World

Tanzania Drops Independence Day Festivities Amid Growing Protest Calls Over Election Violence

Tanzania has announced the cancellation of its upcoming Independence Day celebrations, following increasing public pressure and calls for nationwide protests over deadly violence linked to last month’s disputed general elections.

Prime Minister Mwigulu Nchemba confirmed on Monday that the annual celebrations, scheduled for 9 December, will not take place. He said that the budget allocated for the event would instead be redirected toward repairing infrastructure destroyed during the post-election unrest.

A devastating crowd crush at Accra’s El-Wak Sports Stadium claimed the lives of six people and injured dozens more on Wednesday, exposing the desperate lengths young Ghanaians are willing to go for a stable job. The tragedy unfolded during a nationwide recruitment exercise for the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF), which had drawn a massive and ultimately fatal turnout.

The stampede erupted in the early hours of Wednesday morning, well before the screening process was set to begin. According to a press release issued by the GAF on their official X (formerly Twitter) platform, the chaotic surge was triggered by an unexpected rush of applicants who overwhelmed the limited security protocols and forced their way through the stadium gates. The statement confirmed that six potential recruits died in the crush, while preliminary reports indicated that as many as 28 others were rushed to the 37 Military Hospital, with a number of them in critical condition.

As the Afreximbank Compliance Forum 2025 is currently underway in Kigali, Rwanda, the continent’s plan to combat illicit financial flows became clear. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is now Africa’s best defense against dirty money.

The forum brought together experts to tackle financial crime, a severe problem that’s far more damaging than just complex schemes.

Mahmoud Mhiri, an Executive Partner at Vneuron, explained that financial crime, particularly Anti-Money Laundering (AML), harms the entire economy. AML is the process where criminals hide funds generated from illegal acts like corruption or fraud by cycling them through the legal financial system.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa says 17 South Africans who joined mercenary groups fighting in the Russia-Ukraine war are now trapped in the Donbas region of Ukraine.

According to government spokesperson Vincent Magwenya, the men, aged between 20 and 39, contacted South African authorities asking for help to return home.

President Ramaphosa has ordered an investigation into how these men were recruited into what he called “mercenary activities.” Officials have not confirmed which side of the conflict they were fighting for.

Many Ugandans are celebrating the election of Zohran Mamdani as the new mayor of New York, expressing pride in his Ugandan roots and calling him “one of us.”

Mamdani, 34, was born in Uganda and holds dual nationality. His election has sparked excitement across Uganda, especially among young people who see him as a symbol of hope and inspiration.

Journalist Angelo Izama, who mentored Mamdani during a teenage internship at one of Uganda’s leading newspapers, told the BBC that “there’s a lot of excitement in Uganda about his rise, especially because of his young age.”

President Samia Suluhu Hassan has been re-elected with 97.6% of the vote, the Tanzanian Electoral Commission announced on Saturday. The landslide victory follows a tense election marked by the exclusion of major opposition figures, low voter turnout, and violent protests.

The final results, released three days after polls closed, confirmed what many observers had already expected. Most of Hassan’s main challengers were barred from running or detained months before the vote, leaving her with minimal competition.

The Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC), in partnership with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) and the National Council of Persons with Disabilities (NCPD), has launched a nationwide training program to strengthen wheelchair service delivery in Rwanda.

With financial support from UNICEF, the week-long training focused on wheelchair assessment, fitting, repair, and mobility orientation, aiming to improve the quality of life for people with disabilities. The session, held from October 27–31, brought together 39 physiotherapists, prosthetists, orthotists, and biomedical equipment technicians from district, provincial, and referral hospitals.

For years, the home of Bizimana Damascene and Tuyishimire Valerie in Cyahinda Sector, Nyaruguru District, was filled with pain and conflict. Constant family fights, often caused by alcohol abuse, created fear and sadness in their household.

Today, that same home is a story of peace, love, and progress, all thanks to training and support from the Joint Programme on Accelerating Progress towards Rural Women’s Economic Empowerment (JP RWEE).

Valerie Tuyishimire, 38 years old, recalls those dark days with emotion.

A simple, yet powerful farming method is driving huge increases in crop production for small-scale farmers in southern Province of Rwanda. Members of Urumuri Cyamukuza Cooperative in Gisagara District are celebrating bumper harvests after adopting Pfumvudza, a climate-smart agriculture technique promoted through the Joint Programme on Accelerating Progress towards Rural Women’s Economic Empowerment (JP RWEE).

This shift from traditional to modern, sustainable practices is reshaping food security, boosting incomes, and giving rural women a stronger voice in community development.

A quiet revolution is transforming the lives of rural women across five districts in Rwanda, turning smallholder farmers into confident entrepreneurs and community leaders. Through the Joint Programme on Accelerating Progress towards Rural Women’s Economic Empowerment (JP RWEE), a global initiative bringing together key UN agencies and the Government of Rwanda to strengthen women’s livelihoods and resilience in agriculture.

The program’s impact is vividly clear in Gisagara District, Southern Province, where women are moving beyond traditional subsistence farming to embrace modern, climate-resilient agricultural practices and market access.