Nkosazana Zuma-Mncube alleged that Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, who serves as an MP, and two others tricked 17 men into fighting for Russian mercenaries.

The men were told they were travelling to Russia to train as bodyguards for Jacob Zuma’s political party Mkhonto Wesizwe (MK), Zuma-Mncube’s statement says.

The police say they are investigating the matter, while Zuma-Sambudla, aged 43, has not responded to the BBC’s request for comment.

South Africa’s government previously said it had received distress calls from 17 citizens who had joined mercenary forces in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

The men, aged from 20 to 39, were lured to join the mercenary forces under the pretext of lucrative contracts, the government said.

South Africa has an unemployment rate of more than 30%. Joblessness among young people is even higher, making them especially vulnerable for recruitment, analysts say.

Zuma-Mncube said she had a “moral obligation” to file a police complaint against her younger sister.

Earlier this week, international financial outlet Bloomberg reported similar allegations against Zuma-Sambudla and said some men had also been recruited from neighbouring Botswana.

The allegations add to Zuma-Sambudla’s legal woes – she is currently on trial over terrorism-related charges.

The MP is being prosecuted over comments she made on social media four years ago during deadly protests in South Africa, following the arrest of her father.

A week of anarchy in several parts of the country in July 2021, including looting and arson, left at least 300 people dead.

Zuma-Sambudla has been accused of fuelling this unrest but she says the charges against her are politically motivated.

Jacob Zuma was jailed for contempt of court for refusing to take part in an inquiry into allegations of corruption during his presidency that led to his sacking.

He subsequently formed the MK party and led it to third place in last year’s elections.

The BBC has contacted MK and the Jacob Zuma Foundation for comment.

She is under general anaesthesia: unconscious, insensate and rendered completely still by a blend of drugs that induce deep sleep, block memory, blunt pain and temporarily paralyse her muscles.

Yet, amid the hum of monitors and the steady rhythm of the surgical team, a gentle stream of flute music plays through the headphones placed over her ears.

Even as the drugs silence much of her brain, its auditory pathway remains partly active. When she wakes up, she will regain consciousness more quickly and clearly because she required lower doses of anaesthetic drugs such as propofol and opioid painkillers than patients who heard no music.

That, at least, is what a new peer-reviewed study from Delhi’s Maulana Azad Medical College suggests. The research, published in the journal Music and Medicine, offers some of the strongest evidence yet that music played during general anaesthesia can modestly but meaningfully reduce drug requirements and improve recovery.

The study focuses on patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy, the standard keyhole operation to remove the gallbladder. The procedure is short – usually under an hour – and demands a particularly swift, “clear-headed” recovery.

To understand why the researchers turned to music, it helps to decode the modern practice of anaesthesia.

“Our aim is early discharge after surgery,” says Dr Farah Husain, senior specialist in anaesthesia and certified music therapist for the study. “Patients need to wake up clear-headed, alert and oriented, and ideally pain-free. With better pain management, the stress response is curtailed.”

Achieving that requires a carefully balanced mix of five or six drugs that together keep the patient asleep, block pain, prevent memory of the surgery and relax the muscles.

In procedures like laparoscopic gallbladder removal, anaesthesiologists now often supplement this drug regimen with regional “blocks” – ultrasound-guided injections that numb nerves in the abdominal wall.

“General anaesthesia plus blocks is the norm,” says Dr Tanvi Goel, primary investigator and a former senior resident of Maulana Azad Medical College. “We’ve been doing this for decades.”

But the body does not take to surgery easily. Even under anaesthesia, it reacts: heart rate rises, hormones surge, blood pressure spikes. Reducing and managing this cascade is one of the central goals of modern surgical care. Dr Husain explains that the stress response can slow recovery and worsen inflammation, highlighting why careful management is so important.

The stress starts even before the first cut, with intubation – the insertion of a breathing tube into the windpipe.

To do this, the anaesthesiologist uses a laryngoscope to lift the tongue and soft tissues at the base of the throat, obtain a clear view of the vocal cords, and guide the tube into the trachea. It’s a routine step in general anaesthesia that keeps the airway open and allows precise control of the patient’s breathing while they are unconscious.

“The laryngoscopy and intubation are considered the most stressful response during general anaesthesia,” says Dr Sonia Wadhawan, director-professor of anaesthesia and intensive care at Maulana Azad Medical College and supervisor of the study.

“Although the patient is unconscious and will remember nothing, their body still reacts to the stress with changes in heart rate, blood pressure, and stress hormones.”

To be sure, the drugs have evolved. The old ether masks have vanished. In their place are intravenous agents – most notably propofol, the hypnotic made infamous by Michael Jackson’s death but prized in operating theatres for its rapid onset and clean recovery. “Propofol acts within about 12 seconds,” notes Dr Goel. “We prefer it for short surgeries like laparoscopic cholecystectomy because it avoids the ‘hangover’ caused by inhalational gases.”

The team of researchers wanted to know whether music could reduce how much propofol and fentanyl (an opioid painkiller) patients required. Less drugs means faster awakening, steadier vital signs and reduced side effects.

So they designed a study. A pilot involving eight patients led to a full 11-month trial of 56 adults, aged roughly 20 to 45, randomly assigned to two groups. All received the same five-drug regimen: a drug that prevents nausea and vomiting, a sedative, fentanyl, propofol and a muscle relaxant. Both groups wore noise-cancelling headphones – but only one heard music.

“We asked patients to select from two calming instrumental pieces – soft flute or piano,” says Dr Husain. “The unconscious mind still has areas that remain active. Even if the music isn’t explicitly recalled, implicit awareness can lead to beneficial effects.”

The results were striking.

Patients exposed to music required lower doses of propofol and fentanyl. They experienced smoother recoveries, lower cortisol or stress-hormone levels and a much better control of blood pressure during the surgery. “Since the ability to hear remains intact under anaesthesia,” the researchers write, “music can still shape the brain’s internal state.”

Clearly, music seemed to quieten the internal storm. “The auditory pathway remains active even when you’re unconscious,” says Dr Wadhawan. “You may not remember the music, but the brain registers it.”

The idea that the mind behind the anaesthetic veil is not entirely silent has long intrigued scientists. Rare cases of “intraoperative awareness” show patients recalling fragments of operating-room conversation.

If the brain is capable of picking up and remembering stressful experiences during surgery – even when a patient is unconscious – then it might also be able to register positive or comforting experiences, like music, even without conscious memory.

“We’re only beginning to explore how the unconscious mind responds to non-pharmacological interventions like music,” says Dr Husain. “It’s a way of humanising the operating room.”

Music therapy is not new to medicine; it has long been used in psychiatry, stroke rehabilitation and palliative care. But its entry into the intensely technical, machine-governed world of anaesthesia marks a quiet shift.

If such a simple intervention can reduce drug use and speed recovery – even modestly – it could reshape how hospitals think about surgical wellbeing.

As the research team prepares its next study exploring music-aided sedation, building on earlier findings, one truth is already humming through the data: even when the body is still and the mind asleep, it appears a few gentle notes can help the healing begin.

Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, confirmed the development in a Facebook post on Monday, November 24, 2025.

He explained that the decision, which took effect on November 13, 2025, followed a new executive order issued by President Trump.

The Minister noted that U.S. officials had formally communicated the change, clarifying that the tariff removal applies to cocoa beans and other major Ghanaian products, including cashew nuts, avocado, banana, mango, orange, plantain, pineapple, guava, coconut, ginger, and various types of peppers.

The move is expected to significantly benefit Ghana’s cocoa sector. The country ships an estimated 78,000 metric tons of cocoa beans to the United States annually, and with current spot prices around $5,300 per metric ton, the Minister estimated that the tariff reversal could generate an additional US$60 million (GHS 667 million) each year.

He welcomed the decision and emphasized that the two countries will continue to strengthen cooperation for mutual benefit.

The earlier tariff increase followed a July 31 executive order by President Trump, which imposed 15% reciprocal tariffs on several countries, including Ghana. The move raised concerns among Ghanaian exporters, particularly in the cocoa industry, a key source of foreign exchange.

Ghana’s government had strongly opposed the measure. Deputy Trade Minister Sampson Ahi described it as unfair, noting that the United States does not produce cocoa.

Trade analysts say the episode underscores the importance of expanding intra-African trade under initiatives such as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

ALSO READ:

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• Trump tariffs could harm Ghana and global trade – Mahama

Earlier on Saturday, leaders from Europe, Canada and Japan said the plan had elements “essential for a just and lasting peace”, but would “require additional work”, citing concerns over border changes and caps on Ukraine’s army.

On Sunday, security officials from Britain, France, Germany, the US and Ukraine will meet in Geneva, Switzerland.

President Volodymyr Zelensky earlier warned Ukraine faced “one of the most difficult moments in our history” over US pressure to accept the plan seen as favourable to Moscow.

Trump has given Ukraine until 27 November to accept the 28-point plan, while Russia’s President Vladimir Putin said it could be the “basis” for a settlement.

When asked on Saturday whether the current draft plan was his final offer for Ukraine, Trump told reporters at the White House: “No, not my final offer.”

“One way or another we have to get it [the war] ended, so we’re working on it,” he added.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff will be among those taking part in talks in Geneva on Sunday. National Security Adviser Jonathan Powell will attend on the UK’s behalf.

Saturday’s joint statement at the G20 summit in South Africa was signed by the leaders of Canada, Finland, France, Ireland, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Spain, the UK, Germany and Norway. Two top EU officials were also among the signatories.

The statement said: “We believe, therefore, that the draft is a basis which will require additional work. We are ready to engage to ensure that a future peace is sustainable. We are clear on the principle that borders must not be changed by force.

“We are also concerned by the proposed limitations on Ukraine’s armed forces, which would leave Ukraine vulnerable to future attack.”

It added: “The implementation of elements relating to the European Union and relating to Nato would need the consent of EU and Nato members respectively”.

UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who is at the G20 summit in Johannesburg, spoke to Zelensky on the phone on Saturday, followed by a call with Trump.

On the Trump call, a Downing Street spokesman said Sir Keir “relayed the discussions that have been taking place between Coalition of the Willing partners [Ukraine’s allies] in attendance at the G20 summit today”.

They added: “The leaders agreed their teams would work together on the 28-point US peace proposal in Geneva tomorrow. They agreed to speak again tomorrow.”

Sir Keir earlier said he was concerned about proposed caps on Ukraine’s military in the US plan, saying “it’s fundamental that Ukraine has to be able to defend itself if there’s a ceasefire”.

The widely leaked US peace plan proposes Ukrainian troops withdraw from the part of the eastern Donetsk region that they currently control, and de facto Russian control of Donetsk, as well as the neighbouring Luhansk region and the southern Crimea peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014.

The plan also includes freezing the borders of Ukraine’s southern Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions along the current battle lines. Both regions are partially occupied by Russia.

The US draft would also limit Ukraine’s military to 600,000 personnel, with European fighter jets stationed in neighbouring Poland.

Kyiv would receive “reliable security guarantees”, the plan says, although no details have been given. The document says “it is expected” that Russia will not invade its neighbours and Nato will not expand further.

The plan also suggests Russia will be “reintegrated into the global economy”, through the lifting of sanctions and by inviting Russia to rejoin the G7 group of the world’s most powerful countries – making it the G8 again.

On Friday, Trump said Zelensky would “have to like” the US proposals, adding that otherwise Ukraine and Russia would continue fighting.

Earlier in the day, the Ukrainian leader addressed the nation with a stark warning that the country “might face a very difficult choice: either losing dignity, or risk losing a key partner”.

“Today is one of the most difficult moments in our history,” Zelensky added, pledging to work “constructively” with the Americans on the plan.

On Saturday, Zelensky announced that his head of office, Andriy Yermak, would lead Ukraine’s negotiating team for future talks on a peace deal, including any that may involve Russia.

“Our representatives know how to defend Ukraine’s national interests and exactly what must be done to prevent Russia from launching a third invasion, another strike against Ukraine,” the president said in a video statement posted on social media.

Kyiv is critically dependent on deliveries of US-made advanced weaponry, including air defence systems to repel deadly Russian air assaults, as well as intelligence provided by Washington.

Putin on Friday confirmed Moscow had received the US plan – but said it had not been discussed with the Kremlin in detail.

He added Moscow was willing to “show flexibility” – but was also prepared to fight on.

Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

In recent months, Russian troops have been slowly advancing in Ukraine’s south-eastern region – despite reported heavy combat casualties.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves is expected to give Sir Sadiq Khan and other civic chiefs the authority to do so through the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, which is currently going through Parliament.

Sir Sadiq has been vocal in calling for such powers to be devolved, with estimates suggesting a tourist tax in London could raise up to £240m a year.

In 2024, London saw 89 million overnight stays.

Currently, England is the only country among the G7 (Group of Seven) – the world’s seven largest so-called “advanced” economies – where national government prevents local authorities or mayors from implementing tourist levies.

Scotland and Wales have both recently introduced different types of taxes on overnight visitors, with local authorities in the former able to set their own levy as a percentage rate of the daily bill for accommodation.

From 2026, Welsh authorities will be able to collect £1.30 per night from visitors.

How would it work in London?

The Greater London Authority (GLA) recently asked the Centre for Cities thinktank to probe promising areas for further devolution in the capital.

In a briefing released last week, the authors noted that three types of tourist levy exist across the G7 primary cities – Paris, Munich, Milan, Toronto, New York, and Tokyo.

New York City and Toronto impose percentage rate levies on stays, with the former raising £493m every year with a £14.86 average nightly rate per visitor.

Tokyo has a single flat fee for all bookings, which raises just £35m despite the Japanese capital having the highest number of overnight stays of any primary city.

In France and Italy, the amount paid depends on the location, type of accommodation and official “star rating”.

London would be more suited to either a percentage or flat fee system, the authors suggested, as Britain “lacks a statutory national ‘star’ system for hotels present in France and Italy”.

The GLA previously estimated in 2017 that a £1 a day levy, including international visitors, could raise £91m, and that a 5% levy could raise £240m.

The Centre for Cities briefing also concluded that “London is unlikely to see a significant drop in visitors if it introduces a levy at a rate comparable to peer primary cities”.

This is due to research showing that visitors are less sensitive to levies in more popular destinations.

Would London benefit?

The Centre for Cities suggests that, if implemented effectively, a tourist levy would boost both economic growth and improve infrastructure and the business environment in London.

The mayor having control over the tax rate and use of revenues would also allow them to reduce or increase rates more swiftly in response to visitor patterns, it reported. It cites Toronto increasing theirs ahead of next year’s World Cup in North America.

Andrew Carter, chief executive of Centre for Cities, said: “The model the government should adopt is already underway in Scotland, where Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen are introducing levies valued at a percentage rate on overnight stays in hotels, B&Bs and short-let accommodation.”

He said a “key benefit” of that approach was that it was “flexible”, and the rate could rise and fall depending on the demand for overnight stays.

“A tourist levy would benefit the capital’s tourist economy, provided the revenues go to local government – ideally split between City Hall and the boroughs – and are not ring-fenced by central government for specific purposes,” Mr Carter added.

“Hopefully, introducing a tourist levy is the start of a bigger programme of devolving tax and spending powers to the capital. London is the most productive big city in the UK, and devolving more fiscal powers would give the capital more policy tools to accelerate growth in the economy.”

What does the hospitality sector think?

Kate Nicholls, chair of UK Hospitality, the trade body for the hospitality industry, called the idea “shocking”.

She said: “Overseas visitors are incredibly important to central London but across London as a whole, this is builders coming to work, businesses coming to conferences, it’s families coming for concerts and theatres and going to see family and friends.

“This will have a really big impact on British consumers, it’s a tax on hardworking British families having a short break in London and it will deter visitors from coming in.”

She added: “VAT rate in England and Wales and Scotland is 20% and that is really significant – it’s a tax on a tax.

“Our customers are already paying the highest tax. Customers can vote with their feet, if we tax them out of coming to London, then we will tax the London economy out of jobs, growth and investment.”

Would London’s boroughs support it?

Westminster, which is home to many of the capital’s famous landmarks including Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament and Buckingham Palace, has been campaigning for an overnight stay levy for “many many years”, its council leader said.

Adam Hug said: “We have a daytime population of over a million compared to a night-time population of about 200,000 and that means our local council tax payers are helping to subsidise things for the rest of London.

“So something through an overnight stay levy that helps redress that balance would be enormously welcome and enable us to do more creative things in the future.”

The Labour councillor added: “There are huge pressures at the moment both on local councils and the government, so this small measure is unlikely to significantly affect consumer behaviour but what it would do is give local councils an important revenue stream to support the local economy.”

Other councils, including Southwark and Brent, have also been in support of introducing such a levy.

What does Sir Sadiq think?

The mayor’s office appeared to welcome the proposed changes but said they would not comment on “speculation” and would wait before making any concrete preparations.

A spokesperson for the mayor of London told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “The mayor has been clear that a modest tourist levy, similar to other international cities, would boost our economy, deliver growth and help cement London’s reputation as a global tourism and business destination.”

What’s next?

While the chancellor is widely expected to announce the move in the coming months, nothing has yet been formalised.

A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson told the LDRS: “We are always open to hearing views from local leaders on issues like this.

“Places can already choose to introduce a levy on overnight stays through the Accommodation Business Improvement District (ABID) model.”

Richmond Council is looking into creating an ABID for the borough, which is home to attractions such as Hampton Court Palace and Kew Gardens. It is understood that if a London-wide tourist levy was introduced, any existing local schemes would likely be scrapped.

It will highlight tangible areas of collaboration, including sustainable climate-smart development, education, innovation, inclusive sports, and the Commonwealth. 

In Aburi, His Royal Highness will visit a Kindergarten and a teaching student class at the Presbyterian Women’s College of Education.

He will observe how Sabre Education has supported the Government of Ghana to deliver a play-based teaching and learning programme that is equipping Ghanaian teachers with the skills to provide better early childhood education.

The UK has supported Ghana on this journey to ensure universal access to quality early childhood education. 

 At the iconic nearby Aburi Botanical Gardens, the Duke of Edinburgh will visit a plant nursery, which propagates and preserves flora and serves as a practical learning space for horticultural students.

He will meet with entrepreneurial trailblazers from both the UK and Ghana’s cocoa industry, whose work in artisanal production, sustainable trade, and inclusive growth is helping transform cocoa communities.

The Duke will also plant a tree as a symbolic commitment to sustainability, joining past dignitaries including Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, and His Majesty King Charles III. 

His Royal Highness will meet participants of the Commonwealth Startup Fellowship Programme Bootcamp in Accra, which brings together entrepreneurs from 24 Commonwealth countries.

Delivered in partnership between the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in the UK and Imperial College London, the programme supports innovative startups tackling global challenges.

This engagement highlights the UK’s commitment to fostering entrepreneurship, innovation, and inclusive economic growth across the Commonwealth. 

A highlight of the visit will be The Duke’s meeting with Ghana’s Paralympic and sports associations and teams ahead of next year’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

This event underscores the transformative power of inclusive sports not only for physical well-being but also for character development and social cohesion.

It will highlight Ghana’s leadership as a Commonwealth partner in Africa and reaffirm the shared commitment of both Ghana and the UK to inclusion. 

The Duke will attend a UK-Ghana Theatre and Creative Arts event, which will position the UK as a partner of choice while highlighting Ghana’s dynamic creative sector.

Discussions will focus on opportunities for collaboration in skills development and investment to drive sustainable growth of the sector.

There will also be a special performance of the play, “The Black Star- Teacher of Africa”, by Kofi Adinkra, celebrating Dr Nkrumah’s legacy. The event will showcase how cultural partnerships can spark innovation and deepen UK-Ghana ties. 

His Royal Highness will also call on President John Mahama, President of Ghana, and attend a durbar with the National House of Chiefs, highlighting the enduring bonds between the British Royal Family and Ghana’s traditional leadership.

He will also honour the legacy of Ghana’s first President, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, and his wife, Fathia Nkrumah, by paying his respects at their place of rest in Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park. 

Speaking ahead of the visit, British High Commissioner, Dr Christian Rogg, said: “His Royal Highness’s visit to Ghana is a celebration of the strong and evolving relationship between the UK and Ghana.

“It’s about recognising our shared values and the real impact of our collaboration from education and climate action to inclusive development and innovation. It also honours Ghana’s vital role and enduring leadership within the Commonwealth.” 

The Duke is also scheduled to undertake a range of engagements that reflect the vibrant living bridge between the UK and Ghana.

These include high-level interactions with government officials, development partners, and engagements with the Ghanaian diaspora, community and business leaders.

The visit will conclude with His Royal Highness attending the King’s Birthday Party at the British High Commissioner’s residence.

This is an annual celebration that brings together key stakeholders from across government, business, civil society, and the diplomatic community to honour the enduring partnership between the UK and Ghana. 

The Christian Association of Nigeria says they have been reunited with their families.

A major military-led search and rescue operation is underway for the remaining 265 children and 12 teachers who were taken with them.

Calling for the release of the abductees, Pope Leo XIV expressed “immense sadness” and urged the authorities to act swiftly.

Authorities in several Nigerian states ordered schools to shut following the mass abduction in Niger and another smaller hostage-taking in Kebbi state on Monday, when 20 pupils were kidnapped from a boarding school.

Orders were given for many schools to close in the states of Kebbi, Niger, Katsina, Yobe and Kwara.

News of the children’s escape brought welcome relief for families and for a country that has been agonising over the fate of hundreds of schoolchildren abducted in Nigeria’s northwest.

According to a Christian group involved in the case, the pupils managed to escape between Friday and Saturday in what is being described as a brave and risky attempt to flee their captors.

The students and teachers were taken from St Mary’s School in Papiri, Niger state. Earlier reports spoke of 303 students and 12 teachers being taken.

Their number surpasses the 276 abducted during the infamous Chibok mass abduction of 2014.

Local police say armed men stormed St Mary’s at around 02:00 (01:00 GMT), abducting students staying there.

Niger state governor Mohammed Umaru Bongo announced on Saturday that all schools in the area would close, warning that it was “not a time for blame game”.

Dominic Adamu, whose daughters attend the school but were not taken, told the BBC: “Everybody is weak… It took everybody by surprise.”

One distressed woman tearfully told the BBC that her nieces, aged six and 13, had been kidnapped, adding: “I just want them to come home.”

The military, police and local vigilantes are searching for the children, combing nearby forests and remote routes believed to have been used by the gunmen.

Authorities in Niger state said St Mary’s School had disregarded an order to close all boarding facilities following intelligence warnings of a heightened risk of attacks. The school has not commented on that allegation.

The kidnapping of people for ransom by criminal gangs, known locally as bandits, has become a major problem in many parts of Nigeria.

The payment of ransoms has been outlawed in an attempt to cut the supply of money to the criminal gangs, but it has had little effect.

On Monday, more than 20 schoolgirls, who the BBC has been told are Muslim, were kidnapped from a boarding school in Kebbi state.

Authorities there have now ordered all secondary schools and colleges to close.

A church was also attacked further south in Kwara state, with two people killed and 38 others abducted.

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu postponed foreign trips – including to this weekend’s G20 summit in South Africa – in order to address the security concerns.

This week’s attacks follows claims by right-wing figures in the US, including President Donald Trump, that Christians are being persecuted in Nigeria.

For months, campaigners and politicians in Washington have been alleging that Islamist militants are systematically targeting Christians. The Nigerian government has dismissed this claim.

Earlier this month, Trump said he would send troops into Nigeria “guns a-blazing” if the African nation’s government “continues to allow the killing of Christians”.

The Nigerian government has called claims that Christians are being persecuted “a gross misrepresentation of reality”.

An official said that “terrorists attack all who reject their murderous ideology – Muslims, Christians and those of no faith alike”.

In the north-east, jihadist groups have been battling the state for more than a decade.

Organisations monitoring violence say most of the victims of these groups are Muslim because most attacks happen in the majority-Muslim north of the country.

In the centre of Nigeria, there are also frequently deadly attacks between herders – who are mostly Muslim – on farmers, who are largely Christian.

However, analysts say these are often motivated by competition for resources, such as water or land, rather than religion.

The militant Islamist group Boko Haram took 276 girls from their school in the town of Chibok in 2014.

The incident drew international attention and sparked a global campaign seeking their return, which included an intervention from then-US First Lady Michelle Obama.

Many have since either escaped or been freed, but as many as 100 remain missing.

Warning: This article contains details some readers may find disturbing.

The mother of an 11-year-old boy murdered as part of a suspected black magic killing four years ago is devastated that no one has yet been brought to justice for his death.

“Today I’m in pain. They killed my child and now there is just silence,” Sallay Kalokoh told BBC Africa Eye, explaining how her son Papayo was found with parts of his body removed, including his vital organs, eyes and one arm.

He had gone out to sell fish at the market and never came back.

His family searched for him for two weeks – and finally found his mutilated corpse at the bottom of a well.

“We always tell our children to be careful. If you are selling, don’t go to a corner or take gifts from strangers. It happens frequently in this country,” Ms Kalokoh said.

This murder in my hometown of Makeni, in central Sierra Leone, has haunted me as we often hear of reports of killings linked to black magic, also known as juju, that are never followed up or properly investigated by the authorities.

In Papayo’s case, the police did not even confirm that it was a “ritual killing” – when a person is murdered so that parts of their body can be used in so-called magic rituals by illicit juju practitioners.

They promise things like prosperity and power to clients who pay large sums in the false belief that human body parts can make such charms more potent.

But with the authorities severely under-resourced – there is only one pathologist in a country that has a population of 8.9 million – it is often impossible to gather the evidence needed to track down the culprits.

Belief in witchcraft is also so deeply ingrained in Sierra Leone, even among many police officers, that there is often a fear of pursuing cases further, and most go unsolved.

But I wanted to find out more about this underground trade in human body parts that leaves tragedy in its wake.

Our BBC Africa Eye team was able to find two people who claimed they were juju practitioners and offered to obtain body parts for ritual purposes.

Both said they were part of much larger networks – and one boasted that he had powerful clients across West Africa. The BBC was unable to verify these claims.

One member of our team went undercover, using the name Osman, to pose as a politician who wanted to achieve power through human sacrifice.

We first travelled to a remote area of Kambia district, in the north of the country near the Guinean border, to meet the juju man in his secret shrine – an area in dense bush where he consulted with his clients.

Calling himself Kanu, he wore a ceremonial red mask covering his whole face to conceal his identity and boasted of his political connections.

“I was working with some big, big politicians in Guinea, Senegal and Nigeria. We have our team. Sometimes during election time, at night, this place is full of people,” he claimed.

Election season is regarded by some as a particularly dangerous time when parents have been warned to take special care of their children because of the heightened risk of abductions.

On a second visit, Kanu became more confident and showed Osman what he said was evidence of his trade – a human skull.

“You see this? This belongs to someone. I dried it for them. It is a woman’s skull. I am expecting the person to pick this up today or tomorrow.”

He also pointed to a pit behind his shrine: “This is where we hang human parts. We slaughter here, and the blood goes down there… Even big chiefs, when they want power, come here. I give them what they want.”

When Osman specified that he wanted limbs from a woman to be used in a ritual, Kanu got down to business: “The price of a woman is 70m leones [£2,500; $3,000].”

Anxious not to put anyone at risk, we did not meet Kanu again. He may have been a scammer, but we handed over our evidence to the local police to investigate further.

Such juju men sometimes refer to themselves as herbalists, the name given to healers who use traditional medicine, often made from local plants, to treat common illnesses.

World Health Organisation data shows that Sierra Leone, which suffered a brutal civil war in the 1990s and was at the centre of the Ebola epidemic a decade ago, had around 1,000 registered doctors in 2022, compared to reported estimates of 45,000 traditional healers.

Most people in the West African nation rely on these healers, who also help with mental health issues and treat their patients in shrines where there is an element of mysticism and spiritualism culturally associated with their craft and the remedies they sell.

Sheku Tarawallie, president of Sierra Leone’s Council of Traditional Healers, is adamant that “diabolic” juju men like Kanu are giving healers a bad name.

“We are trying very hard to clear our image. The ordinary person doesn’t understand, so they class us [all] as bad herbalists. One rotting fish can destroy the batch of fish… We are healers, we are not killers,” he told BBC Africa Eye.

Mr Tarawallie is, in fact, trying to work with the government and another non-governmental organisation to open a traditional medicine clinic to treat patients.

It was those with a lust for power and money who were often behind the ritual killings, he believed.

“When somebody wants to become a leader… they remove parts from human beings. They use that one as a sacrifice. Burn people, use their ashes for power. Use their oil for power.”

The number of ritual killings in Sierra Leone, where most people identify as Muslim or Christian, is not known.

“In most African countries, ritual murders are not officially recorded as a separate or sub-category of homicide,” Emmanuel Sarpong Owusu, a researcher at the UK’s Aberystwyth University, told the BBC.

“Some are misclassified or misreported as accidents, deaths resulting from attacks by wild animals, suicides, natural deaths… Most perpetrators – possibly 90% – are not apprehended.”

When we found another suspected supplier of body parts, he was located in a suburb of the capital, Freetown, called Waterloo, which is notorious for drug abuse and other crime.

“I’m not alone, I have up to 250 herbalists working under my banner,” the man calling himself Idara told Osman, who was again undercover and wearing a secret camera.

“There are no human parts that we don’t work with. Once we call for a specific body part, they bring it. We share the work,” Idara said.

He went on to explain how some of his collaborators were good at capturing people, and on Osman’s second visit, played a voice message from one of them who claimed they were prepared to start going out every night in search of a victim.

Osman told him not to proceed yet but when he later received a call from Idara claiming his team had identified a victim, we contacted Police Commissioner Ibrahim Sama.

He decided to organise a raid – but said his officers would not do so without the involvement of Mr Tarawallie, who often assists the police on such operations.

“When we got intelligence that there is a particular dangerous witchdoctor operating a shrine, we will work with the traditional healers,” said an officer on the raid, Assistant Superintendent Aliu Jallo.

He went on to express the superstitions some officers have about tackling rogue herbalists: “I will not go and provoke situations. I know that they have their own powers that are beyond my knowledge.”

After Idara was captured – discovered hiding in the roof clutching a knife – Mr Tarawallie began searching the property for evidence, saying there were human bones, human hair and piles of what looked like dirt from cemeteries.

This was enough for the police to arrest Idara and two other men, who were charged in June with practising sorcery as well as being in possession of traditional weapons used in ritual killings. They pleaded not guilty to the charges and have since been granted bail, pending further investigations.

As we never heard back from the police in Kambia about Kanu, I tried to call him myself to challenge him about the allegations directly, but he was unreachable.

There are occasions when even high-profile cases appear to stall. Two years ago, a university lecturer went missing in Freetown, and his body was later found buried in what police say was the shrine of a herbalist in Waterloo.

The case was referred in August 2023 by a magistrate to the High Court for trial, but two sources have told the BBC it has not been pursued so far, and those detained by police have been released on bail.

My family is facing similar hurdles in finding justice. In May, during our BBC investigation, my 28-year-old cousin Fatmata Conteh was murdered in Makeni.

A hairdresser and mother of two, her body was dumped the day after her birthday by the side of the road, where a resident told the BBC two other bodies had been found in recent weeks.

Several of her front teeth were missing, leading the community to believe it was a ritual killing.

“She was a lady who never did harm. She was very peaceful and hard-working,” said one mourner as family, friends and colleagues gathered for a big funeral at her local mosque.

We may never know the true motive for Fatmata’s murder. The family paid for her body to be transported to Freetown for an autopsy – something the authorities could not afford to do – but the post-mortem was inconclusive and no arrests have yet been made.

As is the case for Papayo’s mother, the lack of closure and feeling of abandonment by the police fuels fear and terror in poor communities like Makeni.

Additional reporting by Chris Alcock and Luis Barrucho

According to the police, Omoyemen circulated a false claim that she was kIdnapped along Upper Sakponba road in Benin city and later rescued by officers who reportedly detained her at Akpata police station and collected N10,000 as bail.

In a viral video, a voice could be heard in the background urging viewers to follow her page.

The command revealed that after reviewing the video, an investigation confirmed that the kidnapping story was entirely fabricated. During interrogation, the suspect admitted she staged the incident solely to drive online traffic and increase followers.

Yamu noted that the content was misleading, capable of inciting hostility toward the police, and could create unnecessary tension in the state.

He added that the suspect had deleted an earlier video that showed an accomplice in the background encouraging viewers to follow her page, exposing the true motive behind the hoax.

The suspect has been arrested, charged to court while efforts continue to locate her accomplices to face legal action.

The police also issued a warning against creating or spreading fake news that could disturb peace and security in the state.

The Vietnamese government says 186,000 homes have been damaged across the country, with more than three million livestock swept away. Officials estimate there has been hundreds of millions of pounds worth of damage.

The mountainous province of Dak Lak has been severely impacted, recording more than 60 deaths since 16 November, according to news agency AFP.

The floods are the latest extreme weather event to hit Vietnam in recent months, after typhoons Kalmaegi and Bualoi hit the country within weeks of each other.

Some 258,000 people were without power on Sunday morning and sections of major motorways and train tracks were blocked, officials said.

Military and police resources have been mobilised to assist in the hardest hit areas.

The government said the most severe impacts had been observed in five provinces – Quang Ngai, Gia Lai, Dak Lak, Khanh Hoa, and Lam Dong – clustered in south and south-central Vietnam.

Mach Van Si, a farmer in Dak Lak, told AFP: “Our neighbourhood was completely destroyed. Nothing was left. Everything was covered in mud.”

Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính chaired a virtual emergency meeting on Sunday morning from South Africa, where he had been attending the G20 summit.

Rainfall had exceeded 1.5m (5ft) in several areas leading up to Friday, with some areas surpassing a 5.2m level not seen since 1993. The rain is forecast to ease in the coming days.

Scientists say that Vietnam has been left more exposed to extreme weather events by human-driven climate change, which has made typhoons stronger and more frequent.

In an official communication dated 14th November 2025, ECOWAS conveyed its decision to dispatch an 80-member observation team to Guinea-Bissau from 19th to 26th November 2025.

The mission will consist of experts drawn from foreign ministries, electoral commissions, ECOWAS Ambassadors, the Council of the Wise, ECOWAS Court of Justice, civil society organisations, media practitioners, and other electoral specialists across the sub-region.

The appointment recognises Ambassador Kamara’s extensive diplomatic and security expertise, spanning more than four decades of public service to Ghana and West Africa. A former National Security Advisor, he has served in several high-level roles, including Ghana’s High Commissioner to Nigeria (with concurrent accreditation to Cameroon, Chad, and São Tomé & Príncipe) and Ghana’s Permanent Representative to the ECOWAS Commission from 2009–2012.

He also served as Senior Presidential Advisor before assuming the role of National Security Advisor between 2013 and 2017.

Ambassador Kamara is widely recognised as a respected statesman with deep insight into peace, security, democracy, and governance across West Africa. His experience in election observation includes serving as Deputy Head of the ECOWAS Observation Mission for Nigeria’s 2023 Presidential Elections, as well as participating in election monitoring exercises in Togo and Côte d’Ivoire.

Currently, Ambassador Kamara holds the position of Special Envoy for Counterterrorism for ECOWAS, a role to which he was appointed in July 2023 by the Authority of Heads of State and Government, in recognition of his depth of experience in regional security and diplomacy.

Ambassador Kamara’s leadership is expected to strengthen ECOWAS’ commitment to promoting credible, transparent, and peaceful elections in Guinea-Bissau as part of its broader mandate to uphold democracy and good governance in the region.

President Mahama appoints Kwame Griffiths as Deputy MD of Cocoa Processing…

The directive was issued through a circular dated November 21, 2025, from the Federal Ministry of Education.

According to the document, the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, approved the shutdown following “recent security challenges” in parts of the country and the need to prevent breaches.

The circular asked principals of affected schools to enforce the closure without delay. The 41 schools are in states across the North-West, North-East, North-Central, and parts of the South.

“Sequel to the recent security challenges in some parts of the country and the need to prevent any security breaches, the Honourable Minister of Education has approved the immediate closure of the listed Federal Unity Colleges (FUCs) with immediate effect. Principals of affected Colleges are to ensure strict compliance,” the circular, signed by the Director of Senior Secondary Education, Hajia Abdulkadir, on behalf of the Minister, read in part.

See the full list:

1. FGGC MINJIBIR

2. FTC GANDUJE

3. FGGC ZARIA

4. FTC KAFANCHAN

5. FGGC BAKORI

6. FTC DAYI

7. FGC DAURA

8. FGGC TAMBUWAL

9. FSC SOKOTO

10. FTC WURNO

11. FGC GUSAU

12. FGC ANKA

13. FGGC GWANDU

14. FGC BIRNIN YAURI

15. FTC ZURU

16. FGGC KAZAURE

17. FGC KIYAWA

18. FTC HADEJIA

19. FGGC BIDA

20. FGC NEW-BUSSA

21. FTC KUTA-SHIRORO

22. FGA SULEJA

23. FGC ILORIN

24. FGGC OMUARAN

25. FTC GWANARA

26. FGC UGWOLAWO

27. FGGC KABBA

28. FTC OGUGU

29. FGGC BWARI

30. FGC RUBOCHI

31. FGGC ABAJI

32. FGGC POTISKUM

33. FGC BUNI YADI

34. FTC GASHUA

35. FTC MICHIKA

36. FGC GANYE

37. FGC AZARE

38. FTC MISAU

39. FGGC BAJOGA

40. FGC BILLIRI

41. FTC ZAMBUK

Renewed Attacks on Schools

The closure comes on the heels of rising security threats across the country, with two mass abductions of students taking place in recent days.

In Niger State, gunmen attacked St. Mary’s Primary and Secondary School in Papiri on Friday, abducting an unspecified number of students. Witnesses said that the attackers rode over 60 motorcycles and shot the school’s gatekeeper, who sustained serious injuries.

Before that, assailants had seized 25 schoolgirls during an attack on a school in Maga town, Kebbi State.

Meanwhile, the rising tension sparked a rumour of the abduction of students in Nasarawa, claims police authorities in the state immediately dismissed.

The Nasarawa State Police Command described the report that two pupils were taken from St. Peter’s Academy in Rukubi as “false and not reflective of the true state of affairs”.

In response to the escalating threats, President Bola Tinubu directed the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, to relocate to Kebbi to oversee rescue operations.

Tinubu also postponed his planned trips to Johannesburg and Angola. The surge in school attacks and kidnappings has intensified insecurity across northern states, prompting urgent calls for coordinated action.

The renewed abduction of students is the latest in a series of kidnappings in learning institutions, dating back to 2014 when students were taken away in Chibok, Borno State.

Since then, there have been mass abductions of students across the country, especially in northern Nigeria.

Global bodies, including the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), have repeatedly condemned the kidnapping of students, asking Nigerian authorities to prioritise the safety of learners.

Addressing the nation on Friday, Zelensky said Ukraine “might face a very difficult choice: either losing dignity, or risk losing a key partner”, adding that “today is one of the most difficult moments in our history”.

The widely leaked US peace plan includes proposals that Kyiv had previously ruled out: ceding eastern areas it now controls, significantly cutting its army size, and pledging not to join Nato.

These provisions are seen as heavily slanted towards Russia, whose President Vladimir Putin said the plan could be a “basis” for peace settlement.

At Friday’s meeting with his security cabinet, Putin said Moscow had received the plan, which had not been discussed with the Kremlin in detail. He said Russia was willing to “show flexibility” but was also prepared to fight on.

Later in the day, US President Donald Trump said Zelensky would “have to like” the plan, adding that otherwise Ukraine and Russia would continue fighting.

Ukraine is critically dependent on deliveries of US-made advanced weaponry, including air defence systems to repel deadly Russian air assaults, as well as intelligence provided by Washington.

Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

In his 10-minute address in front of the presidential office in Kyiv, Zelensky warned that Ukraine would face “a lot of pressure… to weaken us, to divide us”, adding that “the enemy is not sleeping”.

Urging Ukrainians to stay united, he stressed that the country’s “national interest must be taken into account”.

“We’re not making loud statements,” he went on, “we’ll be calmly working with America and all the partners… offering alternatives” to the proposed peace plan.

Zelensky also said he had been reassured of continuous support during a phone call with UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

Sir Keir said late on Friday that Ukraine’s allies remained committed to securing “a just and lasting peace once and for all”.

Ahead of the G20 summit, which begins on Saturday in South Africa, the prime minister said he and other world leaders would “discuss the current proposal on the table, and in support of President Trump’s push for peace, look at how we can strengthen this plan for the next phase of negotiations”.

Trump is not attending the gathering over widely discredited claims that white people are being persecuted in the country.

Separately, Zelensky said he had spoken “for almost an hour” with US Vice-President JD Vance and Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, adding that Ukraine “always respected” Trump’s efforts to end the war.

In Washington, Trump warned that Ukraine would lose more territory to Russia “in a short amount of time”.

He said it was “appropriate” to give Ukraine until 27 November – Thanksgiving in the US – to agree to the peace deal, but added deadlines could be extended if things were “going well”.

Speaking at the White House on Friday, the US president said “we think we have a way of getting peace”, adding that Zelensky “is going to have to approve it”.

Washington has been pressing Kyiv to quickly accept the plan, and sent senior Pentagon officials to the Ukrainian capital earlier this week.

On Thursday, Putin sounded determined to continue the war despite reported heavy Russian combat casualties.

“We have our tasks, our goals,” the Kremlin leader, wearing a military uniform, told his army commanders. “The chief one is the unconditional achievement of the aims of the special military operation [full-scale war].”

The 28-point US peace plan emerged as Russia claims small territorial gains in south-eastern Ukraine, while Zelensky faces a domestic crisis implicating top officials in a $100m (£76m) corruption scandal.

The White House has pushed back on claims that Ukraine was frozen out of the drafting of the proposal, following meetings between US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Russian counterpart Kirill Dmitriev.

An unnamed US official told CBS News, the BBC’s US partner, that the plan was drawn up “immediately” following discussions with Ukraine’s top security official Rustem Umerov, who agreed to the majority of it.

Umerov is said to have made several modifications before he presented it to Zelensky.

The leaked draft proposes Ukrainian troops’ withdrawal from the part of the eastern Donetsk region that they currently control, and de facto Russian control of Donetsk, as well as the neighbouring Luhansk region and the southern Crimea peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014.

The plan also includes freezing the borders of Ukraine’s southern Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions along the current battle lines. Both regions are partially occupied by Russia.

The US plan also limits Ukraine’s military to 600,000 personnel, with European fighter jets stationed in neighbouring Poland.

Kyiv would receive “reliable security guarantees”, the plan says, although no details have been given. The document says “it is expected” that Russia will not invade its neighbours and that Nato will not expand further.

The draft also suggests Russia will be “reintegrated into the global economy”, through the lifting of sanctions and by inviting Russia to rejoin the G7 group of the world’s most powerful countries – making it the G8 again.

Ukrainians both under and free of Russian occupation struck a defiant tone in reaction to news of the US proposal.

In Kyiv, the widow of a Ukrainian soldier told the BBC: “This is not a peace plan, it is a plan to continue the war.”

Another person speaking from one of the occupied territories in Ukraine told the BBC: “I’m trying to keep my sanity here in the conditions of constant propaganda that Ukraine has forgotten us. I hope they will not sign this.”

Russia currently controls about 20% of Ukrainian territory and its troops have been making slow advances along the vast front line, despite reported heavy losses.

The epicentre of the earthquake was close to the Narsingdi district, about 30 kilometres (18.6 miles) from the capital, Dhaka.

People rushed from residential buildings as buildings shook and makeshift structures collapsed. At least 10 students were injured in a stampede as they tried to leave Dhaka University on Friday.

“We have never experienced an earthquake this powerful in the last five years,” said the country’s environmental adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan.

At least three people were killed when a railing and debris fell from a five-storey building in Dhaka’s Armanitola area, deputy police commissioner Mallik Ahsan Uddin Sami said.

Nitai Chandra De Sarkar, director of the department’s monitoring division, said 461 people have been reported injured across the country, including 252 in the Gazipur district, north of Dhaka.

Sarker told the BBC: “Our main task at the moment is to assess casualties and damage. We are not yet seeing the challenge of rescue from the rubble or debris management at that level.”

Bengali Sadman Sakib told Reuters news agency: “I have never felt such tremor in my 30 years of life. We were at the office when the furniture started shaking.

“We rushed down the stairs on the street and saw other people on the road already.”

A student called Abdullah, who was sleeping at the time of the earthquake, told Reuters the “whole building was shaking”.

Tremors were felt in eastern Indian states bordering Bangladesh, but there were no reports of major damage.

The earthquake caused Ireland’s second cricket test match in Bangladesh to stop temporarily.

Coaches and players not involved gathered at the boundary, while those in the stands took shelter. The game was stopped for three minutes but play soon resumed.

Ireland’s head coach Heinrich Malan said: “I’ve been involved in a couple of earthquakes from my time living in New Zealand.

“It’s never a nice feeling and you’re trying to understand what is happening in the moment around you, but also the bigger impacts about where the earthquake struck.

“Everything stood still for a couple of minutes and we got back to business, but we’re thinking of everyone and hoping there wasn’t too much damage done.”

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The latest attack targeted St Mary’s School in Papiri, Niger state, where authorities had already ordered the temporary closure of all boarding schools due to rising security threats.

Details remain unclear but residents fear that close to 100 students and staff may have been taken away during the early-morning raid.

Nigeria has faced a renewed wave of attacks by armed groups in recent days, including the kidnapping on Monday of more than 20 schoolgirls, who the BBC has been told are Muslim, from a boarding school in neighbouring Kebbi state.

A church was also attacked in the south-western Kwara state, with two people killed and 38 abducted while the service was being broadcast online.

Police said armed men – locally known as bandits – stormed St Mary’s School on Friday at about 02:00 local time (01:00 GMT) and abducted an unconfirmed number of students from their hostel.

Fear and uncertainty have gripped the area as families wait for news.

The authorities in Niger state said the school had disregarded an order to close all boarding facilities following intelligence warnings of a heightened risk of attacks.

“Regrettably, St Mary’s School proceeded to reopen and resume academic activities without notifying or seeking clearance from the state government, thereby exposing pupils and the staff to avoidable risk,” they said in a statement.

The school has not commented.

The police said that security agencies were “combing the forests with a view to rescue the abducted students”.

The attack follows claims by US President Donald Trump that Christians are being persecuted in Nigeria, an allegation dismissed by the Nigerian government.

Earlier this month, Trump said he would send troops into Nigeria “guns a-blazing” if its government “continues to allow the killing of Christians”.

The Nigerian government has pushed back on these claims, describing them as “a gross misrepresentation of reality”.

An official said that “terrorists attack all who reject their murderous ideology – Muslims, Christians and those of no faith alike”.

Nigeria is currently grappling multiple overlapping security crises.

The country’s 220 million people are roughly evenly split between followers of the two religions, with Muslims in the majority in the north.

The kidnapping of people for ransom by criminal gangs, known locally as bandits, has become a major problem in many parts of the country.

In the north-east, jihadist groups have been battling the state for more than a decade. Organisations monitoring violence say most of the victims of these groups are Muslim because most attacks happen in the north.

In the centre of the country, there are also frequently deadly attacks between herders, who are mostly Muslim, on farmers, who are largely Christian. However, analysts say these are often motivated by competition for resources such as water or land, rather than religion.

Local media report that the kidnappers have demanded a ransom for those abducted from the church in Eruku, Kwara state.

The payment of ransoms has been outlawed in an attempt to cut the supply of money to the criminal gangs but to little effect.

Two of the schoolgirls abducted on Monday in Maga, Kebbi state have managed to escape, while 23 are still missing. Two people were killed in that attack. They were both Muslim.

President Bola Tinubu this week postponed his foreign trips to address the rising wave of attacks across Africa’s most populous country.

READ ALSO:

A massive operation has been launched to find the men who robbed the van in the heart of Bengaluru city in daylight.

The robbery occurred on Wednesday afternoon. Six men in an SUV stopped a cash transport van on a busy road as it was moving money between bank branches, Bengaluru police commissioner Seemant Kumar Singh told the BBC.

The van was carrying a driver, a cash custodian and two armed security guards.

Mr Singh says the robbers told the people in the van that they were officials from the Reserve Bank of India and needed to verify if they had the correct documents to transport such a huge amount of money.

The gang told the cash custodian and guards to leave their weapons in the van and get into the SUV, while the driver was instructed to continue driving with the cash, police said.

The SUV followed the cash van for a few kilometres before the gang forced the driver out of the van, made the cash custodian and guards get out of the SUV, transferred the cash at gunpoint, and fled.

The area had little CCTV coverage, and police are investigating if the gang used multiple vehicles in the operation.

The cash transportation service company has filed a police complaint.

The SUV used in the heist had a fake number plate and a sticker that read “Government of India”, a police official told the BBC on condition of anonymity.

The official added that police were also investigating if the company employees had anything to do with the heist.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah told reporters that police have recovered the SUV used in the heist.

But Home Minister G Parameshwara has said that it is not yet clear which vehicle the suspects had used to escape.

“It was verified that they changed vehicles and moved the money,” he told reporters.

He said he was confident police would solve the case soon, as they had with other recent high-profile bank robberies in Karnataka.

In May, 59kg of gold worth 532.6m rupees was stolen from a Vijayapura district bank using a duplicate locker key. Police have since recovered 39kg of gold and some cash, and arrested 15 people, including two former employees.

The Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has announced the qualifying period for indefinite leave to remain will be extended from five to 10 years, and will apply to the estimated 2.6 million who arrived since 2021.

The changes will not apply to people who have already obtained a settlement.

Mahmood said becoming part of the UK was “not a right but a privilege – and one that must be earned”.

The package is the latest in a string of changes to the immigration system announced by Mahmood over the past week.

Settlement, also known as Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR), allows someone to live in the UK permanently, work without restrictions and access public services. It is also a key step towards British citizenship.

Currently, most work and family visa holders can apply for settlement after five years.

Under the proposed changes the standard wait will be 10 years – with a range of criteria that would lengthen or shorten that period.

• Legal migrants who claim benefits for less than 12 months will have to wait 15 years
• People who arrived on post-Brexit health and social care visas would have to wait 15 years, up from five year currently
• Migrants reliant on benefits for more than 12 months face a 20-year wait for settlement, four times more than the current period and the longest in Europe

There is also a reduction to three years for applicants who earn £125,140 in the three years prior to applying for settlement, with this reduced to five years for anyone earning £50,270.

Time spent volunteering and competency in the English language are also factors which could reduce the wait.

Announcing the changes in the Commons, Mahmood said: “Migration will always be a vital part of Britain’s story.

“But the scale of arrivals in recent years has been unprecedented.”

Conservative shadow home secretary Chris Philp accused Labour of “copying and pasting” policies from his party that it had previously “voted against”.

Philp said his part would support the changes, but warned the new system could create loopholes and urged ministers to adopt a migration cap.

Reform UK did not respond to the statement in the Commons. But the party has previously announced it would abolish ILR – replacing it with visas that migrants must reapply for every five years.

That includes hundreds of thousands of migrants currently in the UK.

Home Office figures show net migration added 2.6 million people to UK population between 2021 and 2024.

Because of this, settlement grants are also expected to spike over the next five years, with around 1.6 million people forecast to settle between 2026 and 2030.

Ministers plan to introduce an “earned settlement” system, requiring migrants to demonstrate social integration, economic contribution and good “character” before being granted settled status.

Applicants will need to meet stricter minimum requirements including the equivalent to A-level standard English language, a clean criminal record and earning above £12,570 a year for at least three years.

There will be accelerated routes for those who make an “outsized contribution” to the UK.

Doctors and nurses working in the NHS will be able to settle after five years. The “brightest and best” international talent could have settlement fast-tracked, with high earners and entrepreneurs able to stay after just three years.

Family members will not gain automatic status when the main applicant qualifies. Children who came to the UK under the age of 18 may settle with parents, but older dependants could face separate requirements.

Existing fast-track routes for victims of domestic abuse, bereaved partners and resettled refugees will remain.

Public service union Unison said the changes would be “devastating to thousands of essential workers” and put services at risk.

Christina McAnea, Unison’s general secretary, said: “Forcing staff, many of whom stepped up during Covid, to wait 15 years for certainty about their futures betrays the promises they were made.”

Ms McAnea warned the government not to “overlook the care workers, nursing assistants and school support staff from overseas” as without them “care services would collapse”.

The changes build on measures first set out in the government’s May white paper.

The government plan to roll out changes from spring 2026, after a consultation ends on 12 February.

On Monday, Mahmood announced a sweeping overhaul of the UK’s asylum system – including plans to end permanent refugee status and replace it with temporary status subject to review every 30 months.

Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick is accused of laundering some of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) money into her 2021 election campaign.

The 46-year-old Democrat is under investigation by the House of Representatives Ethics Committee and could be expelled from the chamber. Attorney General Pam Bondi called it a “particularly selfish, cynical crime”.

In a statement, Ms Cherfilus-McCormick – who was elected to Congress in 2022 – maintained she was innocent and vowed to clear her name. She faces up to 53 years in prison if convicted.

The fraud was allegedly carried out through a healthcare company operated by the congresswoman and her brother, Edwin Cherfilus, 51, now co-accused.

Ms Cherfilus-McCormick was chief executive of the family firm, Trinity Healthcare Services, at the time.

The company had won a Fema contract to register people for Covid vaccines, but in July 2021 it received an overpayment of $5m in federal funds, according to the justice department.

The siblings allegedly tried to disguise the money’s source by routing it through several accounts and eventually used “a substantial portion” on her congressional campaign.

Ms Cherfilus-McCormick and another person named in the indictment allegedly diverted funds from the Fema contract to friends and relatives, who donated the money back to her campaign as personal contributions, prosecutors said.

“No-one is above the law, least of all powerful people who rob taxpayers for personal gain,” the attorney general said.

“We will follow the facts in this case and deliver justice.”

A federal grand jury in Miami approved the indictment on Wednesday.

Ms Cherfilus-McCormick said in a statement: “This is an unjust, baseless, sham indictment – and I am innocent.”

She added: “I am deeply grateful for the support of my district, and I remain confident that the truth will prevail.”

Her lawyers, David Oscar Markus, Margot Moss, and Melissa Madrigal, said in a statement: “We will fight to clear her good name.”

Ms Cherfilus-McCormick is also under investigation by the House Ethics Committee.

The Office of Congressional Conduct said in its referral that she “may have requested community project funding that would be directed to a for-profit entity”.

On Thursday, a Florida Republican congressman, Greg Steube, said he would introduce a resolution to expel Ms Cherfilus-McCormick.

“Defrauding the federal government and disaster victims of $5 million is an automatic disqualifier from serving in elected office,” he said in a social media post.

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He has been given four life sentences, along with other terms, to be served concurrently. The prosecution had called for the death penalty but Judge James Omotosho said that executions were now “frowned upon”.

In his ruling he said he was satisfied that Kanu had made a series of broadcasts to incite violence and killings, as part of his campaign for a separate state in south-east Nigeria, known as Biafra.

Kanu was convicted on all seven charges he faced. As well as terrorism, they included treason and involvement with an outlawed movement.

Kanu always denied the charges and challenged the court’s jurisdiction. At the start of the trial he sacked his lawyers but refused to defend himself.

He was not in court when the verdict was delivered, after being removed for unruly behaviour.

Security around the courthouse in the capital, Abuja, was tightened ahead of the verdict in case of protests by Kanu’s supporters.

Once a relatively obscure figure, he came to national prominence in 2009 when he started Radio Biafra, a station that called for an independent state for the Igbo people, broadcast to Nigeria from London.

Though he grew up in south-eastern Nigeria, where he attended the University of Nsukka, Kanu moved to the UK before graduating and acquired British nationality.

In 2014, he set up the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), a movement demanding independence.

IPOB was banned as a terrorist organisation in 2017. Its armed wing – the Eastern Security Network – has been accused of killings and other acts of violence in recent years.

Delivering his judgement, Justice Omotosho said: “Mr Kanu knew what he was doing, he was bent on carrying out these threats without consideration to his own people.

“From the incontroverted evidence, it is clear that the defendant carried out a preparatory act of terrorism.

“He had the duty to explain himself, but failed to do so.”

Kanu is a popular figure in his movement’s heartland in south-eastern Nigeria, but reaction to the verdict there has so far been muted.

In court ahead of the ruling, Kanu insisted that proceedings could not continue because he had not yet filed his final written address, accusing the judge of bias and not understanding the law.

The judgment was delivered after Kanu had been forcibly removed from the courtroom for unruly behaviour.

He was first arrested in October 2015 but he jumped bail in 2017 and left the country after a military raid on his home. The court later revoked his bail in March 2019.

Two years later, the government announced that he had been re-arrested. His lawyers say he was detained in Kenya and forcibly returned to Nigeria. Kenya has not commented.

In 2022, an appeal court ordered that the charges against him be dropped, saying he had been illegally arrested abroad, but this ruling was overturned by the Supreme Court the following year.

The calls for Biafran independence date back many years.

In 1967, Igbo leaders declared a Biafran state, but after a brutal civil war, which led to the deaths of up to a million people, the secessionist rebellion was defeated.

Many Igbo people continue to feel that they are marginalised by the Nigerian state; however, it is not clear how many are in favour of independence.

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The initiative forms part of an accelerated effort to bolster regional security as extremist violence expands beyond traditional hotspots.

President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Alieu Omar Touray, revealed the plan while addressing the United Nations Security Council during a high-level discussion in New York on strengthening cooperation against terrorism in West Africa and the Sahel.

Dr. Touray disclosed that early-warning systems in the region have recorded 450 terrorist attacks and nearly 2,000 deaths in 2025 alone, underscoring the severity of the crisis. He cautioned that terrorist activity, once concentrated in the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin, has now spread across the wider West African subregion, posing a direct threat to regional stability.

He also warned that violent extremist groups are increasingly engaging in “economic warfare,” deliberately targeting critical infrastructure by restricting fuel supplies, disrupting trade corridors, and destabilising local economies to weaken states and entrench their influence.

“To confront the escalating violence, ECOWAS is fast-tracking the deployment of its standby force, starting with 1,650 troops, with plans to scale up to 5,000 personnel through additional contributions from member states and support from international partners,” he said.

However, Dr. Touray noted that significant challenges remain. Fragmented national responses, mistrust among neighbouring states, weak intelligence-sharing frameworks, and limited operational coordination continue to hamper regional counterterrorism efforts.

He appealed to the UN Security Council to support initiatives aimed at restoring trust among member states, securing predictable and sustainable funding, and strengthening collaborative mechanisms in the fight against terrorism.

Dr. Touray stressed that ECOWAS’ ability to tackle the growing insurgency would depend on unified political will and deeper international partnerships to prevent further deterioration of security across West Africa.

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Eswatini is among several African nations that agreed to receive third-country deportees as part of President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration. Others include South Sudan, Ghana and Rwanda.

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Details of the agreements have not been disclosed, and Eswatini’s government is facing a lawsuit from human rights lawyers who claim the secretive deal was unconstitutional.

Finance Minister Neal Rijkenberg confirmed the $5.1 million figure in a text message but declined to give further details, saying the transaction was handled by the prime minister and that he was unaware of it until afterwards.

Reuters has seen an unverified copy of the agreement which both governments have so far declined to comment on.

The document, signed on May 14 in Eswatini’s capital Mbabane, said that the U.S. would provide Eswatini with $5.1 million to “build its border and migration management capacity” and that in exchange, Eswatini would accept up to 160 third-country deportees.

“We have no comment on the details of our diplomatic communications with other governments,” a U.S. State Department spokesperson said, adding that implementing the Trump administration’s immigration policies was a top priority.

The U.S. has sent at least 15 immigrants to Eswatini so far, from countries including Vietnam, Cuba, Laos, Yemen and the Philippines. They are imprisoned there, except for one who was repatriated to Jamaica.

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Gnassingbe, whose family has ruled Togo since 1967, was invited to visit Russia by Putin, according to a statement from Togo.

“Their Excellencies will hold a one-on-one meeting focused on strengthening bilateral cooperation, particularly in the fields of diplomacy, economy, trade, agriculture, energy, training, and food security,” it said.

Russia’s growing clout in Africa, including in countries such as Angola, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Libya, Madagascar, Mali and Mozambique, is viewed with concern by Western European states and the United States.

Russia sells grain to Togo. Russia is the world’s second-largest fertiliser producer behind China and the largest global exporter of fertiliser.

A spate of environmental and anti-government protests prompted by a worsening economic crisis and disruptions in public services has posed the biggest challenge to President Kais Saied since he seized all power in 2021.

“We are exhausted, underpaid and working in a system that is breaking down,” said Marwa, who declined to give her surname, while attending a protest rally in the capital Tunis with hundreds of other doctors.

“If nothing changes, more doctors will leave and the crisis will only deepen,” she added.

The protesters, wearing white coats, brandished placards that read “Dignity for doctors” and “Save our hospitals” as they gathered near Tunisia’s parliament.

As well as low wages, the protesters complained of outdated equipment and shortages of essential medical supplies, factors which they said were fuelling a growing exodus of young health professionals to Europe and the Gulf.

“As long as the authorities ignore our demands, we will continue to escalate, resist and lead the social movement in the country,” Wajih Dhakkar, head of the Young Doctors’ Organisation, told Reuters.

The Health Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

President Saied has accused what he describes as conspirators and infiltrators of fabricating crises in various sectors in order to undermine the state.

Tunisia has seen strikes over pay by transport workers and bank employees in recent months, while the southern city of Gabes has been a focal point of protests over a pollution crisis blamed on a state-owned chemical plant.

Officials said the Queen Jenuvia 2 is stuck on a reef and unable to move, but there is currently no risk of it sinking or capsizing.

The accident happened near Jangsan Island in Sinan County on Wednesday evening local time. The vessel ran aground on rocks near the uninhabited island of Jogdo.

Twenty-seven people sustained minor injuries from the impact of the grounding, the Coast Guard said, but there have been no other casualties.

Some passengers described the incident in real time on social media.

“There was a loud bang, and then the ship tilted,” one was quoted as saying by South Korea’s Yonhap news agency.

“An announcement told everyone to put on life jackets, so we’re wearing them and waiting on the top deck.”

The 26,000-tonne ferry was travelling to the port city of Mokpo after departing from the resort island of Jeju, officials said.

The area is near the site of the sinking of the Sewol ferry in 2014 that killed more than 300 people, mostly school children heading for a school trip.

The salvaged wreck of the Sewol ferry was brought to Mokpo nearly three years later.

Kim Namhyun, a diving instructor on Jeju Island, told Reuters: “I thought I might die. The sound was too loud.

“But having seen the Sewol ferry, I knew that in situations like this, you have to stay calm, move outside, wear a life jacket, and wait.”

The Coast Guard plans to move the vessel ashore at high tide.

Nine-storey blocks of flats were hit in the strikes, as Russia fired more than 470 drones and 47 missiles at Ukraine overnight in a “brazen attack”, Zelensky said.

Three districts of Ukraine’s second city, Kharkiv, were also hit by a massive drone attack which injured more than 30 people, including children. Photos posted online showed buildings and cars ablaze.

Power cuts are affecting a number of regions across the country, Ukraine’s energy ministry said.

The attack early on Wednesday was one of the deadliest on western Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022.

Zelensky said there had been “significant destruction” in Ternopil, adding that people could be trapped under the rubble.

Energy facilities, transport and civil infrastructure were damaged elsewhere in western Ukraine.

The energy sector in Ivano-Frankivsk region was also attacked, and two of the three injured were children.

Critical infrastructure and energy were hit in the Lviv region, Zelensky said, while the head of the region said a energy facility had been struck.

The Russian strikes came a day after Ukraine’s military said it had fired US-supplied longer-range Atacms missiles at military targets inside Russia, the first time they have admitted using the Atacms on Russian soil.

Russia’s defence ministry accused Ukraine of firing four of the missiles at the southern city of Voronezh but said they had all been shot down by air defences.

Meanwhile, Zelensky is heading to the Turkish capital Ankara, in an attempt to revive a US bid to end the war. He will hold talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan amid reports that President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff has been working on a plan with Russian counterpart Kirill Dmitriev.

The Kremlin said no Russian representative would be joining the talks in Ankara.

In a separate development, Romania’s defence ministry said a Russian drone had flown for about 8km (5 miles) through its airspace in the early hours of Wednesday. The drone then crossed into Ukraine and Moldova before returning to Romania, it said.

Romanian and German air force planes were scrambled in response to the incursion and the defence ministry said it was unclear where the drone had come down.

Poland also deployed jets early on Wednesday and temporarily closed two airports in the southeast in response to the strikes in western Ukraine.

As the fourth anniversary of the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion approaches next February, Moscow and Kyiv remain fundamentally opposed in their views of how to end the war.

Earlier this month Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Russia’s conditions for a peace deal had not changed since Putin laid them out in 2024.

The visit, led by Rev. Sr. Imelda Mali, was primarily to introduce the newly arrived Indonesian Reverend Sisters, who are posted to various missions across Ghana.

Among the new arrivals, one sister is scheduled to depart for missionary work in South Sudan next year, while another will be reassigned to Zambia.

During the meeting, H.E. Rois and the delegation engaged in warm and insightful discussions centered on the harmonious environment Ghana continues to offer to foreign missionaries, particularly Indonesians.

The Reverend Sisters commended H.E. Rois for his unwavering support, noting that he has always been approachable, responsive, and committed to ensuring their welfare and smooth integration in Ghana.

They also expressed gratitude to his wife, Mrs. Gifty Etsa Rois, who has been especially supportive whenever H.E. Rois travels outside the country—ensuring the Sisters always feel welcomed, safe, and at home.

H.E. Rois thanked the delegation for their exemplary conduct, emphasizing that since assuming his role, he has never received any reports from the Ghana Police Service, Immigration Service, or the Ghana Prisons Service concerning misconduct by Indonesians.

He expressed pride in their behavior and encouraged them to continue upholding such values to maintain the peaceful coexistence both nations enjoy.

A Lesson in Shared History: Ghana and Indonesia

In a moment of historical reflection, H.E. Rois shared with the Sisters the lesser-known but profound story of Ghana’s historical connection with Indonesia. Between 1831 and 1872, approximately 3,000 Ghanaian soldiers, famously known as Belanda Hitam
(Black Dutchmen), were recruited by the Dutch from Elmina to serve in the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army in Java, Indonesia. Many later returned to Ghana, while others settled permanently in Indonesia—contributing to the cultural diversity seen today, including among the Melanesian populations of eastern Indonesia and Papua.

He further highlighted the existence of the Java Museum in Elmina, which documents the deep historical ties between the two nations. The Reverend Sisters expressed surprise and appreciation for this enlightening historical account.

Missionary Concerns and Immigration Matters

Rev. Sr. Imelda Mali, on behalf of the group, appealed to the Honorary Consul to explore the possibility of a waiver for missionaries who have lived in Ghana for more than seven years, especially regarding residence permit renewals. In response, H.E. Rois assured them that he would engage the Ghana Immigration Service and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to determine if such a consideration could be made.

Ghana–Indonesia Cooperation: A Growing Partnership

H.E. Rois also briefed the delegation on his recent high-level visit to Indonesia, accompanied by key Ghanaian officials. He announced that with the continued support of the Indonesian government, Ghana is expected to begin producing its first vaccines by early next year, a significant milestone that aligns with President H.E. John Dramani Mahama’s vision to make Ghana the Vaccine Manufacturing Hub of West Africa and Africa. Currently, only South Africa and Senegal are engaged in vaccine production on the continent.

He further revealed that the Government of Indonesia will establish an Embassy in Ghana in 2026, a development expected to strengthen diplomatic, economic, and cultural relations. It is anticipated that Ghana will reciprocate by opening its Embassy or High Commission in Indonesia.

The Role of Indonesian Missionaries in Ghana

H.E. Rois acknowledged and praised the extraordinary contributions of Indonesian missionaries in Ghana. Many serve in hospitals, schools, churches, and community support programs, playing vital roles in the development of children, youth, and the elderly across the country. He encouraged the Sisters to share their experiences with fellow missionaries in Indonesia and around the world, emphasizing Ghana’s peace, hospitality, and cultural warmth.

Closing Remarks

In closing, H.E. Paskal A.B. Rois thanked the Reverend Sisters for their visit, extended his best wishes for their mission in Ghana, and reaffirmed his readiness to support them at all times.

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Trump’s comments appeared to contradict a US intelligence assessment in 2021, which determined the crown prince had approved the operation that led to Khashoggi’s death at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018.

The crown prince, who has denied any wrongdoing, said at the White House that Saudi Arabia “did all the right things” to investigate Khashoggi’s death, which he called “painful”.

It was his first US visit since the assassination, which sent shockwaves through the US-Saudi relationship.

In the Oval Office on Tuesday, Trump shot back at a reporter who asked a question about the killing.

“You’re mentioning someone that was extremely controversial,” the US president said.

“A lot of people didn’t like that gentleman that you’re talking about. Whether you like him or didn’t like him, things happen.”

“But he [the Crown Prince] knew nothing about it,” Trump added. “You don’t have to embarrass our guests.”

The crown prince added that Saudi Arabia “did all the right steps” to investigate the murder, which he called “painful” and a “huge mistake”.

A US intelligence report made public in 2021 – under President Joe Biden’s administration – determined that the crown prince had approved of a plan to “capture or kill” Khashoggi in Istanbul. During his first administration, Trump White House officials declined to release the report.

While dozens of Saudi officials faced sanctions in the wake of the assassination, none directly targeted the crown prince.

Reacting to Trump’s comments, Khashoggi’s widow, Hanan, told BBC Newsnight the US president’s defence of the crown prince did not match up with bin Salman’s own acknowledgment of responsibility for her husband’s murder.

“The crown prince himself, in 2019 and 60 minutes interview, he did take accountability about and hold responsibility about this horrible crime,” she said.

In a post on X, she also called for a meeting with the crown prince and an apology along with compensation for her husband’s murder.

Granted political asylum in the US, she lives in the Washington DC area.

Tuesday’s meeting between Trump and Mohammed bin Salman was expected to include deals on civilian nuclear power, artificial intelligence and Saudi investment in the US, which the crown prince said was being upped to $1tr (£761bn) from $600bn pledged earlier this year.

Echoing Trump’s own words, bin Salman said that the US was the “hottest country on the planet” and praised the US president for creating “long-term opportunity”.

The two men also discussed the potential sale of advanced F-35 fighter aircraft to the Saudis.

Trump said that while export licences were still being announced, he expected a deal between the Saudis and US defence giant Lockheed Martin.

The potential sale has caused alarm among some Israeli officials, who have said that it could potentially hurt the country’s “qualitative military edge” in the Middle East, where it is so far the only nation to have F-35s.

The US president said the model sold to the Saudis would be broadly similar to the one the Israelis operate.

“This [Saudi Arabia] is a great ally, and Israel is a great ally,” Trump said. “I know they’d like you to get planes of reduced calibre.

“But as far as I’m concerned, I think they are both at a level where they should get top of the line,” he added.

The crown prince’s visit to Washington continues with a gala dinner on Tuesday night, followed by an investment summit on Wednesday.

Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo – who plays in the Saudi professional league – was also expected to be at the White House on Tuesday, a White House official confirmed to the BBC.

Biden did not host the crown prince and vowed to make Saudi Arabia a “pariah” over its human rights record. In 2022, however, Biden visited the kingdom to reach agreement on other issues.

The allegations reportedly stem from 2020 and involve a music producer who was asked to attend a photo shoot inside a Los Angeles warehouse where Combs allegedly assaulted him.

Combs, who is serving a four-year prison sentence in New Jersey for prostitution related charges, has denied this and all allegations of sexual abuse.

“Let me make it absolutely clear, Mr Combs categorically denies as false and defamatory all claims that he sexually abused anyone,” one of Combs’ attorneys, Jonathan Davis, said in a statement to the BBC.

“He looks forward to vindicating himself in court, where such matters are decided—and not in the media—based on admissible, material evidence, not rank speculation and unsubstantiated allegations,” Mr Davis continued.

The sheriff’s department confirmed to the BBC that its special victims bureau is in the preliminary stages of investigating a sexual battery allegation against Combs. It said that additional details would not be released “given the sensitivity of the case”.

The male music producer accuses Combs eof xposing himself and masturbating while at the warehouse photoshoot, according to US media. Combs is accused of asking him to assist in the sexual acts and throwing a dirty shirt when the producer refused, multiple news agencies report.

Dozens of people – including underage accusers – have filed civil lawsuits against Combs on allegations that include being drugged and sexually assaulted. Some claims include that the music mogul made both promises of career advancement or threats if accusers spoke up.

Earlier this year, the rapper was convicted in a New York trial on two counts of transportation for prostitution. He was sentenced last month to 50 months in sentence.

The high-profile criminal case accused Combs of running a sprawling sex-trafficking operation and his trial included testimony from stars that included rapper Kid Cudi and Combs’ ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura.

He was ultimately found not guilty of the most serious charges, which could have resulted in him spending the rest of his life in jail.

“I lost my way,” he wrote to the judge before his sentencing. “My downfall was rooted in my selfishness. I have been humbled and broken to my core.”

Combs is currently serving out his sentence in New Jersey.

The House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved the measure in a 427-1 vote, and the Senate unanimously fast-tracked it without a formal vote.

The moves come just days after President Donald Trump reversed his position and urged Congress to vote to disclose the records following public pushback from many of his supporters.

Last week, Trump and his ties to Epstein were thrust back into the headlines after more than 20,000 pages of documents – some mentioning the president – were released. The White House denied any wrongdoing.

Republican Clay Higgins, of Louisiana, was the sole House objector and cited his concern about “innocent people being hurt” with the release of the information.

Trump’s reversal from attacking those on Capitol Hill who wanted the files released to saying there was “nothing to hide” surprised some in Washington.

The Republican congressional leadership was caught off guard after aligning their message with the president for the past few weeks and opposing the release.

House Speaker Mike Johnson had repeatedly called the push to release the Epstein files a “Democrat hoax”.

On Tuesday, he voted in support of the release.

The measure had been expected to take a few days to reach the US Senate, but after the resounding afternoon vote in the House, the timeline quickly sped up.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer brought up the bill on the floor of the Senate under a procedure called unanimous consent. Because no one objected, there was no debate and no amendments added to the bill.

It will head from the Senate to the president‘s desk, where he is expected to sign it into law.

A congressional vote was not required to release the files – Trump could have ordered the release on his own.

The bill requires Attorney General Pam Bondi to release “all unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials” related to Epstein and his co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell no later than 30 days after the law is enacted.

Those materials include internal justice department communications, flight logs and people and entities connected to Epstein.

But the bill also gives Bondi the power to withhold information that would jeopardise any active federal investigation or identify any victims.

Epstein, a financier, was found dead in his New York prison cell in 2019 in what a coroner ruled was a suicide.

He was being held on charges of sex trafficking, having previously been convicted of soliciting prostitution from a minor in 2008.

During two criminal investigations into Epstein, thousands of documents were gathered, including transcripts of interviews with victims and witnesses.

Trump and Epstein previously socialised in similar circles, but the president said he cut ties with Epstein many years ago, before his 2008 conviction. The president also said he was unaware of Epstein’s criminal activity.

Last week, Democrats on the House Oversight Committee published three email chains, including correspondence between Epstein and Maxwell, who is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex trafficking.

Some of those make mention of Trump, including one email, sent in 2011, in which Epstein wrote to Maxwell: “I want you to realize that that dog that hasn’t barked is Trump.. [VICTIM] spent hours at my house with him.”

The White House said last week that the victim referenced in the email was prominent Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre.

Giuffre, who died in April, has said that she never saw Trump participate in any abuse and there is no implication of any wrongdoing by Trump in the emails.

Trump has consistently denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the emails were “selectively leaked” by House Democrats to “liberal media to create a fake narrative to smear President Trump”.

The push for the release of the investigative files held by the Department of Justice was led by Republican Thomas Massie, a Kentucky congressman who sometimes dissents from his party, and Democrat Ro Khanna, a California congressman, both of whom introduced the legislation.

Massie has faced criticism from Trump for his push to release the files, but has stood firm.

“In 2030, he’s not going to be the president,” Massie said to ABC News over the weekend. He added that fellow Republicans who voted against release “will have voted to protect paedophiles”.

Another Republican who has pushed for the release of the files is House Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene. She had been a staunch supporter of Trump before the two fell out over the issue, with the president now calling her a “traitor”.

At a news conference earlier in the day on Tuesday, Greene said she is speaking up on behalf of Epstein’s survivors. She also called out Trump directly.

“Let me tell you what a traitor is. A traitor is an American who serves foreign countries and themselves; a patriot is an American who serves the United States of America and Americans like the women standing behind me,” Greene said.

She said that the row over Epstein has been one of the “most destructive things” to Trump’s Make America Great Again movement since his election in 2016.

Survivors of Epstein’s abuse also spoke at the news conference, urging lawmakers to release the files and pushing Trump to do the same.

Epstein survivor Annie Farmer said that keeping the files under wraps amounted to “institutional betrayal”.

“Because these crimes were not properly investigated, so many more girls and women were harmed,” Ms Farmer said.

The aircraft, carrying the country’s Mines Minister, Louis Watum Kabamba and his delegation, was coming in to land at Kolwezi Airport at around 11am on Monday.

As the chartered Embraer flight touched down it suddenly failed to stop before skidding on its belly off runway 29. 

Within seconds the tail section immediately went up in flames, according to local reports. The entire back half of the plane was ignited as footage showed the horrors as they unfolded.

Huge clouds of smoke shot up into the sky at the airport as rescuers frantically rushed over to try and extinguish the flaming wreckage.

Armed with water hoses, some of the safety crews battled the flames as others desperately tried to get those trapped on board out.

The steps at the front of the aircraft managed to open up with some passengers near the exit making a swift escape.For the officials stuck in the middle or now badly burnt out back end they had no choice but to leap out of the centre exit.

Several could be seen jumping down onto the wing before falling to the ground below clutching onto their bags.The minister’s communications advisor, Isaac Nyembo, confirmed the aircraft “ran off the runway during landing”.

Footage from inside the plane as it comes in to land shows the panic for those on board.

One passenger films the landing as he shows how the wing scraped across the ground for several seconds at high-speed.

Those inside rushed to their feet just as the tail first ignited.

Miraculously, no deaths or major injuries were reported.

Investigations into the chartered flight, operated by Airjet Angola, are ongoing.

It remains unclear what caused the failed landing.

The plane is said to have been left completely decimated by the fire.

Minister Kabamba, 63, was headed to the Kalondo Mine near Kolwezi, to work with the community following a separate disaster over the weekend.

A bridge by a mine shaft suddenly collapsed on Saturday reportedly triggered by heavy rain and a surge of panicked workers.

Over 30 semi-industrial copper mine worker were killed in the tragedy.

The collapse was “caused by panic, reportedly triggered by gunfire from military personnel securing the site,” Congo’s Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining Support and Guidance Service said.

The Initiative for the Protection of Human Rights called for an independent investigation into the deaths.

The assailants, armed with rifles and reportedly using coordinated tactics, stormed Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in Maga town around 4 a.m. local time, engaging police in a gunfight before scaling the perimeter fence and seizing the students, police spokesperson Nafiu Abubakar Kotarkoshi said.

Vice Principal Hassan Yakubu Makuku was shot dead while resisting the attackers, and another staff member sustained gunshot injuries, he added.

Police said additional tactical units, soldiers and local vigilantes have been deployed to comb suspected escape routes and surrounding forests in a search-and-rescue operation.

Northwest Nigeria has witnessed repeated school abductions by armed gangs seeking ransom, despite government pledges to improve security in the region.

Islamist militant group Boko Haram kidnapped 270 schoolgirls in 2014 in the northeastern town of Chibok. While many of the girls managed to escape or were later released, some have never been returned.

The convoy, led by Brigadier-General M. Uba of the 25 Task Force Brigade, was returning from a patrol near Wajiroko village in northeastern Borno state late on Friday when it came under sustained gunfire, the army said.

Four military personnel were confirmed killed.

The army spokesperson did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment, but an earlier statement denied reports that Uba had been abducted, describing them as “fake news” and urging the public to disregard unverified claims circulating online.

However, in a statement posted on its Amaq propaganda channel, ISWAP claimed responsibility for the ambush and said it had executed the army officer identified as a brigade commander following an interrogation. Reuters could not independently verify the claim.

Borno state remains the epicentre of Nigeria’s war against Boko Haram and its splinter group ISWAP. Despite military offensives, insurgents have repeatedly overrun army bases and communities this year, retreating only after reinforcements arrived.

A recent surge in attacks has raised concerns over the safety of front-line troops and the effectiveness of counter-insurgency operations in the region.

The judge sentenced Joseph Emerson to credit for time served and supervised release for three years at a hearing in Portland, Oregon.

“Pilots are not perfect. They are human,” Judge Amy Baggio said. “They are people, and all people need help sometimes.”

Emerson was off-duty at the time of the October 2023 flight and blamed his behaviour on a mental breakdown caused by hallucinogenic mushrooms. He had pleaded guilty in September to a single federal charge of interfering with a flight crew.

The former Alaska Airlines pilot had already pleaded no contest to state charges of endangering an aircraft and 83 counts of endangering another person. For those charges, he received five years of probation and 50 days in jail.

The deal with federal prosecutors allowed him to avoid a sentence of up to 20 years behind bars.

Before the sentencing was announced, Emerson spoke and said he regretted the harm he caused to society.

“I’m not a victim. I am here as a direct result of my actions,” he told the court, according to the Associated Press. “I can tell you that this very tragic event has forced me to grow as an individual.”

He hugged his lawyers and shared a tearful embrace with his wife after the judge announced his sentence, the AP reported.

The flight on 22 October 2023 was on its way from Everett, Washington, to San Francisco, California, with 80 passengers aboard. It was then diverted to Portland, Oregon.

One pilot cited in the criminal complaint said he had to wrestle with Emerson until he stopped resisting. The entire incident lasted about 90 seconds.

After being subdued, Emerson said to the flight attendants, “You need to cuff me right now or it’s going to be bad” and later tried to reach for the emergency exit handle during the plane’s descent.

One flight attendant told investigators they had observed Emerson saying “I messed everything up” and that he “tried to kill everybody”.

Emerson had argued that the drugs made him unaware of his actions at the time, that he had been grieving the death of a friend, and that he did not intend to harm passengers.

He added that he had not slept for about 40 hours before the flight, and felt that he needed to “wake up”.

“I had no intention of crashing an actual aeroplane,” Emerson, 46, told CBS News in an interview. “I wanted to wake up.”

Lawyers for Emerson had argued that no prison time was warranted because he had been “already adequately punished”.

He lost his licence to fly after his arrest and is now working part-time as a pressure washer, according to The Oregonian newspaper.

He has also paid $60,000 (£46,000) in restitution and is visiting schools to become a substance abuse counsellor.

He and his wife have also started the group Clear Skies Ahead, which intends to bring attention to mental health struggles among pilots.

The delayed releases include Cells at Work! and Crayon Shin-chan the Movie: Super Hot! The Spicy Kasukabe Dancers, Chinese state media CCTV said.

Cinema tickets are still available in China for the hit Japanese animation Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle, the BBC has confirmed, but CCTV said sales had fallen in recent days as the row deepened.

Takaichi, who has been a vocal critic of China and its activities in the region, suggested earlier this month that Tokyo could take military action if Beijing attacked Taiwan.

Film distributors and importers have decided to postpone the releases after assessing the overall outlook of Japanese films in China and the sentiment among Chinese audiences, said CCTV on Monday.

Crayon Shin-chan the Movie: Super Hot! The Spicy Kasukabe Dancers, which is an animated comedy about the adventures of a young boy and his friends, was due to be released in the coming weeks.

Cells at Work! – which has also seen its release postponed – is a live-action movie based on a manga about human blood cells fighting off viruses.

CCTV did not say how long the films’ releases will be delayed for.

The state-controlled media outlet said Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle has faced “strong dissatisfaction among Chinese audiences” in the wake Takaichi’s remarks.

The BBC has contacted the films’ distributors, including Japanese media giant Toho.

Takaichi said in the Japanese parliament on 7 November: “If there are battleships and the use of force, no matter how you think about it, it could constitute a survival-threatening situation.”

Beijing has since urged its citizens to avoid travel to Japan and told students to reconsider studying there, citing safety risks.

Japanese tourism, airline and retail stocks fell sharply as investors weighed the impact of China’s response.

China is a key source of tourists travelling to Japan, with almost 7.5m visitors in the first nine months of this year.

Beijing sees Taiwan as a breakaway province that will, in time, be part of the country. China has not ruled out the use of force to achieve this goal.

But many Taiwanese consider themselves to be part of a separate nation – although most are in support of keeping the status quo in which Taiwan neither declares independence from China nor unites with it.

Two Gazans interviewed by Reuters said they were among 130 Palestinians granted entry by South Africa after being bused from Gaza and flown out of an Israeli airport last week, arriving in Johannesburg on Thursday after a stop in Nairobi.

South African Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola, whose government has long backed Palestinian national aspirations and has accused Israel of genocide in the Gaza war, on Monday said South African authorities were investigating what he called the suspicious circumstances of the plane’s arrival.

“It does look like it represents a broader agenda to remove Palestinians from Palestine,” he said in a news briefing.

Israel has rejected accusations of genocide in Gaza as politically motivated and says that its military campaign targeted Hamas, not Gaza’s civilian population.

Asked about Lamola’s comments, an Israeli government spokesperson said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had “made it clear that if Palestinians want to leave, they should be allowed to leave the Gaza Strip. And if they want to come back to the Gaza Strip, they should also be allowed to come back”.

The spokesperson did not directly address the question of how the group of Palestinians ended up in South Africa.

COGAT, the arm of the Israeli military overseeing civilian affairs in Gaza, said the Gazans left after it had received approval from a third country that it did not name to receive them, and that they had valid visas. The request for their departure included “documents confirming authorization to land in South Africa”, it said.

Lamola said that “at this stage the information we have is that they didn’t have those required approvals and permits”, adding that the matter was under investigation.

ISRAEL LOOSENED RULES ON GAZANS LEAVING

In May, Reuters reported that Israel had eased restrictions on Palestinians leaving Gaza, and that around 1,000 of them had been bussed out of the enclave to board flights to Europe and elsewhere. The departures required a request to Israel by a foreign government, Reuters reported at the time.

The two Palestinians said they saw online adverts posted by an organisation called Al-Majd Europe offering the chance to leave Gaza, and applied some six months ago. The offer was only open to families and required that applicants must have a passport.

Reuters emailed Al-Majd Europe at an address on their website but did not immediately receive a response. There was no phone number.

Both Palestinians eventually received messages from Al-Majd Europe via WhatsApp telling them security clearance had been granted. They left Gaza on buses and were taken through the Israeli-controlled Kerem Shalom crossing before being flown out of Ramon airport. They arrived in South Africa on November 13.

“I am a lymphoma cancer patient. How long would I have had to wait to be evacuated … I had to leave for treatment and for a better life for my family,” said Ramzi Abu Youssef, 42, speaking to Reuters by phone from Johannesburg

Abu Youssef left with his wife and three children, aged 8, 10, and 12, and said two of his daughters had been killed in an Israeli attack in June 2024 during a raid on Nuseirat camp, where his house had been destroyed.

BLEAK CONDITIONS IN GAZA

The second Palestinian, who asked to remain anonymous due to concerns about his security and upsetting his new hosts, said his family reluctantly decided to leave Gaza after living through months of bombardment and being forced to evacuate his home in Deir al-Balah several times. Aged 35, he left with his wife and two children, a four-year-old boy and a two-year-old girl.

Their departures underline bleak conditions in Gaza more than a month since U.S. President Donald Trump clinched a ceasefire in the war that has laid waste to much of the enclave.

The Gaza war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants raided southern Israel, abducting 251 people and killing another 1,200, according to Israeli tallies.

More than 69,000 Palestinians have been killed in the offensive Israel launched in response, health authorities in Gaza say.

The Palestinians arrived at Johannesburg airport on a chartered Global Airways flight from Kenya. Border authorities said they didn’t have departure stamps, return tickets or details of accommodation. Abu Youssef said the group had received 90-day visas and that some are staying in hostels while others, including himself, are being hosted by members of the Muslim community in Johannesburg.

Twenty-three people on the flight departed for other destinations.

It will be the first trip by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the U.S. since the 2018 killing of Saudi critic Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents in Istanbul, which caused a global uproar. U.S. intelligence concluded that MBS approved the capture or killing of Khashoggi, a prominent critic.

The crown prince, widely known by his initials MBS, denied ordering the operation but acknowledged responsibility as the kingdom’s de facto ruler.

More than seven years later, the world’s largest economy and the world’s top oil producer want to move forward.

Trump is seeking to cash in on a $600 billion Saudi investment pledge made during Trump’s visit to the kingdom in May. He steered clear of mentioning human rights concerns during that trip and is expected to do so again.

The Saudi leader is seeking security guarantees amid regional turmoil and wants access to artificial intelligence technology and progress toward a deal on a civilian nuclear programme.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Trump confirmed that he plans to approve the sale to Saudi Arabia of advanced U.S.-made F-35 fighter jets that the kingdom has sought. “I will say that we will be doing that,” he said in response to a question.Source: Reuters  

Such a sale would mark a significant policy shift, potentially altering the military balance in the Middle East and testing Washington’s definition of the longtime commitment to maintain what the U.S. had termed Israel’s “qualitative military edge” over its neighbors.

“There is a page that has been turned” on Khashoggi’s killing, said Aziz Alghashian, Saudi-based lecturer of international relations at Naif Arab University for Security Sciences.

FOCUS ON DEFENCE DEAL

The United States and Saudi Arabia have long had an arrangement for the kingdom to sell oil at favourable prices and for the superpower to provide security in exchange.

That equation was shaken by Washington’s failure to act when Iran struck oil installations in the kingdom in 2019. Concerns resurfaced in September, when Israel struck Doha, Qatar, in an attack it said targeted members of Palestinian militant group Hamas.

In the aftermath, Trump signed a defence pact with Qatar via executive order. Many analysts, diplomats and regional officials believe the Saudis will get something similar.

Saudi Arabia has sought a defence pact ratified by the U.S. Congress in recent negotiations. But Washington has made that contingent on the kingdom normalizing ties with Israel.

Riyadh has in turn linked that to a commitment from Israel’s government, the most right-wing in its history, to Palestinian statehood. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who agreed to a Trump-brokered ceasefire with Hamas in Gaza last month after two years of war, on Sunday reaffirmed his staunch opposition to Palestinian independence.

A Trump executive order on defence similar to the pact with Qatar would fall short of the defence agreement the Saudis have sought. But Alghashian said it would “be a step on the way, part of the process, not the end of the process.”

A Western diplomat based in the Gulf summed up the dynamic: “Trump wants normalization and Saudi wants a full defence pact, but the circumstances don’t allow. In the end, both sides will likely get less than they want. That’s diplomacy.”

Dennis Ross, a former Middle East negotiator for Democratic and Republican administrations now at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said he expects an executive order that would call for the U.S. and the Saudis “to immediately consult on what to do in response to the threat” while not committing Washington to actively come to the defence of Riyadh.

“That could run the gamut of providing a range of different assistance, replacing arms, deploying defensive missile batteries like THAAD or Patriot, deploying naval forces with a Marine unit – to actively taking part in the combat in an offensive not only defensive manner,” he said.

DEALS KEY AMID REGIONAL RIVALRY

Riyadh has also been pressing for deals in nuclear energy and artificial intelligence under its ambitious Vision 2030 plan to diversify its economy and strengthen its position relative to regional rivals.

Securing approval to acquire advanced computer chips would be critical to the kingdom’s plans to become a central node in global AI and to compete with the United Arab Emirates, which in June signed a U.S. multibillion-dollar data centre deal that gave it access to high-end chips.

MBS also wants to strike an agreement with Washington on developing a Saudi civilian nuclear programme, part of his effort to diversify from oil.

Such a deal would unlock access to U.S. nuclear technology and security guarantees and help Saudi Arabia level up with the UAE, which has its own programme, and traditional foe Iran.

But progress on a U.S. deal has been difficult because the Saudis did not want to agree to a U.S. stipulation that would rule out enriching uranium or reprocessing spent fuel – both potential paths to a bomb.

Ross said he expected an announcement of an agreement on nuclear energy, or at least a statement on progress towards one.

The drop comes as the Trump administration has made it more difficult to obtain student visas, with the research suggesting visa application issues like delays and denials are among the top reasons for the decline in first-time students.

The survey found a modest overall 1% decline in international students when taking into account students who have been in the US for years.

Foreign students make up about 6% of total US enrollment and contributed $55bn (£41bn) to the economy, according to 2024 figures from the Commerce Department.

The survey by the Institute of International Education examined the population of international students at 828 higher education institutions.

“There are warning signs for future years, and I’m really concerned about what this portends for fall ’26 and ’27,” Clay Harmon, executive director of AIRC: The Association of International Enrollment Management, told the Associated Press.

The 17% decline in first-time students is lower than one forecast over the summer by NAFSA, a non-profit international educators group, which had estimated a potential 30%-40% drop this autumn due to visa issues.

Some 84% of universities told the Institute of International Education they consider foreign student recruitment a priority.

Many schools said they are providing flexibility to students who have faced hurdles in beginning their studies in the US, including deferrals which saw a 39% increase compared to the 2024 survey.

US institutions told the report researchers there were a number of factors driving a decline in new students, including visa issues, travel restrictions that effect about 2% of the foreign student population, and some “student concerns about feeling unwelcome in the United States”.

The White House has made a number of moves that have limited the number of foreign students, most who pay higher tuition rates, in the US.

Earlier this year, the Trump administration paused scheduling visa appointments for international students. In June, when those resumed, the administration announced it would screen visa applications more closely, including by asking all applicants to allow their social media accounts to be checked.

That policy came in the wake of large pro-Palestine protests on many college campuses.

Before that, the State Department revoked more than 6,000 international student visas because of violations of US law, including assault, driving under the influence (DUI), and “support for terrorism”.

President Donald Trump has acknowledged the importance of foreign students to the economy and as a source of income for higher education.

In September, he said he plans to issue 600,000 Chinese student visas – about double the current number – despite concern from some of his supporters over national security.

“You know, the students pay more than double when they come in from most foreign countries,” Trump said on Fox News last week.

“I want to see our school system thrive. And it’s not that I want them, but I view it as a business.”

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of allowing lethal force to be used against protesters, 1,400 of whom died during the unrest last year.

Hasina was tried in absentia by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being behind hundreds of killings during the protests. Hasina has denied all charges, calling the trial “biased and politically motivated”.

The verdict marks a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over years of repression. Families of those killed and injured had called for tough penalties.

Reacting to the verdict in a five-page statement, Hasina said the death penalty was the interim government’s way of “nullifying [her party] the Awami League as a political force” and that she was proud of her government’s record on human rights.

“I am not afraid to face my accusers in a proper tribunal where the evidence can be weighed and tested fairly.”

The capital, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under tightened security ahead of the verdict on Monday, with many of Hasina’s critics staging a rally and cheering as the verdict was read.

The city has seen a recent spike in unrest, with dozens of bombs exploding and buses set on fire in the days leading up to the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, local police official Jisanul Haque told the BBC.

The student-led uprising last year started with demands to abolish government job quotas but morphed into a wider anti-government movement.

UN human rights investigators said in a report in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could amount to “crimes against humanity”.

The report documented the shooting at point-blank range of some protesters, the deliberate maiming of others, arbitrary arrests and torture.

Leaked audio of one of Hasina’s phone calls, verified by BBC Eye earlier this year, suggested she had authorised the use of “lethal weapons” in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the trial.

Ahead of the verdict, family members of those killed during the protests told the BBC they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

Ramjan Ali, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted “exemplary punishment” for Hasina and others who have “committed acts of vengeance and abused their power”.

Lucky Akther, whose husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted Hasina’s sentence to be “carried out before the election”.

“Only then the families of those killed [in the protests] will find peace in their hearts.”

Since Hasina’s ousting, an interim government led by economist Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A parliamentary election is scheduled for February 2026.

However, the Awami League, Hasina’s political party, was banned by Bangladesh’s interim government in May.

Hasina warned last month that if the party’s candidates were banned from standing in the upcoming election, millions would boycott the vote.

The verdict now poses a diplomatic challenge for India and Bangladesh. Dhaka has formally requested her extradition, but so far India has shown no willingness to comply.

Hasina’s state-appointed lawyer, Mohammad Amir Hossain, said he was “sad [and wishes] the verdict had been different”.

“I even cannot appeal because my clients are absent; that’s why I am sad,” he added.

Last week, Hasina’s lawyers said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN, raising serious fair trial and due process issues at the ICT.

Hasina was tried alongside her former home minister and police chief.

While the sentence offers some closure to families of those killed in the protests, it may do little to soothe the country’s political divisions.

“The anger against Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League has not subsided,” Shireen Huq, a Dhaka-based rights activist, told the BBC. “Neither she nor the party has apologised or shown any remorse for the killings of hundreds of people.”

She said, “It makes it difficult for the party to be accepted by a majority of people in this country.”

Ms Huq added that the punishment was not closure for the families of those killed and injured.

“We work with several people who lost their limbs forever; they are amputees now, due to the crackdown. They will never be able to forgive her.”

David Bergman, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the “very nature of the conviction could make it even more difficult” for the Awami League to become a normal feature of Bangladeshi politics again.

This may change if “there is some kind of apology and a distancing from Sheikh Hasina and the old leadership”, he said.

Another woman can be heard pleading, “Mama, mama, stand,” as she tries to lift her. Blood is spreading around her stomach as another stain appears on her back.

This verified footage, filmed in Tanzania’s city of Arusha, is just one of many graphic scenes to have emerged showing the violent actions of police as they attempted to crush widespread protests last month during the country’s presidential and parliamentary elections.

The protests started in the city of Dar es Salaam on 29 October and spread across the country over the following days. The demonstrations had largely been organised by young people left angry at what they see as a political system dominated by one party since Tanzania gained independence in the 1960s.

Several opposition leaders were arrested and others banned from standing during the elections while a number of opposition activists were detained. Incumbent President Samia Suluhu Hassan ultimately secured victory after the electoral commission declared she received 98% of the vote.

Since then the UN human rights office (OHCHR) said it had reports indicating that hundreds of people were killed during the protests, with many more injured or detained. A diplomatic source in Tanzania told the BBC there was credible evidence that at least 500 people had died.

President Samia has called for an official investigation into the unrest and asked prosecutors to “show leniency” towards those arrested.

Footage of the protests was suppressed for almost a week when the government imposed a near-total internet blackout and threatened to jail anyone caught sharing any videos from the protests, saying it could cause unrest.

Only once the block was lifted on 4 November did dozens of videos begin to emerge online showing violent scenes: uniformed officers appearing to fire at crowds, bodies lying on the streets, with others piled up outside a hospital.

To understand what happened, BBC Verify has analysed, geolocated and confirmed footage, building a clearer picture of how police responded to the demonstrations.

Violence in Tanzania’s largest city

In the footage our team has verified the protests appear to have been dominated by groups of young men, drawing strong parallels with a global Gen-Z youth movement frustrated at economic decline and entrenched leadership in countries across Africa.

The first demonstrations we identified took place early on election day in Dar es Salaam, the country’s largest city and economic hub. They spread to other urban areas across the country, including the cities of Mwanza and Arusha.

The internet blackout makes it difficult to establish a clear sequence of events, but what is clear from videos and images posted online is that protesters were confronted by heavily armed police units blocking their progress and firing tear gas to disperse crowds. In many of the videos, gunfire can clearly be heard as people scatter in the ensuing chaos.

A key flashpoint was along the Morogoro Road, a main highway through Dar es Salaam. In two separate highly graphic videos, two bodies can be seen lying on the side road next to St Andrew’s Anglican Church. One lies unresponsive, with heavy wounds visible on their head, surrounded by a pool of blood.

We identified more bodies lying nearby around the same stretch of road: one next to a bus stop and two more on the ground surrounded by blood. One body is later seen wrapped in a white shroud.

Further casualties are also visible along this stretch of highway and in the neighbouring side streets.

Footage from another location close to the Open University of Tanzania shows a motionless body on the ground with an open head wound. In a later video taken from the same scene we see the body covered in a cloth and carried towards a group of policemen standing by the university building.

“Killers, killers,” the group chants at the officers, one of whom is armed with a rifle, another carries a pistol. The body is then placed in the back of a truck.

BBC Verify has confirmed at least a dozen other videos from Dar es Salaam showing people with a range of injuries, some of whom are being carried away.

We have also documented casualties from protests more than 700 miles (1125km) away in Tanzania’s second-largest city, Mwanza, that took place on election day.

Within the grounds of the city’s Sekou Toure Hospital, several videos show a pile of 10 bodies, all of whom appear to be young men. Some of them have visible open wounds. Other footage from within the hospital shows bodies laid out in what appears to be a hospital morgue.

Footage shows police firing on crowds

We have verified multiple videos of police shooting towards groups of protesters.

In three videos posted online, police vehicles are seen chasing dozens of people as the attempt to flee along Nelson Mandela Road in Dar es Salaam. Several rounds of gunfire can be heard as the police advance.

In Arusha, footage shows a police vehicle passing a crowd of chanting youths. Gunshots ring out and people are seen scattering and running for safety. Another video taken shows an injured man with those around him saying he’s been shot.

In the northern Kijitonyama area of Dar es Salaam, two men in uniform were filmed taking aim and firing along a main road in the direction of protests. We have confirmed the location next to a local school. The green uniforms and flat-topped peak caps worn by the two men closely match those worn by the Tanzanian police.

Less than 100 metres away a man is shown lying on the street with a bloody head wound. In the distance, men wearing similar green uniforms can be seen. Someone shouts: “He has been shot in the head. They have killed [him].” As the video continues, more gunshots can be heard.

There are also multiple videos seen by BBC Verify of men in the same green uniforms firing weapons – sometimes into the air, sometimes along open streets.

Investigators from audio forensics experts, Earshot, said what can be heard in those videos confirms live rounds were used on protesters.

After analysing the audio from the scene, they said: “Rubber bullets typically do not travel at supersonic speeds.

“The presence of these shockwaves therefore indicates the use of live rounds.”

Not all the people we’ve seen carrying guns are wearing uniforms. In footage filmed in Sam Nujoma Road, Dar es Salaam, three men in civilian clothing are seen firing guns by a saloon car. It’s unclear who they are.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, has called for an investigation into the killings and other violations committed during Tanzania’s elections, and for the unconditional release of all those arrested before the vote took place and others who have since been detained.

The Tanzanian government and police have been contacted for comment.

The bridge at the Kalando mine in Mulondo in Lualaba province fell on Saturday, Roy Kaumba Mayonde, the province’s interior minister, said during a press conference.

“Despite the strict prohibition on accessing the site due to heavy rainfall and the risk of landslides, illegal diggers forced their way into the quarry,” Mayonde said.

A report by the Congo’s Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining Support and Guidance Service, or SAEMAPE, government agency on Sunday said the gunfire from soldiers at the site sparked panic among the miners who rushed to the bridge resulting in the fall that left them “piled on top of each other causing the deaths and injuries.” While Mayonde put the death toll at at least 32, the report said at least 40 people had lost their lives.

The presence of soldiers at the mine had long been at the center of a dispute between wildcat miners, a cooperative meant to organize operations, and the site’s legal operators, the report added.

Congo is the world’s largest producer of cobalt, a mineral used to make lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles and other products, with Chinese companies controlling 80% of the production in the central African country.

Accusations of child labor, unsafe conditions, and corruption have long plagued the country’s cobalt mining industry.

Mineral-rich eastern Congo has for decades been ripped apart by violence from government forces and different armed groups, including the Rwanda-backed M23, whose recent resurgence has escalated the conflict, worsening an already acute humanitarian crisis.

The Grammy winner shared news of the baby boy’s arrival on Instagram, writing: “I brought new music and a new album to the world! A new baby into my world, and one more reason to be the best version of me, one more reason to love me more than anything else or anyone else.”

Last month, Cardi B released her long-awaited sophomore album – Am I The Drama? – issuing a public plea for people to buy it so she can afford nappies.

The hip hop superstar – real name Belcalis Almánzar – shares three children with her estranged husband Offset. She filed for divorce from the Migos rapper in July 2024.

Representatives for Cardi B did not immediately respond on Friday to the BBC’s requests for comment.

Cardi B did not share details about the child’s birth, but her spokesperson told People magazine on Thursday that Cardi had a baby boy and is “healthy and happy”.

Diggs, whom the rapper has been dating for about a year, revealed the child’s sex during a red-carpet event earlier this month.

“It’s a boy. That’s enough for me,” the New England Patriots wide receiver told People at the time. “I can’t wait to make him do push-ups and sit-ups and run around.”

This is the second child for Diggs, who has a 9-year-old daughter from a previous relationship.

Sharing a clip from her single Hello on Instagram, the 33-year-old alluded to starting over after her last chapter. Presumably, that chapter includes her contentious break-up with Offset, with whom she shares daughters Kulture and Blossom, and son Wave.

She said that being a better version of herself allows her to “continue giving my babies the love and life they deserve”.

“This next chapter is Me vs. Me! It’s me against all odds me against everything meant to get in my way,” she wrote.

She told her 163m followers that she is starting to prepare for a tour that corresponds to her new album, as well as getting her mind and body into shape to give her fans the “performance of a lifetime”.

“I’ve learned i’ve healed, and im loving the woman i’ve become! Thats what this next era means to me and i’m stepping into it better than ever,” she wrote.

“House Republicans should vote to release the Epstein files, because we have nothing to hide,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Sunday night.

The shift from days of Trump fighting the proposal comes as the House is expected to hold a vote this week on legislation that would force the Justice Department to release the files to the public.

Supporters of the proposal appear to have enough votes to pass the House, though it is unclear whether it would pass the Senate.

Democrats and some Republicans have been pushing a measure that would force the US justice department to make public more documents from the paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein case.

The major shift in Trump’s position comes as potentially dozens of Republicans were willing to break ranks in the vote.

Republican Representative Thomas Massie, a co-sponsor of the bill, said in an interview with ABC News on Sunday that as many as 100 Republicans could vote in favour.

Known as the Epstein Files Transparency Act, the aim of the bill is to make the justice department release all unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials linked to Jeffrey Epstein.

Trump posted the statement shortly after landing at Joint Base Andrews following a weekend in Florida.

“The Department of Justice has already turned over tens of thousands of pages to the Public on “Epstein,” are looking at various Democrat operatives (Bill Clinton, Reid Hoffman, Larry Summers, etc.) and their relationship to Epstein, and the House Oversight Committee can have whatever they are legally entitled to, I DON’T CARE!,” Trump wrote, adding that he wanted Republicans to get “BACK ON POINT”.

Trump’s reference to Clinton comes after the US justice department confirmed it will investigate paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged links to major banks and several prominent Democrats, including former President Bill Clinton.

Trump said he would ask Attorney General Pam Bondi and the FBI to look into Epstein’s “involvement and relationship” with Clinton and others.

Clinton has strongly denied he had any knowledge of Epstein’s crimes.

A spokesperson for JPMorgan Chase said the firm regrets “any association” they had with Epstein, and added that the firm “did not help him commit his heinous acts”.

Last week, thousands of Epstein’s emails were released by the US Congress – with the files including mentions of the US president. Democrats have accused Trump of trying to deflect from questions about his relationship with Epstein.

A review by the Wall Street Journal found that Trump was mentioned in more than 1,600 of the 2,324 email threads.

The delegation, led by the Association’s Chairman, met the Ambassador on Thursday, November 13, at the Embassy of Spain to discuss strengthening diplomatic ties and expanding areas of mutual collaboration.

Accompanying the Chairman were Members of Parliament Hon. Felicia Adjei and Hon. Alhassan Sulemana, along with the Association’s Secretary, Mr. Mustapha Ahmed. They were received by Deputy Commissioner Ms. Isabel Ibarra Serrano de Haro, whose presence added depth to the engagement.

During the meeting, the Chairman expressed gratitude for the Ambassador’s “continuous hospitality” and reaffirmed the Association’s determination to pursue deeper cooperation between the two countries. He highlighted priority sectors for collaboration, including trade, education, health, agriculture, tourism, and parliamentary exchange programmes.

He further emphasized that Ghana could benefit from Spain’s “strong institutional structures and development models,” which provide valuable lessons for national development.

In response, Ambassador Lossada expressed Spain’s readiness to work closely with the Association to advance shared interests and unlock new development opportunities.

The meeting concluded with both sides pledging to build a more dynamic partnership that promotes innovation and growth in Ghana, particularly in constituencies such as Abuakwa South.

This engagement adds fresh momentum to parliamentary diplomacy efforts and further strengthens the long-standing ties between Ghana and Spain.

The major shake-up to asylum policy comes as the government seeks to reduce small boat crossings and asylum claims.

Under the plans, people who are granted asylum will only be allowed to stay in the country temporarily, with their refugee status regularly reviewed and those whose home countries are then deemed safe told to return.

Currently refugee status lasts for five years, after which people can apply for indefinite leave to remain.

Now the home secretary wants to cut the initial period from five years to two-and-a-half years, after which refugee status will be regularly reviewed.

But she plans to significantly lengthen the time it will take to gain permanent residence in the UK from five years to 20.

Mahmood told the Sunday Times the reforms were “designed to essentially say to people: do not come to this country as an illegal migrant, do not get on a boat”.

She continued: “Illegal migration is tearing our country apart”, adding that it was the government’s job to “unite our country”.

“If we don’t sort this out, I think our country becomes much more divided,” she told the newspaper.

The policy has been copied from Denmark, where a government led by the centre-left Social Democrats has presided over one of the toughest asylum and immigration systems in Europe.

In Denmark, refugees are given temporary residence permits, typically of two years, and in effect have to re-apply for asylum when they expire.

And Mahmood’s new approach will certainly face opposition from some Labour MPs.

Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesperson Max Wilkinson said it was “right the government looks at new ways to fix the disorderly asylum system created by the Conservatives”.

He added that Labour “shouldn’t kid itself that these measures are an alternative to processing claims quickly so we can remove those with no right to be here”.

Enver Solomon, chief executive at the Refugee Council, described the government’s plans as “harsh and unnecessary”, and said they “won’t deter people who have been persecuted, tortured or seen family members killed in brutal wars”.

Speaking to reporters on board Air Force One on Friday evening, Trump said: “We’ll sue them for anywhere between $1bn and $5bn, probably sometime next week.”

On Thursday, the BBC said the edit of the 6 January 2021 speech had unintentionally given “the mistaken impression that President Trump had made a direct call for violent action” and said it would not be broadcast again.

The corporation apologised to the president but said it would not pay financial compensation.

The BBC released that statement after Trump’s lawyers threatened to sue the BBC for $1bn in damages unless the corporation issued a retraction, apology and paid him compensation.

Asked on Friday whether he still intended to go ahead with the legal action, Trump said: “I think I have to do it… They’ve even admitted that they cheated.”

The president said he had not raised the issue with Sir Keir Starmer but that the prime minister had asked to speak to him. Trump said he would call Starmer over the weekend.

A search of public court record databases confirmed that no lawsuit had been filed in federal or state court in Florida as of Friday evening.

In a separate interview on Saturday recorded before his comments on Air Force One, Trump said said he had an “obligation” to sue the BBC, adding: “If you don’t do it, you don’t stop it from happening again with other people.”

He called the edit “egregious” and “worse than the Kamala thing”, a reference to a dispute he had with US news outlet CBS over an interview on the 60 Minutes programme with his 2024 election opponent Kamala Harris.

In July this year, US media company Paramount Global agreed to pay $16m (£13.5m) to settle a legal dispute over that interview.

The controversy stems from the way in which Trump’s 6 January 2021 speech was edited by Panorama for a documentary which aired in October 2024. During his address, he told supporters: “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol, and we’re going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women.”

More than 50 minutes later in the speech, he said: “And we fight. We fight like hell.”

In the Panorama programme the clip shows him as saying: “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol… and I’ll be there with you. And we fight. We fight like hell.”

Controversy around how Trump’s speech was edited has led to the resignations of BBC director general Tim Davie and head of news Deborah Turness.

In its Corrections and Clarifications section, published on Thursday evening, the BBC said the Panorama programme had been reviewed after criticism of how Trump’s speech had been edited.

“We accept that our edit unintentionally created the impression that we were showing a single continuous section of the speech, rather than excerpts from different points in the speech, and that this gave the mistaken impression that President Trump had made a direct call for violent action,” the statement said.

Lawyers for the BBC have written to Trump’s legal team, a BBC spokesperson said this week.

“BBC chair Samir Shah has separately sent a personal letter to the White House making clear to President Trump that he and the corporation are sorry for the edit of the president’s speech on 6 January 2021, which featured in the programme,” they said.

They added: “While the BBC sincerely regrets the manner in which the video clip was edited, we strongly disagree there is a basis for a defamation claim.”

In its letter to Trump’s legal team, the BBC set out five main arguments for why it did not think it had a case to answer.

First it said the BBC did not have the rights to, and did not, distribute the Panorama episode on its US channels.

When the documentary was available on BBC iPlayer, it was restricted to viewers in the UK.

Secondly, it said the documentary did not cause Trump harm, as he was re-elected shortly after.

Thirdly, it said the clip was not designed to mislead, but just to shorten a long speech, and that the edit was not done with malice.

Fourthly, it said the clip was never meant to be considered in isolation. Rather, it was 12 seconds within an hour-long programme, which also contained lots of voices in support of Trump.

Finally, an opinion on a matter of public concern and political speech is heavily protected under defamation laws in the US.

The BBC’s apology came hours after a second similarly edited clip, broadcast on Newsnight in 2022, was revealed by the Daily Telegraph.

The new military service plan will mandate all 18-year-old men to fill out a questionnaire on their suitability to serve and, from 2027, to undergo medical screening.

The decision comes as Berlin aims to create Europe’s strongest conventional army.

The boss of Germany’s biggest defence firm, Rheinmetall, has told the BBC he believes that target could be met in five years.

Lawmakers are expected to vote on the plan by the end of 2025.

Armin Papperger said Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s aim to boost the Bundeswehr was “realistic” and he told the BBC that “clear decisions” were coming from government.

Earlier this year German defence chief Gen Carsten Breuer warned that the Western Nato alliance had to prepare for a possible Russian attack within four years.

Mr Papperger said he had “no glass ball” about the future but agreed Germany had to be “ready in ’29”.

When they formed a coalition earlier this year, Merz’s conservative CDU/CSU and the centre-left Social Democrat SPD agreed to re-introduce military service which would be voluntary “to start with”.

The Bundeswehr currently has around 182,000 troops. The new military service model aims to increase that number by 20,000 over the next year, rising to between 255,000 and 260,000 over the next 10 years, supplemented by approximately 200,000 reservists.

From next year, all 18-year-old men and women will be sent a questionnaire to assess their interest and willingness to join the armed forces. It will be mandatory for men and voluntary for women.

From July 2027 all men aged 18 will also have to take a medical exam to assess their fitness for duty.

If the government’s targets are not met, a form of compulsory enlistment could be considered by parliament. If war were to break out, the military would be able to draw on the questionnaires and medical exams for potential recruits.

Some within Germany’s political left remain deeply opposed to mandatory service.

Many young Germans are wary, and a significant majority oppose it. A recent Forsa survey for Stern magazine suggestedthat while just over half of respondents favoured compulsory service, opposition rose to 63% among 18- to 29-year-olds.

“I don’t want to go to war because I don’t want to die or I don’t want to be shot at,” said Jimi, a 17-year-old student from Berlin, who attended an anti-conscription protest outside the Bundestag earlier this week. “I also don’t want to shoot people.”

An attack against Germany was an “unlikely and abstract scenario” that the government was using to legitimise “stealing millions of young people’s right to decide what they should be doing”, he said.

Meanwhile, 21-year-old Jason signed up as a new Bundeswehr recruit earlier this year because of the current “security situation”.

“I wanted to contribute to defend peace, to defend democracy if the worst happens,” he said. By joining up he felt he was “giving back to society” but also believed in the deterrent potential of the army, “so potential enemies don’t even think about attacking you”.

Defence Minister Boris Pistorius has sought to reassure Germans, saying that despite the new military service plan there was “no cause for concern… no reason for fear”.

“The more capable of deterrence and defence our armed forces are, through armament through training and through personnel, the less likely it is that we will become a party to a conflict at all,” Pistorius said.

Defence spending in Germany tumbled after the end of the Cold War, while conscription was suspended in 2011.

Given its past, Germany has long been shy of showing military might, but earlier this year Friedrich Merz announced that the rule for German defence “now has to be whatever it takes”, following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Nato countries across Europe have come under pressure from President Donald Trump’s White House to hike spending.

European moves to re-arm have meant significant revenue for Rheinmetall.

Its CEO, Armin Papperger, whose firm also supplies Ukraine, said: “We make a lot of money because there is a huge demand.”

“We have to grow strong on vehicles, on ammunition, we have to have our own satellite competencies. We do much more on the electronics and artificial intelligence… than ever before,” he said.

A US report last year suggested the Rheinmetall boss had been the target of a Russian assassination plot. There was no confirmation at the time, and Mr Papperger would not be drawn on the report, saying: “I feel good, I feel safe.”

Asked about whether he felt Europe was in a state of cold or hybrid war, he said: “Whatever you call it, it’s not a peaceful time.”

The Africa CDC said it had recorded about 300,000 cases of cholera and suspected cases of cholera, and over 7,000 deaths. The figures show a more than 30% increase in total cases recorded last year.

Angola and Burundi have seen cases surge in recent weeks, Africa CDC data shows, driven by poor access to safe water.

Cholera is a severe and potentially fatal diarrhoeal disease that spreads quickly when sewage and drinking water are not adequately treated.

The outbreak in Congo appeared to be under control with total cases declining, the Africa CDC said. The outlook in conflict-stricken areas remained concerning, as the disease spreads quickly in overcrowded camps with poor sanitation.

The situation has also improved in South Sudan and Somalia.

The Africa CDC said that Ethiopia had detected eight suspected cases of viral hemorrhagic fever and was waiting for results to determine the exact cause of the illness. Rapid response teams have been deployed to bring the suspected outbreak under control.

The Africa CDC said the Mpox outbreak is declining in some of the worst-hit places but remains a concern in places like Kenya, Guinea, Liberia and Ghana.

“What’s going on in the northern part of Nigeria has nothing to do with the kind of atrocities we see in Sudan or in some part of eastern DRC,” Mahmoud Ali Youssouf told reporters at the United Nations in New York, referring to the Democratic Republic of Congo.

“Think twice before… making such statements,” he said. “The first victims of Boko Haram are Muslims, not Christians.”

The extremist Islamist armed group Boko Haram has also terrorised northeast Nigeria, an insurgency that has killed tens of thousands of people over the past 15 years. Human rights experts have said most Boko Haram victims have been Muslims.

Trump earlier this month said he has asked the Defence Department to prepare for possible “fast” military action if Nigeria fails to crack down on the killing of Christians. He did not provide any specific evidence for his accusation.

He also threatened to “stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria, and may very well go into that now disgraced country, ‘guns-a-blazing,’ to completely wipe out the Islamic Terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities.”

Nigeria’s Foreign Ministry has said the country would keep fighting violent extremism and that it hoped Washington would remain a close ally, saying it “will continue to defend all citizens, irrespective of race, creed, or religion.”

Nigeria, which has 200 ethnic groups practising Christianity, Islam and traditional religions, has a long history of peaceful coexistence.

But it has also seen flare-ups of violence among groups, often exacerbated by ethnic divisions or conflict over scarce resources.

Education Minister Tunji Alausa said the programme, introduced just three years ago, had failed to deliver and was being scrapped with immediate effect.

Instead, English will be reinstated as the medium of instruction from pre-primary levels through to university.

The now-defunct programme was launched by former Education Minister Adamu Adamu, who had argued that children learnt more effectively in their mother tongue.

At the time, Adamu argued that pupils grasped concepts more readily when taught in “their own mother tongue” – a view supported by numerous UN studies on early childhood education.

Nigeria’s education system is facing serious problems, including poor-quality teaching, inadequate resources, low teacher pay, and numerous strikes.

Although 85% of children attend primary school, fewer than half complete secondary education.

Some 10 million children are out of school in Nigeria, more than in any other country, according to the UN.

Announcing the reversal of the language policy in the capital, Abuja, Dr Alausa pointed to poor academic results from those areas which had adopted mother-tongue teaching.

He cited data from the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), the National Examinations Council (NECO), and the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).

“We have seen a mass failure rate in WAEC, NECO, and JAMB in certain geo-political zones of the country, and those are the ones that adopted this mother tongue in an over-subscribed manner,” the minister stated.

The abrupt cancellation of the policy has drawn a mixed response from education specialists, analysts and parents.

Some have hailed the government’s decision, agreeing that the implementation was problematic and contributed to falling standards.

Others, however, believe the policy was abandoned prematurely. They argue that such a significant shift requires substantial investment in teacher training, the development of textbooks and learning materials, and a longer timeframe before it can be fairly judged and begin to bear fruit.

Education expert Dr Aliyu Tilde praised the reversal, saying Nigeria isn’t ready for such a move.

“Does Nigeria have trained teachers to teach in the dozens of indigenous languages in the country? The answer is no. Also, the major exams like WAEC, JAMB are all in English and not in the mother tongue languages.

“I think what’s needed to improve the quality of our schools is bringing in qualified teachers,” he told the BBC.

A mother who has two children in early education schools, Hajara Musa, said she supported the reversal as it would help young children to learn English at an early age.

“English is a global language that is used everywhere, and I feel these kids should start using it from the start of their schooling instead of waiting for when they are older,” she told the BBC.

However, social affairs analyst Habu Dauda disagreed.

“I think it was scrapped prematurely instead of giving it more time. Three years is too little to judge a big shift such as this – the government ought to have added more investment,” he said.

The debate highlights the ongoing challenge in Nigeria of balancing the promotion of its rich linguistic heritage with the practical demands of a national curriculum and a globalised economy where English proficiency is dominant.

On Tuesday night, Sylvia Bongo and Noureddin Bongo were found guilty of embezzlement and corruption after a trial that began a day earlier. They were not present.

They were both fined 100m CFA francs ($177,000; £135,000), with Noureddin ordered to pay an extra 1.2tn CFA francs ($2.1; £1.6bn) for financial damages suffered by the Gabonese state.

They were accused of exploiting Ali Bongo’s condition after he suffered a stroke in 2018 to run Gabon for their own personal profit. They denied the charges ahead of their trial, describing it as “a legal farce.”

Ali Bongo was ousted in an August 2023 coup led by Brice Oligui Nguema, who has since shed his military uniform and was elected president earlier this year.

Following the military takeover, Bongo’s wife and son were detained in Gabon for 20 months before being released in May and permitted to leave the country for London on medical grounds.

The former president is not facing prosecution and was also released from house arrest where he had reportedly remained, although Gabonese authorities said he was free to move about as he wished.

Separately, a money laundering investigation is under way in Switzerland against Sylvia Bongo, the public prosecutor’s office in the country has told the BBC.

Gabonese state prosecutor Eddy Minang on Monday told the court that they were “surprised” not to see the former first lady and her son in court as the trial began.

Noureddin described the conviction as a “rubber-stamping exercise”, saying it had been “predetermined in [Oligui Nguema’s office] a long time ago”.

He said it was “disappointing that a finding of guilt has been made without any semblance of evidence”.

Their conviction comes as a surprise for the unusual swift handling of the case, which they have alleged to be politically motivated. The trial had been expected to last until Friday.

The trial of the other accused will continue. Nine co-accused, former allies of the Bongos, were present in court at the start of the trial, according to reports.

Sylvia Bongo was born in France and holds French nationality as does her son.

They have claimed they were tortured by the military during their detention in Gabon and filed a case in France last year. Gabonese authorities have denied the allegations.

Noureddin was ordered to pay the extra $2.1bn fine due to his role as the General Coordinator of Presidential Affairs, a position that he allegedly used to embezzle this amount of public money.

He was also accused of forgery as he reportedly had the president’s signature and seal, which were allegedly used to siphon funds from the state. He denies all the charges.

The Bongo family ruled Gabon for more than five decades. Ali Bongo was in power for 14 years before he was ousted. He had succeeded his father, Omar Bongo, who had ruled for 42 years.

Over the years, the family has been accused of amassing wealth for themselves at the expense of the country – allegations they deny.

Despite being an oil-rich nation, about a third of Gabon’s population lives below the poverty line, according to the UN.

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