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[UN News] The "indiscriminate consequences" of the COVID-19 pandemic have underscored the importance of multilateralism and how the world handles global challenges and contradictions, the President of Burundi told world leaders gathered virtually for the UN General Assembly.

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Mali on Friday swore in Bah Ndaw as its interim president.  In his inauguration speech in the capital Bamako, the retired army Colonel pledged to end a militant insurgency in the country's north and to stop organized crime. The military junta which overthrew president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita named Ndaw as its transitional head of state on Monday after pressure from regional authorities and the international community. Ndaw takes over at a time when Mali is battling multiple crises including a jihadist insurgency in the centre and north, a falling economy, the coronavirus pandemic and huge political polarisation.  Colonel Assimi Goita, who led the coup against Keita will serve as Ndaw's deputy. 

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[263Chat] President Emmerson Mnangagwa last night avoided the political crisis narrative that gathered momentum recently choosing to attribute what he said is a humanitarian crisis to economic sanctions, climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic.

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[RFI] Scientists in Gabon have revealed how giant pangolins share their burrows with bats, potentially exposing the shy, nocturnal animals to viruses that could pass to humans in the central African markets where pangolins are slaughtered and traded.

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[263Chat] Medical doctors have expressed concern over what they are frustrating measures introduced by the government to reduce brain drain in the country amid reports that health workers are growing impatient with the economic situation in the country and seeking greener pastures abroad.

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[Namibian] HEALTH minister Kalumbi Shangula says he does not know whether Namibia has any capability to perform angiography in the public health sector.

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[Namibian] TECH enthusiasts and coders can now benefit from a physical space with equipment enabling them to conduct their business efficiently.

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[Namibian] ABOUT 30 households at the farm Petrusfontein, some 30 kilometres from Khorixas, have been without clean drinking water for the past 15 years, and their water woes seem to be far from over.

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[East African] Paul Rusesabagina has for the first time admitted in public to being part of an opposition group that formed a rebel wing that claimed a spate of attacks in Rwanda which left civilians dead.

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[Vanguard] Thirteen States in Nigeria may have become technically insolvent as an independent research report indicated they failed fiscal sustainability test.

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They are only one win away from the NBA finals after their Thursday victory over the Denver Nuggets, but a lot would be remembered about this day for Los Angeles Lakers. Star player LeBron James personally addressed the decision not to charge Louisville police officers for the killing of Breonna Taylor. "You just look at the history of America, and the disrespect that black women has gotten all the last 400 years, I mean you can't turn a blind eye to that" James said in a the post match briefing". He continued saying "there are so many black women that's done so many things for me and I've seen the sacrifices they've made, especially my mom when I was growing up. There was still disrespect along that way and it's still like that today. In Breonna Taylor's case, it shows once again that the walls of a neighbor is more important than her life". James explained It was " important to let black women know that they're not alone. No matter the disrespect or what they may feel, don't stop, because that's what exactly they you guys to do. They want you to stop". Athlete after athlete, as well as some prominent media members, have lamented the case and everything it represents.  - The Breonna Taylor story-  A 26-year-old Black emergency-room technician, Ms. Taylor, was killed March 13 when three officers executed a search warrant at her Louisville apartment. Her boyfriend thought they were intruders, according to his attorney, and shot at them.  According to Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, the officers —former Detective Brett Hankison, Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly and Detective Myles Cosgrove— fired more than 30 bullets in response. Sgt. Mattingly had been injured from Ms. Taylors boyfriends initial shots. So, three officers were involved in the police raid that ended with Breonna Taylor shot dead in her home in Kentucky but now only one of them has been charged. The charged officer in fact not in relation to her death as Brett Hankison faces three counts of "wanton endangerment" for firing into an adjacent apartment, putting Ms Taylor's neighbours at risk. The decision taken Wednesday has sparked bewilderment and moved hundreds to take to the streets of Louisville and other parts of the US in protests. - LeBron James Reaction - LeBron had previously reacted to the Taylor ruling on Twitter, blasting the decision to only charge one police officer for shooting into the walls of other apartments. He finished with a near triple-double of 26 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists in 38 minutes in the Denver game.

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[Nation] Juba -- Key Sudanese parties are set to sign the final peace deal in Juba early next month to cement an initial agreement inked in August, the mediation team confirmed on Thursday.

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Environmental activist Medoune Ndoye alias Medza, has been on a mission for months to clean up the coastline of his native town Bargny in Senegal whose beach borders a fishing settlement that is wedged in by a motorway and industrial sites and has now become a festering trash dump for the town’s 60,000 residents for lack of regional disposal facilities. Medza shares his frustrations after raising more for tools to carry out a 3-day cleanup of the beach, "This is the part that we cleaned up on the 15th and 16th of August but this morning I came back to check it out, but to my great surprise it seems as if we didn't do anything." The Senegalese government — in an attempt to tackle the national ecological issue, banned single-use plastic this year. A move which appeared to have little impact on the ground. Daouda Moustafa Diouf, deputy mayor of Bargny, stated some initiatives taken by the government, "Last year, in 2019, we made major investments because we became aware of what was happening here. Really it was in an indescribable state. The commune has taken care of it, and I can assure you that there are over 100 lorries worth of rubbish, of waste that has been extracted from this site." Trash collection points will be designated across town to discourage inhabitants from dumping. However, refuge dumped overboard by local fishermen and industrial trawlers that washes onto the beach will also have to be addressed. And Bargny's pollution problems go beyond the beach as a detritus-filled canal leading to the sea is so polluted that its water is sometimes stained pink or green.

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Dina Ekanga is a Congolese 'nail' artist who was inspired by the Nkisi Nkondi sculptures of the Kongo people.

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[Premium Times] Torrential rains accompanied by strong winds have in recent weeks wreaked havoc in the North-central sub-region of Nigeria.

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Nearly 830,000 people have been affected by the devastating floods in Sudan, the UN Office for Humanitarian Affairs said on Thursday, even though flood waters have been receding in recent days. Most of the damage is found in Khartoum, North Darfur, West Darfur, Blue Nile and Sennar regions of Sudan. Figures from the Sudanese Civil Defense say 124 people died and 54 were injured in the floods. In mid-September, the country's leaders declared a state of emergency and appealed for international assistance to deal with the disaster.  According to the United Nations, the torrential rains are increasing the risk of disease and hampering efforts to contain the coronavirus pandemic. The African nation through which the Nile river flows is in the middle of its rainy season, which lasts from June to October.

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This week, Business Africa takes a journey across the continent telling stories of bounty harvests, debt relief and innovative financing solutions to the global challenge of climate change. - Financing Green Economies - Climate change could push more than 100 million people below the poverty line by 2030 within developing countries. And yet with limited resources including finance, chances of taking action are bleak. The solution? Innovative and adaptive financing solutions to boost the resilience of African countries to climate change.  In an interview, we speak with  Patrick Verkooijen, the CEO of Global Center on Adaptation , the body which manages the Global Commission on Adaptation chaired by the world bank’s Ban Ki-moon. Patrick discusses adaptive financing and why it is seen as an effective way of mobilizing much needed resource. - High demand for Chilli in Ivory Coast - Ivory Coast is one of many African countries where the youthful population loves food spiced with Chilli. Jacques Henry, a former property manager has set his mind on satisfying the demand of nearly 20 million Ivorians. He tells us how he manages to produce chilies throughout the year. - Angola secures a much-needed debt relief package - Angola has secured a debt-relief package worth $6.2 billion, which will be implemented over the next three years. The International Monetary Fund, which announced the deal warned that vulnerabilities remain since debt can be easily affected by oil price volatility. Angola which is one of Africa's biggest oil producers has been hugely affected by a drop in crude oil prices and the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic.

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The overall rate of increase may be slowing, but there have still been sharp rises in some countries.

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[UN Women] At a global, virtual intergenerational event co-hosted by UN Women, the Government of Mexico and the Council of Women World Leaders, in collaboration with the Generation Equality Forum, women leaders convened to discuss the importance of diverse and inclusive feminist leadership.

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[The Conversation Africa] Humanitarian organisations - such as the World Food Programme (WFP) - are increasingly using cash transfers as a way of assisting vulnerable people. Conventionally, humanitarian organisations procure food or other goods and distribute it directly to recipients. But cash transfers allow people to choose and purchase what they need for themselves.

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[ISS] For Africa, the impact of COVID-19 has made thinking about the future more important than ever. Recent analysis by the African Futures and Innovation team at the Institute for Security Studies forecasts that the pandemic is set to undo several years of development progress on the continent. At the same time, COVID-19 has raised questions about how prepared we are for future disasters, especially those linked to climate change.