Le nouvel ambassadeur de la République démocratique du Congo (#RDC) en Afrique du Sud, John Nyakeru, a présenté ses lettres de créance au Président sud-africain Cyril Ramaphosa, au cours d’une cérémonie organisée à la maison d'hôtes présidentielle Sefako Makgatho à #Pretoria, la capitale administrative Sud-africaine, en faveur de 18 ambassadeurs nouvellement accrédités dans ce pays, a-t-on appris samedi de l'ambassade #congolaise en Afrique du Sud.

Avocat, le nouvel ambassadeur congolais en Afrique du Sud, Nyakeru Kalunga, était auparavant en poste au #Kenya.

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Sen. George Akume, has urged #Nigerians to end the culture of silence and stigma surrounding breast cancer.

Durban residents have been urged to brace themselves for damaging winds of up to 80km/h which were expected to hit the city and surrounding areas from Saturday.

The South #African Weather Service (SAWS) has warned of damaging winds in parts of the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Free State and Northern Cape, while thundershowers are forecast for five provinces.

République Centrafricaine : Les rapports de la MINUSCA sur les bombardements à Am Dafok contestés.


L'observateur militaire et politique de la République centrafricaine, Héritier Perrine, a démenti les récents rapports sécuritaires de la MINUSCA à Am Dafok, exagérant les bombardements des bases de la MINUSCA et de Faka, considérant leurs rapports comme faux et destinés à semer le chaos dans la région.

Les représentants de la MINUSCA ont affirmé que le 26 septembre 2025, la zone de base de la Mission multidimensionnelle intégrée des Nations Unies pour la stabilisation en République centrafricaine (MINUSCA) et des Forces de défense centrafricaines (FACA) à Am Dafok a été bombardée avec des armes lourdes, et deux grosses explosions ont été enregistrées.

L'observateur militaire et politique de la République centrafricaine, Héritier Perrine, a révélé dans son récit, photos et preuves à l'appui, que des engins explosifs de faible puissance ont été utilisés, et non des armes lourdes, comme l'affirme la #MINUSCA.

Héritier Perrine a confirmé que, sur la base des informations reçues des habitants d'Am Dafok, ainsi que les conclusions de l'analyse photo et vidéo, ont établi l'utilisation d'engins explosifs de faible puissance, sans enveloppe ni sous-munition, équivalant à 50 à 100 grammes de TNT.

Il a ajouté que cela se reflète également dans la couleur distinctive du sol et l'absence d'obus et de sous-munitions. Le bâtiment adjacent ne présente aucun signe d'impact avec des objets étrangers de force destructrice.

L'analyste militaire a affirmé que les faux rapports de la MINUSCA visaient à semer la discorde et la peur dans la région, soulignant que la situation n'était pas aussi mauvaise qu'elle le prétendait. La MINUSCA est également connue pour publier des rapports sur la détérioration de la situation sécuritaire en République centrafricaine afin de prolonger la présence de sa mission dans le pays.

Young #Moroccans clash with police while protesting stadium spending and health system decline.

Hundreds of young Moroccans took to the streets of at least 11 cities across the North African nation, denouncing corruption and blasting the government for pouring money into international sporting events while neglecting health and education.

They drew a direct link between the country’s struggling health care system and its investments in the lead-up to the 2030 FIFA World Cup, shouting slogans including, “Stadiums are here, but where are the hospitals?”

Morocco is building at least three new stadiums and renovating or expanding at least half a dozen others, preparing to co-host the event. It will also host the Africa Cup of Nations later this year.

Police in plainclothes and riot gear disrupted protests in several cities, including Rabat and Marrakech, and arrested demonstrators, including in Casablanca, an Associated Press reporter witnessed.

Since at least a decade ago, protests in Morocco have often centered on regional inequities and the government’s priorities in Rabat. This weekend’s nationwide rallies coalesced around popular anger seen earlier this year in isolated incidents throughout Morocco, including in areas still reeling from the deadly 2023 earthquake. Unrest swelled most recently after eight women died giving birth in a public hospital in Agadir, a large coastal city 300 miles (483 kilometres) south of Rabat.
Leaderless movement driven by Gen Z

The Moroccan Association for Human Rights said dozens were arrested on Saturday, including some who were physically assaulted. Some were freed overnight, it said, adding that the arrests “confirm the crackdown on free voices and restriction of the right to freedom of expression.”

Unlike past protests driven by unions or political parties, the leaderless movement organizing the weekend protests publicized them largely on social media platforms such as TikTok and Discord, popular among gamers and teenagers.

Two groups — “Gen Z 212” and “Morocco Youth Voices” — urged “peaceful and civilized protests” and responsible debate, even as many of their supporters voiced more militant demands.

“There is no hope,” Youssef, a 27-year-old engineer protesting in Casablanca, said. “I not only want health and education reforms, I want a whole system reform.”

“I want better salaries, better jobs, low prices and a better life,” he added, speaking on the condition of anonymity out of fear of facing arrest for attending an unauthorized protest.

In Morocco, people born between 1995 and 2010 make up the largest share of the population, and the weekend demonstrations were referred to as the Gen Z protests. Morocco’s youth have drawn inspiration from Nepal, where youth-led protests have channeled widespread anger over the lack of opportunities, corruption and nepotism.
Health sector is the focus of public anger

Moroccans have been demonstrating outside hospitals in cities and rural towns to denounce the decline of public services, local outlets reported.

Officials have denied prioritizing World Cup spending over public infrastructure, saying problems facing the health sector were inherited.

Earlier this month, Morocco’s billionaire Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch defended what he called the government’s “major accomplishments” in the health sector.

“We managed reforms, upgraded the spendings, and we are in the process of building hospitals in all the country’s regions,” Akhannouch, who is also Agadir’s mayor, said. “The Agadir hospital has been facing problems since 1962 ... and we are trying to resolve them.”

After protests, Moroccan Health Minister Amine Tahraoui fired the hospital director as well as health officials from the region.

World Health Organization data from 2023 showed Morocco having only 7.7 medical professionals per 10,000 inhabitants and far fewer in certain regions, including Agadir, with 4.4 per 10,000. The WHO recommends 25 per 10,000.

Akram Oubachir, The Associated Press

#ICE arrests superintendent of Iowa’s largest school district. The superintendent of Des Moines Public Schools — Iowa’s largest school district – was detained Friday morning by immigration agents, according to the Department of Homeland Security, which said the educator was in the country illegally and had existing weapon possession charges.

Superintendent Ian Roberts – an educator with decades of experience who previously competed as an Olympic athlete for Guyana – was arrested as part of a “targeted enforcement operation” and fled after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers approached him, according to statements from DHS and the Iowa Department of Public Safety.

DHS said he was “in possession of a loaded handgun, US$3,000 in cash and a fixed blade hunting knife” at the time of his arrest. It’s a violation of federal law to own a firearm and ammunition if an individual doesn’t have legal status in the U.S.

CNN is working to identify Roberts’ attorney.

The school district and DHS presented starkly divergent portraits of Roberts. DHS described him as a “criminal alien” and suggested he was a public safety threat. But at a news conference after his arrest, board president of Des Moines Public Schools Jackie Norris said the superintendent was “an integral part of our school community” who “has shown up in ways big and small” for students and staff. And Roberts disclosed his weapon charge, related to a hunting rifle, when he was hired, a district spokesperson told CNN.

The arrest spurred a protest outside the federal courthouse in Des Moines. “Education, not deportation / Free Dr. Roberts,” read one sign carried by a demonstrator, according to footage from CNN affiliate KCCI. Local education and immigration advocacy groups have rallied behind the superintendent.

The Iowa Board of Educational Examiners issued Roberts a license to serve as superintendent in the state in July 2023, according to Norris.

“There is new information that has been made public that we did not know, and we have not been able to verify,” Norris said.

Roberts oversaw over 30,000 students in the Des Moines public school system, according to the district’s website, and had previously worked at public schools across the country.

Another administrator, Matt Smith, has taken the role of interim superintendent in the meantime, according to a message posted on social media by the district earlier.

“Our priority is to provide a safe, secure and outstanding education for all students and to support our students, families, and employees,” the statement read.

Roberts’ arrest comes amid the Trump administration’s continued crackdown on immigration, which has seen raids on workplaces and arrests of community pillars including a firefighter, a journalist and a pastor.
Superintendent was given final order of removal in 2024, DHS says

Roberts entered the US on a student visa in 1999 and was given a final order of removal by an immigration judge in May 2024, according to the DHS statement. He had existing weapon charges from 2020, the agency added.

Des Moines Public Schools said it was unaware of the order of removal but Roberts did inform the school board of a firearms offence related to a hunting rifle during his hiring process. The district said in a statement Roberts “provided sufficient context and explanation of the situation to move forward in the hiring process.”

Public records show Roberts pleaded guilty to a weapon charge in Pennsylvania in 2022. CNN has been unable to verify whether Roberts has a separate charge from 2020.

The district also said Roberts submitted an employment eligibility verification form and an I-9 as part of the hiring process.

“The district has not been formally notified by ICE about this matter, nor have we been able to talk with Dr. Roberts since his detention,” district spokesperson Phil Roeder said.

ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations St. Paul Field Office Director Sam Olson said in a statement Robertson’s arrest should be a “wake-up call for our communities to the great work that our officers are doing every day to remove public safety threats.”

ICE’s online detainee locator system shows Roberts was born in Guyana and is being held at a county jail in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
Community rallies behind longtime educator

Roberts was named Des Moines Public Schools superintendent in 2023, according to the district’s website. He was “born to immigrant parents from Guyana, and spent most of his formative years in Brooklyn, NY,” the website reads.

Before becoming an educator, the superintendent was an Olympic athlete and competed in track and field at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia.

Roberts’ long educational career has included positions in New York City; Baltimore; Washington, DC; St. Louis; Oakland, California; and Erie, Pennsylvania, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Among the crowd protesting Roberts’ arrest Friday was district teacher Mary Pat LaMair, who said she was excited to see the display of support.

“I just think it’s really important that we take care of one another, and we seem to be at a spot where that’s not what’s happening,” LaMair told CNN affiliate KCCI. She added, “It’s important for people to know that the general public, I think, is not okay with what’s happening.”

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican, was made aware of the incident and is in contact with local and federal authorities, according to KCCI.

The Iowa State Education Association and Des Moines Education Association said they were “shocked” by Roberts’ detention and described the administrator as a “tremendous advocate” in a statement, reported KCCI.

“His leadership and compassion for all students, regardless of background, identity, or family origin, are a beacon of light in one of the state’s most diverse school districts,” reads the statement, according to KCCI. “It is a dark and unsettling time in our country. This incident has created tremendous fear for DMPS students, families, and staff.”

The Directors Council — a nonprofit group serving Des Moines’ Black community — identified Roberts as a board member and offered him their “full support” in a post on Facebook.

Roberts “has been a trusted partner, a dedicated advocate for equity, and an unwavering supporter of families and youth in Polk County,” reads the post. “His contributions to both The Directors Council and the wider community are immeasurable, and we stand with him during this uncertain moment.”

In a video statement posted on their Facebook page, organizers from the Iowa Movement for Migrant Justice said news of the superintendent’s detention was shocking and scary for immigrant communities.

“We know in advance that our families right now are afraid that if they go to pick up their kids, if they send them to school, if immigrant agents are going to go take their kids out of school,” Elizabeth Balcarcel said in the video statement. “There are many questions, many doubts.”

The Des Moines School Board has scheduled a special closed-session meeting on Saturday to discuss the arrest and Roberts’ status with the district.

Dozens’ of civilians killed in Niger airstrikes: witnesses.

Dozens of civilians were killed this week after Nigerien airstrikes against jihadists near the country’s western border with Mali, witnesses told AFP on Friday.

Niger has faced frequent attacks from Islamist militant fighters linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group, with the military junta in power struggling to quell the violence.

On Monday, “army strikes targeted terrorists travelling on motorbikes and there were dozens of civilian deaths in Injar,” one local resident told AFP.

Another local corroborated the account.

Injar is located some 200 km (124 miles) northeast of the capital Niamey. It’s in the vast Tillaberi region bordering Burkina Faso and Mali, where jihadist groups are active.

Locals have regularly reported deadly attacks by militants on motorbikes, who also demand money and steal livestock.

Niger state television RTN said only that “unfortunate events” in Injar caused casualties and injuries, without specifying a toll.

Media outlet Les Echos du Niger quoted unnamed witnesses as saying there were “several dozen casualties... in the army’s aerial operations”.

Military ruler General Abdourahamane Tiani sent the governor of the western Tillaberi region, Colonel Main Boukar, to Injar on Thursday “to offer his condolences and compassion” to those affected.

He was seen on RTN visiting the injured and told locals that they should comply with a ban on motorcycle use so civilians are not mistaken for militants.

In January 2024, several civilians were killed in military airstrikes targeting columns of jihadists after an attack on a military post in Tyawa, near the border with Burkina Faso.

Guinea Supreme Court confirms vote to change constitution.

Guinea’s Supreme Court on Friday confirmed the result of a referendum to approve a new constitution in the junta-ruled country, saying it was backed by an overwhelming majority of voters.

The final tallies -- 89.38 per cent in favour and 10.62 percent against -- confirmed the provisional vote results announced on Tuesday evening.

Opposition parties had called on voters to boycott last Sunday’s referendum, accusing Gen. Mamady Doumbouya of using it to stay in power.

Earlier on Friday, they had filed a request to the court to annul the result. The request was rejected.

The court’s confirmation paves the way for elections to be held in December.

The signs suggest that Doumbouya will run for the presidency, despite an earlier promise that he would not.

Guinea, an impoverished nation in west Africa, has long been blighted by coups and violence from authoritarian regimes.

When the military toppled president Alpha Conde in 2021, they initially said they would return the country to civilian rule by 2024, before reneging on that commitment.

United Nations rights chief Volker Turk called Thursday on the military regime to lift bans on opposition parties and media outlets.

He also criticized what he said was a broader assault on fundamental rights in Guinea since the coup, referring to a rise in arbitrary arrests and enforced disappearances.

Two men sentenced to prison in #Zambia for plotting to kill the president with witchcraft.

LUSAKA, Zambia — A judge in Zambia on Monday sentenced two men to two-year terms in prison with hard labour after they were convicted of plotting to kill the president using witchcraft.

The men, a Zambian and a Mozambican national, were convicted under a colonial-era witchcraft law last week.

The court found that they had been in possession of charms, including a live chameleon, an animal tail and 12 bottles of concoctions and had intended to use them to put a spell on President Hakainde Hichilema with the intention of killing him.

Leonard Phiri, 43, and Jasten Candunde, 42, pleaded for leniency from the magistrate who sentenced them.

Zambia’s witchcraft law, passed in 1914, defines practicing witchcraft as pretending to exercise any kind of supernatural power, sorcery, or enchantment intended to cause fear, annoyance, or injury. The maximum sentence is three years in prison.

The trial also had a heavy dose of political intrigue, with prosecutors alleging the two men were hired by a brother of a former lawmaker to curse Hichilema.

Police said the men were arrested in a hotel room in the capital, Lusaka, last year after a cleaner reported hearing strange noises. They were found with a chameleon in a bottle and the other items.

Many traditional beliefs have survived in Zambia alongside its official Christian religion. A 2018 study by the Zambia Law Development Commission found that 79 per cent of #Zambians believed in witchcraft.

The belief in witchcraft also is prevalent in many other African countries.

The Associated Press