Talks to end the strike by health workers in Kenya have collapsed, the BBC's Anne Soy reports from the capital, Nairobi.

The strike began yesterday and the doctors' union said not even emergency care would be provided.

Union officials walked out citing government laxity and their refusal to honour an agreement in 2013, which included a 300% pay rise for doctors, our reporter says.

Kenyan cartoonist Patrick Gathara has penned his satirical take on the strike, with Health Minister Cleopa Mailu giving some bedside reassurance to a worried patient:

Ghanaians head to the polls tomorrow in tightly contested presidential election. 

We look at some interesting facts around this year's contest:

Kassim Kayira, a journalist for Swahili Azam TV, has been tweeting from Uganda's northern town of Abok, which suffered many attacks by the Lord Resistance Army (LRA) rebels. 

He's been attending a live screening of the trial of LRA commander Dominic Ongwen, which started today at the ICC (see earlier reports).

He has shared photos of many of those who have turned up at the event organised by the ICC outreach office:

He also spoke to a victim of LRA crimes who said that he felt sick seeing Mr Ongwen in a suit:

Tomi Oladipo
BBC Monitoring's Africa security correspondent

Image source, AFP

Saudi Arabia is set to be the latest nation to build a military base in Djibouti, the Gulf News paper reports, external.

It quotes an interview Mahamoud Ali Youssouf, the country’s foreign minister, gave to a Saudi newspaper in which he said that both nations had agreed on the deal and would soon be making it official.

Djibouti already hosts US and French military bases while several other navies also use its port. China is also building a military facility there.

Djibouti and Saudi Arabia have been growing closer in recent years, building stronger security, political and economic ties.

In January, Djibouti even cut off diplomatic relations with Iran in support of the Gulf kingdom. 

Two months later, the Saudis approved a draft agreement on military co-operation with Djibouti and this included plans to set up a military facility there.

Djibouti’s President Omar Guelleh recently said he did not see any problem with his country hosting different world powers - even rival militaries - because they all had common interests in combatting terrorism and maritime piracy.

Djibouti’s neighbours include Somalia to the south-east and Yemen in the north-east – both of which have been destabilised by conflict.

Saudi Arabia is leading a coalition intervening in Yemen’s civil war and having a presence in Djibouti would help these operations.

Read more: Why are there so many military bases in Djibouti?

Patience Atuhaire
BBC Africa, Kampala

Image source, AFP

There is a lot of interest in Uganda in the trial of Dominic Ongwen (see earlier posts), as his is the first-ever court case involving an LRA commander.

The Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) terrorised people in the north and north-east for nearly two decades, and many are waiting to see if, at least in this situation, justice will be done.

The ICC outreach office and the International Centre for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) have set up several live-streaming points in the capital, Kampala, as well in north, for the next two days to bring the court proceedings to the people directly affected.

Several of these points are in Lukodi, Pajule and Odek villages, which formerly hosted camps for those internally displaced by the conflict, and also where some of the things Mr Ongwen is accused of doing took place.

There is also a live-viewing point in Mr Ongwen's own home village of Coorom in Amuru district.

The proceedings in the north are being translated into the local language, for ordinary people to get a sense of what is happening in the court.

Though many are interested in seeing what happens in The Hague, some in northern Uganda think justice is only one part of the process.

Many, especially those who suffered years of displacement, are focusing on rebuilding their lives. Some in the directly affected communities had wanted Mr Ongwen to be tried at home.

Gunmen have this morning attacked and released dozens of prisoners at the Niono prison in central Mali, some 340km (211 miles) north of the capital, Bamako, officials say. 

"The army was able to catch some and is launching a pursuit," the Reuters news agency quotes Defence Ministry spokesman Abdoulaye Sidibe as saying.

Malian officials and local media believe that Islamist militants were behind the prison break

It is unclear whether there were any jihadists at the prison at the time. 

Last month, gunmen broke into another prison, in Banamba in southern Mali, with the aim of releasing some inmates who had already been moved, the authorities said.

Several Islamist armed groups operate in Mali's northern deserts.

UN peacekeepers have been based in the country following an intervention by the French military in 2013 to oust the Islamist militants from northern towns.

BBC Monitoring
News from around the globe

A video of a group of Kenyan schoolchildren singing , externala rendition of the The Prayer, a 1990s song by French Canadian musician Celine Dion, to remember the children trapped in the Syrian city of Aleppo is generating a lot of attention on social media.

The video was put together by Redfourth Chorus was posted on Facebook yesterday and has had 10,000 views so far.

The choir's founder, Philip "Filah" Tuju, says he approached various schools in Kenya to sing the song.

Mr Tuhu says he replaced the Italian section of the song with Swahili lyrics, to give it " an honest African identity".

You can watch video on YouTube:

Read more: Why are the children of Aleppo so badly affected?

The ICC has tweeted a video clip of LRA commander Dominic Ongwen pleading not guilty at The Hague:

Chipiliro Kansilanga
BBC Media Action

Churches in Malawi are holding their first-ever march against homosexuality and plans to legalise abortion. 

The march was organised under the banner Citizen March for Life and Family spearheaded by the Episcopal Conference of Malawi (ECM) and the Evangelical Association of Malawi (EAM), Malawi's Daily Times newspaper reports. , external

A local journalist says thousands turned up to take part in the march. 

The churches are arguing that human life begins at conception and therefore abortion should not be permitted.

Pictures shared on social media show participants carrying pro-life banners and anti-gay slogans:

In the capital, Lilongwe, a petition is to be delivered to the parliament while other major cities have also joined the march. 

Churches have remained strongly opposed to abortion on demand, saying they can only back an amendment of the law that allows for termination of pregnancy under certain circumstances. 

Abortion is currently punishable by law and attracts a maximum sentence of 14 years imprisonment.

Homosexual acts also attract a jail sentence of 14 years - and the government has said it will carry out a review about whether to repeal the country's anti-homosexuality laws.

The government has denied plans that it is planning to introduce abortion laws.

Information Minister Malisen Ndau said that the government had not drafted a bill on termination of pregnancies,The Times reports. 

Milton Nkosi
BBC Africa, Johannesburg

Image source, Science Photo Library

The South African government wins its appeal against an earlier court order which granted terminally ill patients the right to die. 

Today's ruling by the Supreme Court of Appeal makes it unlawful for patients to choose how they die because of their terminal illness. 

Last year, there was a high-profile court ruling which allowed terminally ill Robin Stransham-Ford the right to die with dignity. 

The ruling means that Archbishop Desmond Tutu's wish to have the option of an assisted death is now illegal. 

The famous anti-apartheid cleric wrote an opinion piece in the Washington Post, external stating that he wanted to be left to decide how he departs the earth. 

Mthunzi Mhaga, the spokesman for the Department of Justice and Correctional Services, was elated, telling me that as government is relieved that this judgement was set aside:

The government also argued in this appeal that the right to die can be abused and that there was no legal frame work to regulate decisions in matters of life and death.

Image source, AFP

A UN investigation into allegations of sexual abuse in the Central African Republic (CAR) has identified 41 peacekeepers as suspects of potential misconduct. 

Twenty five of the suspects are from Burundi and 16 from Gabon. 

They were serving within the ranks of the UN peacekeeping mission in CAR (Minusca).

According to the findings of the investigation presented in New York, the suspects are accused of sexually assaulting their victims between 2014 and 2015 in Dekoa in south-eastern CAR. 

The UN probe was carried out in co-operation with investigators from Burundi and Gabon.

They interrogated 139 peacekeepers as they looked into complaints of abuse. 

The 41 suspects, who are not named in the report, were identified by victims through photographs presented to them. 

It will be up to the authorities in Burundi and Gabon to decide whether to prosecute them.

UN peacekeeping missions have repeatedly been marred by accusations of sexual abuse, with the most recent cases emerging from CAR.  

This has prompted the UN chief to suggest that a UN court be set up to try UN peackeepers accused of crimes, including sexual abuse.

At least 31 people died in clashes between tribal militia and security forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo at the weekend, officials say.

They say the violence in the central Kasai province was sparked by a row between an uncle and a nephew over the title of a traditional chief.

Deputy Governor Hubert Mbingho N'Vula said 13 members of the security forces sent to quell the fighting were among those killed.

Eighteen militiamen also died, he said.

Mr N'Vula said public order had been restored in and around the city of Tshikapa in the remote province.

DR Congo is beset by sporadic violence between ethnic militias.

This has been inflamed further by the postponing of a presidential election due to be held before the end of the year.

Read the BBC News story for more

A 75-year-old Tanzanian man has launched an elaborate search for a partner after his wife died. 

Athumani Mchambua has put up advertising posters in the low income area of Mbagala in the main city of Dar es Salaam, urging interested applicants to show up for an interview. 

The poster, in Swahili, says the successful candidate must be hardworking, able to handle farm work and be willing to be a step-mother to his 11 children:

Mr Mchambua told the BBC's Munira Hussein that he wanted to do the search on his own and not through intermediaries, which is traditional in some cultures.   

He has so far interviewed four candidates: 

His daughter Dalia Mchambua told the BBC that she was happy with her father's process and was ready to accept the winning "candidate" as her mother.

The screenings of the ICC trial in the northern Uganda, the area most affected for decades by the LRA rebellion, are being translated so local communities can understand the proceedings.

A BBC reporter is watching the live stream in the capital, Kampala. 

Dominic Ongwen, the LRA commander on trial, says it should be LRA chief Joseph Kony facing the charges not him:

A BBC reporter tweets from The Hague that rebel commander Dominic Ongwen, who was abducted as a child, says he suffered at the hands of the Ugandan LRA group:

Image source, Reuters

• Nicknamed the "White Ant"
• Said to have been abducted by LRA at the age of 10 as he walked to school in northern Uganda
• Rose to become a top commander
• Accused of crimes against humanity, including enslavement
• ICC issued arrest warrant in 2005
• Rumoured to have been killed in the same year
• US offered $5m (£3.3m) reward for information leading to his arrest in 2013

Read more: Profile of the 'White Ant'

The trial of LRA commander Dominic Ongwen is being live streamed in several areas of Uganda, including the capital, Kampala as a BBC reporter tweets:

The trial has kicked off this morning of the first child soldier to be tried at International Criminal Court (ICC) - see earlier report. A BBC reporter at The Hague says an appeal by the Dominic Ongwen's lawyers regarding an investigation into his mental health has failed:

A four-year-old child has been abandoned and left in the care of cleaners at a hospital in Kenya's western city of Kisumu as a nationwide doctors' strike continues, The Standard newspaper reports, external. 

The paper says Baby Hope Awiti, who's suffering from malnutrition, was left at the hospital by her parents in September. 

Nurses who have been looking after her joined other health workers on Monday in boycotting work to protest against the government's delay in implementing an improved pay package and working conditions agreed by its union in 2013.

One of the cleaners, identified as Serah Kerubo, told The Standard that she's concerned about the child's well being:

A representative for the nurses in Kisumu told the Standard they would not relent until their demands were met.

Anna Holligan
Reporter BBC News, The Hague

The trial starts today of the first-ever commander of Uganda’s Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebel group to appear before the International Criminal Court.

Dominic Ongwen is facing 70 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including murder and enslavement.

He is the first former child soldier to be charged by the court in The Hague.  

Mr Ongwen was a boy when he was abducted and conscripted by the notoriously ruthless rebel cult.

His story encapsulates many of the complexities of the conflict which has claimed more than 100,000 lives - he was a child groomed in the image of his oppressors.

He is accused of leading attacks on four camps for internally displaced people in northern Uganda - murdering and torturing civilians, plus forcing women into marriage and children to take part in the fighting.

He's facing more charges than any other ICC suspect.

But his past is expected to present some ethical and legal dilemmas for court - his lawyers are likely to use his traumatized youth as a plea for leniency.