Thirteen people including three army officers were killed on Friday when a military plane crashed in Democratic ‌Republic of Congo, an official said.

Reuters reported that the plane was travelling to the capital, Kinshasa, from the southwestern city of Kikwit when it experienced a technical problem and attempted ⁠to land in Kenge, in Kwango province, said Remy Saki Bokinda, the Kwango vice governor.

“With no landing strip available in Kenge, the plane crashed into a residential plot,” he said.

The passengers included General Likulia Bakumi, the army’s auditor general, as well as a major, ‌a ⁠captain and other military personnel and civilians, Bokinda said.

“All those on board died; 12 were burned beyond recognition, while the pilot’s lifeless body was ⁠found outside the aircraft,” he said.

Congo’s aviation accident investigation authority is launching a probe of the crash, ⁠a government statement said.

Congo’s army suffered significant setbacks last year at the hands of ⁠Rwanda-backed AFC/M23 rebels who seized large swathes of the east.

• UN General Assembly

Some 80 countries at the ongoing 81st United Nations General Assembly on Thursday demanded the urgent reopening of the Strait of Hormuz ‌and condemned Iran and its Houthi allies for attacks in the region and disruption to international trade and energy security.

“Iran’s actions in the Strait ⁠of Hormuz continue to threaten international security and navigational rights and freedoms,” said a joint statement read out by Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani at the United Nations.

“We also strongly condemn the Houthis’ decision to resume ‌conflict ⁠in Yemen, their continuous strikes on Saudi Arabia, and their reckless attacks in the Red Sea,” the statement said.

The statement’s backers ⁠included Gulf Arab states and major Western powers.

It added that the Houthis’ advance towards Bab ⁠el-Mandeb Strait would also only heighten risks to international shipping, maritime security ⁠and global trade.

Both Iran and the Houthis frame their actions as defensive.

Credit: REUTERS

Teachers trained in Nigeria and Ghana are no longer eligible to apply for Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) in England through the UK’s dedicated overseas-trained teacher application route.

The change, confirmed by the Department for Education (DfE), took effect on 9 September 2026. India was also removed from the list of eligible countries.

Under the updated rules, a country must have a national regulator that can confirm a teacher’s professional standing and must be able to provide references that meet the DfE’s verification standards.

For Nigeria and Ghana, the DfE cited problems with employment references. Official data showed that more than 70% of applications from teachers trained in the two countries included work history references sent from public email addresses such as Gmail or Hotmail, rather than official school email domains. The department said this made verification more difficult and resource-intensive.

India was removed because it does not have a national regulator capable of confirming teachers’ professional standing.

South Africa is now the only African country whose teachers remain eligible to use the direct “Apply for QTS in England” service.

The DfE stated that the stricter requirements are intended to ensure overseas teachers awarded QTS have the skills and experience needed to teach in English schools, and that the information they provide can be properly verified.

Teachers trained in Nigeria, Ghana or India who are no longer eligible for the direct application route can still explore alternative paths into teaching in England. These include assessment-only QTS routes offered by some schools or completing initial teacher training in the UK.