Summary

  • Uganda leader promotes son to army major-general

  • Kenya police beat up opposition protesters

  • South African university 'fire-bombed'

  • Military assault against al-Shabab in Somalia

  • Nigeria arrests over oil pipelines attacks

  • World powers ready to arm new Libyan government

  • Get Involved: #BBCAfricaLive WhatsApp: +44 7341070844

  • Email stories and comments to africalive@bbc.co.uk - Monday 16 May 2016

  1. Jolie warns of 'race to the bottom'published at 13:04

    Watch as Angelina Jolie warns that the refugee crisis has created a "race to the bottom" with countries competing to be the toughest on immigration.

    Media caption,

    Angelina Jolie Pitt warns against a "race to the bottom" over migration.

  2. CIA 'spied' on Mandelapublished at 13:02 British Summer Time 16 May 2016

    Nelson Mandela's arrest in 1962 came as a result of a tip-off from an agent of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), a report says.

    The revelations, made in the Sunday Times newspaper, are based on an interview with ex-CIA agent Donald Rickard shortly before he died.

    There has been a long-running campaign to get the CIA to release classified documents that will help shed light on the issue

     Among those who have a pending suit against the CIA is Ryan Shapiro, a national security researcher at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 

    He spoke to BBC Newsday about the Mr Rickard's revelation: 

    Media caption,

    There have been long-held suspicions that Mandela was trailed by the CIA

  3. 'I was accused of being a witch when I was eight-years-old'published at 12:59 British Summer Time 16 May 2016

    Mardoche Yembi was accused of eating human flesh and killing his own mother who died after a long illness.

    He was eight years old.

    His extended family made plans of sending him back to the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2005 for an exorcism.

    But his headteacher instead contacted social services and he was taken into care.

    Now an adult, he told the BBC's Noel Philips how it felt to be accused of being a witch:

    Media caption,

    'Accused of being a witch, aged eight'

  4. Refugee spotlight 'wrongly' on Europepublished at 12:40

    Angelina Jolie-Pitt says that the spotlight of the refugee crisis is firmly on Europe, but the crisis in Europe is only "a fraction of the global refugee problem". 

    In a speech at the BBC in London, she added: 

    Quote Message

    We in the West are neither at the centre of the refugee crisis, nor – for the most part - the ones making the greatest sacrifice.

    Quote Message

    The majority of the world’s refugees live in countries such as Turkey, Pakistan, Lebanon, Iran, Ethiopia, and Jordan."

  5. Angelina: Africa refugee crisis 'getting worse'published at 12:27

    Angelina Jolie-Pitt, the UN refugee agency's special envoy, says that the number of people left homeless by conflict in Africa is increasing. 

    Speaking in London as part of the BBC's World on the Move special coverage, she said:

    Quote Message

    In the past six years, 15 conflicts have erupted or re-ignited. The average time a person will be displaced is now nearly 20 years.

    Quote Message

    The number of refugees returning to their homes is the lowest it has been in three decades. Africa has more people displaced than ever before."

  6. Senegal-Gambia border disputepublished at 12:10

    Abdourahmane Dia
    BBC Afrique

    Senegal's government says it will meet representatives of lorry drivers in a bid to persuade them to lift the blockade they have imposed at the border with The Gambia since February. 

    The announcement follows a seven-hour meeting on Sunday between the Senegalese and Gambia governments to get the border open again. 

    The Gambia, a popular tourist resort because of its beaches, has decided to scrap its decision to increase fees for Senegalese lorries transporting goods. The increase led to angry drivers enforcing the blockade, causing a shortage of essential items on both sides of the border. 

    The drivers are also demanding the building of a bridge over the Gambia River, linking southern and northern Senegal. 

    Map

    The Gambia's Foreign Minister Neneh Macdouall Gaye says her country, which is surrounded by Senegal, is not opposed to it, but some technical issues have to be resolved first. 

    Senegal's government wants the bridge to be built. 

  7. 'Three armies' raid al-Shabab strongholdpublished at 11:36

    Ibrahim Mohamed Adan
    BBC Africa, Mogadishu

    A coalition of US, Somali and African Union (AU) forces have carried out an assault on al-Shabab bases in the southern Somali town of Barire, some 60km from the capital, Mogadishu.

    Loud explosions and gunfire were heard during the operation against the al-Qaeda-linked militants. 

    Residents told me that US forces were on the ground, giving cover to US-trained Somali commandos and accompanied by AU troops as they entered Barire. 

    Shots were also fired from US helicopters which were flying overhead during the operation, but there were no air strikes, as earlier reported, the residents said.

    They added that al-Shabab fighters fled Barire, and coalition forces entered - only to withdraw later, possibly after destroying al-Shabab bases in the town. 

    The militant group said its fighters had repelled the attack. 

    Al-Shabab fighters gather on February 13, 2012 in Elasha Biyaha, in the Afgoei Corridor,Image source, AFP
    Image caption,

    Al-Shabab has carried out bombings in several East African states

    The US has not yet commented on the operation, but Somali officials have confirmed the joint operation. 

    It is the latest sign of US forces becoming increasingly involved in Somalia in the campaign to fight al-Shabab.

    Last week, US officials confirmed that its special forces had opened "defensive fire" after al-Shabab posed an "imminent threat" to Somali and AU troops.   

  8. Sweden sentences man for Rwanda genocidepublished at 11:14 British Summer Time 16 May 2016

     A court in Sweden has sentenced a 61-year-old man to life in prison for his role in the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, Reuters news agency reports. 

    The Stockholm District Court convicted Claver Berinkindi, a Swedish citizen originally from Rwanda, of murder, attempted murder and kidnapping in Rwanda, it reports. 

     "This relates to participation in a large number of massacres during the 1994 genocide where the defendant had an informal role as a leader," the court said in a statement. 

     Under Swedish law, courts can try people for crimes committed abroad.

  9. Tanzania purges ghost workerspublished at 10:50

    Mary Harper
    Africa editor, BBC World Service

    Tanzania has removed more than 10,000 ghost workers from its public sector payroll. 

    The prime minister's office said payments to these non-existent employees cost more than $2m (£1.4m) a month. 

    The authorities say they are continuing to audit the payroll and expect to find more phantom workers. 

    Tanzania's President John Magufuli, who was elected last October, has been cracking down on corruption. 

    He has sacked several senior officials. 

    Last year he cancelled independence day celebrations and ordered a clean-up campaign instead.

    Tanzanian President John Magufuli joins a clean-up event outside the State House in Dar es Salaam on December 9, 2015Image source, AFP
    Image caption,

    Mr Magufuli picked up rubbish near his home on independence day

  10. Manchester United fans rally around Sierra Leoneanpublished at 10:34 British Summer Time 16 May 2016

    MosesImage source, MUST

    A Manchester United fan from Sierra Leone whose dream trip to Old Trafford was ruined after Sunday's bomb alert will attend the FA Cup final thanks to a campaign by supporters. 

    Moses said he "cried a lot" when the match was cancelled. 

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    "I was so disappointed and I cried right away and people come around me and hug me. I come far away from Sierra Leone. This is my first time in real life to watch Manchester live and it doesn't happen."

    Media caption,

    Moses said he cried a lot when the match was cancelled

    Shortly after the bomb scare, the vice-chair of the Manchester United Supports Trust tweeted how sad Moses was:    

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    Just six minutes later... and Ian announced that fans had decided to make sure Moses won't go back to Sierra Leone without seeing Manchester United play:

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    He had been invited by friends at the Manchester United Supporters Trust to watch the Premier League match. Now they are arranging a ticket for Moses to watch the team's FA Cup final against Crystal Palace at Wembley on Saturday

    Players walk off pitchImage source, Getty Images
    Image caption,

    The bomb alert meant the stadium was evacuated just before Sunday's match

    A security alert meant Manchester United's stadium at Old Trafford was evacuated shortly before kick-off on Sunday, leading to the game against Bournemouth being called off. 

    The alert was triggered by a fake bomb left behind at a sports stadium after a training exercise.

    Read more on the BBC News website

  11. Kenya rubella vaccinations campaign startspublished at 10:17 British Summer Time 16 May 2016

    A week long vaccination campaign against measles and rubella starts in Kenya today, the BBC Nairobi reports. 

    It follows a steady increase in the number of people infected with the two highly infectious viral diseases, especially rubella. Health officials say at least 400 Kenyans are diagnosed with rubella every year.  

    The campaign will target millions of children aged between 9 months and 14 years.

    Brian Mwangi, a two-year old Kenyan boy, plays inside a tent in a camp for internally displaced people set up in Nairobi's Mathare slum, Kenya, on February 8, 2008Image source, afp
  12. Nigeria 'oil militants arrested'published at 09:13 British Summer Time 16 May 2016

    Nigeria's army says it has arrested several suspects involved in a wave of attacks on pipelines in the Niger Delta region. 

    Some of those arrested are suspected members of a militant group known as the Niger Delta Avengers, said defence spokesman Colonel Rabe Abubakar.  

  13. Foreign powers to discuss Libya crisispublished at 09:07 British Summer Time 16 May 2016

    BBC World Service

    US Secretary of State John Kerry will today meet foreign ministers from the UK, France, Italy and Germany to discuss the crisis in Libya. 

    The meeting, in the Austrian capital Vienna, will focus on efforts to bring greater stability to the country and support its new United Nations-backed unity government. 

    This could include lifting the arms embargo on Libya to bolster the new government's ability to fight the militant Islamic State (IS) group. 

    IS has flourished in the political chaos that followed the overthrow of Colonel Gaddafi in 2011. 

    A building damaged during clashes between military forces loyal to Libya"s eastern government and the Shura Council of Libyan Revolutionaries, an alliance of former anti-Gaddafi rebels who have joined forces with the Islamist group Ansar al-Sharia, is seen in BenghazImage source, Reuters
    Image caption,

    The conflict has left many areas devastated

  14. Military assault launched on Somalia militantspublished at 09:03

    Somalia's intelligence and security agency has tweeted that an offensive is being carried out against militant Islamist group al-Shabab:

    A journalist has tweeted that US forces are involved in the operation, although there is no independent confirmation of this: 

  15. Nigeria fuel crisis talkspublished at 09:02

    Nigeria's government is due to hold talks with the powerful trade union movement today, the BBC Abuja bureau reports.

    It's a bid to avert a strike over last week's 67% rise in the petrol price, as fuel subsidies are removed.

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) have called for people to stock up on food items before the strike starts on Wednesday. 

    Filling car with fuel in Lagos, Nigeria. 10 April 2016Image source, AFP

    The unions have denounced the price increase in the oil-rich state as "criminal".

    They have also appealed to businesses and schools to be shut during the strike.

    Petroleum Minister Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu has said that the price rise would help end the fuel scarcity, and Nigeria "would remain one of the cheapest fuel markets in Africa".

    Read: Why is Africa's main oil producer short of fuel? 

  16. Today's wise wordspublished at 09:01

    Our African proverb of the day:

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    The only grass a buffalo can boast about is that which is in its stomach as it may die with grass still in its mouth."

    A Shona proverb sent by Peter Chongore, Gweru, Zimbabwe.

    Click here to send us your African proverbs

  17. Good morningpublished at 09:00

    Welcome to the BBC Africa Live page where we will bring you up-to-date news from around the continent.