United News of Bangladesh

Nine foreign nationals suspected of violating South African mercenary laws by trying to travel from South Africa to Russia to fight in the war between Russia and Ukraine have been arrested, police said Monday. Police arrested the suspects, aged between 20 and 26, late Sunday night at O.R. Tambo Airport and at a nearby hotel in Johannesburg's Bruma neighborhood, according to Col. Katlego Mogale. The suspects were preparing to board flights to Russia when officers intervened after an investigation involving Interpol and local and international law enforcement agencies, police said. They did not identify the suspects' nationalities nor which side they allegedly planned to join. The nine are expected to appear before the Kempton Park Magistrates' Court on charges relating to alleged violations of South Africa's Regulation of Foreign Military Assistance Act. The law prohibits mercenary activity and regulates military assistance to parties in foreign conflicts, including recruitment and training. Its provisions also apply to foreign nationals acting within South Africa. Police did not give a date for the accused to appear in court. The arrests come amid growing concern that Africans are being recruited to fight for Russia, sometimes through promises of civilian jobs that lead to the battlefield. An investigation by a nonprofit data journalism and technology organization, Code for Africa, cited by the Institute for Security Studies, identified 289 websites, domains and social media profiles used to lure recruits through false advertising and promises of generous benefits. South Africa has helped repatriate several citizens it said were lured into the conflict. Police investigated allegations that Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, a daughter of former South African President Jacob Zuma, helped lure 17 South African men to fight for Russia under promises of security training. She denied wrongdoing and resigned from Parliament in November 2025 following the allegations. Zuma-Sambudla was never formally charged but was highlighted among those who were investigated. In a separate case, a radio presenter, Nonkululeko Mantula, was charged in late 2025 with allegedly recruiting four South African men to join Russia's military. The men also faced charges under South Africa's foreign military assistance law. In neighboring Zimbabwe, authorities said in March that 15 citizens had been killed in the war in Ukraine and that they were seeking the return of 66 others. Information Minister Zhemu Soda said recruits were promised well-paid jobs but had their travel documents confiscated and were forced into combat. Kenya 's government said in February that more than 1,000 citizens had been recruited to fight for Russia. Families protested in Nairobi in March, demanding their relatives' return and the prosecution of those responsible. Following a Russia-Africa summit in Moscow in October, Ghana and Kenya said they had secured Russian commitments to stop enlisting their citizens. Ghana's Foreign Ministry said the assurance covered both irregular recruitment and voluntary enlistment.

The death toll from a building collapse in Kenya's capital Nairobi has risen to five after rescuers recovered three more bodies from the debris on Thursday, two weeks after the disaster. Police said recovery operations were nearing completion, while 16 people were still believed to be missing since the 18-storey building collapsed on October 23. Four people were rescued alive from the building, which came down along a busy commercial street while its upper floors were under construction. Its ground and basement floors had been rented out to businesses, including an electronics shop, grocery store, textile shop and butchery. Nairobi County Governor Johnson Sakaja said the building had not received construction approval and that renting out its completed floors was also illegal. He blamed weak enforcement of construction regulations and inadequate penalties for developers' disregard for building laws. Investigators have questioned the developer, but no arrests have been made. The building was owned by two partners under a joint venture agreement. Government data show that Kenya recorded 98 building collapses over the past five years, leaving 104 people dead and 80 injured. Kenya is co-hosting an International Conference on Strengthening Search and Rescue Services in Africa with the United Nations and the Russian government. Participants are discussing technologies and innovations to improve rescue operations and emergency response capacity across the continent. Three days after the Nairobi collapse, the government partnered with a Chinese company that deployed thermal imaging technology at the site. The technology detected two people trapped beneath the rubble.

Plans to extract valuable minerals from Kenya's forested Mrima Hill have raised concerns among local farmers and community elders, who fear losing their farmland, livelihoods and a sacred forest where their ancestors are buried. The proposed mining project comes as countries around the world compete to secure supplies of rare earth elements and other critical minerals used in electric vehicle motors, wind turbines and defence technologies, while seeking to reduce dependence on China for mineral processing. Residents near Kenya's Indian Ocean coast, close to the Tanzanian border, say they have received little information about the proposed mining activities, including where extraction would take place and how the project could affect their livelihoods and cultural heritage. "We haven't been informed about the process at all," said Justus Mwero, chairman of the Mrima Farm Owners Community-Based Organization, which has around 500 registered farmers. "We don't know how people are going to be looked after, or what impact the project will have," he said. At a recent gathering beside the main road in Mrima, farmers discussed the proposed development as the forested hill stood across the road. "We are waiting to see what is going to happen," Mwero said. Kenya seeks to expand mining sector Kenya's Mining Minister Hassan Joho told The Associated Press earlier this week that a technical committee was evaluating five proposals for the project, with an announcement expected within two to three weeks. The ministry has not disclosed the nationalities of the bidders, citing confidentiality. However, Australian company RareX said its consortium with another Australian company, Iluka Resources, submitted a technical and financial proposal on October 21. Nasdaq-listed Critical Metals Corp. also announced in July that its consortium had been shortlisted for the final bidding stage for the development of the Mrima Hill rare earth and niobium project. In an interview with US-based news outlet Semafor on September 28, Joho said the government considers mining and local mineral processing important for economic expansion and employment generation. He said Kenya aims to increase the mining sector's contribution to gross domestic product from around 1% to 10% within the next decade. According to mining news website Extractives Daily, projections made in 2013 estimated that the project could generate gross revenue of around $62 billion over 23 years. The estimate was based on commodity prices at the time, excluded development and operating costs and did not indicate how much revenue would go to the Kenyan government. Sacred forest raises cultural concerns For members of the local Digo community, however, Mrima Hill holds significance beyond its mineral resources. The area contains a sacred forest, known as a kaya, where community members say their ancestors are buried. "Our traditions and practices are organized around the forest," said Masoud Suleiman Mwarizo, chairman of the Mrima Hill Digo Community Trust, established in 2025 to protect the community's interests in the project. "All our ancestors are buried here. We will refuse any digging of the hill," he said. The Mrima Hill Sacred Grove forest reserve was declared a national monument in 1992. The National Museums of Kenya did not respond to a request for comment. Farmers fear displacement and environmental damage Farmers living around the hill are concerned that possible relocation could force them onto less fertile land, although it remains unclear whether the proposed project would require residents to move. "We all rely on farming to survive. This land is fertile, and if we are relocated to less fertile land, hunger could strike us," Mwero said. Rama Bindo, treasurer of the Digo Community Trust, said farmers without formal land ownership documents could be particularly vulnerable to losing their property. "Not all farmers have title deeds to prove ownership of their land, and that makes it easy for land grabbing to happen," Bindo said. Mining Minister Joho told the AP that the ministry had consulted the local community before advertising the tender for the development of Mrima Hill. He said that after selecting the successful bidder, the ministry would formally introduce the company to residents to allow them to reach agreements. Under Kenya's Mining Act, a company holding a mining licence must sign a community development agreement with the community where the mining operation is located. It cannot begin extraction until landowners have received compensation. Harry Kimtai, principal secretary at the Mining Ministry, said that once a company is selected, communities would be encouraged to engage directly with the successful bidder. He added that the government would explain residents' rights in case of disputes and monitor whether the company complies with the law. Legal challenge over proposed mining agreement The Centre for Litigation Trust, a Kenyan civil society organisation, has challenged a proposed agreement between Kenya and the United States to develop the minerals at Mrima Hill. Details of the agreement have not been made public. In a petition filed on June 22, the organisation said it had asked the High Court in the coastal town of Kwale to suspend the agreement until local residents and their representatives were consulted. It argued that the bidding process lacked transparency and adequate public participation. The government has not publicly clarified how the proposed Kenya-US agreement relates to the current tender process. According to the organisation's lawyer, Kenya's attorney general challenged the court's jurisdiction. The group said the court was scheduled to deliver a ruling on the objection on November 6, adding that no court order currently prevents implementation of the agreement. Meanwhile, local residents and advocacy groups are seeking information about the proposed mineral extraction methods and their possible environmental and health consequences. "We don't know anything about the extraction method. Will it be open-pit mining, and what will be the impact on the environment and on health?" said Fakii Omar of the Kwale Mining Alliance, an advocacy organisation representing communities affected by mining activities. The National Environment Management Authority did not respond to questions from the AP regarding environmental assessments, public consultation and the approval process. RareX said its consortium's proposal included securing community support before mining begins and protecting local residents, the environment and cultural heritage. The company also said it had proposed further studies to determine whether the mineral deposit could be developed through underground mining. Mwero said local residents wanted to participate in decisions concerning the future of their land. "We want an open forum to discuss our concerns. We are the custodians of this land, and we should be the ones negotiating over it," he said.

South Africans went to the polls on Wednesday in local government elections that could further weaken the ruling African National Congress (ANC), which led the country out of white minority rule but has steadily lost public support over the past decade. The elections will determine leadership in the country's eight major metropolitan municipalities, 44 district councils and 205 local councils. Johannesburg, the country's largest city and economic hub, is a major battleground in the polls. Once regarded as Africa's richest city, it has been struggling with water shortages, electricity disruptions and other failures in public services, reflecting widespread frustration over local government performance. The city has seen five changes of mayor in four years since the previous local elections. It is currently run by a fragile ANC-led coalition, while the Democratic Alliance (DA), South Africa's second-largest party, is seeking to take control. The DA has nominated its former national leader, 75-year-old Helen Zille, as its mayoral candidate in Johannesburg. She has drawn attention through a series of publicity stunts highlighting the city's deteriorating services, including snorkelling in a water-filled road trench and rowing an inflatable boat through a pond formed by a water leak. South African voters do not directly elect mayors. Instead, they elect municipal councillors, who subsequently choose mayors. Smaller parties often play decisive roles in forming local government coalitions. The ANC's declining electoral support has been evident in recent polls. In the 2021 local elections, it secured less than 50 percent of the vote for the first time since the end of apartheid in 1994. The party suffered a major setback in the 2024 national elections, losing its 30-year parliamentary majority and entering a coalition government with the DA and several other parties. However, ANC leader Cyril Ramaphosa retained the presidency. Although the ANC and DA are partners in the national unity government, they remain fierce competitors in the local elections. Zille's mayoral bid will also test whether the DA can expand its support beyond its traditional stronghold of Cape Town, the country's second-largest city. The elections will also mark the first local government polls contested by the MK Party, led by former president Jacob Zuma. Zuma resigned as president in 2018 amid corruption allegations and was expelled from the ANC in 2024 after launching his own political party. The MK Party made a strong debut in the 2024 national elections, emerging as the country's third-largest parliamentary party. It enjoys considerable support in Zuma's home province of KwaZulu-Natal in eastern South Africa. Poor public services, particularly unreliable water supplies, are among the major concerns for voters. Corruption and high unemployment have also featured prominently in the campaigns, alongside growing tensions over immigration. Groups protesting against illegal immigration have gained public attention and support in recent months, criticising Ramaphosa and his government over their handling of the issue. Several political parties have also made opposition to undocumented migration a key component of their local election campaigns in the country of around 62 million people.

Senegal is making history by hosting Africa's first Olympic event, the Youth Olympic Games, but rising living costs, unemployment and financial hardship have left many citizens struggling to share the excitement. Paulina Netinan Nodjibougada, a 26-year-old accounting student, said finding employment and managing family expenses in Dakar were her main concerns. "I'm not very enthusiastic because there are too many problems," she said, adding that her family had too many financial worries. The Games, featuring around 2,700 athletes aged 14 to 17, began Saturday and will continue until November 13. Organisers have highlighted opportunities for young people through training and volunteering programmes. However, around 75 percent of Senegal's population is under 35, while youth unemployment stands at approximately 23 percent. Entrepreneur Momar Assane Diouf, 33, said rising electricity, food and education costs had forced him to take several jobs to support his family. Meat prices have increased from 3,000 CFA francs ($5) to 5,500 CFA francs ($9) per kilogramme in recent months. Senegal's financial difficulties have limited government support for struggling households. Following revelations of billions of dollars in previously undisclosed borrowing, the country is seeking a $2.2 billion IMF loan that would require spending cuts. The government has allocated 36 billion CFA francs ($60 million) to organise the Games, including 11.3 billion CFA francs for sports venue renovations. The spending has sparked debate over whether public resources should prioritise urgent economic needs. President Bassirou Diomaye Faye has defended the event, citing infrastructure improvements, local business contracts and youth training opportunities. However, preparations have disrupted some livelihoods. Mamadou Wadji, 37, a shoemakers' cooperative leader in Dakar's Medina neighbourhood, said members were relocated from a busy market to an unfinished school building, causing sales to decline. His family's daily expenses have also doubled to 10,000 CFA francs. "We can't go to the stadium to watch the events while our families are waiting for us to put food on the table," he said. Diouf hopes the Games will succeed but warned that the celebrations would not solve the country's economic problems. "Life is expensive. Life will be expensive during the Games, and life will be expensive after the Games," he said. 

At least 20 Somali soldiers were killed in an ambush by Islamic extremist militants in southern Somalia, according to a military officer who survived the attack, while the government acknowledged damage to military vehicles but did not report any troop casualties. The al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab group, which has been fighting Somalia's government for nearly two decades, claimed responsibility for Monday's attack near Jameeca village in the country's south. Somalia's Defence Ministry said government troops killed around 75 militants and wounded 56 others during hours of fighting. Al-Shabab, however, claimed that it had killed 321 soldiers and captured prisoners and military equipment. The casualty figures and claims about captured soldiers and equipment could not be independently verified. Abshir Abdikarim, a military officer travelling with the convoy, told The Associated Press by phone late Tuesday that he had seen at least 20 fellow soldiers dead following the attack. He said the troops had advanced from Leego to Jameeca in Burhakaba district of the Bay region, where they exchanged heavy gunfire with the militants. Some soldiers who had earlier been reported missing reached Baledogle on Tuesday, while others remained unaccounted for, he said. The Defence Ministry described the confrontation as an operation against militant positions, while al-Shabab said its fighters had ambushed a military convoy advancing into territory under its control. According to the ministry, the militants used vehicles loaded with explosives to attack army vehicles, damaging some of them. It did not specify the number of vehicles damaged or address claims that soldiers had been captured. Al-Shabab said it had seized Turkish-supplied armoured vehicles, armed pickup trucks, supply trucks, weapons and ammunition. African Union troops drove al-Shabab out of Mogadishu in 2011, but the group subsequently adapted its tactics, relying on guerrilla warfare, suicide bombings and targeted assassinations. Somali authorities have reported territorial gains in a US-backed military campaign against the militants, although restrictions on access have made it difficult to independently verify those claims. Al-Shabab has continued to operate across large areas of central and southern Somalia. The latest fighting comes amid a separate struggle for control of South West state. Government troops clashed last month near Baidoa with militias loyal to former regional President Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed Laftagareen, who resigned after federal forces seized the city in March. The Defence Ministry said government forces would continue targeting al-Shabab positions and disrupting efforts by the militants to regroup.

At least 62 people have been killed and 52 others injured in an attack by gunmen on a community in northeastern Nigeria, the country’s emergency agency said Tuesday. The attack took place on Friday in Binnari community in the Karim-Lamido local government area of Taraba state. Thousands of people were also displaced, said Ladan Ayuba, the state head of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA). The assailants were reportedly bandits, armed criminals who frequently attack civilians across northern Nigeria. NEMA officials said 52 bodies had been recovered so far, including 15 from the Benue River. Taraba police spokesperson Victor Mshelizah said the death toll was not final as recovery operations continued. “We still have men on the ground, and the more we recover bodies, we will put them in account,” he told The Associated Press. Amnesty International Nigeria director Isa Sanusi said the attackers drove people towards the river as they tried to escape. “What happened was that people were chased towards the river, they launched into the river trying to escape the bandits,” Sanusi said. Nigeria is grappling with a complex security crisis involving armed bandits who carry out mass kidnappings for ransom and control illegal mining sites, as well as Islamist militant groups, including Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province.

At least 60 Orthodox Christians were killed in two attacks in Ethiopia’s Oromia region, according to the country’s Orthodox Church, which urged authorities to protect civilians and bring the perpetrators to justice. The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church’s Holy Synod said Monday that 14 people were killed in Merti district on October 20 and another 46 in Shirka district on October 24. Both districts are in the Arsi Zone of Oromia. More than 20 people were seriously injured and 20 houses were burned down in the attacks, which the church described as “brutal and merciless massacres.” Oromia regional government spokesperson Hailu Adugna blamed the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) for the attacks, accusing the rebels and their allies of attempting to provoke ethnic and religious conflict to divert attention from military losses in northern Ethiopia. However, he provided no evidence to support the allegations. Adugna expressed sorrow over the deaths and destruction, saying regional authorities had begun taking action against those responsible. He also pledged assistance to the injured and displaced people. The OLA could not be reached for comment. Its leader, Jaal Marroo, denied in an interview with The Associated Press published in February that his fighters target civilians, saying, “Our war is not against the people.” The OLA is one of seven groups in the Ethiopian Peoples’ Forces Alliance for Survival, formed in September with the aim of removing Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government. The alliance also includes the Tigray People’s Liberation Front and the Amhara Fano National Movement. The church said the attacks violated constitutional guarantees of religious freedom and the right to life. It called on authorities to publicly condemn the killings and take measures to prevent further violence. Oromia, Ethiopia’s largest region with a population of around 40 million, has been experiencing conflict between government forces and the OLA since 2018. Other armed groups and criminal gangs also operate in the region, where civilians face killings, extortion and kidnapping. United Nations investigators have accused the OLA of killings, rape and kidnapping. Human rights monitors have also documented abuses by government forces, including indiscriminate drone strikes, extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances. Sarah Kimani, media manager at Amnesty International, told the AP in January that the organisation had documented summary executions, torture, abductions and rape by both government forces and the OLA. She said internet blackouts and restrictions on independent media and civil society had obscured the extent of civilian suffering. “What we have been able to document now is just the tip of the iceberg,” Kimani said.

A Swiss woman receiving treatment for Ebola in Nigeria was medically evacuated to Switzerland along with her husband on Monday, officials said, as Nigerian authorities continued monitoring 52 people who had been in contact with her. Nigerian Health Minister Muhammad Pate said the woman, the country’s first confirmed case in the current outbreak, left the capital, Abuja, early Monday with his approval. Her condition had improved significantly, and she was stable, conscious and able to communicate, he said. “This does not mean she is not still infectious, hence the strict protocols in place,” Pate wrote on X. Her husband, a Swiss diplomat stationed in Nigeria, has shown no symptoms. Mohamed Janabi, the World Health Organization’s regional director for Africa, said the evacuation was arranged because the couple are Swiss citizens. Nigerian medical teams had stabilised the woman after treating her through the acute phase of the illness, he said. Switzerland will take over her treatment and monitor her husband, while Nigeria will continue monitoring the other 52 contacts, Janabi said. “With the evacuation of the patient and her husband, Nigeria currently has no Ebola cases,” he said, stressing that continued vigilance remained essential. Pate said containment measures were still in place and urged Nigerians to remain alert. The woman tested positive for Ebola after returning to Abuja from Uganda. Nigerian authorities said on Friday that they had not yet determined how she contracted the virus. Switzerland’s foreign ministry told The Associated Press that the woman had not visited Congo and was believed to have contracted the infection while travelling to Uganda with her husband. The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said the first patients identified in Nigeria and Kenya had both travelled through Uganda’s Entebbe International Airport on October 3. Uganda had previously reported Ebola cases but later declared itself free of the virus. Kenya has recorded nine cases, including two deaths, since confirming its first case earlier this month. On Monday, Kenya released 20 people from quarantine after they had been identified as contacts of the country’s first Ebola patient. Another 98 people were expected to be released starting next Tuesday. “Each of the 20 contacts was assessed against the release criteria, including 21 days without any symptoms since their last exposure,” the Kenyan Ministry of Health said in a statement. The spread of Ebola beyond Congo has heightened longstanding concerns among health authorities about the rapid transmission of the rare Bundibugyo virus. According to the latest figures from Congo’s health ministry, the outbreak has resulted in more than 9,900 cases, including over 4,800 deaths, since it began in May. The WHO has described it as the fastest-spreading Ebola outbreak on record and said it was on track to surpass the death toll of the deadliest outbreak, which occurred in West Africa from 2014 to 2016 and killed 11,000 people. Nigeria was among the countries affected by that outbreak, recording 20 cases before the outbreak was declared over after three months.  

At least 24 people were killed and 24 others injured when a bus collided with a truck on Kenya’s main highway on Sunday, police said. The accident occurred just three weeks after another crash on the same highway, which connects the capital, Nairobi, with the coastal city of Mombasa, claimed 17 lives. Paul Kisienya, medical superintendent at Mtito Andei Hospital, which received most of the injured, said 24 people were being treated following the Sunday morning crash. The passengers were returning to Mombasa after attending the funeral of their church pastor in western Kenya when the accident occurred. Violet Mwandonyi, a mother of two, said the bus had just left Mtito Andei town, where the passengers had stopped for breakfast. “I cannot recall what exactly happened. The last thing I remember is that we were all wailing and calling on motorists to come to our rescue. I don't know the fate of my two children who were on the bus,” she said. The exact circumstances of the crash remain unclear. Another passenger, Spenza Mudave, said a truck struck the bus from behind, causing it to overturn. The National Transport Safety Authority had earlier suspected that “improper overtaking” was responsible, based on information indicating that the vehicles had collided head-on. The authority called for road crashes to be declared a “national disaster”. “Road crashes have reached a national emergency level, with about 20,000 crashes claiming over 5,000 lives annually,” it said in a statement. President William Ruto expressed condolences to the families of the victims and ordered inspections of all public service vehicles to ensure compliance with safety requirements and help prevent road accidents. He also urged drivers “to exercise utmost caution and observe traffic rules to safeguard lives.” Speeding and poor road conditions have previously been identified as contributing factors in road accidents in Kenya.