“Africa is a brilliant promise of vitality for an aging world . With 60% of its population under the age of 25. By 2030, 42% of the world's youth will be African,” Lo said.

He added that the Senegalese president had placed particular importance on the success of Dakar 2026, describing the Games as “a true national ambition in service of our youth and the prestige of our country.”

International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry said seeing the flame arrive on African soil for the first time was an emotional moment.

“The ceremony in Athens was beautiful and it was very emotional. But I think today was even more emotional seeing the flame on African soil for the very first time,” Coventry said.

The Zimbabwean former Olympic champion also expressed confidence in Senegal's preparations, saying the venues would be ready and athletes would receive a warm welcome.

Coventry said she hoped the Games would give visitors an opportunity to experience Africa while inspiring young Africans to believe in their potential. “I know that those youngsters are going to be able to change the world in the future. So I hope this gives them a platform to be inspired and to believe they can do anything,” she said. The Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games will take place in Senegal from October 31st to November 13th, 2026

General Abdourahmane Abou Zataka will replace Kiaou as army chief of staff, while the decree also reshuffles other senior posts in the Army and Air Force.

The changes follow the August 28-29 mutiny, when soldiers attacked Air Base 101 and other strategic sites across Niamey. State media said dozens of mutineers were killed or arrested before loyalist forces regained control.

Niger's government described the unrest as an attempted destabilisation and accused France of helping orchestrate it. Paris denied the allegation, with Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot calling it "pure fantasy."

Tiani has ruled Niger since the July 2023 military takeover as the country continues to battle jihadist violence .

Banjarmasin search and rescue chief I Putu Sudayana said nearby commercial vessels helped rescue 103 people from the water .

“As of noon, some of the passengers have been successfully evacuated by vessels operating in the area,” Sudayana said.

The ship left Surabaya on Saturday with more than 240 people aboard and lost contact early Sunday after its captain reported that it was listing amid bad weather and high waves. It later capsized about 148 kilometres from Trisakti Port.

Indonesia's search and rescue agency deployed vessels and a helicopter, while the navy sent the KRI Nala to assist. Commercial ships operating nearby also joined the rescue effort.

At Trisakti Port, relatives said they had received little information about those still missing, with some relying on social media posts for confirmation that loved ones had boarded the vessel.

Xi is expected to spend about 24 hours in the Indian capital and hold talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday evening, with trade and investment expected to feature prominently.

The visit comes as China and India continue efforts to stabilise relations following years of tensions and a series of recent high-level contacts.

The two-day summit, hosted under India's BRICS chairship, brings together leaders and senior representatives from the bloc's 11 member countries.

Running from September 12 to 13, the summit is being held under the theme "Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability."

The biggest BRICS summit yet closed in New Delhi with eleven member states, ten partner countries, and a 140-paragraph declaration adopted, in host prime minister Narendra Modi's words, without a single objection.

Sovereignty first

In only his second summit as a full member, Indonesian president Prabowo Subianto told the leaders' session that Jakarta would not take instruction from anybody.

"We do not like being dictated to by one or two specific powers," he said.

His answer is to look to his people first: feeding, fuelling and educating Indonesians ahead of flashy interventions abroad.

Vladimir Putin expressed a similar sentiment that he and his fellow leaders were seeking to develop their own nations, "not building our work in opposition to anyone".

But the issue of sovereignty goes wider.

"The Global South stands in the front row of global crises," India's Modi told delegates, "yet occupies the back row in decision-making." He wants a "pyramid of privilege" replaced by a "platform for partnership", and rule-takers turned into rule-shapers on artificial intelligence, cyberspace and biotechnology.

On institutional reform the declaration reiterated previous demands for change to the United Nations Security Council's outdated configuration; better representation at the International Monetary Fund for the countries most closely involved with it; and calls for a functional World Trade Organisation.

South African president Cyril Ramaphosa made the case for Africa hardest, noting that a continent with 54 UN seats and nearly a fifth of humanity still has no permanent voice on the UN's most powerful council. "This is neither just nor sustainable," he said, before demanding accountability for what he called the ongoing genocide against Palestinians, the crimes in Sudan and the illegal war against Iran.

Money talks

De-dollarisation was progressive rather than revolutionary. The main steps were for the BRICS Payment Task Force to keep working towards cross-border payments that are "fast, low-cost, more accessible, efficient, transparent and safe", and to promote settlement in local currencies. Cautious, because the stakes are so high, but the direction of travel is not in doubt.

The war in the Middle East was unavoidable on the topic of energy sovereignty, awkwardly so with Iran and the UAE effectively on opposite sides of the conflict. The final declaration calls energy security "a crucial foundation" and defends mixed energy systems that still include fossil fuels. But the declaration avoided any blame around the current blockages in the Strait of Hormuz as the price of securing unanimity.

Climate language has hardened. Carbon border levies are condemned as punitive and protectionist, "net zero" has disappeared, and the demand is for adaptation finance that is additional, predictable and accessible. Ethiopia's COP32 presidency and India's COP33 bid both won backing.

Food delivered the most concrete result: Russia's long-pushed Grain Exchange, a digital trading platform for a bloc growing more than forty percent of the world's food. But across BRICS, members have been building their resilience.

"For years, Indonesia was a major importer of grains, rice, and corn," Prabowo said. "Now, we have become an exporter."

Like the wider Global South, BRICS has no shortage of internal differences. Nevertheless it has enough shared needs, hopes, and increasingly power, to be a unified force for change.

The ferry was last reported about 150km south of Banjarmasin at around 02:00 local time on Sunday. Authorities received a distress report from the vessel's operator, PT Virgo, at 04:10.

Indonesia's search and rescue agency, navy and maritime police are involved in the operation, with ships, a helicopter and around 280 personnel deployed. Vessels operating in the area have also been asked to report any signs of passengers.

Transport Minister Dudy Purwagandhi said Indonesia's National Transport Safety Committee would investigate the incident.

Families have gathered at ports in Banjarmasin and Surabaya seeking information about missing relatives.

Search operations for the remaining passengers and crew are continuing.