Cheney, who served two terms as vice president from 2001 to 2009, was a dominant and often controversial figure in American politics, known for his strong stance on national security and his role in shaping U.S. foreign policy after the September 11, 2001 attacks.
According to CNN, his family announced his passing, attributing it to complications from pneumonia and heart disease.
Cheney’s wife of 61 years, Lynne, and his daughters, Liz and Mary, were by his side when he died.
In a statement, the family described him as “a great and good man” who instilled values of courage, honor, and love in his children and grandchildren.
Cheney’s aggressive warnings about Iraq’s alleged weapons of mass destruction, ties to al-Qaeda, and plans to arm terrorists were pivotal in building the case for the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq.
Over the years, he became a polarizing figure, particularly after he openly criticized President Donald Trump, even labeling him a “coward” and a serious threat to the republic.
Cheney cast his final vote in the 2024 election for Kamala Harris, a liberal Democrat, reflecting his disillusionment with the direction of the Republican Party under Trump’s leadership.
His health was a constant challenge, as he battled heart disease, surviving multiple heart attacks. In 2012, he received a heart transplant, which he described as “the gift of life itself.” Despite these challenges, Cheney remained active in public life until his passing.
The partnership will be implemented in collaboration with Forward7, an initiative of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, announced by Rwanda’s Ministry of Infrastructure (MININFRA) on October 29, 2025.
The program underscores Rwanda’s commitment to accelerating access to clean cooking solutions and reducing dependence on traditional biomass fuels.
Bboxx’s role builds on its ongoing partnership with the Government of Rwanda to drive inclusive energy access through innovative, data-driven solutions.
“This partnership represents a continuation of our successful collaboration with the Government of Rwanda in advancing sustainable development goals,” said John Uwizeye, Managing Director of Bboxx Rwanda. “We are deeply appreciative of the government’s trust in our ability to deliver clean cooking solutions at scale, and we remain committed to supporting their vision for a cleaner, healthier Rwanda.”
{{Tackling an urgent energy challenge}}
Biomass, primarily wood fuel, remains the dominant source of household energy in Rwanda, posing health, environmental, and social challenges.
Indoor air pollution, deforestation, and the time spent collecting firewood, often by women and children, highlight the urgent need for accessible and affordable alternatives.
The Government’s latest clean cooking drive aims to make LPG a practical, sustainable solution for households transitioning away from charcoal and firewood, aligning with Rwanda’s broader energy and environmental goals.
{{Making LPG affordable through innovation}}
The initiative tackles the biggest barrier to LPG adoption, affordability. Each household receives a complete kit, including a two-burner stove, 12-kg gas cylinder, and a smart Cylinder Locking Valve (CLV) with pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) functionality.
This flexible payment model has proven transformative: average monthly LPG consumption among Bboxx customers has risen from 3 kg to 7 kg per household, as families gain confidence in managing their fuel expenses.
“Clean cooking is not just about providing equipment; it’s about fundamentally improving lives,” Uwizeye explained. “By tackling indoor air pollution, we’re protecting health, creating time for education and income opportunities, and helping preserve Rwanda’s forests.”
{{Progress and readiness to scale}}
Bboxx’s clean cooking rollout has gained strong momentum. From early pilots and small-scale distribution, the company has now deployed over 7,000 LPG kits across Kigali, Rwamagana, and Musanze as of October 2025.
With each household averaging five members, transitioning 7,000 households represents a major environmental gain.
This shift prevents the felling of an estimated 35,000 mature trees annually, reducing pressure on forests and cutting thousands of tons of carbon emissions.
Each LPG kit deployed by Bboxx not only improves health and convenience but also directly supports Rwanda’s clean cooking and climate resilience goals.
“We are ready and equipped to scale this initiative to its full potential,” Uwizeye affirmed. “Beyond clean cooking, we will continue to expand our services, from e-mobility and smartphones to solar power, supporting Rwandan households on their journey toward modern, sustainable living.”
With solid systems, logistics, and community engagement structures in place, Bboxx is well-positioned to scale to 10,000 units by year-end and reach 50,000 households by late 2026.
The facility being developed by Société Pétrolière (SP) will store up to 9,000 tonnes of LPG, enough to meet the country’s cooking gas needs for around two months. It includes daily-use tanks already in place and larger long-term storage spheres currently under construction.
Speaking to the New Times, SP Managing Director Claudien Habimana said the depot will not only serve SP but also allow the government and other energy players to maintain strategic reserves, helping ensure supply continuity and market stability.
The project has seen costs rise from the original Frw 38 billion due to equipment upgrades. It’s expected to enter a temporary operational phase in January 2026 before full commissioning in July.
Currently, Rwanda imports all its LPG, and only a small fraction of households use gas for cooking. The new depot is expected to stabilise supply, reduce price fluctuations, and support future growth in the domestic LPG market, while laying the groundwork for Rwanda’s transition to cleaner energy sources.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said the United Nations received credible reports of the crimes against civilians, including women and children, from within the barricaded North Darfur state’s capital.
“Hundreds of civilians, including humanitarian workers, have reportedly been killed, while large numbers remain trapped inside the city with little or no communication to the outside world,” OCHA said.
“The delivery of life-saving assistance remains blocked by the RSF, contrary to its obligation under international humanitarian law to facilitate the rapid and unimpeded passage of such relief.”
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported that nearly 71,000 people have fled El Fasher and surrounding areas since the city’s fall on Oct. 26, most to overcrowded camps in the town of Tawila, 40 kilometers away, while many new arrivals have reported killings, abductions and sexual violence along the way.
Conditions in Tawila are dire, with families living in the open or in makeshift shelters, food stocks running out and clean water scarce, said OCHA. “The UN and its partners are providing emergency assistance, including daily meals, healthcare, water, sanitation, nutrition and psychosocial support, but these efforts cover only a fraction of the needs due to funding constraints.”
Violence in the Kordofan region has also sharply escalated, triggering large-scale displacement and civilian suffering, said the office, noting that grave violations, including the alleged summary execution of civilians, have been reported in North Kordofan’s locality of Bara.
The IOM said that between October 26 and 31, approximately 37,000 people were displaced from Bara, Um Rawaba and surrounding villages. Civilians face mounting insecurity, food shortages and the destruction of basic infrastructure.
With just two months left in the year, the 2025 response plan for Sudan is only 28 percent funded, with 1.17 billion U.S. dollars received of the 4.16 billion dollars required, said OCHA, calling for urgent, flexible funding to support the millions of people caught in the Sudan conflict.
Sadi, also the government spokesperson, said violent protests following the country’s Oct. 12 presidential election had led to the destruction and looting of property.
“Those responsible for the disturbances, caught in the act of committing their crimes, have been arrested,” Sadi said in a statement.
The statement was released as a civil disobedience campaign launched by the opposition left much of the Central African nation’s streets largely deserted at the start of the working week on Monday.
Opposition candidate Issa Tchiroma Bakary, who claimed to have won the election, had called for a three-day nationwide “ghost town” protest from Monday to Wednesday, encouraging people to stay at home and suspend all activities as a form of peaceful resistance.
Sadi warned that such calls for civil disobedience are likely to “sow disorder and insecurity,” and urged residents to ignore them.
Cameroon’s president-elect, Paul Biya, will be sworn in this week.
The Cluster’s Chairperson, Jean D’amour Kamayirese, told IGIHE that the earnings mark a significant recovery in the sector, crediting government reforms for restoring the value of hides and skins.
Leather exports had declined sharply following a 2015 East African Community (EAC) directive that restricted the export of raw hides and skins outside the region. Exporters who wished to sell beyond the EAC were required to pay a USD 0.52 levy per kilogram, a policy that discouraged trade and reduced prices locally.
Before the directive, a kilogram of hides sold for about Frw 1,500, but the price later dropped to between Frw 100 and 200.
To revive the sector, the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MINICOM) and the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) established the Kigali Leather Cluster in May 2023 to coordinate value chain development and support plans for a leather processing plant in Bugesera District.
Although the cluster initially focused on Kigali-based processors, a broader platform, the Rwanda Value Chain Alliance (RVCA), was later formed to include members from across the country.
Kamayirese said the 2015 restriction had discouraged investors, leading to wastage of raw hides.
“We found that many traders had left the business because of heavy losses,” he said. “We began engaging producers and traders across provinces to assure them that the government was working on a solution.”
He noted that following sustained advocacy by the cluster and its partners, the government reviewed and lifted the export restriction in October 2024, allowing trade beyond the EAC without the previous high levy.
“Since the directive was lifted, we have seen a return of investors from different countries,” Kamayirese said. “Prices have since increased from Frw 100–200 per kilogram to about Frw 750.”
Before 2014, Rwanda earned more than Frw 4 billion annually from leather exports. However, between 2016 and 2019, export revenues dropped to just Frw 63 million due to the trade restrictions.
Since 2024, Rwanda has exported 459,000 cattle hides, earning about Frw 6.8 billion, and 3.2 million goat skins, generating Frw 4.8 billion, bringing total earnings to over Frw 11 billion.
Leather remains one of the world’s most versatile raw materials, widely used in footwear, fashion accessories, furniture, automotive interiors, and sports gear.
“I do NOT want Americans to go hungry just because the Radical Democrats refuse to do the right thing and REOPEN THE GOVERNMENT. Therefore, I have instructed our lawyers to ask the Court to clarify how we can legally fund SNAP as soon as possible,” U.S. President Donald Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Friday.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said in a court filing on Monday that a total of 4.65 billion U.S. dollars in a contingency fund will be used for November SNAP benefits, which could cover 50 percent of eligible households’ current allotments.
The decision came after a federal judge in Rhode Island on Friday ordered the department to use the contingency fund to pay recipients of SNAP.
Another federal judge in Massachusetts said in a separate case on Friday that the Trump administration’s plan to withhold SNAP benefits starting Nov. 1 amid the federal government shutdown was likely “unlawful,” though the judge did not mandate that the administration release the funds.
The Trump administration previously claimed that it lacked legal authority to tap the 5 to 6 billion dollars in emergency funds to cover at least a portion of SNAP, which needs over 8 billion dollars to fund benefits for November.
SNAP is the nation’s largest anti-hunger program serving nearly 42 million people. Most SNAP recipients live at or below the federal poverty line.
Speaking during a press conference at the Sudanese Embassy in Kigali, Dafalla called on the international community to designate the RSF as a terrorist organisation, enforce arms embargoes, and hold foreign backers accountable for fueling what he described as a “foreign aggression” against the Sudanese people.
“What is going on in Sudan is not a civil war; what is going on in Sudan is not a war between two generals, it is a war ignited by RSF supported by foreign powers,” Dafalla declared.
“In Al-Fashir alone, in 24 hours, they killed 3,000 people, including patients in hospital beds. They buried people alive, smashed bones under vehicle tires, and used rape and hunger as weapons of war.”
The ambassador’s statement comes amid mounting reports of mass killings following the RSF’s capture of Al-Fashir after a gruelling 600-day siege, the last major Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) stronghold in Darfur.
Yale University’s Humanitarian Research Lab has documented satellite imagery showing clusters of bodies and bloodstained ground, corroborating survivor accounts of house-to-house executions targeting non-Arab ethnic groups like the Zaghawa and Masalit.
Dafalla, who praised Rwanda’s 2003 peacekeeping role in Darfur and its post-genocide reconciliation model as an “inspired African success,” drew stark parallels to the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.
“The same symptoms are repeating themselves in Sudan,” he said. “Genocide has been committed in Darfur, not just our claim, but recognised by the U.S. administration and others as crimes against humanity, war crimes, and ethnic cleansing.”
Videos played during the briefing, reportedly filmed by RSF fighters, showed executions in hospitals and civilians being herded into mass graves, footage that left attendees visibly shaken.
The World Health Organisation has confirmed at least 460 deaths at Al-Fashir’s Saudi Hospital alone, including patients, staff, and visitors gunned down in their beds. Survivors fleeing to nearby Tawila have recounted ethnic profiling, with men separated and shot, women assaulted, and families ransomed for up to $10,000.
The RSF, which evolved from the notorious Janjaweed militias blamed for the early 2000s Darfur genocide, has denied systematic abuses, with leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti) promising investigations into “violations.” Yet, the paramilitary’s advance has displaced over 900,000 people from Al-Fashir in recent weeks, contributing to Sudan’s staggering total of 14 million internally displaced, equivalent to Rwanda’s entire population.
The briefing also highlighted broader RSF tactics: 102 recorded massacres across Sudan, infrastructure sabotage (including drone strikes on the Marawi and Addamazine dams, crippling a third of the nation’s power), and control of gold mines fueling 50% of Sudan’s smuggled production.
“They’re killing by identity, believing in Arab superiority, calling African tribes ‘slaves’—falangai in their language,” Amb. Dafalla explained.
On the diplomatic front, Dafalla welcomed U.S. efforts via the “Quad” (U.S., Saudi Arabia, Egypt, UAE) but rejected UAE involvement as “non-neutral,” insisting on Sudan’s full consent for any ceasefire.
He urged the African Union to lift Sudan’s suspension, enabling fuller participation in “African solutions for African problems,” and called for Rwanda’s support in pressuring neighbours to close arms corridors.
“Justice is not served by condemnations alone. The victims feel betrayed. Hold the RSF accountable, or the genocide continues.”
The ambassador emphasised that, in efforts to de-escalate the crisis, the African Union had announced Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni as a mediator to facilitate a peace process. However, Ambassador Dafalla said the AU had failed to deliver on its mission of restoring security in Sudan and, for many reasons, looked to Rwanda as a potential mediator capable of making a tangible impact.
He noted that influential African leaders, such as President Paul Kagame, are well-positioned to use established continental frameworks to help mediate and resolve the Sudanese conflict.
“Kagame has credibility, the confidence of the Sudanese people, experience, and wisdom to address this conflict in Sudan. We will definitely welcome his efforts in this regard, whether through the African Union or any group of African leaders coming to mediate in Sudan,” the ambassador added.
Sudan’s crisis, the world’s largest humanitarian emergency, has killed tens of thousands and risks partitioning the nation. With Al-Fashir’s fall, fears mount of a Darfur-wide ethnic catastrophe, unless bold international action intervenes.
More than 200 golfers, from seasoned competitors to ambitious newcomers, took to the fairways over two thrilling days of competition, culminating in an elegant prize-giving dinner hosted at the all-new Mövenpick Hotel Kigali and co-sponsored by Johny Walker. It was an evening defined by class, camaraderie, fine dining, great drinks and applause for excellence, both on the greens and beyond.
The tournament brought together the region’s top talent, producing some of the year’s most impressive performances. Jenny Linda, who captured the Best Gross Score Ladies title, dazzled with consistency and composure, while Mukisa Benjamin earned Best Gross Score Men honours after a brilliant round that demonstrated poise under pressure.
Among the seniors, David Rwiyamirira proved that age and experience are a formidable combination, taking the Best Gross Score Seniors title.
The men’s divisions were equally competitive, from David Nzioki’s masterful play in Division A to Rwigamba Paul’s dominance in Division B and Ndabarasa Alfred’s steady rise to victory in Division C. On the women’s side, Irene Wanjiku, Sheetal Philip, and Eve Tushabe continued to showcase the growing strength of women’s golf in Rwanda, each delivering rounds that balanced power with precision.
Beyond the individual victories, the event underscored a bigger story, one of growth, inclusion, and ambition for Rwandan golf. With every edition, the level of play has risen remarkably, signalling a sport in transformation and a community finding its rhythm on the regional stage.
Speaking at the prize-giving ceremony, Maurice Toroitich, Managing Director of NCBA Bank Rwanda, reaffirmed the bank’s commitment to nurturing this momentum.
“We’re proud to walk this journey with the golf community, to support not only tournaments but the businesses that take shape beyond the course. NCBA is here for more than sport; we are here for partnership, for progress, and for possibility.”
As the night ended with laughter, toasts, and plans for next year’s series, one message rang clear: The NCBA Golf Series is now firmly embedded as one of the most anticipated golf events in the country. It was a celebration of shared values: excellence, resilience, and vision. And as NCBA continues to drive both business and sport forward, the future of Rwandan golf looks not only bright but truly boundless.
The university aims to provide aspiring professionals with global exposure, career-focused learning, and access to international opportunities in Europe’s thriving business environment.
Established in 1999, GISMA has built a strong reputation for offering industry-relevant programs in management and business studies, including MBA and master’s degrees.
With campuses in Potsdam and Berlin, the university provides an ideal setting for students to combine academic excellence with real-world experience. All GISMA programs are state-accredited and taught in English, ensuring accessibility to students from across the world.
GISMA’s academic distinction is reflected in its global accreditations. The university’s Global MBA program is AMBA-accredited, placing it among the world’s top business schools. It also holds the distinction of being the only university in Germany offering CIM-accredited marketing degrees.
The institution’s prime locations, Potsdam, home to SAP’s innovation hub, and Berlin, one of Europe’s key business centres, provide students with valuable industry connections and internship opportunities.
The university’s strong partnerships with global companies such as Tesla, Bosch, Safran Engineering, and SAP further strengthen its career-oriented approach.
Through these collaborations, students gain access to internships, professional certifications, and mentorship from industry leaders. GISMA boasts a 94% job placement rate, with graduates earning average starting salaries between €55,000 and €60,000, demonstrating the university’s focus on employability.
Recently, GISMA became the second university in Germany to receive the BSIS Impact Label, a recognition of its tangible contribution to the economy and society. The award highlights the entrepreneurial impact of its students and alumni; more than 15 start-ups founded by GISMA graduates have created over 120 new jobs globally.
Beyond academics, GISMA places strong emphasis on student well-being, offering psychological support and wellness workshops to help learners manage stress and maintain a healthy balance between study and personal life. This holistic approach reflects the university’s commitment to nurturing both professional competence and personal growth.
For Rwandan students, studying at GISMA presents a unique opportunity to access affordable, high-quality education in Germany, a country known for low tuition fees, reasonable living costs, and a streamlined visa process. Students also benefit from the ability to work part-time during their studies and secure well-paying jobs after graduation.
GISMA University is now actively seeking talented Rwandan students interested in pursuing degrees in business and management. Applications can be made through Bench Study Consult, the university’s official representative in Rwanda.
Prospective students can reach Bertin Nyirigira, Founder and Managing Director, via email at apply@benchstudy.com or visit www.benchstudy.com for guidance on the application process.
