African ebony is one of the most valuable woods in the world, used to make musical instruments and high-end furniture.

Much of it comes from the Congo Basin Rainforest, which stretches into Cameroon.

Bob Taylor, who founded the leading acoustic guitar manufacturing company in the US, wants to ensure he can continue using the precious wood for his guitars. 

He says that ebony makes the perfect sound for his guitars.

He's invested in a sustainable ebony forest and a manufacturing plant in Cameroon. The BBC's Randy Joe Sa'ah caught up with him on a recent visit to the country:

Ethiopia's national airline has started an international cargo service in Nigeria's south-eastern city of Enugu.

According to this tweet it's a first:

The BBC's Abuja editor Naziru Mikailu cannot confirm that it's the first ever, but says that this is an important development for an area well known for its international business connections.

Kenya's Sports Minister has disbanded the country's Olympic committee in the wake of organisational problems at the Rio 2016 Games.

Roadside tea-making is ubiquitous in Somali areas of Ethiopia. People love to drink the spiced sweet milky tea.

The vendors are mostly women, so when a man does the job it attracts a lot of interest.

In Jigjiga, the capital of Ethiopia's Somali region, a local man selling tea on the city's main street has fascinated many, reports the BBC's Abdullahi Abdi.

People have started calling Mohammed Abdulahi the tea man.

Abdullahi shot the short film of Mohamed in action:

Nearly 70,000 people have used the hashtag #IfAfricaWasASchool, external over the past 24 hours, with many poking fun at cultural stereotypes or rivalries between different African countries:

...Or to imagine how traditional high-school leaving parties in the US might benefit from African fashion style:

The largest town that Boko Haram ever controlled still lies in ruins, frozen in time nearly 18 months after Nigeria's military recaptured it from the Islamist militants.

Bama's streets are deserted and those people who are still in the area are camped out in the grounds of a hospital guarded by the army and in dire need of humanitarian aid.

Martin Patience went to see the situation for himself:

Read more from Martin Pateince.

There has been speculation in South Africa that the summons by the country's elite police unit for Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan was politically motivated (see earlier entry).

But President Jacob Zuma has said in a statement that Mr Gordhan has his "full support":

The president has also said, external that he has no powers to intervene unconstitutionally despite the hit the rand has taken over the story.

He added "the strength of our state institutions and the effectiveness of our courts in upholding and protecting rights is our guarantee of justice and fairness".  

Well, not quite...

It wasn't actually the famous English comedy character, but Mr Bean impersonator Asif Muhammad, who was spotted at the Harare Agricultural Show.

We're pretty impressed by his resemblance to the real one, as played by British actor Rowan Atkinson:

Image source, Gett

A UK-based think-tank says African children will make up nearly half the world's poorest people by 2030 unless current trends are reversed. 

They now make up about a quarter of the total global figure. 

In a new report, the Overseas Development Institute, external says the main challenges include high fertility rates and economic inequality. 

Although the total number of poor children in Africa will decrease, improved conditions elsewhere in the world mean the proportion of those living in poverty in Africa, when compared to the rest of the world, will increase.

Uganda's Afanda OJ, also known as police inspector Samuel Ojobira, has become quite a celebrity recently after the release of several songs, and two music videos about how great the police force is. 

His lyrics include the lines "Uganda police today are not like the past - transformed from colonial to professional, we are not national, we are international". 

That is an image at odds with recent reports of police brutality.

Mr Ojobira told the BBC's Focus on Africa radio programme that he is part of the police's music, dance and drama department and insisted that the public is "overwhelmingly happy" with the force.

Listen to the interview: 

And here's a reminder of his music video "Physically Fit"

All eyes in South Africa are on the headquarters of the elite police unit, the Hawks, which has summoned Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan to appear for questioning.

Mr Gordhan has said he will not go.

It's believed that the Hawks want to talk to him about an alleged rogue spy unit that was set up at the country's tax collection agency when he headed it up between 1999 and 2009.

Mr Gordhan says the allegations are wholly unfounded.  

Some have said that the finance minister is being pursued for political reasons.

This morning a small group of activists held a protest outside the Hawks' office in the capital Pretoria.

Respected lawyer George Bizos addressed journalists alongside former Constitutional Court Judge Johan Kriegler:

Image source, EPA

A commission set up by Burundi's President Pierre Nkurunziza has said that most people in the country want term limits to be abolished, the Reuters news agency is reporting.

Last year, the country was plunged into a political crisis after the president announced that he was running for a third term.

Street demonstrations were followed by a failed coup attempt.

The constitution limits a president to two elected terms, but Mr Nkurunziza's lawyers successfully argued in the constitutional court that his first term did not count as he was appointed by MPs.

Reuters reports that the chairman of the presidential commission Justin Nzoyisaba said the majority of the people commissioners spoke to "want the president... to exercise more than two terms".

Image source, Getty

Former governor of Nigeria's central Bank Muhammadu Sanusi has issued a strong warning to President Muhammadu Buhari over the state of the economy, Nigeria's Premium Times reports, external.

Mr Sanusi, who is now the Emir of Kano, said:

He wants the government to focus on diversifying the economy and encouraging proper investment:

Nigeria's economy is contracting at the moment because of the fall in the oil price.

Oil output is also down due to a rise in militant activity in the country's oil producing area.

President Buhari has spoken about the need to diversify the economy away from its reliance on oil.

Image source, AFP

BBC Monitoring
News from around the globe

The closure of the Olympic village in Rio has seen Kenyan athletes moved to new accommodation which the team is less than satisfied with.

Marathon runner Wesley Korir, who is also an MP, has posted images of the dilapidated hotel on Twitter:

He has also been answering questions about who is still in Brazil:

When asked why the team are still in Rio, Korir speculated that the cheapest flights were probably available today.

Kenyan MPs have called for an investigation into the management of Team Kenya during the Games after a series of mishaps, including the failure to book an air ticket for world champion Javelin thrower Julius Yego.

Image source, Reuters

South Africa's Nobel Peace laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu, 84, has been admitted to hospital for a recurring infection. 

In a statement, external, his foundation said: 

 It is unclear what infection the veteran anti-apartheid campaigner is suffering from but his family has said it is not related to the prostate cancer he has been living with for nearly 20 years.

Humanitarian aid is urgently needed in South Sudan in order to "save lives", a monitoring group has warned, external.

FewsNet, which tracks food prices and harvests, has said that last month's conflict in and around the capital, Juba, "severely disrupted" food supplies, leading to prices rising to 10 times their average.

It added that the price rise comes as households enter a lean period ahead of harvests next month, which may be lower than expected because of the renewed displacement of people that the fighting caused.

FewsNet said:

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