Mugabe denounced by war veterans
Children 'dying of hunger' in Zimbabwe
War against Nigeria's militants has been 'won'
Apology and tears over death of South African rally driver
Live chickens could be 'mosquito repellent'
Ethiopian theatre director dies
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Email stories and comments to africalive@bbc.co.uk - Thursday 21 July 2016
Theatre fans in Ethiopia have been paying tribute to legendary director Abate Mekuria, who has died of cancer at the age of 72.
Mr Mekuria, who was known as the King of Ethiopian opera, was also a famous playwright and choreographer.
Here's a sample of the tributes on Twitter:
South Africa's National Prosecuting Authority says it will appeal against double-amputee Olympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius' six-year prison sentence for murder because it is an "injustice" and has the the potential to bring the legal system into "disrepute".
In a statement, it adds that the sentence was "disproportionate to the crime of murder committed [and] shockingly too lenient".
Pistorius, 29, shot his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp four times through a locked toilet door at his upmarket home in the capital, Pretoria, on 14 February 2013.
Image source, AFPPistorius says mistook Steenkmap for a burglar
Legendary Ethiopian theatre director, Abate Mekuria, who is best known for his Shakespearean plays in Amharic has died aged 72, local media reports.
Abate's most noted production was an adaptation of Othello.
Image source, AlamyProsecutors in South Africa's will appeal against the six-year prison sentence given to athlete Oscar Pistorius for the 2013 Valentine's Day murder of his girlfriend.
The prosecution had pushed for a minimum sentence of 15 years, but Judge Thoko Masipa gave him the lower sentence in July.
She said mitigating circumstances, such as rehabilitation and remorse, outweighed aggravating factors, such as his failure to fire a warning shot, for deviating from the prescribed 15-year sentence.
Pistorius was once a sports hero - a six-time Paralympic gold medallist who made history by becoming the first amputee sprinter to compete at the Olympics, in 2012 in London, running on prosthetic "blades".
Image source, AFPThe suspected death of an activist led to protests
The Gambia's main opposition United Democratic Party (UDP) has denounced as "utterly unjust" the three-year prison sentence imposed on its leader Ousainou Darboe and 18 other people convicted of taking part in an unlawful protest in April.
In a statement, the UDP said:
Quote MessageThis wasn’t a trial. It was a farce and an attempt by the criminal regime of Yahya Jammeh to thumb its nose at The Gambian people in particular and the wider international community..."
The 19 were arrested for being part of a group protesting about the alleged death in custody of UDP official Solo Sandeng.
Rights group Amnesty International described the sentences as part of the "continuing downward spiral for human rights in The Gambia" where Mr Jammeh has ruled since taking power in a coup in 1994.
Image source, Getty ImagesKeep a live chicken under your bed - and sleep soundly.
You may want to take that tip after a joint study, external by Ethiopian and Swedish scientists found that malaria-carrying mosquitoes avoid homes that contain live chickens.
The research team working in Ethiopia found that the smell of the chickens created a poultry "odour bubble" which deterred the mosquito from going anywhere near the source of the smell.
The team also found that mosquitoes strongly preferred human to animal blood and while they fed randomly on cattle, goats and sheep, they steered clear of chickens.
The researchers said the discovery could be useful in areas where malaria was endemic and the insects were becoming resistant to pesticides.
They have now isolated the chemical compounds and are planning to develop a repellent.
Swedish researcher Rickard Ignell said:
Quote MessageWe were surprised to find that malaria mosquitoes are repelled by the odours emitted by chickens. This study shows for the first time that malaria mosquitoes actively avoid feeding on certain animal species, and that this behaviour is regulated through odour cues.”
Image source, AFP
Image source, Getty ImagesThe cause of Gugu Zulu's death is unclear
The man who led the Mount Kilimanjaro expedition on which South Africa's rally driver Gugu Zulu died broke down in tears as he apologised to the nation for his death, the local News24 site reports, external.
Sibusiso Vilane said he had promised the relatives and friends of climbers that they would return home safely.
Speaking at a press conference after returning from Tanzania, he said:
Quote MessageI am not very proud of myself. All I can say is [that] I am very sorry with the deepest of my heart to the Zulus and the little baby and his lovely wife... I am disappointed and sorry to the country."
Mr Zulu, 38, was on a Nelson Mandela-linked charity trip to raise funds to buy sanitary towels for girls when he died while trying to climb Mount Kilimanjaro.
In his last Facebook post, the three-times national rally champion posted he had flu-like symptoms but the cause of death has not yet been established.
BBC World Service
Image source, AFPThe Gambia's opposition leader Ousainou Darboe and 18 other people have been sentenced to three years in prison.
They were convicted on several counts related to an unauthorised demonstration Mr Darboe led in April.
The opposition leader was protesting about the alleged death of one of his party officials, Solo Sandeng, in detention.
Political protests are unusual in The Gambia, which has been ruled by Yahya Jammeh since he took power in a coup in 1994.
Elections are due in December, but opposition leaders say they will not be free and fair.
Image source, ReutersAid workers say the drought has caused an "emergency" situation in Zimbabwe
Thousands of children in Zimbabwe risk starvation by Christmas, with 200 having already died in one area in the last 18 months because of food shortages caused by a severe drought, the Save the Children charity has said.
The charity's Tanya Steele said some mothers were going without food for five days, and health workers were giving their children foraged berries "before inspecting babies and toddlers for signs of malnutrition".
In a statement, she added:
Quote MessageThis is an emergency. Some children are already dying of complications from malnutrition. Others are very ill.
Quote MessageThere are mothers who are so stressed about not being able to feed their families that they’re suffering from hypertension.”
UK-based Ms Steele was commenting after visiting Binga district, a four-hour drive from the "well-stocked" tourist hotels and restaurants of Victoria Falls.
Ministry of health statistics showed that 946 children under the age of five years in Binga were suffering from "severe acute malnutrition", and the number is expected to rise sharply in the coming months.
The death rate among infants admitted to hospital in emergency cases had also risen significantly, Save the Children said.
The number of under-fives who had so far died in Binga had reached 200 in the last 18 months, about three times the usual rate, it added.
Zimbabwe is one of the countries hardest hit by the drought in southern Africa, with government officials estimate that more than four million people - around a third of the population - could be hungry by the end of the year.
Our African proverb of the day:
Quote MessageA goat owned by two people sleeps outside."
Sent by Julian Dzikunu, Ghana
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