BBC Monitoring

The prime minister of Libya's UN-backed national unity government, Fayez Sarraj, made a dramatic arrival on Wednesday to the capital Tripoli by boat, after previous attempts to fly into Libyan airspace from Tunisia had failed. 

So who is the man tasked with bringing an end to the chaos which has reigned since the 2011 overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi? 

Fayez Sarraj was born in Tripoli in 1960 into a prominent local family. His politician father, Mustafa, held office under King Idris, whose 18-year monarchy ended in 1969 when he was overthrown by Muammar Gaddafi.

Al-Jazeera TV has described Mustafa Sarraj as "one of the founders of the modern state of Libya after its independence from Italy".

During the Gaddafi era, Fayez Sarraj was not prominent politically but did hold several posts at the Housing Ministry.

After the uprising in 2011, he became a member of the National Dialogue Commission - a group trying to establish national consensus and unity in Libya.

He was later nominated for membership of the House of Representatives for the constituency of al-Andalus in Tripoli.

His choice as prime minister was seen as a compromise as he is not affiliated to any political party involved in the power struggle.

Image source, Ap

Sunderland are set to terminate the contract of defender Emmanuel Eboue after he was suspended by Fifa from all football-related activity for one year.

The 32-year-old Ivory Coast international, who joined the Black Cats until the end of the season on 9 March, was given the ban after failing to pay money owed to a former agent.

Sunderland said Eboue did not make the club aware of the matter, which relates to a dispute from July 2013.

Image source, Getty Images

Read the full BBC Sport story

Leaders of Libya's new unity government are now in the capital, Tripoli, having travelled there by boat in an attempt to take control.

The AP news agency is reporting that they plan to set up a government at the naval base where they arrived.

Some forces in Tripoli are hostile to the UN-backed government.

It was set up after a deal which only some members of the country's rival parliaments agreed to.

The UN representative has tweeted his frustration with those who are opposed to the government:

Image source, EPA

The BBC's Patience Atuhaire has posted video from a packed court in the Ugandan capital Kampala, following the ruling that President Yoweri Mueseveni's election victory was legal (see earlier post at 10:10).

Lawyers for the president and the electoral commission appear to be in high spirits following their victory:

The court also cleared Mr Museveni over controversial comments he made during his campaign.

The president said that any attempt to disrupt the elections would a carry a similar risk to putting "your finger in the anus of a leopard".

Many opposition supporters interpreted the statement as a veiled threat, intended to silence them.    

But the court ruled that the comments could not be presented as evidence of voter intimidation.

One of Patience's fellow journalists also spotted her doing some great multi-tasking, making sure that she could tweet and record audio at the same time!

South Africa's government has responded to the ruling by the Constitutional Court saying that the president failed to uphold the constitution.

The judges said he was constitutionally obliged to respect a ruling by the Public Protector saying that he should pay for non-security upgrades to his private residence.

It adds that the president is now considering the judgement:

Image source, AFP

The leader of South Africa's opposition Economic Freedom Fighters Julius Malema has called for President Jacob Zuma to step down.

Speaking to the press in South Africa's main city of Johannesburg, he said that if he does not leave voluntarily then the party will take other "practical steps":

The Constitutional Court case was originally brought by the EFF, and Mr Malema is enjoying this moment in the spotlight.

He has already made corruption allegations against a number of other government figures and has launched a stinging criticism of the governing ANC.

Image source, ENCA

UN officials say they are investigating "extremely troubling" claims of sexual abuse by peacekeepers in the Central African Republic (CAR).

Last year, there were 69 allegations of child rape and other sexual offences by peacekeepers from 10 missions.

One advocacy group says it has passed on new reports to the UN that a soldier made four girls have sex with a dog.

Image source, Reuters

Read the full BBC News story

Prime Ndikumagenge
BBC Africa, Bujumbura

A former Rwandan minister and diplomat, jailed in Burundi on suspicion of spying, has died in custody, Burundi's justice ministry says.

''He fainted and died in the afternoon,'' justice ministry spokesman Elie Ntungwanayo told the BBC.  

The Rwandan government has condemned his death as an assassination. 

Jaques Bihozagara, the former Rwandan ambassador to France and Belgium, was arrested and detained in Burundi last December, accused of spying for Rwanda.

His death comes at a time when relations between Burundi and Rwanda are strained.

Burundi has accused Rwanda of arming and training refugees to fight Burundi's government, charges it denies.

Read more on the story fromBBC News Online.

Image source, AFP

#ConCourt is trending on Twitter in South Africa as people there digest the news that their president failed to uphold the constitution.

Some are seeing it as a victory for democracy: 

And one South African newspaper has tweeted its updated front page:

South Africa's governing ANC says in a statement that it "respects the unanimous judgement delivered by the Constitutional Court, external" that President Jacob Zuma failed to uphold the constitution over not complying with the Public Protector.

But the party adds that it will now "study [the ruling] in detail and comment further in due course".

The opposition DA - one of the parties that brought the case - has called for Mr Zuma's impeachment.

Supporters of the EFF, the other opposition party that brought the case, have been celebrating outside the court:

EFF leader Julius Malema is now giving a press conference with his party's official reaction.

He has called for the president to step down:

The full text of the judgement, external by South Africa's Constitutional Court that President Jacob Zuma failed to uphold the constitution by not complying with a report by the Public Protector is now online.

We've picked out three of the key quotes:

• "The Public Protector... is the embodiment of a biblical David... who fights the most powerful and very well-resourced Goliath"
• "The Public Protector would arguably have no dignity and be ineffective if her directives could be ignored willy-nilly"
• "Only upon [the president] has the constitutional obligation to uphold, defend and respect the Constitution as the supreme law of the Republic been expressly imposed"

Image source, AFP

The Democratic Alliance has now started a campaign calling for the impeachment of President Jacob Zuma after the Constitutional Court ruled that he failed to uphold the constitution.

The court found that Mr Zuma was obliged to comply with a 2014 ruling from the Public Protector's office that he should repay the money spent on the non-security features to his private residence.

Now that South Africa's Constitutional Court has ruled that President Jacob Zuma failed to uphold the constitution by not complying to the ruling by the Public Protector, opposition parties are having their say.

The Democratic Alliance is one of those who brought the case:

The party's leader Mmusi Maimane gave an impromptu press conference on the steps of the court:

Ibrahim Adem
BBC Africa, Mogadishu

At least eight people were killed in this morning's suicide bomb attack at a hotel in the north-central Somali town of Galkayo, the mayor has told the BBC. 

Abdiasis Jama said that a senior finance official from the Puntland administration in Mudug region was among the dead.

Image source, AFP

Catherine Byaruhanga
BBC Africa Uganda correspondent

The judgement is being read by the Chief Justice and so far the court has decided there were irregularities in the elections but that they did not affect the final result.

The Electoral Commission declared President Yoweri Museveni winner of February's election.

The petition has been brought by the former Prime Minister, Amama Mbabazi, who came third.

Several international and local observers criticised the legitimacy of the vote.

Judge Mogoeng says the president or the National Assembly should not have responded to the Public Protector in the way they did.

The judge notes that the president has now agreed to repay the money spent on the non-security upgrades to his private rural residence.

So the question remains on whether the president violated the constitution, the judge says.

He says that the Constitutional Court is obliged to rule on this issue.

The president's failure to comply with the remedial action taken against him by the Public Protector - ie that he should repay the money - is inconsistent with his duty to uphold the constitution, the judge says.

Image source, SABC

A BBC reporter following the ruling from South Africa's Constitutional Court wonders how supporters of the president will be able to explain why the president acted in the way he did:

Another journalist is enjoying the way the ruling is being delivered:

Judge Mogoeng reminds the court of the ruling by the Public Protector that President Jacob Zuma should pay back the money spent on non-security features at his Nkandla residence.

The features in question were:

• Cattle kraal
• Chicken run
• Swimming pool
• Amphitheatre
• Visitor centre

The judge says that the president was entitled to inquire into whether the Public Protector was correct.

But he should have gone to the judiciary rather than asked for an alternative government report.

You can watch the ruling here:

Sammy Awami
BBC Africa, Dar es Salaam

A group of 10 Western donors have announced they are withdrawing budgetary support to the Tanzanian government.

It follows a decision by a US government aid agency to pull $472m (£331m) of funding for development projects because of concerns over the electoral process in Zanzibar.  

About a third of Tanzania's budget last year depended on donor support, so this latest move is a blow to the new government’s development plans. 

Image source, Getty Images

Judge Mogoeng is underlining the importance of South Africa's anti-corruption watchdog, the Public Protector.

She ruled in 2014 that President Jacob Zuma should repay some of the millions of dollars the state spent on upgrading his rural home.

He did not comply with the ruling at the time.

The judge says the Public Protector would have no dignity if her rulings were ignored "willy- nilly".