In a landmark step toward economic sovereignty and greater state control of its strategic mining sector, Burkina Faso has launched its first domestic gold refinery, a project that aligns with the military-led government’s nationalist agenda to end over-reliance on foreign processing of its mineral wealth. The inauguration of the facility, named Raffinor-BF, took place in the capital Ouagadougou on Monday, with junta leader Captain Ibrahim Traoré and senior government officials in attendance. Traoré emphasized that the refinery is a core component of a broader push to keep the entire gold value chain within the country’s borders, reversing the long-standing practice of exporting unprocessed raw ore for refinement abroad. “We want to refine all our metals on site… we want to have the entire value chain on site,” Traoré stated during the opening ceremony. As one of Africa’s largest gold producers, Burkina Faso has for years grappled with systemic challenges in its mining sector: an enormous unregulated artisanal and small-scale mining industry rife with smuggling, limited state revenue from gold exports, and persistent allegations that illegally traded gold helps fund the years-long Islamist insurgency that has destabilized large swathes of the country. For decades, nearly all of the nation’s gold was shipped overseas for processing, allowing foreign actors to capture the bulk of the industry’s added value while most Burkinabè communities continued to face widespread poverty. Mines Minister Yacouba Zabré Gouba framed the launch of the refinery as a turning point for national economic autonomy: “This is the day we take back the keys to our own house. Our gold will no longer be used to create added value for others while our people remain in need.” The 11 billion CFA franc ($19 million) project was developed through a partnership between the Burkinabè state – including the state-owned National Precious Metals Company (Sonasp) – and domestic private sector stakeholders. Initially, the new refinery will have an annual processing capacity of 164 tonnes of gold, a volume that already exceeds Burkina Faso’s current annual gold output. Government plans project that capacity will eventually expand to 515 tonnes per year, positioning the landlocked nation to become a regional gold refining hub that can process ore from neighboring countries. The refinery is the latest in a series of policy moves by Traoré’s government to consolidate state control over natural resources, two years after the administration established a state-owned mining firm to oversee national resource operations. Under current rules, foreign mining companies operating in Burkina Faso are now required to grant the state a 15% stake in their projects and deliver comprehensive training to local workers. The country has already seen consistent growth in gold output, with the World Gold Council reporting a 17% year-on-year production increase in the second quarter of 2026, driven by expanded activity at multiple industrial mines. Traoré, who seized power in a September 2022 coup, has centered his economic agenda on nationalist policies focused on domestic value addition and reduced reliance on former Western partners. Beyond the mining sector, his administration has prioritized investments in cotton processing, textile manufacturing, and domestic food production to build broader economic self-sufficiency. In 2024, the government suspended gold exports from artisanal and semi-mechanized mining operations as part of a crackdown on illegal trade and smuggling, a move designed to force unregulated production to flow through domestic channels and into the new refinery. Traoré has repeatedly stated that illegal gold smuggling has generated significant funding for Islamist insurgent groups linked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, which have waged an insurgency in Burkina Faso for nearly a decade, leaving large portions of the country outside full government control. The push to bring gold refining onshore is not unique to Burkina Faso across West Africa. Neighboring Guinea and Ghana have already implemented restrictions on raw gold exports, while nearby Mali is constructing its own first refinery with support from a Russian company, and Ivory Coast has plans to open its own domestic facility next year. The project comes as global gold production hit a record high of an estimated 3,672 tonnes in 2025, according to the World Gold Council, with international prices remaining at historically elevated levels that have incentivized expanded regional investment in gold sector infrastructure.
标签： Africa
非洲
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Journalist to be crowned king in Uganda after bitter succession dispute
A decades-long career as a trusted public media journalist has turned to an unexpected new chapter for 56-year-old Prince Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma Nyabongo II, who is set to be crowned the next Omukama (King) of Uganda’s historically recognized Tooro Kingdom — but his ascent to the throne has sparked a bitter public succession dispute that has drawn national attention and split the royal family.
Tooro is one of four traditional kingdoms granted official status by the Ugandan government after their restoration in the 1990s. For 31 years, the kingdom was led by King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV, who captured global attention as the world’s youngest monarch when he inherited the throne at just 3 years old in 1995 following his father’s death. Oyo’s reign ended last month when he died of cancer at age 34, triggering the traditional process to select a new ruler.
The upcoming coronation follows a strict centuries-old ritual that begins at midnight, with the new king completing a 4-kilometer walk to Karuziika Royal Palace before a symbolic mock battle — a tradition meant to convey that royal leadership is not granted easily. Following the procession, members of the ruling Babiito clan offer their blessings, and Kijanangoma will complete a series of ceremonial acts formalizing his assumption of power before the official crown is placed on his head, Tooro Kingdom Information Minister Charles Mwanguhya explained to the BBC Focus on Africa podcast.
However, the selection of Kijanangoma was far from a unanimous, smooth process. Per Tooro tradition, the throne is expected to pass to a publicly recognized son of the late monarch. Close royal family insiders claim King Oyo left behind a young son and a formal will naming the child as his rightful successor, but the boy has never been presented to the public, and the 21-member Babiito succession committee — the body constitutionally tasked with selecting the new king — did not recognize his claim. Oyo never publicly acknowledged a marriage or heir, leaving little verifiable information about the alleged son.
The late king’s mother, Queen Best Kemigisa, has emerged as the most vocal critic of the committee’s decision, arguing Oyo’s will should have been honored and her grandson’s claim respected. “As a mother, that was extraordinarily painful,” Kemigisa said, noting that coronation preparations were underway only meters from where her son’s body remained following his death. She added that her grandson, currently residing in Texas, United States, has been unable to return to Uganda to press his claim due to the growing polarization and hostility surrounding the dispute. “No child should be placed in circumstances where returning to his father’s homeland could mean being drawn into hostility and conflict,” she posted on social media platform X.
Mwanguhya pushed back on these claims, saying that “the son being talked about hasn’t been presented anywhere, which means there is a growing acceptance that sad as it may be, King Oyo didn’t leave a son behind.” He confirmed the crown has shifted to a different lineage within the ruling Babiito clan, which requires all kings to descend from King George David Matthew Kamurasi Rukidi III, who ruled Tooro from 1928 to 1965. Kijanangoma and the late King Oyo are cousins, both direct grandsons of Rukidi III, placing him firmly within the eligible line of succession.
Kijanangoma was not the only candidate considered for the throne: Prince George Desmond Kamurasi, captain and goalkeeper for UK amateur side South East Dons, was also offered the role but declined due to existing personal and professional commitments. Following his formal selection, Kijanangoma has positioned himself as a unifying leader, promising to open the royal palace to community members and prioritize inclusive development across the kingdom. “I ask you for one thing — they have given me this title as king but I cannot work alone, I have to work with you,” he said in his first public address after being named successor.
Unlike the monarchies of many European nations, Uganda’s traditional kings hold no formal constitutional or political power, but they wield substantial cultural influence and command deep loyalty from local communities. The kingdoms were abolished by the national government in 1967, but President Yoweri Museveni’s administration restored their official cultural status in the early 1990s as part of an effort to boost national cultural pride and unity, though analysts have also noted the move helped build political loyalty among traditional kingdom communities.
In the current dispute, the Ugandan national government has formally backed the Babiito clan’s selection of Kijanangoma. Attorney General Sam Mayanja cleared the kingdom to proceed with the coronation, noting no formal legal challenge to Kijanangoma’s appointment has been filed. Museveni is scheduled to attend the coronation ceremony, and his son, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, head of Uganda’s military, has already publicly expressed his support, posting “Long may he reign” on X.
Kijanangoma’s connection to the throne is woven into his very identity: his father was born the same year Rukidi III took power, and the king personally named him Kijanangoma, a term that translates to “the one who comes with the royal drum” — a prophecy that the royal line would return to this branch of the family two generations later. Born in 1970 and raised in Kidukuru village, roughly 300 kilometers outside Kampala, Kijanangoma earned a degree in mass communication from Uganda’s prestigious Makerere University in 1999, and went on to build a 21-year career in journalism, working for state-owned Uganda Broadcasting Corporation as an anchor and editor, as well as for media outlets in neighboring Rwanda.
Kijanangoma says his decades of experience engaging with the public and building connections across Uganda’s political and social spheres will serve him well in his new role, and he plans to leverage those networks to deliver improvements for Tooro Kingdom residents. His mother, Assimwe Yusta Kijanangoma, says she is confident her son is prepared for the role, having been raised deeply rooted in Tooro tradition. “I really raised him with the teachings of the old kingdom of a cane and instructions and scolding. I laugh with him, and other times I scold him,” she told the BBC. “Eddy is well-mannered, he does not fight, or shout, even when wronged, he says a few words and does not go so much into it.” While she is proud of her son’s new role, she acknowledged feeling mixed emotions, succeeding the late King Oyo, who she described as a “great man.”
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Twelve women have been killed in one part of South Africa since July. Here’s what we know so far
A grim series of body discoveries across Ekurhuleni, east of South Africa’s Johannesburg, has sent waves of fear through local communities, shining a harsh new spotlight on the country’s long-running crisis of brutal violence against women. Over the course of just two months, the remains of 12 women have been recovered in the region, with three additional bodies confirmed by police between Saturday and Monday of this week alone.
Law enforcement officials have confirmed that three of the 12 cases have resulted in arrests, and initial investigations have found no proven links connecting all the killings. Even so, investigators have not ruled out the terrifying possibility that a serial killer is operating in the area, leaving residents on edge.
The first victim, 37-year-old Busisiwe Mahlangu, was found naked with her hands bound by cable ties in Kempton Park on July 15. Two days after her body was discovered, police arrested her partner as a suspect, who remains in custody and has not been connected to any subsequent deaths.
Just over two weeks later, on August 3, 32-year-old Itumeleng Kekana – a young mother who had disappeared the previous month – was found dumped on a Kempton Park bridge. Her body showed extensive bruising and was partially clothed, and no suspects have yet been taken into custody in her case.
Nomfesane Mjobo became the third victim when her body was recovered in Kempton Park on August 26. Few details about her death have been released to the public, but like most victims, she was found partially unclothed with visible bruises, and no arrests have been made. On September 7, the body of an unidentified woman in her 20s was found floating in a river in Olifantsfontain, wearing only underwear; no further details or arrests have been announced.
The fifth victim, 28-year-old Gracious Nkomo, was found partially clothed along a roadside near OR Tambo International Airport, South Africa’s busiest air hub, on September 10, with no arrests to date. Two days later, the body of 38-year-old Elizabeth Moselakgomo – who had been the subject of a high-profile nationwide search after disappearing during her daily run near her Kempton Park home – was found badly bruised and partially clothed. Her death was the catalyst for widespread public alarm, with local women holding a memorial run in Johannesburg to honor her and demand action. Just 48 hours after Moselakgomo’s discovery, another unidentified woman’s body was found in Olifantsfontein, with police withholding her name to notify next of kin, and no arrests made.
On September 15, the body of 38-year-old Dineo Motapane, who had last been seen alive just two days prior, was found battered and partially burned on a roadside in Springs, another district of Ekurhuleni. She leaves behind a young child, and no suspects have been arrested. Two days later, the ninth body was recovered in Boksburg: that of Jabulile Ntimba, a woman in her 30s found half-naked wrapped in a sheet. Police believe her killing stemmed from a love triangle dispute; three people were initially arrested, two women and one man, but the man was released due to lack of evidence, and the two women remain in custody charged with premeditated murder and obstructing justice.
The 10th victim, Ntombifuthi Nxumalo, was found naked with severe head injuries at a Tembisa cemetery on September 26, with stones found near her body leading investigators to suspect she was stoned to death. A 36-year-old man who fled to another province after the killing was arrested the next day and faces a murder charge. On Sunday, an unidentified woman’s body became the 11th recovery in Ekurhuleni, found in an open field in Springs by a patrolling security firm, with no further details available. The 12th body, that of a 23-year-old woman yet to be named, was found Monday in Tembisa, where she was shot and killed during an apparent robbery while en route to work; police say there is no evidence linking this killing to the other cases.
Separately, a 12th unrelated body discovery was made 63 kilometers outside Ekurhuleni on September 20, when a young woman in her 20s was found wrapped in a duvet in a Soweto dam. Police have not yet confirmed if her killing is connected to the Ekurhuleni cases.
The string of deaths has drawn condemnation from the highest levels of South African government. President Cyril Ramaphosa called the brutal killings of these women, and the broader crisis of gender-based violence across the country, a “stain on our national conscience.”
South Africa already grapples with one of the world’s highest national homicide rates: official data shows 5,427 people were murdered across the country between April and June 2026 alone. While national police statistics do not break down homicide victims by gender, the South African Human Rights Commission released data last week showing 569 women were killed in that same three-month period – averaging out to six women killed every single day across the country.
In response to the Ekurhuleni killings, police have assembled a dedicated special task force to investigate all cases, and have offered a reward of 400,000 South African rand (equivalent to roughly $24,000 or £18,000) for any information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the perpetrators.
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Remains of dozens of suspected kidnap victims found in Nigerian forests
A grim discovery has sent shockwaves across Nigeria, after law enforcement officers recovered 28 human skulls and sets of bones from abandoned criminal hideouts in two forests in the country’s southeastern Abia State. The find came during a targeted security operation launched Saturday in the Umunneochi local government area, following credible intelligence that flagged suspicious criminal activity in the Umuaku and Nneato forests.
According to official statements from the Abia State Police Command, when tactical police units arrived at the suspected encampments, all criminals occupying the sites fled before officers could apprehend them. Security teams proceeded to dismantle the illegal camps, where they made the disturbing discovery of the human remains. Police spokesperson Maureen Chinaka confirmed that investigators currently suspect the remains belong to victims of the region’s rampant kidnapping gangs, though formal identification and cause of death investigations are still ongoing, with forensic analysis set to confirm these early assumptions.
Abia State Police Commissioner Wilfred Afolabi noted that the weekend raid forms part of a sustained, statewide crackdown to eliminate criminal safe havens that gangs have used to plan and carry out attacks. In the wake of the discovery, police have ramped up targeted surveillance across the area to track down the fugitive suspects, and have issued a public appeal for local residents to share information about suspicious activity or unresolved missing person cases that could help investigators connect the remains to open cases. This is not the first time remains linked to kidnapping activity have been uncovered in Umunneochi during security sweeps, highlighting the long-running challenge of gang violence in the region.
The grim find in the southeast comes alongside a wave of mass abductions that struck northern Nigeria over the same weekend, underscoring the breadth of the country’s ongoing security crisis. Two separate attacks left more than 80 people, the vast majority of them women, in the hands of armed captors. In Niger State, nearly 50 farmers working their land were abducted by armed gunmen on Sunday. Just a day later, around 40 women were seized in a separate attack in neighboring Zamfara State, two independent security reports reviewed by Agence France-Presse and a local on-the-ground source have confirmed.
For criminal groups operating across northern Nigeria—including organized bandit networks and militant Islamist factions—ransom abductions have become one of the most lucrative sources of illegal income. Kidnapping for ransom has plagued both northern and southeastern parts of the country for years, with criminal gangs typically establishing bases in remote, dense forest areas from which they launch attacks on motorists, local residents, and travelers, holding victims captive until large ransoms are paid. The discovery of the 28 sets of remains in Abia is expected to reignite widespread public concern over the persistent threat these gangs pose to civilian safety across much of the country.
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Nigerian attempts to break world record by dancing non-stop for seven days
A 33-year-old Nigerian professional dancer is on the cusp of making global history, closing in on completing a 168-hour non-stop dance marathon that would shatter the existing Guinness World Record by more than 40 hours.
Benjamin Daniel, known professionally as Ben Dancer, launched his ambitious attempt at Lagos’ Freedom Park on September 22. If he maintains his pace through the final hours, he will hit his 7-day, 168-hour target early on Wednesday morning. The current standing record for the longest individual dance marathon stands at 127 hours, set in 2023 by 16-year-old Indian kathak dancer Srushti Sudhir Jagtap. Guinness World Records has not yet issued an official confirmation of the attempt’s validity, and the BBC has reached out to the organization for additional comment.
Far from a mere test of physical endurance, Ben Dancer’s week-long dance performance is a celebration of Nigeria’s extraordinary cultural diversity. With more than 250 distinct ethnic groups across the country, the event draws from a vast range of the nation’s artistic traditions, blending time-honored local dance forms with modern internet-driven cultural trends. Musical accompaniment has spanned popular Afrobeats hits alongside classic genres including fuji, jazz, and zouk, and Ben Dancer has periodically swapped his standard dance wear for iconic traditional Nigerian garments, including flowing agbada and colorful dashiki.
To prepare for the grueling challenge, the dancer, who has built a professional career over 18 years, underwent months of intensive physical conditioning. He adjusted his diet to prioritize carbohydrates and built up his cardiovascular endurance to withstand the extended effort. Under Guinness’ rules, participants are permitted five minutes of rest for every hour of continuous activity; Ben Dancer has chosen to accumulate these rest breaks, dancing for multiple consecutive hours before pausing to recover. Throughout the attempt, a dedicated on-site medical team has been on standby at Freedom Park to address any health concerns, and he has stuck to light meals and steady fluid intake between breaks.
In the days since the marathon began, the venue has transformed into a vibrant, ongoing street party that has captured national attention. Crowds of young supporters have gathered daily to cheer Ben Dancer on, filming every moment of his progress and joining in the celebration from behind event barriers. Clips of the attempt have spread widely across social media platforms, drawing larger crowds to the park each day.
Audience members have shared widespread admiration for the dancer’s unwavering determination. “It’s a beautiful moment. Seeing how far he has come and witnessing him achieve this feat made me incredibly proud and grateful to God,” Uche Anumudu, one daily attendee, told the BBC. Other supporters have expressed both admiration for his grit and quiet concern over the physical strain of the attempt. Moronumubo Akodu, who has made multiple trips to Freedom Park to watch, called the challenge “insane but I am so proud of him.”
Emmanuel Ulelu, who visited the event twice, noted a surprising shift in the dancer’s energy after days of continuous movement. “On day two, you could see the stress,” he explained. “Even after just three hours of dancing at the location myself, I wondered how he would keep going.” But when Ulelu returned 16 hours into the fifth day of the attempt, he found Ben Dancer far more energetic than he had been days earlier. “It reminded me that we’re capable of doing unbelievable things when how badly we want something matches and surpasses the difficulty of achieving it,” he said.
Ben Dancer’s attempt comes as part of a growing wave of record-breaking challenges that have swept Nigeria since 2023, when Lagos-based chef Hilda Baci set a new Guinness record for the longest cooking marathon with a 93-hour 11-minute performance. Baci’s achievement sparked national excitement, and within two months of her record-breaking cook-a-thon, Guinness World Records reported receiving more than 1,500 new record applications from Nigeria, covering challenges ranging from continuous reading and singing to crocheting. Even as other contenders have since surpassed Baci’s cooking mark, her success opened the door for a new generation of Nigerian record-seekers like Ben Dancer, who are combining physical endurance with cultural celebration to capture global attention.
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Why are Ethiopia’s rebels joining forces?
In a significant political shift that has reshaped Ethiopia’s already turbulent domestic landscape, seven separate insurgent factions from different regions of the country have formally revealed the formation of a coordinated new alliance aimed at challenging the sitting government led by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. This unification move comes after months of quiet negotiations between faction leaders, each of which has long held distinct grievances against the federal government over issues ranging from regional autonomy to resource allocation and political marginalization. For years, these rebel groups operated independently, carrying out isolated attacks and political actions that rarely posed a coordinated threat to Abiy’s administration. But growing discontent over the central government’s policies, combined with shared goals of pushing for systemic political change, has pushed these once-disparate factions to set aside individual differences and align against their common opponent. Analysts note that this new coalition represents one of the most substantial challenges to Abiy’s government since the end of the two-year Tigray conflict, raising urgent questions about the future of political stability and negotiations in the East African nation. The alliance’s announcement has already sparked international attention, with global powers closely monitoring how the Ethiopian government will respond to this consolidated opposition, and what implications the new bloc could have for peace processes and regional security across the Horn of Africa.
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‘I’ve lost my peace’ – Cape Verde hero Vozinha on newfound fame
It has been months since Cape Verde’s unexpected underdog run at the World Cup turned 40-year-old goalkeeper Vozinha from a little-known professional athlete into a global sports sensation. But in a candid new interview with *The Observer*, the man who anchored one of the most memorable debut runs in modern World Cup history has revealed that sudden fame has come at a steep personal cost — and he would trade his high-profile life today for the quiet anonymity he enjoyed before the tournament.
Vozinha’s rise to global stardom began in June, during Cape Verde’s first ever World Cup group stage match against reigning European champion Spain. Over 90 minutes, the veteran goalkeeper delivered a legendary performance, turning down repeated high-quality chances from Spain’s star-studded attack to secure a shocking 0-0 draw for the tiny West African island nation, which boasts a total population of just 525,000. By the final whistle, his Instagram follower count had exploded from roughly 50,000 to more than one million overnight. His profile grew even larger after Cape Verde forced heavy favorite Argentina into extra time before being eliminated in the round of 32, with Vozinha again turning in a standout performance between the posts. Today, his social media following sits at more than 28 million.
His standout World Cup performances also earned Vozinha a nomination for the prestigious Ballon d’Or Men’s Goalkeeper of the Year award, and secured him a new spot at a Chilean professional club following the tournament. But for the keeper, the perks of fame cannot make up for the loss of the quiet life he once took for granted. “I’ve lost my peace and tranquillity,” he told *The Observer*. “I no longer have any privacy, or at least much less than I used to. Now I go out, I go to a restaurant, and there’s always someone who wants to take a photo with me or asks me for an autograph. Or, worse, someone is filming me. That’s what has changed most in my life, and I don’t think there’s anything I can do about it.”
The ripple effects of Vozinha’s fame have also upended the life of his mother, who became part of the World Cup fairytale after the goalkeeper shared that she could not afford the visa required to travel to the tournament to watch his debut. The public reveal prompted an outpouring of support, and US House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries stepped in to arrange for her visa fee to be waived. Now, however, she receives constant visits from traveling fans who stop by her home asking for photos and conversations, adding another layer of disruption to the family’s daily life.
Vozinha noted that many people dream of achieving widespread fame and public recognition, but most only focus on the positive benefits that come with a public profile. “To be honest, if I were offered the life I have today or the life I had before, I’d choose the one I had before,” he said.
While he has struggled with the loss of privacy, Vozinha remains grounded in the historic achievement he and his Cape Verdean teammates pulled off at the tournament. He emphasized that the World Cup run was a collective team effort, and that he is proud to serve as an ambassador for his small home nation. Looking forward, Vozinha said his greatest hope is that the global momentum generated by Cape Verde’s historic debut can be leveraged to drive long-term development and improve living standards for all people across the island country.
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Judge imposes £100,000 bail condition on Rwanda genocide accused
Nearly three decades after one of the worst atrocities of the 20th century, the first person to face UK criminal charges linked to the 1994 Rwandan genocide remains behind bars, after a London judge tightened bail conditions and raised the required financial guarantee to £100,000.
Dr. Vincent Brown, 65, a Rwandan-trained medical doctor who previously went by the name Vincent Bajinya and has built a decades-long life and career supporting refugees in the United Kingdom, stands accused of acting as a leader and supervisor of mass violence targeting ethnic Tutsis during the 100-day genocide that killed an estimated 800,000 people, mostly Tutsis alongside politically moderate Hutus. Prosecutors allege he directly participated in, directed, and encouraged the killing of six specific people between April 6 and April 13 1994: Dominique Mukurarinda, Immaculee Mukankusi, Gerasi Rurangirwa, Leandre Mbogoye, Charlotte Kamaguja and Olivier Tuyishime, a young child. Brown has repeatedly and unequivocally denied all charges against him.
The case marks a landmark moment for UK justice, as Brown is the first individual to be formally prosecuted in British courts for crimes connected to the Rwandan genocide. The charges came after a seven-year long investigation by British law enforcement into the alleged offences, and Brown’s arrest brought a long-running probe into alleged Rwandan genocide perpetrators residing in the UK into a new public phase.
At a Monday hearing at London’s Central Criminal Court, the Old Bailey, Judge Mark Lucraft KC granted conditional bail but imposed significantly stricter terms than those set during an earlier preliminary hearing. Most notably, he raised the required surety from the initial £25,000 set by magistrates to £100,000. Under the court’s ruling, Brown will remain in custody until the full £100,000 guarantee is paid to secure his release.
Additional strict conditions attached to the bail grant include an immediate surrender of all passports and national identity documents, a ban on applying for any new international travel documentation, and a mandatory curfew requiring Brown to remain at his Islington, north London home for overnight residence. He is also required to wear an electronic monitoring tag to track his movements and check in with local police every single day, a level of supervision intended to mitigate any risk of flight.
Before leaving Rwanda, Brown built a prominent public health career in the country: he qualified as a doctor in the 1980s and rose to lead the Rwandan Ministry of Health’s Department of Family Health in Kigali, where he lived in a suburban neighborhood with his wife and child. After relocating to the UK, he continued his work in refugee support services: in 2006 he joined Praxis, a London-based charity that provides support to displaced people from conflict zones including Rwanda, and he went on to serve on the UK government’s own Refugee Nurses Task Force, established in 2003 to advise policymakers on refugee health and workforce issues.
Judge Lucraft confirmed that Brown is next scheduled to appear for a further case management hearing at the Old Bailey on October 9. As the court proceedings move forward, British law enforcement continues active investigations into other individuals accused of genocide-related crimes stemming from the 1994 Rwandan atrocities who currently reside in the UK.
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Injured Assefa narrowly misses world record in Berlin
The 2025 Berlin Marathon delivered one of the most dramatic displays of resilience in distance running history on Sunday, as Ethiopian star Tigst Assefa fought through a late injury to secure a dominant win, only to narrowly miss breaking the women’s marathon world record.
Assefa, a 29-year-old Olympic silver medalist from the 2024 Paris Games and 2026 London Marathon champion, got off to a blistering start in the race. By the 15-kilometer mark, she had opened up a full-minute gap over the rest of the elite women’s field, and she maintained a pace faster than the existing world record through the 35-kilometer mark. Long known as one of the sport’s strongest closers, all signs pointed to Assefa shattering the current world benchmark set by Kenya’s Ruth Chepngetich at the 2024 Chicago Marathon.
That world record of 2:09:56 remains intact, however, after a sudden tendon injury forced Assefa to slow dramatically in the race’s final miles. Visibly hobbling in discomfort, the Ethiopian struggled through the last kilometers to the finish line, crossing it with an official time of 2 hours 11 minutes and 4 seconds. Despite the late fade, the result still marked the third-fastest women’s marathon time ever recorded. It also beat Assefa’s own 2023 Berlin course record of 2:11:53 — her previous personal best — and marked a significant improvement on her 2:15:41 win at the London Marathon earlier this year.
Speaking after the race, Berlin Marathon event director Mark Milde expressed a mix of awe and sympathy for Assefa’s performance. “We have to bow our heads to this performance. She was on a world record course for most of the race but then something happened to her tendon,” Milde told reporters. “To finish like this, I’ve never seen something like this. The pain is hard to imagine. With a heavy heart, we saw her set a course record, but it could have been a lot more.”
Notably, Chepngetich’s current world record has remained controversial since the Kenyan was handed a three-year doping ban in 2025, overshadowing her 2024 Chicago result. Assefa’s near-record run has reignited conversation about when the mark will officially be overtaken by an untainted athlete.
The day’s results cemented Ethiopia’s dominance in the elite race: Assefa led an Ethiopian sweep of the top five positions in the women’s category, with Bedatu Hirpa finishing second and Dera Dida taking third. In the men’s elite race, another Ethiopian, Guye Adola, claimed the title with a winning time of 2:02:50.
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Two mass shootings in South Africa leave 27 dead
South Africa has been plunged into fresh shock by a pair of devastating mass shootings that occurred just hours apart, leaving at least 27 people dead and dozens more injured, escalating longstanding concerns over the country’s out-of-control gun violence crisis.
The first attack unfolded on Saturday evening, when eight heavily armed gunmen launched an assault on a local bar located in the area surrounding Johannesburg. According to police reports, the assailants opened fire on patrons gathered outside the venue before moving inside to continue their shooting spree. Before making their escape, the attackers set fire to two vehicles parked near the bar. The attack left 17 people dead – 13 men and four women – and an additional 15 people wounded, with many in critical condition as of Sunday. As of Sunday morning, no suspects had been taken into custody, and investigators have not yet identified a clear motive for the mass killing.
Just hours later, in the early hours of Sunday morning, a second separate mass shooting unfolded outside an entertainment venue in a township near Cape Town. This attack killed 10 people and wounded 11 more. Five of the victims died at the scene of the shooting, while five others succumbed to their injuries after being transported to local medical facilities. As with the Johannesburg attack, no arrests had been announced by Sunday, and armed security forces were deployed to the crime scene to support local law enforcement investigations.
These two back-to-back mass shootings come just days after another deadly attack that left 11 people dead in KwaMakhutha township, Durban, when gunmen stormed a private residence. The string of mass killings has cast a harsh spotlight on South Africa’s decades-long struggle with widespread gun violence, a crisis that has pushed the country to one of the highest murder rates globally. For a population of 62 million people, South Africa averages roughly 60 murders every single day, with illegal firearms widely available across the country.
In recent years, authorities have struggled to contain rising gang-related violence, much of it tied to turf wars between criminal organizations fighting over control of drug trafficking routes and illegal mining operations. The recent surge in mass attacks has stoked growing public fear that the crisis is worsening, even as the national government takes steps to intervene. Earlier this year, President Cyril Ramaphosa labeled organized crime “the most immediate threat to our democracy, our society and our economic development”, and the South African military was deployed to work alongside police in the country’s highest murder-rate areas in an effort to curb violent crime. To date, however, these interventions have failed to reverse the upward trend in mass gun violence, leaving communities on edge after the latest string of deadly attacks.