Image source, AFP

Japanese troops with a mandate to use force have arrived in South Sudan to join the UN peacekeeping mission in the conflict-hit country, AP news agency reports 

This is the first time since the end of World War II that Japan has given its peacekeepers the power to use force protect civilians, UN staff and themselves, though they will be tasked with engineering and construction work in the capital, Juba,  the agency adds. 

A total of 60 Japanese troops landed in Juba.

Another 250 are to arrive to replace a previous contingent of Japanese peacekeepers who served in the UN force in South Sudan, AP says. 

More than 100,000 people have fled South Sudan since 2013 following the outbreak of conflict between forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and his sacked rival, Rief Machar. 

Read: 'I spent days hiding in swamp'

We look at the path BBC AFOTY 2016 nominee Yaya Toure took to building his successful career starting at Beveren in Belgium before ending up at Man City.

Toure joins Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Riyad Mahrez, Sadio Mane and Andre Ayew on the five-man shortlist for the BBC award.

The winner will be decided by fans from across the world, who have until 18:00 GMT on 28 November to vote for their choice.

Nomsa Maseko
BBC Africa, Johannesburg

Lethebo Rabalago calls himself a prophet and runs a charismatic church from South Africa’s Limpopo province. 

He claims insect killer spray Doom has healing powers and has been spraying it on his congregants.

According to the church’s Facebook page, external, the self-styled prophet begins to speak to demons in order to address people’s problems and drives them out by spraying the insect repellent on various body parts including the eyes: 

Mr Rabalago also maintains the pesticide cures cancer and HIV. 

South African media reports about Mr Rabalago "dooming" his congregation are trending on social media.

The church's Facebook page contains testimonies of people who claim to have been healed by Mr Rabalago.

Most of the comments ridicule the practise and point out that insect repellent is bad for people's health:

However some insist that the demonstrations are effective in a different way: 

This comes in the wake of another pastor who drew criticism after pictures of him driving over congregants were posted on social media. 

Yet another convinced congregants to eat snakes and grass and drink fuel for healing.

The government has set up a commission to investigate motives behind some of these practices. 

Read: Why some governments are clamping down on churches

Lucy Quist, managing director of Airtel Ghana Limited, on how she helps people see female leaders as less of a novelty.

Women of Africa is a BBC season recognising inspiring women across the continent. The second series, Africa's New Businesswomen, introduces eight female entrepreneurs who are finding success in their country - and beyond.

Image source, AFP/Getty

At least 16 people have been killed and hundreds of others injured in accidents in Senegal over recent days as pilgrims headed to a major Sufi Muslim religious gathering, firefighters have told AFP news agency. 

Millions of people were making their journey home from the town of Touba in central Senegal on Sunday, a day after the so-called Magal ceremony - the high point of the annual pilgrimage. 

The Mourides' holy city of Touba, founded by Ahmadou Bamba Mbacke in 1888, has grown to be Senegal's second-largest after Dakar, with 1.5m inhabitants. 

Multiple road accidents left 16 dead and 572 wounded as people made their way to Touba, said spokesman Moussa Niang. 

In a separate incident, a child drowned in Touba, some 200km (125 miles) east of the capital Dakar, Niang said. 

Image source, AFP/Getty

The Mourides are one of four important Sufi brotherhoods followed by most Senegalese Muslims, who overwhelmingly practise a moderate version of Islam while following the teachings of local spiritual guides. 

The late 19th Century Cheikh Bamba is considered to be their highest moral authority.

He was exiled and later allowed to return by the former French rulers for his alleged support for anti-colonial movements. 

Milton Nkosi
BBC Africa, Johannesburg

Image source, afp

South Africa's embattled President Jacob Zuma will defend his leadership at a meeting with anti-apartheid veterans today. 

Some of the veterans are demanding his resignation, following the spate of corruption scandals and the poor performance by the governing African National Congress (ANC) in local government elections. 

But Mr Zuma was in defiant mood on Friday, telling party supporters in his stronghold of KwaZulu-Natal that he was not a thief, the local TimesLive news site reported, external. 

More than 100 anti-apartheid stalwarts have signed a document entitled For The Sake of the Country, in which they call for a national consultative conference to discuss corruption and factionalism within the ANC. 

Among those who will represent them at the meeting with Mr Zuma today are former anti-apartheid cleric Frank Chikane and South Africa's former high commissioner to the UK, Cheryl Carolus.

Mr Zuma has been dogged by allegations of corruption for more than a decade. 

He is appealing against a ruling of a High Court ordering that he be prosecuted on 783 counts of corruption related to an arms deal negotiated in 1999.

He is also under pressure to appoint a judge-led inquiry to investigate allegations that he let a wealthy business family influence government appointments in exchange for business favours. 

Both Mr Zuma and the family have strongly denied wrongdoing. 

Earlier this year, South Africa's highest court ruled that he breached his oath of office by refusing to pay back government money used to upgrade his private residence. 

* You can listen to this recent interview I did with Ms Carolus: 

Shingai Nyoka
BBC Africa, Harare

Image source, Reuters

Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe, 92, is talking about retirement but the question people are asking is whether he means it. 

Over the weekend Mr Mugabe told a meeting of about 400 non-combatant veterans of the anti-colonial struggle that if he were to retire he should be allowed to do so "properly". 

He also criticised some leaders of his ruling Zanu-PF for wishing him dead and trying to bewitch him so that they could take over.

Infighting among ruling party factions vying to succeed Mr Mugabe have intensified as he appears increasingly frail.

But it's not the first time that he is speaking about stepping down.  

In 2006 he announced he would not stand for the 2008 election. Despite this, he contested the poll, and won a violent and disputed election. 

So it is unclear when, if at all, President Mugabe will step down. 

Over the weekend, Zanu-PF’s provincial committees unanimously endorsed him as their candidate for the 2018 elections, when he will be 94.  

The party will ratify the endorsement at an annual conference next month.  

So for now it does not seem that he is seriously considering retiring. 

Read: Queuing for money in Zimbabwe

Image source, In the context of continued opposition to president Nkurunziza's third term, opposition fears the census could be exploited to harm opponents

The Burundi opposition has criticised a census question requiring civil servants to indicate whether they belong to either the Hutu or Tutsi ethnic group.

Under the constitution, the census should include the data to keep track of the balance of ethnic representation within the public administration. 

But critics fear the requirement could be used for political reasons against opponents of President Pierre Nkurunziza, who is a Hutu. 

Leonce Ngendakumana, leader of the opposition Frodebu, told BBC Afrique: 

Officials have lashed out at the criticism, with Senate spokesperson Stella Budiriganya saying: 

Under the Arusha agreement which paved Burundi's way out of more than a decade of civil war, half of the Burundian armed forces should be Hutus and half Tutsis. 

For the civil administration, Hutus must make up 60% of staff and Tutsis 40%.  

Image source, Get

Senegal's government used the cover of night to release from prison Karim Wade, the flamboyant son of former President Abdoulaye Wade who was sentenced to six years in jail for embezzlement, Jeune Afrique reports, external. 

Karim Wade was once the most influential member in his father's cabinet until he lost a bid for re-election in 2012. 

His father had created a super-ministry putting him above all government officials and earning him the nickname of "Minister of Heaven and Earth". 

After the Wade family was voted out of power, a judge looked into Wade Jr's finances, convicted him of illegal enrichment and sentenced him to a six-year jail term.

Mr Wade was released in June on presidential mercy, but the circumstances of his release had been unclear.   

Image source, Getty Images

According to Jeune Afrique, the government feared he would be turned into a political hero by his die-hard supporters after his exit from prison. 

To avoid this, the authorities staged a post-midnight release and gave him a diplomatic passport.

He has since moved to Qatar.

Commenting on what happened back then, one source told Jeune Afrique, joking:   

Martin Patience
BBC News, Nigeria correspondent

Image source, afp/getty

Nigeria’s latest quarterly GPD figures show that the country’s worst economic crisis in more than two decades is deepening. 

Growth in Africa’s largest economy contracted by more than 2% in the third quarter compared to a year ago. 

Nigeria’s oil-dependent economy has been hard hit by the dramatic slump in global crude prices. 

The crisis is being worsened by continued militant attacks on oil pipelines – slashing the country’s production.  

Nigeria imports practically everything it needs, meaning the dollar shortage is causing enormous pain. 

Businesses, for example, aren’t able to import machine parts leading to a loss of production or even closure. 

Critics say the government initially exacerbated the crisis by refusing to devalue the country’s currency although it relented over the summer.  

Millions of Nigerians are now struggling with double–digit inflation – the highest rate in more than a decade. 

The government will also fear that growing unemployment could trigger social unrest.

Image source, Getty Images

Officials and activists in Libya say that a deadly clash between tribes has been set off by a pet monkey. 

The details are not entirely clear, but sources in the southern city of Sabha say the violence was triggered after a monkey belonging to members of one tribe attacked a group of schoolgirls belonging to another. 

One report from AP news agency said three young men turned a pet monkey loose on a high school girl last week.

The girl's family sought revenge after the monkey scratched and bit her and killed all three men along with the animal.   

That provoked killings in revenge, which led to four days of clashes. At least 16 people are reported to have been killed and dozens more wounded.

The two main tribes in Sabha, Awlad Suleiman and Gadhadhfa, are each backed by armed groups, AP reports. 

Libya slid into chaos after its long-serving ruler Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown and killed in 2011. Much of the country is effectively ruled by a patchwork of militias. 

Read: Why is Libya lawless?

A Supreme Court judge in Nigeria pleaded not guilty to charges of money laundering, corruption and possessing multiple passports, when he appeared in a High Court in the capital Abuja today, the Punch newspaper reports., external

Justice Sylvester Ngwuta was among seven judges whose homes were raided last month by security agents as part of an effort to tackle alleged corruption in the judiciary. 

The raids were strongly condemned by the Nigeria Bar Association as a "Gestapo-style operation". 

The Department of State Security defended the raids, saying they netted "huge raw cash of various denominations, local and foreign currencies, with real estate worth several millions of naira and documents affirming unholy acts by these judges".

All the judges have denied any wrongdoing. 

Image source, AFP

We are in the midst of an election campaign here in Ghana - heading towards 7 December when we elect a new parliament and a new president.  

But before we actually vote, the big problem we face right now is trying to understand what people mean when they speak during this political season.

In the scheme of things here, the traditional chiefs are not allowed to participate in active party politics.

They therefore, tend to speak in parables and use a lot of proverbs when they meet with political leaders.

It is now a full-time undertaking trying to decipher exactly what a chief means when he talks in public.

Read Elizabeth's full piece:Masked meanings: Deciphering Ghana's campaign parables

Habiba Adamu
BBC Africa, Abuja

Gunmen have abducted a former Nigerian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bagudu Hirse, at his home in northern Kaduna state following an exchange of fire with his bodyguards, police spokesman Aliyu Usman has confirmed to the BBC. 

Security agents have intensified efforts to free the minister, he added. 

The identity of the gunmen is unknown. 

Kidnappings for ransom in Kaduna and its surrounding areas have become frequent despite efforts to curb the problem. 

In July a former head of Sierra Leone's army andDeputy High Commissioner to Nigeria, Nelson Williams, was kidnapped. He was later released.

 A former Nigerian Minister of Environment, Laurentia Mallam and her husband Pius Mallam were kidnapped and freed by her captors. 

BBC Monitoring
News from around the globe

Image source, AP

Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe, who is 92, has mentioned possible retirement.

During a meeting with veterans of the country's independence war, he said that if he was to retire he would do so "properly", the Sunday Mail reported.

He also said he was aware that the so-called G40 and Lacoste factions in his party - which back Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa and First lady Grace Mugabe respectively -were plotting to succeed him.

The president also admitted that the Zimbabwean economy was in crisis, the African News Agency, external reported.

But he defended his performance as president, saying he had fended off Western plots to destroy his Zanu-PF party.

Zanu-PF has nominated Mr Mugabe to be its candidate in elections in 2018.

Read: The rise of Grace Mugabe

BBC Monitoring
News from around the globe

A military court in Somalia's semi-autonomous region of Puntland has sentenced two men to death for allegedly being members of the so-called Islamic State (IS), the private Shabelle Media Network news site reports, external. 

Two other men were sentenced to life in prison for being IS fighters, Puntland military court chief Col Abdifitah Haji Aden is quoted as saying. 

Several other people were given five to 20-year jail terms for IS links.

IS has been increasing its presence in Somaliland and has stepped up the recruitment of young men to join the group’s ranks and fight against regional forces.

Read: Rivalry among militant Islamists in Somalia 

Image source, AFP

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