Summary

  • Ugandan court rejects bid to ban bride price

  • Preachers held for ransom in DR Congo

  • Nigeria issues flooding warning for northern areas

  • Egypt opens major expansion of Suez Canal

  • African football chiefs reject Liberian's bid for Blatter's job

Live Reporting

Farouk Chothia and Clare Spencer

  1. Diamond becomes a dad

    Abdinoor Maalim, BBC Africa, Nairobi:

    Popular Tanzanian singer Naseeb Abdu, known as "Diamond Platnumz", has been blessed with a baby girl.

    His wife, Ugandan businesswoman Zarina Hassan, gave birth earlier today to the girl named Tiffah.

    The 25-year-old singer broke the news on social media, and posted a picture of his mother, Sanura Kassim, holding the baby:

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    Before the birth, Diamond, whose most recent tracks include Nana and Love Boast, had been spotted overseas doing shopping for the baby.

    This is the couple's first child.

  2. How much is the bride price?

    Tweeters have been telling us what men are expected to part with when giving the customary bride price at the time of marriage:

    [250,000 Tanzanian shillings converts to $119 or £76]

    On Facebook Ayinla Oluwaseun Adeshina says the practice in his family is a bit more complex.

    "I was asked to pay any amount. I inserted just 2k [2000 Naira; $10; £6) in the envelope in the end the parents without opening the envelope returned it to me saying I should use it for my wife's business. 

    "And that has been the practice of most Yorubas in my family as well - the bride price is included in the list however it is returned as long as the tradition is fulfilled."

  3. Egyptian tweeters underwhelmed with canal

    Dina Aboughazala, BBC Monitoring, Cairo

    Since early this morning, the Arabic hashtag which translates as  #Son_of_bald_woman_inaugurates_insignificant_canal has been trending on Twitter in Egypt. 

    The majority of tweets are ridiculing what they call Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi's "illusionary project" - the expansion of the Suez Canal. 

    Many are just pleased by the creation of the hashtag itself.

    This tweeter sarcastically expresses his fear that the authorities might come up with another idea - to create a new River Nile:

    On the other hand, the project's supporters are using the hashtags #Inauguration_of_New_Suez_Canal and #Egypt_rejoices in Arabic. 

    This tweeter said the the entire world is Egyptian today:

    The image is a map of the Sinai Peninsula and Mr Sisi, and it has the words: “This is my land. My father told us to destroy our enemies."   

  4. Kenya tumour patient 'delighted'

    Emmanuel, the Kenyan patient with brain tumour, has thanked people for donating towards his treatment (see 10:48 post): 

     Tweeters raised the money for Emmanuel's brain surgery in two days.  

    He also retweeted Zawadi Nyongo, one of the first people who alerted people about his plight:

  5. Looking for Zimbabwean lion's cubs

    The BBC's Africa correspondent tweets: