a stage for a bruising 2026 presidential race.

The former president has already been notified about the immediate withdrawal of his retirement benefits and privileges, according to government spokesman Cornelius Mweetwa.

He said it was clearly stated in the law that former presidents who returned to politics would lose their benefits.

As a retired president, Mr Lungu was entitled to three security officers, a diplomatic passport, three state cars, a furnished house, medical insurance and funeral expenses on his death.

He also enjoyed immunity from prosecution.

In a press conference on Wednesday, Mr Mweetwa said the former leader would now be treated with "equality of the law", just like any other senior citizen of the country.

Mr Lungu is aiming to capitalise on growing dissatisfaction with the continued economic hardships in the country under his successor.

Civil society groups have also expressed concern over what they described as the "shrinking" human rights freedoms in the country.

While announcing his political comeback last week, Mr Lungu said he was returning to fight for and defend democracy in the country.

He also pledged to save his factionalised ex-ruling Patriotic Front party from collapse. The government has threatened to de-registrar the party over leadership wrangles.

The government spokesman denied Mr Lungu's recent statement that supporters of the ruling United Party for National Development (UPND) were targeting him.

He described Mr Lungu's remarks that his life had been threatened as a "mere false alarm", saying the former leader was as secure "as any other citizen".

Mr Lungu was, however, warned against confrontational politics against President Hichilema's government.

Last month, Mr Lungu was warned against jogging in public, with police describing his weekly workouts as "political activism".

It is not clear whether his immunity from prosecution will be removed.

Zambia's parliament has revoked the right to immunity for two former presidents - Frederick Chiluba in 2002 and Rupiah Banda in 2013.

Some members of the ruling UPND have been calling for the removal of his immunity and prosecution for alleged corruption during his rule. Mr Lungu said the allegations were politically motivated.

Hundreds of foreign citizens and dozens of injured allowed to flee Gaza

GAZA STRIP, Palestine

Hundreds of foreign nationals and dozens of seriously injured Palestinians have been allowed to leave Gaza for the first time since the Israel-Hamas war began more than three weeks ago. 

Their departures through the Rafah crossing into Egypt follow the release of four hostages by Hamas and the rescue of an Israeli soldier.

The opening of the border crossing came as Israeli forces advanced deeper into Gaza and airstrikes on Wednesday struck a refugee camp for a second time in as many days.

Communications and internet services were gradually being restored after the second major cut in five days, according to Paltel, the main telecommunications provider. Humanitarian aid agencies have warned that such blackouts severely disrupt their work in an already dire situation in Gaza.

The Palestinian death toll in the Israel-Hamas war has reached 8,805, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza. In the occupied West Bank, 130 Palestinians have been killed in violence and Israeli raids.

More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed, most of them civilians slain in the initial Oct. 7 Hamas rampage that started the fighting. In addition, around 240 hostages were taken from Israel into Gaza by the militant group. One of the captives, a female Israeli soldier, was rescued in a special forces operation.

Currently:

1. 5 hostages of Hamas are free, offering some hope to families of more than 200 still captive.

2. Has Israel invaded Gaza? The military has been vague, even if its objectives are clear.

3. Bolivia severs diplomatic ties with Israel as Chile and Colombia recall their ambassadors.

4. Amnesty International says Israeli forces wounded Lebanese civilians with white phosphorus.

5. A media freedom group accuses Israel and Hamas of war crimes and reports deaths of 34 journalists.

King Charles III meets in private with the family of the Kenyan rebel leader hanged by the British

By Evelyne Musambi, NAIROBI Kenya

King Charles III on Wednesday held a private meeting with the family of the executed leader of the Kenyan rebellion against British colonial rule, a day after the monarch expressed “greatest sorrow and the deepest regret” for the violence of the colonial era.

The family of Dedan Kimathi, who was hanged by the British administration, and relatives of other well-known Kenyan freedom fighters didn’t immediately comment — a change from their past outspoken calls for an apology and compensation from Britain, along with any information on the whereabouts of Kimathi’s body.

The British High Commission said only that the meeting was an “opportunity for the king to hear firsthand about the violence committed against Kenyans during their struggle for independence.” Attendees included the chair of the Mau Mau War Veterans Association.

The issue remains painful for many Kenyans, and police dispersed a couple dozen people protesting at the foot of a monument to Kimathi in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi. “All the land under British should be given back to the Kenyan people,” said Juliet Wanjira with the Mathare Social Justice Center, calling also for the British military training mission in Kenya to leave.

Charles, who with Queen Camilla arrived on Monday in what is his first state visit to a Commonwealth country as monarch, on Tuesday cited the “abhorrent and unjustifiable acts of violence” committed against Kenyans as they sought independence. However, he didn’t explicitly apologize for Britain’s actions in its former colony as many Kenyans wanted.

Charles on Wednesday also visited a war cemetery, laying a wreath in honor of those who fought alongside the British in the two world wars.

He handed replacement medals to four war veterans who had lost theirs. Among the four was Cpl. Samwel Nthigai Mburia, who claims to be 117. The other three are privates John Kavai, Kefa Chagira and Ezekiel Nyanjom Anyange.

Mburia, who fought in Damascus, Cairo and Jerusalem, said he got rid of his medal long ago for fear of being associated with the British colonizers but was now happy to get a replacement from the king.

Kavai, 101, who fought in India and Burma in World War II, said his medals were a “joy and pride for him and his entire family,” reminding him of his service.

The cemetery has 59 graves and is next to Kariokor market, previously the site of Nairobi’s Carrier Corps Depot, the administrative center through which soldiers heading to the front passed through. Charles also met with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission members and communities living near the cemetery.

Kenya is celebrating the 60th anniversary of its independence this year. It has had a close but at times challenging relationship with Britain after the prolonged struggle against colonial rule, sometimes known as the Mau Mau Rebellion, in which thousands of Kenyans died.

Colonial authorities resorted to executions and detention without trial as they tried to put down the insurrection, and thousands of Kenyans said they were beaten and sexually assaulted by agents of the administration.

On the roads leading to the war cemetery, at a walking distance from the central business district, authorities deployed heavy security including army, an anti-terror police unit, elite units and regular police.

The king also visited the United Nations office in Nairobi to learn more about the work of U.N. environment and habitat programs in Kenya. “As a result of your efforts, millions of the most vulnerable people in the world have a greater measure of security, safety and support,” he told staff.

Charles met with environmental activist Wanjira Mathai, the daughter of late Nobel laureate Wangari Maathai, to emphasize his commitment to environmental protection and planted a tree at Nairobi’s Karura forest with 10-year-old environmental campaigner Karen Kimani.

Camilla on Wednesday visited a donkey sanctuary, and the royal couple visited an elephant orphanage where the queen bottle-fed a baby elephant.

The royal family has long ties to Africa. In 1947, the future Queen Elizabeth II pledged lifelong service to Britain and the Commonwealth during a speech from South Africa on her 21st birthday. Five years later, she and her husband Prince Philip were visiting Aberdare National Park in Kenya when they learned that her father had died and she had become queen.

German president apologizes for colonial-era crimes in Tanzania

SONGEA, Tanzania

Germany's president on Wednesday (Nov.01) apologized for killings under colonial rule in Tanzania as he met descendants of Chief Songea Mbano executed for leading a revolt.

Steinmeier laid a wreath at a mass grave of 66 other fighters in the Maji Maji uprising

In Songea, southwestern Tanzania, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier vowed to seek answers to questions regarding the German East Africa era. The German East Africa was a colony part of the German possessions.

It covered todays' Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi existed from 1885 until the end of World War I.

"My dear family (of Songea, ed.), I mourn with you for Chief Songea, and for all the others who were executed. I wish to pay my respects to the victims of the German colonial rule. And as German President I would like to ask for forgiveness for what Germans did to your ancestors here," Steinmeier said.

He added that Mbano was “a brave leader” in the rebellion.

"I beg your forgiveness and I would like to assure you that we Germans will search with you for answers to the open, unanswered, outstanding questions that give you no peace."

Steinmeier laid a rose at Chief Songea Mbano's grave and a wreath at a mass grave of 66 other fighters in the Maji Maji uprising, German news agency dpa reported.

Up to 300,000 people are believed to have died during the Maji Maji rebellion between 1905 and 1907.

Skulls brought back to Germany could include that of chief Mbano. Steinmeir has vowed to try to find it, according to remarks released by his office. “Unfortunately, I just can't promise you that we will be successful,” because identifying human remains is difficult even with scientific expertise, he added.

In 2017, Tanzania's then-government said it was considering legal action to seek compensation from Germany for the people who allegedly were starved, tortured and killed by German forces.

Germany in 2021 announced an agreement with Namibia, another country where it was once the colonial ruler, to recognize colonial-era massacres of tens of thousands of people there as genocide and provide funding to help the communities affected. But the accord stopped short of formal reparations.

That agreement, which some groups representing the Herero and Nama people aren't happy with, has yet to be formally signed off on.

Pope says to attend COP28 climate conference In Dubai

ROME, Italy

Pope Francis on Wednesday said he would attend the crucial COP28 climate talks starting in Dubai on November 30, weeks after warning that time is running out to act on global warming.

It will be the first time a pope has attended a COP meeting in person since the process began in 1995.

"I will go to Dubai. I think that I will leave on December 1 through the 3rd. I'll spend three days there," the pontiff told Italy's Rai 1 television.

The 86-year-old has made the environment one of the main themes of his papacy since being elected pope by cardinals in 2013.

In early October, Francis published an update on his landmark thesis of the devastation of human-induced climate change that he released eight years ago, warning some damage was "already irreversible".

The new papal text, "Laudate Deum" (Praise to God), was a follow-up to the 2015 encyclical "Laudato Si" ("Praise Be To You").

"Laudato Si" ran to almost 200 pages and was aimed not just at the world's 1.3 billion Catholics, but everyone on the planet, a call to global solidarity to act together to protect "our common home".

With that document, he placed himself -- and the Church -- firmly behind the science on blaming human behaviour for climate change.

In "Laudate Deum", he said the world's responses to global warming "have not been adequate, while the world in which we live is collapsing and may be nearing the breaking point".

But he said the Dubai talks "can represent a change of direction", if participants make binding agreements on moving from fossil fuels to clean energy sources such as wind and solar.

Only a real commitment to change "can enable international politics to recover its credibility", he wrote.

The pope met Sultan Al Jaber, the president-designate of the COP28 talks, at the Vatican on October 11.

The appointment of Jaber -- who is head of Emirati energy giant ADNOC -- has drawn criticism from environmentalists, who denounce the role of the hydrocarbon sector in global warming.

In his text last month, Francis referenced concerns about the UN talks being held in the oil-rich United Arab Emirates, noting that while it was a "great exporter of fossil fuels" it also made "significant investments" in renewable energy sources.

"To say that there is nothing to hope for would be suicidal, for it would mean exposing all humanity, especially the poorest, to the worst impacts of climate change," wrote Francis.

The trip to Dubai will be the 45th overseas visit by the pope since he was elected -- and the seventh country he has visited this year.

He has said he needs to slow down, however, after suffering a series of health issues in recent years.

The Argentine pontiff underwent a hernia operation under general anaesthetic in June, two years after having surgery on his colon.

He also suffers from knee pain which forces him to use a wheelchair.

HRW accuses Uganda of crackdown on activists protesting oil project

KAMPALA, Uganda

Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Thursday accused Ugandan authorities of harassing, arresting and beating activists and demonstrators protesting a major East African oil project led by French giant TotalEnergies.

The $10-billion project by TotalEnergies and the China National Offshore Oil Corporation to develop oilfields in Uganda has been hailed by President Yoweri Museveni as an economic boon but has run into opposition from rights activists and environmental groups.

It is facing legal action in France, and the European Parliament has raised concerns over the wrongful imprisonment of environmental activists and the eviction of people from their land without adequate compensation.

The project involves drilling around 400 oil wells in Murchison Falls National Park, the largest protected area in Uganda, and shipping crude along a 1,445-kilometre (900-mile) pipeline to the Tanzanian port of Tanga.

TotalEnergies says those displaced by the project have been fairly compensated and measures have been taken to protect the environment.

HRW interviewed 31 people in Uganda and Tanzania between March and September 2023, including 21 activists, many of whom said they had faced a barrage of threats, harassment and arrests without charge.

John Kaheero Mugisa, former head of the Oil and Gas Human Rights Defenders Association, which is pushing for fair compensation for those displaced, told HRW he was arrested several times and his health has deteriorated after seven months in prison.

Activists working in Uganda's capital Kampala as well as Buliisa and Hoima, the two towns closest to the oilfields, said their offices were raided in 2021.

"Most of us limit our work because of pressure and threats from our local officials. We fear arrest and losing our livelihood," one activist told HRW.

Jealousy Mugisha, one of those displaced by the project, travelled to France for a court hearing and said he was detained and interrogated for hours after returning to Uganda.

He told HRW that government security agents at the airport warned him: "You are not supposed to witness in France again. If you go again, you will lose your life."

HRW also interviewed students who were arrested at demonstrations staged against the project.

One of those interviewed said he was detained during a protest in June at Uganda's parliament and beaten by uniformed parliamentary security officials and others who used "batons, gun butts, and... their boots to step on our heads."

"This crackdown has created a chilling environment that stifles free expression about one of the most controversial fossil fuel projects in the world," said Felix Horne, senior environment researcher at HRW.

"The government of Uganda should immediately end arbitrary arrests of anti-oil pipeline activists and protect their right to exercise freedom of expression, in accordance with international human rights norms," he said.

Responding to the allegations in the report, TotalEnergies told HRW that it recognised "the importance of protecting human rights defenders and (did) not tolerate any attacks or threats against those who peacefully and lawfully promote human rights."

Uganda's government did not respond to the allegations detailed in the report, HRW said.

HRW in July urged a halt to the project, warning of dire consequences for the environment and local communities.

But Museveni has vowed to proceed with the project.

UK issues new terror warning for nationals in Tanzania

DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania

Britain has issued a security alert for its nationals, warning of potential terrorism danger in the southern regions of Tanzania near the border with Mozambique.

In an updated travel advisory for Tanzania, the UK's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) on October 30 warned against "all but essential travel to any area within 20 kilometres of the Tanzanian border with the Cabo Delgado Province of northern Mozambique."

It said the new advisory was "due to attacks by groups linked with Islamic extremism" and also cautioned that terrorists were "very likely to try to carry out attacks in Tanzania in the near future, including in major cities."

According to the FCDO, the attacks "could be indiscriminate and occur without warning" with an added risk of "kidnapping for ransom and political purposes."

"Places frequented by Westerners, including places of worship, transport hubs, embassies, hotels and restaurants, and major gatherings like sporting and religious events, may be targets," it said.

Around 75,000 British nationals visit Tanzania every year and the FCDO advisory urged them to "remain vigilant at all times" while in the country. 

The latest alert comes about two weeks after a similar one issued for "certain areas in Uganda" following the deaths of three people including a Briton in a "suspected" terrorist attack in the country's Queen Elizabeth National Park.

Also killed in the Uganda incident which occurred in mid-October were a South African national and a local tour guide.

The FCDO said although Tanzania has not suffered a major terrorist incident since the 1998 US embassy bombing in Dar es Salaam "there have been a number of smaller-scale incidents." 

"Most attacks target the local security forces, though attacks against Western interests are also possible," it added.

It also noted that Tanzanian authorities had successfully made a number of arrests in connection to terrorism, but added that many of the incidents were "of unclear origin and may be conducted by criminal gangs."

The alert made particular reference to an October 2020 attack in Kitara villagè in Tanzania's Mtwara region close to the border with Mozambique, stating that the attack was "claimed" by Islamic extremists operating in northern Mozambique.

"Attacks by IS-Mozambique, who are based in the Cabo Delgado province of Mozambique, are possible near Tanzania’s border with this area of Mozambique. There is also thought to be some support for Daesh (formerly referred to as ISIL)," it said.

It further mentioned that members of Somalia's Al Shabaab faction were also "thought to be active in Tanzania" as in other East African countries.

Sundowns nudge out Al Ahly to squeeze into African Football League final

By Osoro Nyawangah, CAIRO Egypt

Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa and Wydad Casablanca of Morocco reached the inaugural African Football League final after gripping semifinal second legs on Wednesday.

Sundowns goalkeeper Ronwen Williams saved a penalty and Egyptian side Al Ahly struck the woodwork in a 0-0 draw in Cairo that gave the club from Pretoria a 1-0 aggregate victory.

In Rades, Esperance of Tunisia edged Wydad 1-0 on the night through a Rodrigo Rodrigues goal, but he had his penalty saved in a shoot-out, which the Moroccans won 5-4 after a 1-1 aggregate draw.

Wydad will have home advantage on Sunday in the first leg of a final offering four million dollars to the winners, with the return match on November 11.

The showdown will be a repeat of a 2023 CAF Champions League semifinal, which the Casablanca club won on away goals after two draws.

In Cairo, record 11-time Champions League titleholders Ahly were given an early scoring chance when Williams fouled former Sundowns star Percy Tau and the referee pointed to the spot.

After a lengthy delay while Sundowns protested the decision, veteran Tunisian Ali Maaloul saw his low kick pushed away by the South African international shot-stopper.

Williams was struggling with crosses, though, and when he dropped one, Mahmoud Kahraba almost netted for the Cairo Red Devils.

Tau was unlucky when his fierce close-range shot rattled the crossbar, and the South African side were grateful to still be ahead on aggregate at the break.

Sundowns performed better in the second half only to put themselves under pressure in the final six minutes of regular time when substitute Junior Mendieta was shown a straight red card.

The Argentine had been on the pitch just a few minutes when he was guilty of a studs-up tackle that caught Akram Tawfik just below the knee.

Heated Ahly claims for an added-time penalty, when the handball offence was committed just outside the box, were waved away by the outstanding Senegalese referee after a VAR check.

On the outskirts of Tunis, Brazilian Rodrigues cancelled the one-goal lead Wydad had taken into the second leg with an unstoppable header on 66 minutes.

He had the ball in the net again after 88 minutes, but VAR revealed that a teammate had strayed offside in the build-up and the goal was disallowed.

Rodrigues, a recent signing from Brazilian second-tier club Juventude, was the only player who failed to score in the shoot-out.

His spot kick lacked power and Wydad goalkeeper Youssef El Motie went the right way to pull off what proved to be the crucial save.

Senegalese substitute Bouly Sambou won the shoot-out for Wydad when he gave 19-year-old Esperance goalkeeper Amanallah Memmiche no chance with a powerful drive into the net.

Wydad Defeats Esperance Tunis on Penalties to Reach African Football League Final

RABAT, Morocco 

Morocco's Wydad deated Esperance Tunis  today to reach the African Football League final.

Brazilian forward Rodrigo Rodriguez scored the first goal for Esperance Tunis in the 66  minute of the match. The goal, however, was insufficient as the team needed more than one goal to reach the final.

The finalist was only determined after penalties. Wydad Casablanca won the game on penalties 5-4 to finish as a finalist in the competition.

Today’s game is the second leg of the inaugural African Football League semi-finals. The first leg took place on Sunday. Wydad won the previous game 1-0.

Since Wydad Casablanca won the  first leg of the semi-finals, Esperance Tunis' goal today in the second leg leveled the score between the two teams. As a result, the winner was determined by a penalty shootout.

The African Football League is a new tournament overseen by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and backed by FIFA.

The competition features eight of the strongest teams from different regions.

This year, the competition featured Egyptian champions Al Ahly, Wydad Casablanca, Tunisia’s Esperance, as well as DR Congo’s TP Mazembe and South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns, among other clubs – including Nigeria’s Enyimba FC, Angola’s Petroleos de Luanda, and Tanzania’s Simba SC.

“Central to the AFL is a vision of transforming club football in Africa and making its top sides globally competitive both on-pitch and commercially,” CAF said, stressing that a key part of the plan is to distribute revenues and resources evenly amongst CAF’s 54 members.

“The AFL promises to stimulate development across Africa and balance the landscape in the continent's favourite sport. It represents CAF's most daring attempt yet to shake up the status quo and achieve lasting change in African football,” CAF concluded.