Africa

Maiduguri, Nigeria – For more than 15 years, Kashim Mohammed has hoped that his younger sister, Falmata Mohammed, is still alive.

Falmata disappeared in 2011 while travelling with her mother from Maiduguri, the capital of northeastern Nigeria’s Borno State, to Port Harcourt in the south. According to Kashim, the two women were abducted by unidentified gunmen.

Years later, a man approached Kashim at Baga Road Market in Maiduguri with news that briefly revived the family’s hopes of finding the women. He claimed Falmata had been found in Benin and was searching for her relatives.

But the man disappeared without leaving contact details. Kashim said he has never been able to establish whether the information was genuine.

“From then until now, nobody knows anything about the man who brought the information,” he said.

Kashim, 39, chairs the Association for the Well-being of Displaced and Missing Persons’ Families, a community organisation based in Bolori II, Ngarnam ward, Maiduguri. He said years of violence have torn his family apart.

“As a result of the violence, I lost my sister from the same father,” he said.

Their father, Mohammed Kolo, worked at Maiduguri’s State Specialist Hospital. Kashim said his father died at 60 from an illness he attributed to high blood pressure without learning what had happened to his daughter.

Kolo had refused to abandon hope that she would return.

“Our father always said, ‘Wherever she is, I believe my daughter is alive,’” Kashim recalled.

A brother still searching

For Muhammad Alhaji Bashir, the disappearance of his elder brother, Adam Muhammad Bashir, known as Bakura, has left a similar void.

Muhammad, 29, said Bakura went missing around 2012 or 2013 when Muhammad was about 14. His brother, then believed to be in his early 20s, sold cosmetics in a Maiduguri market and was studying civil engineering at Ramat Polytechnic, according to Muhammad.

“I sincerely lost my brother as a result of the Boko Haram crisis,” Muhammad said.

Boko Haram’s armed rebellion began in northeastern Nigeria in 2009. The conflict has devastated communities through attacks, abductions and displacement, leaving families searching for relatives whose fates remain unknown.

Muhammad said Bakura’s family searched across Maiduguri. A rehabilitation centre offered them some hope.

“Whenever we heard that rescued people had been brought to the rehabilitation centre in Bulumkutu, we went there with Bakura’s pictures, but unfortunately, nobody recognised him,” Muhammad said.

Muhammad said his father and stepmother, who was Bakura’s mother, later died from illnesses the family attributed to hypertension. He and other relatives continue to search, without confirmation of whether Bakura is alive or dead.

Thousands of families, thousands of questions

The two families’ experiences reflect the uncertainty facing relatives of people who have disappeared during more than a decade of conflict in northeastern Nigeria.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), working with the Nigerian Red Cross Society, has supported efforts to trace missing people and reconnect separated families.

Local advocates for missing people cited an estimate of 17,000 people missing across northern Nigeria, many of them linked to the conflict involving Boko Haram and its aftermath. Kashim said his association’s records indicated that about 10,000 people are missing in Borno State alone. He added that many families have yet to register their missing relatives.

The sources for the estimates cited by advocates and the association, their geographical coverage, reporting periods and methods of compilation have not been independently established for this article.

Behind the estimates are families who have spent years searching, parents who have died without learning what happened to their children and children growing up without a parent.

Some people reportedly disappeared during attacks on their communities. Others became separated from relatives while fleeing violence or travelling between towns. Families search hospitals, displacement camps and centres receiving people rescued from conflict areas, often following leads that prove impossible to verify.

Even when names, photographs and personal details are submitted to organisations involved in tracing missing people, locating relatives can take time.

An association born out of loss

Kashim said his search for Falmata helped motivate him and other affected families to establish their association in 2023. He said the organisation obtained registration with Nigeria’s Corporate Affairs Commission in 2025.

Members meet monthly to share information and discuss their circumstances. Some families have reported losing eight or nine relatives, according to Kashim.

“In our community of Bolori II, we have many families who lost their relatives as a result of years of violence that ravaged northeastern Nigeria,” he said.

Kashim said the group sometimes receives notices from the Red Cross containing names and details of missing people. These can give families leads to pursue although they do not necessarily mean a relative has been located.

The association also supports children affected by the disappearances. Kashim said it was assisting about 600 orphaned children from affected families. Some attend school while others have dropped out because their relatives cannot afford to pay for their education or other basic needs.

“We are now suffering because of the harsh living conditions,” he said, adding that the ICRC had distributed relief items to some families.

When a missing person is a parent or breadwinner, relatives must cope with lost income while trying to provide food, shelter and schooling for children. The association’s work has consequently expanded beyond tracing missing people to helping families manage the hardships their disappearances leave behind.

Floods add to the losses

The search became harder for some families after devastating floods struck parts of Maiduguri in 2024.

Kashim said floodwaters submerged parts of Ngarnam and destroyed photographs that families had kept to help identify missing relatives.

Photographs can be vital when families try to identify people who have been rescued, displaced or found in unfamiliar communities. Without them, relatives must rely on names, physical descriptions and memories.

Kashim said some families now have little beyond remembered details and surviving records to help identify their relatives.

The floods added another obstacle to searches already complicated by years of conflict, displacement and uncertainty.

Waiting for an answer

For Kashim, finding Falmata would resolve a question that has haunted his family since 2011. His father died believing she might still return, and the family has never established whether the report of her discovery in Benin was true.

Muhammad’s search for Bakura continues without the parents who once helped him look for his brother.

Both families are appealing to anyone who may have information about their missing relatives. For them, finding an answer would mean more than ending a search: It would establish what happened to someone whose absence has shaped their lives for years.

Kashim’s message to his sister remains a plea for a reunion that his family has waited years to see.

“Falmata Mohammed, if you are alive anywhere in this world, we are the family of late Mohammed Kolo in Bolori II, Ngarnam. We are waiting for you,” he said.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced the beginning of the first clinical trial of an Ebola vaccine in the outbreak that started in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

WHO’s director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said in a social media post on Friday that participants in the trial were vaccinated with the Ervebo vaccine in Bunia, the capital of the DRC’s northeastern Ituri province, which is the epicentre of the Ebola outbreak.

Ervebo, a vaccine approved for use against the more common Zaire strain of Ebola, will be put through a full-scale human trial to see if it offers any cross-protection against the Bundibugyo species of Ebola that is behind the epidemic.

“This trial will help us understand whether any of the vaccine candidates designed for Bundibugyo virus work,” the WHO chief said on X.

“WHO is supporting this DRC-led effort to find answers and save lives,” he added.

The DRC declared its 17th and worst-ever Ebola outbreak in May and has since reported more than 9,700 cases, with the number of deaths exceeding 4,600.

The WHO, in response, triggered a public health emergency of international concern, its second-highest alert level.

The current outbreak has now been reported in four countries across eastern, central ⁠⁠and western Africa, giving it the widest geographic spread of any Ebola outbreak on the continent to date.

Vaccines in the pipeline

The so-called Tumaini trial is a single trial framework that can test the safety, efficacy and immunogenicity of multiple vaccines.

The trial will use a ring vaccination approach: immunising contacts deemed to be at high risk of infection.

The trial is set to incorporate two Bundibugyo-specific candidate vaccines, which are currently advancing through earlier-stage, smaller-scale clinical trials.

One is a ChAdOx1 adenoviral vector jab being developed by the University of Oxford; the other, by the US-based Moderna group, uses mRNA technology.

Both have received funding from the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations and are expected to enter the trial “shortly”, CEPI said in a statement.

The trial will include pregnant women and children aged 12 years and older, generating evidence for populations that are often excluded from clinical trials.

WHO emergencies director Chikwe Ihekweazu said the trial was set up to generate the rigorous evidence needed to determine whether the participating vaccines could protect people at risk.

Race walker Koki Ikeda returns to competition immediately; Ethiopia’s marathon runner Ruti Aga given 6-year doping ban.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upheld an appeal by Japanese race walker Koki Ikeda against World Athletics, clearing the Tokyo Olympic silver medallist of an anti-doping rule violation and making him immediately eligible to compete again.

The 28-year-old was provisionally suspended in November 2024 before receiving a four-year sanction from the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) in February 2025 for allegedly using or attempting to use a banned drug.

Ikeda was not allowed to participate in the Japan Race Walking Championships in February 2025, and all his competitive results between June 20, 2023 and November 1, 2024 were disqualified.

Ikeda challenged the ruling at CAS in March 2025, rejecting the doping allegations brought by World Athletics, which had alleged blood manipulation based on abnormalities in his Athlete Biological Passport.

The case was heard by a CAS panel in Lausanne in May. While the panel accepted that several readings in Ikeda’s biological profile were abnormal, it found there was a reasonable non-doping explanation for the findings.

CAS said Ikeda supported his case with substantial medical and expert evidence, providing a broader factual basis than was available during the proceedings before the World Athletics tribunal.

The appeal body overturned the four-year sanction, concluding that the anti-doping charge had not been established and that no ban should apply.

Ikeda placed second in the 20km event at the Tokyo Games as well as at the World Championships in Eugene in 2022. He finished seventh at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Ethiopia’s Aga handed six-year doping ban

Ethiopian marathon runner Ruti Aga, winner of the 2019 Tokyo Marathon, was given a six-year ban for the presence or use of the prohibited substance methylprednisolone and tampering with evidence, the AIU said on Thursday.

The AIU said Aga, 32, received a two-year ban after testing positive for methylprednisolone, a prohibited steroid that can reduce pain and fatigue and aid recovery, after winning a half marathon in China in March.

It added four years to the ban after finding she had misled investigators during an interview and submitted a fake prescription to justify her use of the substance.

Aga has been provisionally suspended since September 10, with the ban running from that date.

She has finished second three times and third twice at World Marathon Majors.

Rwanda’s controversial Formula One GP leads Lewis Hamilton to call for freedom for DR Congo, while renewing Palestine plea.

Seven-time Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton has renewed his call for freedom for Palestine when pressed on the controversial decision to award a Grand Prix to Rwanda.

The 41-year-old is the only Black competitor in the motorsport and said an African race would make people more aware of the continent, but recognised there were concerns and used the issue to expand on his stance on humanitarian issues across the world.

Human rights campaigners Amnesty International recently accused Formula One of hollow words and offering Rwanda a “sportswashing prize” – an accusation levelled at countries perceived to be using sport to improve a tarnished image abroad.

Hamilton, who was speaking before Sunday’s US Grand Prix, has long called for a Gaza ceasefire amid Israel’s genocidal war and returned to the matter – as well as other conflicts – when asked about a Grand Prix in Rwanda.

“I think we need to make sure we’re pushing to free Congo, free Sudan, free Syria, free Palestine,” Hamilton said.

“There’s a lot of peace that I’m hoping we get to at some stage.”

Rwanda in the spotlight after Formula One GP award

Rwanda President Paul Kagame has been accused of repressive methods to keep his grip on power, with opponents dying in prisons, independent media muzzled, and other abuses.

Neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) joined the criticism of Formula One’s decision to award a race to Rwanda, which is accused by the DRC, the United States and United Nations experts of backing the M23 rebels fighting in the DRC.

“Of course, I don’t get to choose where we go,” Hamilton continued.

“Naturally, there are problems all over the world today, so I’ve seen many of the stories. But I think we really have to approach it with humility.

“Of course, going there doesn’t mean that you neglect the things that are happening there.

“So hopefully many people start to educate themselves a little bit more about what is happening there and what has happened there for hundreds of years. I hope that does spark the conversation.

“Growing up in England, they never taught us anything about Africa. It needs to be on the curriculum.

“A lot of the problems they have there are still results of colonialism and the West intervening.”

Formula One’s return to Africa has been Hamilton’s dream

Hamilton said a race in Africa was a dream that could keep him going longer in the sport now that Formula One has done a deal with Rwanda for a Grand Prix in the early 2030s.

The Ferrari driver will be 42 in January and has a contract for 2027. Fernando Alonso, the oldest active F1 driver, is 45 and recently signed up for another season with Aston Martin.

“I’m now forced to stay a lot longer because we have a race in Africa, and that’s been my dream, to be able to race in Africa,” Hamilton said on Thursday in a news conference alongside championship leader Kimi Antonelli.

“I have to keep fighting to try and stay fit. If I can still punch out good results over the next year, we’ll keep it going.”

Antonelli, who replaced Hamilton at Mercedes last season and is still only 20 years old, encouraged him: “You got to do at least the first one.”

Hamilton, the sport’s first and only Black champion, has long campaigned for a race in Africa – a continent that last hosted a race at South Africa’s Kyalami circuit in 1993 – and spoke of his efforts.

“Countless meetings with the stakeholders, so many meetings with (F1 CEO) Stefano (Domenicali) at his office in London, but also on race weekends, countless calls: ‘What’s happening? Where are we going? Who are you meeting with?’

“Many meetings with different presidents from different countries. Lots of phone calls with different presidents from different countries within Africa,” he recalled.

“I think for me, it’s a place that deserves to have a Grand Prix. It’s about more than just one country. It’s about the continent itself.”

The world authority on threatened wildlife classified 96 percent of all coral reef systems as “critically endangered”.

Almost all of the world’s shallow-water coral reefs face an extremely high risk of collapse in the next 50 years, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has warned in a new global assessment.

In a report released on Thursday, the world authority on threatened wildlife classified 96 percent of the planet’s coral reef systems as “critically endangered”, its highest risk category, with total extinction possible by 2075.

“The future threat of climate change is looming and severe, and that poses a very high risk to the survival of these ecosystems,” said Mishal Gudka, scientific lead of the IUCN Red List of Coral Reef Ecosystems assessment.

Corals are heat-sensitive and particularly vulnerable to human-driven climate change, which is warming the world’s oceans and increasing the frequency and intensity of damaging bleaching events.

When a reef collapses, hard corals disappear and are replaced by algae, rubble and sponges. As a result, the reef no longer supports a diverse ecosystem that can include everything from tiny invertebrates to reef fish like grouper.

The emergence this year of a “super” El Nino, the natural warming phenomenon, also presents a risk to corals, Gudka said at a news conference at the UN’s COP17 biodiversity summit in Yerevan, Armenia.

It’s the latest dose of bad news for coral reefs, which are critical sources for seafood and tourism and often serve as buffers against coastal erosion and storms.

Sometimes dubbed “rainforests of the sea”, they have some of the world’s richest biodiversity and support a quarter of marine species as well as coastal communities and businesses.

Most of the world’s famous reef systems – including the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, the Coral Triangle in the Western Pacific Ocean and Southeast Asia, the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System and the Red Sea coral reefs – are critically endangered, according to the assessment.

Elevated risk of extinction

For its report, the IUCN used the “middle-of-the-road” scenario from the UN’s panel of climate experts that projects global temperatures rising 2.7C above pre-industrial levels by 2100.

Its analysis examined 127 tropical and subtropical coral systems covering 188,362 square kilometres.

A week ago, another IUCN study in the journal Nature found that nearly 44 percent of reef-building coral species face an elevated risk of extinction due to climate change. A year ago, a survey found that harmful bleaching of the world’s coral had grown to include 84 percent of the ocean’s reefs, the most intense of its kind in recorded history.

Despite its warning, the IUCN said coral reefs in most parts of the world “are not yet lost”.

“Coral reefs have shown a remarkable ability to bounce back from devastating bleaching events,” said Gudka. “Pockets of surviving, resilient coral reefs can still remain in the future, so we must do everything within our reach to set them up for success.”

South Africa storm back to crush Australia by an innings in the second Test and level the series 1-1 with one to play.

⁠South Africa bowled out Australia for 295 to win by an innings and 31 runs in the last session of the second Test at St George’s Park in Gqeberha on Thursday to level the three-match ⁠series, winning a race against looming bad weather.

The hosts’ pace trio of Wiaan Mulder, Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen took the last four wickets required as Australia’s resistance crumbled after a century from Travis Head and a doggedly defiant Test high 40 by ⁠nightwatchman Scott Boland.

Mulder, who earlier dismissed Head, then bowled Boland and castled Australia captain Pat Cummins to forge a breakthrough, with Rabada dismissing Mitchell Starc and Jansen finishing off the innings with Josh Hazlewood caught in the slips.

A result in the Test seemed far-fetched when most of the first two days’ play was washed out and South Africa, who were 110-6 when the sun came out on the ‌morning of the third day, looked in early trouble as Australia aimed to capitalise on their success in the first Test.

But a brilliant 179 runs from skipper Temba Bavuma led a fightback that saw South Africa declare on 425-9 and then turn the Test on its head by bowling Australia out for 99 and putting them in to bat again.

Head and Boland had resumed on 156-4 in the second innings after rain returned and wiped out the morning session and Head, who was 87 overnight, went on to score 121 before chopping onto his stumps a rising delivery from Mulder.

It was Head’s 13th Test century but only his second outside Australia, and his departure offered the home bowlers hope ⁠again after almost 90 minutes of frustrating attack without success at the start of the day’s action.

“We were scrambling a bit, not sure about the weather and Australia made us work hard for those last six wickets,” said Bavuma.

Steve Smith, who battled with a neck problem in the first innings on Wednesday, ⁠made three as he came in at number seven.

The former captain was tempted into pulling a delivery from Rabada, bowling with the second new ball, but only got a top edge to ⁠Matthew Breetzke, who juggled it at mid-wicket before holding the catch.

Boland, who batted for ⁠166 balls as he put a high price on his wicket, went soon after tea, when he was bowled through the gate. Then Cummins (4) played down the wrong line and was also clean bowled in Mulder’s next over.

When Rabada came back for a fresh spell as dark clouds loomed ominously overhead, he immediately ‌bowled Starc (11), leaving one wicket to get, which Jansen snagged as Hazlewood showed no sign of sticking around and nicked behind the first ball.

Alex Carey, who lasted only two balls in Australia’s first innings, was 37 not out, with Rabada taking 4-77 on his ‌return ‌after a lengthy injury layoff, and Mulder 3-64.

“I thought we showed some good fight, but it wasn’t quite enough. We were a long way from our best,” said Cummins.

The last Test at Newlands in Cape Town starts on Tuesday.

Second Test, Gqeberha (day five of five)

South Africa 425-9 dec: Bavuma 179, Jansen 85; Boland 5-81

Australia 99 & 295: Head 121; Rabada 4-77, Mulder 3-64

South Africa won by an innings and 31 runs

Scorecard

South Africa broke Australia’s resistance in the final session to complete a famous victory in the second Test and set up a series decider in Cape Town.

Travis Head made 121 for Australia and Scott Boland survived 166 deliveries for 40 runs in an attempt to escape Gqeberha with a draw – the tourists’ hopes also boosted by the first session being wiped out by rain.

But the Proteas stuck to their task to take the six wickets needed to win by an innings and 31 runs as the light faded late on the last day.

Premier paceman Kagiso Rabada finished with 4-77 while Marco Jansen, whose 5-33 on day four put South Africa in the ascendancy, took the final wicket as Australia were dismissed for 295.

But all-rounder Wiaan Mulder also played a crucial hand, bowling with accuracy and finding movement off the pitch to dismiss Head, Boland and Australia captain Pat Cummins.

Some of South Africa’s great Test wins have come against Australia – notably in the last World Test Championship final two years ago and a Test on this ground in 2018 in the infamous Sandpaper series. This must surely rank highly among them.

They were heavily beaten in the first Test in Durban and when 40-4 and 110-6 in their first innings of this Test, there appeared only one winner in this series.

Instead, the contest has been turned on its head by Bavuma’s epic 179 and South Africa twice dismissing Australia, setting up a tantalising finale in Cape Town.

The third Test begins on Tuesday.

Neve Jones will win her 50th Ireland cap as Stacey Flood and Dorothy Wall return for the first of two WXV Global Series Tests against South Africa in Cape Town.

Gloucester-Hartpury’s Jones is named at hooker, while Flood and Wall are reinstalled at full-back and lock for Saturday’s game at Athlone Stadium (14:00 BST).

Wall’s return to partner Jane Clohessy in the second row means Fione Tuite-O’Sullivan switches to blind-side flanker, while Brittany Hogan starts at number eight to deputise for injured star Aoife Wafer.

Jemima Adams Verling, who filled in for Wafer in the 43-19 win over Japan in Cork on 3 October, drops to the bench.

Flood, who replaces Niamh Gallagher in the 15 jersey, is joined by Beibhinn Parsons and Robyn O’Connor in the back three. Anna McGann and Aoife Dalton are again paired in midfield, while Dannah O’Brien and Emily Lane continue their half-back partnership.

Linda Djougang continues at loose-head prop with Eilis Cahill at tight-head either side of Jones, while Erin King captains the team from open-side flanker.

Kate Jordan, who made her debut as a second-half replacement for King in the win over Japan, is one of six forwards on the bench alongside Beth Buttimer, Niamh O’Dowd, Sadhbh McGrath, Grace Moore and Adams Verling.

Aoibheann Reilly and Eve Higgins provide backline cover from the bench.

Ireland’s only previous meeting with South Africa was a 2006 Women’s Rugby World Cup match in Canada, which the Irish won 37-0.

Scott Bemand’s side opened their WXV campaign with defeat by the United States before bouncing back to beat Japan in Galway. They also defeated Japan in Cork in a non-WXV Test match in Cork.

After Saturday’s first meeting, Ireland face South Africa again in Cape Town on 31 October.

Ireland: Stacey Flood; Beibhinn Parsons, Anna McGann, Aoife Dalton, Robyn O’Connor; Dannah O’Brien, Emily Lane; Linda Djougang, Neve Jones, Eilis Cahill, Jane Clohessy, Dorothy Wall, Fiona Tuite-O’Sullivan, Erin King (capt), Brittany Hogan.

Replacements: Beth Buttimer, Niamh O’Dowd, Sadhbh McGrath, Kate Jordan, Grace Moore, Jemima Adams Verling, Aoibheann Reilly, Eve Higgins.

Until now, the virus was considered non-transferable to humans, making the patient the first documented human case.

French authorities have confirmed that a patient who died at a Lyon hospital earlier in October was infected with the Shamonda virus, the first such report of the virus in a human.

In a statement on Thursday, the French Ministry of Agriculture stressed that there were no identifiable health risks to the general population at this time.

Shamonda is an orthobunyavirus – a group of viruses primarily carried and spread by insects – transmitted to animals, mainly cattle, by biting midges of the genus Culicoides.

It was first detected in Nigeria in the 1960s, but has since been reported sporadically in East and Southern Africa, as well as Japan.

Until now, the virus was considered non-transmissible to humans, making the patient in France the first documented human case.

The French announcement said the leading hypothesis was that the patient was infected in eastern France, where the virus had circulated among animals this spring and summer.

“Clinical, biological and epidemiological investigations are continuing in conjunction with expertise in human, animal and environmental health,” the statement added.

Shamonda was first confirmed in Europe in late July after genomic tests on sick cattle in southern Germany, Switzerland and eastern France.

A report from France’s ‌weekly animal health surveillance bulletin said the virus had also been detected in Austria, Belgium, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, and the United Kingdom’s Jersey.

Mekelle, Ethiopia- In Mekelle, shops are reopening, and banks are resuming services, but residents remain anxious about what comes next. Ethiopian federal forces and allied fighters retook the Tigray regional capital on October 4, as renewed fighting raised fears that the region’s fragile recovery could be derailed once again.

Tigray, in northern Ethiopia, is still recovering from the 2020–2022 war between federal forces and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), the region’s dominant political movement. For residents, the return of fighting has brought new uncertainty over jobs, education, security and the future.

Daily life resumes, but hardship remains.

Businesses and financial services are gradually reopening in Mekelle, but many households are struggling to afford necessities. Delayed salaries have left public employees struggling to cover food, rent and school costs, while years of conflict have depleted family savings.

“Things may be reopening, but that does not mean our problems are over. We still have expenses every day, and without our salaries, it is difficult to know how we will manage,” said Gebregziabher, a public servant in Mekelle.

The funding crisis has affected the wider public sector. In March, Tigray’s interim administration said it could no longer cover monthly salaries for about 137,000 civil servants because expected federal budget transfers had not arrived. In April, the regional finance bureau reported an 8.5-billion-birr (about $52,000) funding shortfall affecting salary payments and development projects.

For many residents, the reopening of businesses offers only a partial return to normality. Without reliable incomes and greater security, everyday expenses remain difficult to manage.

Students fear losing more time

For students in Tigray, renewed fighting has revived fears of another interruption to their education. Many already lost valuable study time during the previous war and worry about falling further behind.

In Adigrat, Shewit, a grade 10 student, said uncertainty about classes and security had left him worried about his future.

“I have already lost so much time because of the war. I am afraid that if our education is disrupted again, I will lose another year and fall further behind,” he said.

Some university students have left Tigray for Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital, to seek transfers to other public universities. The Ministry of Education announced temporary placements at universities elsewhere in the country for students enrolled at institutions in Tigray. More than 5,000 returning students had applied by September 17–18, according to reporting on the ministry’s programme.

Abel, a third-year student at Axum University, travelled to Addis Ababa to request a transfer.

“I didn’t want to leave, but I also can’t keep putting my education on hold. I came to Addis to see if I can transfer to another university and continue my studies. I just want to finish what I started,” he said.

For students who have already lost years to conflict, the uncertainty means more than interrupted classes. It threatens to delay graduation and make an already difficult path to employment even harder.

Border communities fear a wider conflict

Near the Eritrean border, military movements and conflicting accounts of troop deployments have heightened fears that the fighting could spread beyond Tigray.

On October 8, The Associated Press reported claims by a commander allied with Ethiopia’s government that Eritrean troops had entered Adigrat earlier that week and Idaga Hamus the following day. The AP said it could not independently verify those accounts. The conflict-monitoring organisation ACLED separately reported Eritrean troops crossing the border at Zalambessa.

On October 13, Reuters reported that Ethiopian government forces had advanced into Zalambessa, citing people in contact with residents and other sources. The report said it remained unclear whether Eritrean troops or Tigrayan opposition fighters were still present in the town. The differing accounts underscored the difficulty of establishing control of individual towns as the fighting shifted.

The developments have unfolded amid worsening relations between Addis Ababa and Asmara. On October 8, Ethiopia’s foreign minister, Gedion Timothewos, accused Eritrea of sending troops as far as 60km (37 miles) into Ethiopian territory in several areas of Tigray and appealed to the United Nations Security Council to respond.

Eritrea has denied invading Ethiopian territory. Its government said Ethiopia’s accusations amounted to a declaration of war and called on the Security Council to take action against Ethiopia. The competing claims have raised fears that renewed fighting in Tigray could lead to a direct confrontation between the two neighbours.

Ethiopia and Eritrea fought on the same side during the 2020–2022 Tigray war, when Eritrean forces supported the federal government against the TPLF. Their deteriorating relations have added a regional dimension to the renewed conflict.

In Zalambessa, residents are watching developments with concern. One resident, who declined to be named, said the uncertainty made it difficult to know what to expect in the coming weeks.

An uncertain road ahead

On October 16, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced a six-month caretaker administration for Tigray, tasked with restoring public services, helping displaced people return and preparing the region for elections. The announcement followed the federal forces’ takeover of Mekelle and other major towns.

The federal government says the temporary administration will help restore stability and pave the way for elected regional leadership. The TPLF has opposed the federal advance, and it remains uncertain how effectively the new administration will operate across the region.

For residents, the immediate concerns are whether salaries will be paid, schools and health facilities will function, and displaced families will be able to return safely.

In Zalambessa, Gebrehiwot said residents knew from experience what another conflict could bring.

“People are worried because we know what war means for this area. We have already suffered enough, and nobody wants to see things reach that point again,” he said.

If Katich’s words seem strong for a side 1-0 up in the series, this South African subsidence was the latest example of an Australian batting line-up only consistent for its inconsistency.

Bowled out for 132 in the first Test of the Ashes last winter, they piled up 511 in Brisbane in the next.

They scored 567 at the end of the Ashes, but were bundled out for 198 by Bangladesh in their next Test en route to a shock defeat.

Even the highs of Matt Renshaw’s 190 in the first-Test win in Durban were countered by the fact no other Australian made 50.

And after another failure, Marnus Labuschagne appears the most at risk. He will not get another chance to bat for his place before Cape Town hosts the third Test from 27 October.

After edging a drive to third slip for 14 off Anrich Nortje in the morning, he gave it away by hitting spinner Simon Harmer to long-on after tea for 39 – his third dismissal in the thirties in the series.

It was made worse by the fact he had only survived an lbw decision on review just three balls earlier.

It is now 47 innings since the 32-year-old, once the leading batter in the world, has made a Test century.

“Only he knows what was going through his mind when he tried to take Harmer down the ground, against the breeze, when Australia are trying to play for a draw,” added Katich.

“How will the Australian selectors view that dismissal?

“He’s been given plenty of rope over the past few years, when plenty of others haven’t, but he has.”

Musanze, Rwanda – Jean Claude Hategekimana feared that returning to Rwanda could cost him his life. After years with the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), he decided to leave the armed group and return home. At Rwanda’s Mutobo Demobilisation and Reintegration Centre, he began preparing for civilian life.

Born in 1996 in Rutsiro District, in western Rwanda, Hategekimana moved to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) with his parents and grew up in an area controlled by the FDLR. He joined the group in 2018, underwent military training and eventually reached the rank of captain.

“I arrived at the Mutobo Centre after fighting to defend Goma. Following our defeat, I fled to Masisi. After realising that I was fighting for nothing, I decided to return to Rwanda. I came back on February 24,” he told Al Jazeera.

Hategekimana said FDLR members had been taught that anyone who returned to Rwanda would be killed.

“Upon arriving in Rwanda, I realised that the FDLR had been lying to us. For me, returning home felt like embarking on a suicide mission,” he said.

His experience illustrates the challenge of reintegrating former fighters whose beliefs and fears have been shaped by years in an armed group.

Rebuilding civilian life

Francis Musoni, secretary-general of the Rwanda Demobilisation and Reintegration Commission, said the Mutobo centre, located in Musanze in Rwanda’s Northern Province, was established in 2001 to receive members of the FDLR and other Rwandan armed groups returning from the DRC.

The FDLR emerged in the aftermath of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsis. After the genocide, members of the former Rwandan armed forces and militia groups fled to what was then Zaire, now the DRC. The Rwandan government accuses the FDLR of carrying out attacks against Rwanda and contributing to cross-border insecurity.

At Mutobo, the rehabilitation programme includes medical care, psychosocial support, civic education and assistance with reconnecting with families. Returnees can also contact relatives and friends through a telephone service, Musoni said.

“We help them to build confidence among themselves, build trust, and empower them to go back into the community and contribute to the development of the country together with their families,” he said.

The centre also allows visitors and media representatives to meet returnees. Musoni said those undergoing rehabilitation can visit their communities for short periods to help rebuild their confidence in returning home.

“They can travel to their communities [during rehabilitation]. They are given written permission for a week or two, and we even facilitate transport,” he said.

Different journeys home

For the former commanders interviewed by Al Jazeera at Mutobo, the decision to leave the FDLR was shaped by family ties, disillusionment and concerns about personal safety.

Major-General Anastase Munyaneza served in the former Rwandan armed forces in Kigali’s Kicukiro District during the 1994 genocide. He said he left Rwanda after the genocide and later joined the FDLR, eventually commanding its South Kivu sector.

Although he had come to accept the group’s beliefs, Munyaneza remained in contact with his family in Rwanda. News of their lives made him question his own circumstances.

“I was the only one who had fled to the DRC. I regularly received news about them. I knew they were still alive, attending school, working for the government and improving their lives. I began asking myself what I was doing in the forest,” he said.

He added that seeing other members return safely encouraged him to consider going home.

Munyaneza said he contacted personnel from the United Nations Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), who transported him from South Kivu to Bukavu and then to the Congolese-Rwandan border. He subsequently proceeded to Mutobo.

Lieutenant-Colonel Idrissa Bizimana, who was responsible for ideology, propaganda and recruitment within the FDLR, said his decision to return followed a change in his convictions.

“I no longer believed in the ideology I had been promoting. After receiving verified information about what was happening in Rwanda, I decided to return home,” he said.

Bizimana said he had been in contact with a MONUSCO general who had offered to help him return. Using a satellite phone equipped with GPS, he sent his location and the date. A helicopter was then dispatched to retrieve him, he said.

Lieutenant-Colonel Emilien Mpakaniye, who joined the FDLR in 1998 and was responsible for economic affairs at its headquarters, said he began questioning the organisation after becoming disillusioned with what he described as its lies.

Colonel Augustin Nshimiyimana, a former FDLR intelligence commander, returned to Rwanda in 2022 and underwent rehabilitation at Mutobo. He said he decided to leave after another commander accused him of working with Rwanda following a disagreement over a mission in Bujumbura.

Nshimiyimana said the accusation made him fear for his life.

“When they accuse you of working with Rwanda, it means they consider you a Tutsi, and the next step is to kill you,” he said.

Preparing for a new life

At Mutobo, former fighters receive education and practical support to prepare for life after discharge.

Febronie Mukankiko, a teacher at the centre, said teaching people who grew up in the forest required a different approach.

“Our students are different from ordinary students. They are adults who grew up in the forest, so teaching them requires special skills. We undergo additional training to ensure that we can teach them effectively,” she said.

She added that completing their studies could be a significant achievement for those with limited access to formal education.

“When they graduate and receive their certificates, they are very happy,” she said.

Musoni said the average stay at the centre was five months, after which returnees completed a formal discharge process. He said assistance could include financial support, vocational training, formal education and help establishing income-generating activities. The commission also follows up with former residents to assess how they are adjusting to life in their communities.

For those who have spent years away from Rwanda, leaving Mutobo marks the start of another transition: finding work, reconnecting with family and adjusting to civilian society.

For Mpakaniye, disillusionment came partly from the contrast between the lives of senior commanders’ families and those of ordinary fighters.

“First, their family members live in Rwanda and in Europe, while ours are in the forest,” he said.

Gambian authorities have announced that funds from the sale of the country’s former president’s mansion in the United States would be used to pay reparations to victims of his rule.

The Gambia Reparations Commission confirmed Tuesday that it received just more than $2.5m from the sale of a property in the wealthy Washington, DC suburb of Potomac, Maryland, belonging to ex-President Yahya Jammeh.

The commission, which was set up to compensate victims of abuses committed during Jammeh’s 22-year rule ending in 2017, said in a statement that “the funds were deposited directly into the Reparations Fund account at the Central Bank of The Gambia and shall only be utilized for the payment of reparations”.

“The Commission is committed to ensuring that the funds are managed responsibly, transparently and accountably, with due regard to the rights and needs of victims and survivors,” it added.

Jammeh currently lives in Equatorial Guinea, after he was forced out under pressure from The Gambia’s West African neighbours following his 2016 election loss to current President Adama Barrow.

He is accused of presiding over the murder of political opponents, disappearances, rape and torture.

A commission of inquiry estimated that between 240 and 250 victims were killed by Jammeh’s forces in the former British colony of two million people.

Proceeds from corruption

President Barrow said in a statement that his government would heed any recommendations by official auditors on how the funds would be allocated to victims.

The US Justice Department filed a civil forfeiture complaint in 2020 alleging that the property was bought with proceeds of corruption. A court ordered its forfeiture in 2022.

The property, it asserted, was purchased through a trust set up by Jammeh’s wife.

The US Justice Department had announced in September that it would return the funds from the mansion sale to The Gambia.

A 24-year-old man, who was already being held in quarantine, is the latest to test positive, according to the Health Ministry.

⁠Kenya has confirmed ⁠a new Ebola case, bringing the total ‌number of infections in the country to ⁠nine, amid an outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), raising concerns about a regional spread.

A 24-year-old man, who was already being held in quarantine, is the latest to test positive, Kenya’s Ministry of Health said in a statement on Tuesday.

“He was isolated at the first sign of illness, tested and started on treatment immediately upon confirmation of his positive test result,” it said, adding he “was already in quarantine when he fell ill”.

The man was a close family member of Kenya’s first Ebola patient, who had travelled from the DRC, through Uganda and before arriving in Kenya and dying at a Nairobi hospital on ⁠October 5.

“All nine cases belong to one cluster, and as of ‌today there is no evidence of transmission outside this group,” Director-General for Health Patrick Amoth said in a statement on Tuesday.

“Eight patients are stable and responding well to treatment, while 134 of 135 contacts have been traced and quarantined,” Amoth said.

Amoth said a milestone was in sight for the majority of the contacts in quarantine as they had remained well for the 21-day monitoring period and could return home from October 25.

It appealed to communities to welcome them back, saying they “pose no risk of infection”.

The ministry said no infections had occurred within quarantine facilities and that it was continuously monitoring infection-prevention measures to protect health workers.

Despite the nine infections, Kenya has not imposed restrictions on travel, trade or public gatherings, with authorities saying the country remains open for business.

In the DRC, there have been more than 9,000 Ebola cases and 4,000 deaths since May.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control says it’s the second-largest epidemic on record.

It has been difficult to contain because there is no licensed vaccine or specific treatment for the Bundibugyo strain of the virus.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport will announce its verdict on the title after it was awarded to Morocco by CAF.

A decision on Senegal’s appeal ‌‌after being stripped of this year’s Africa Cup of Nations title will be made ⁠⁠at the end of ⁠⁠November, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has confirmed.

“This process will require several weeks, with the CAS Award expected at the end of November 2026,” the court said in a statement on Monday.

Senegal are contesting the decision by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to declare Morocco champions, despite Senegal beating the hosts ⁠⁠1-0 after extra time in January’s final in Rabat. Their arguments, plus those of Morocco and CAF, were heard by CAS in Lausanne on October 8.

At the time, CAS said ⁠⁠it expected a decision within days but has now decided to issue a complete ruling, including legal grounds, known as a CAS Award.

Senegal walked off the pitch for 14 minutes ‌‌after a penalty was awarded against them late in regulation time, with several players returning to the dressing room in protest before they resumed play.

Morocco missed the spot kick, sending the match into extra time, where Senegal scored the winner to secure victory.

However, they were stripped of the title two months later after CAF’s Appeal Board ruled that Senegal had forfeited the match by walking off the pitch, overturning the result and awarding a 3-0 victory to ⁠⁠Morocco.

Senegal quickly followed with an appeal to CAS, ⁠⁠which was lodged on March 25 but heard some six months later. The basis of their arguments is that the referee’s decision is final and he allowed the match to be completed.

“I know it’s a long wait for the fans, ⁠ ⁠a few months after the final between Senegal and Morocco,” CAS Director General Matthieu Reeb said outside the hearing earlier this month.

“The facts are set, are clear and the discussions will be on some procedural issues and legal aspects,” he added.

The CAS panel is presided over by French sports law expert Gerald Simon, with the assistance of Italian international law ‌‌professor Luigi Fumagalli and Hamburg-based lawyer and professor of law at the University of Zurich, Ulrich Haas.

CAS decisions are called awards and hold the same value as a national court judgement. CAS awards may be enforced by sports federations or state courts, depending on the circumstances.

Mogadishu, Somalia – The fishing town of Bander Beyla, on Somalia’s Puntland coast, has become a focal point of the renewed piracy crisis. But beyond the hijackings and international security operations, residents are struggling to protect their livelihoods as fishing restrictions, arrests and surveillance reshape daily life.

Abdifatah Mohamed has spent 20 years fishing off Somalia’s coast. He began at 15, but says declining catches and foreign trawlers have made it increasingly difficult to support his family.

“I don’t catch as much fish anymore, and the prospects for catching lobsters have become rare,” the 35-year-old said.

“Foreign trawlers are emptying out the seas,” he added.

Somalia’s central government collapsed in 1991, weakening maritime oversight and leaving its waters vulnerable to illegal fishing. Some fishermen, angered by foreign vessels exploiting the country’s resources, have turned to piracy.

“We’re [fishermen] no match for the foreign trawlers, who possess capabilities far greater than us, which impacts the livelihoods of our families on land,” Mohamed said.

He added, “Some from our community have taken up arms at sea, but deep down I know it’s hurting our community.”

Piracy has surged off Somalia since late April 2026. The reported number of hijackings varies according to whether counts include commercial ships, fishing vessels and dhows. Several seized vessels have been held near Bander Beyla, bringing the crisis close to the town’s fishing community.

In late August, local authorities restricted fishermen from going to sea amid concerns that pirates were disguising themselves as fishermen.

“The local authorities gave an order the last week of August preventing us from going out at sea, which would remain in effect for two months,” Mohamed said.

“Our families depend on what we catch at sea. Even though our catches [of fish] have gone down in recent years, it helped provide for our families at home. But it’s like we were being punished for crimes we have nothing to do with, and our families have suffered for it.”

For fishermen, Mohamed said, going to sea has become a risk whether they obey the restrictions or defy them.

“It’s a two-way risk, because if the authorities know you went out to sea, they could accuse you of piracy or even transporting supplies to the ships that were hijacked,” he noted.

“While out at sea, you could face arrest or violence from international navies, and get mistaken for pirates, and taken away to a jail in a foreign land. It’s happened to a lot of men from this town.”

Abdirizak Said, who has fished in Bander Beyla for 15 years, said the crackdown has deepened the hardship faced by residents.

“Dozens have been arrested, most of them after they brought food or khat to the pirates, when the ships were anchored near Bander Bayla,” he said.

“Businesses and stores were even ordered by the [local] government not to sell anything to pirates, and if they do, they’ll be viewed as pirates themselves.”

The networks behind piracy

Some of the people involved in the hijackings come from the same town now bearing the consequences.

“Some of the pirates involved in the hijackings are from Bander Bayla and hail from this community,” Said added.

Jethro Norman, a senior researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS), said that piracy cannot be understood solely as a criminal activity at sea. It also depends on networks on land that can provide money, equipment, manpower and protection.

“Kinship networks can effectively function as a form of financial and social infrastructure, and for piracy, this is no different,” he said. “Pirate groups have historically been able to mobilise credit, and get equipment, manpower and protection.”

“In other words, clan relationships can underwrite the practical resources and act of mobilising that make piracy possible. This is precisely why effective counter piracy requires understanding the land-based networks that make those operations possible,” Norman added.

These networks also help explain why efforts to disrupt piracy reach into ordinary commercial life. Said noted that the consequences extend beyond fishing: boats carrying supplies from Yemen to Somalia have stopped arriving, for instance.

“The boats that used to bring supplies from Yemen have also ceased, because of these [pirate] attacks,” he said.

Residents push back

Despite the disruption, Mohamed said that some residents have tried to prevent young men from joining the attacks.

“Recently there was an attempt by local youth with guns trying to go out at sea, but the residents told them not to do it and that they would be harming their community even more,” Mohamed said.

“It was civilians that took the initiative to stop them and not the government because it’s the civilians in this town that will suffer the blowback if they launch attacks from here,” he added.

Two local government officials, speaking anonymously because they were not authorised to talk to the press, confirmed that restrictions had been imposed to weaken the local support networks supplying pirates.

“The security restrictions were lifted on October 1 after successful anti-piracy operations led to the release of three ships,” the first local official said.

The International Maritime Organization confirmed on October 2 that three hijacked vessels, Honour 25, Seamull (also known as Sibu 1) and Eureka, had been freed. It said 44 seafarers were released and reported that five crew members died during the rescue operation involving Honour 25.

The lifting of restrictions has not ended the visible security presence around Bander Beyla, according to the officials.

“Military helicopters flying inland from the sea routinely hover over the town, and these flyovers are more frequent in the nearby remote coastal areas,” one local government official added.

“They’re looking for any movements of armed individuals on the coast,” a second local government official said.

Both officials said the helicopters belonged to the European Union Naval Force, which has conducted counter-piracy operations in the region for years.

Security forces stretched thin

The renewed attacks have emerged amid wider regional instability and competing demands on maritime security forces. Abdinur Abdella, a Somali political and security analyst, said international naval attention shifted after Houthi attacks began in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden in late 2023.

“When Houthis began carrying out attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden in late 2023 in response to the conflict in Gaza, it saw international navies change their focus and efforts to the Houthi threat, which allowed armed groups active on the Somali coast to take advantage of the lax in security,” Abdella said.

Norman said Puntland’s maritime forces have also been diverted by other security challenges.

“The PMPF [Puntland Maritime Police Force] has been stretched thin by its fight against ISIS in the Al-Miskad mountains. It also lost some personnel to the 2023 anti-Somaliland rebellion in Las Anod,” he told Al Jazeera. “Some Dhulbahante fighters from Puntland’s forces, including the PMPF, joined the uprising, which wrested roughly a third of Somaliland’s claimed territory from its control.”

“Again, this links back to the clan dimension, and the strength of kinship ties and obligations as essential to understanding contemporary piracy networks and counter piracy initiatives,” Norman added.

For residents of Bander Beyla, these overlapping security pressures are not abstract geopolitical developments. They determine whether fishermen can work, whether supplies arrive and whether people risk being mistaken for pirates.

Said noted that the presence of aircraft remains a reminder that even after restrictions were lifted, fishermen are still being watched.

“We can hear the sound of aircraft and the louder it gets, the closer they are, so we know they’re watching,” he said. “I just want to make a living without worrying whether I’ll make it back to shore safely.”

Kenyan health authorities say latest patient was likely exposed to the country’s first Ebola case.

Kenyan health authorities say an eighth Ebola case has been detected, bringing the total number of known infections in the East African nation to eight.

Director-General for Health Patrick Amoth told Kenya’s Citizen TV that of the 38 people tested on Sunday, one had returned a positive result.

“He is a 49-year-old man who is not a healthcare worker. He developed fever, headache and muscle pain,” he said.

Amoth said the man, who worked as a patient attendant cleaning utensils and linens, was likely exposed to Kenya’s first Ebola case, discovered earlier this month.

He developed symptoms on Saturday, was quarantined and tested for the virus, a Ministry of Health source said.

The ministry reported four new cases on Saturday, three of whom were health workers who treated the country’s first Ebola patient, a man who travelled from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to Nairobi and died at a Nairobi hospital on October 5.

In a post on X, the ministry said the fourth person was related to the deceased patient.

Kenya has been on heightened alert, as the Ebola outbreak has spilled across the border from the DRC. The current outbreak is of the Bundibugyo strain of the virus, for which there is no vaccine or specific treatment.

The DRC has recorded at least 9,400 cases, including more than 4,500 deaths, in the deadliest outbreak in the country’s history, which started in May.

Ituri province in eastern DRC remains the disease’s epicentre, accounting for almost three quarters of confirmed cases, according to the government’s most recent data. It announced on Sunday that the virus has reached an eighth province, North Ubangi.

State-run news agency ACP reported on Sunday that authorities in North Kivu province, where the World Health Organization said substantial transmission continues, are introducing a one-week ban from Monday on people entering the province from Ituri in an effort to slow the spread.

Other measures set to be introduced include restrictions on passenger numbers in cars and on motorbikes and suspension of large public gatherings.

Neighbouring Uganda recorded 20 confirmed cases, including 15 imported from the DRC, and two deaths, before it was declared Ebola-free in August.