Image source, AFP

Senegalese sculptor Ousmane Sow has died at the age of 81, the state-owned Soleil newspaper has reported, external.

Senegal’s Culture Minister Mbagnick Ndiaye told the AFP news agency that his death was a big loss for Senegalese as well as African sculpture. 

Sow, who was also a physiotherapist, captured the world's attention in 1999 when his larger-than-life wrestler sculptures were exhibited in Paris.

Apart from a three-year break in his home country, he made France his home for some 20 years before returning to Senegal in 1984 to make sculpting his full-time profession. 

His knowledge of anatomy helped define his works.     

In 2013 he became the first African to join France's Academy of Fine Arts. 

The art world has begun to pay tribute to him:

Image source, AFP

Kenya has developed an effective programme for the prevention of HIV, the virus which causes Aids, US billionaire and philanthropist Bill Gates has said as World Aids Day is marked. 

Fielding questions on The Conversation blog, external from leading African academics on his involvement in the fight against HIV, Mr Gates argued that delivery of treatment and prevention was important, and needed to be personalised. 

He then cited Kenya as a country from which the world could learn about the benefits of tailored delivery of service. 

He is quoted by The Conversation as saying:

Through the foundation he runs with his wife Melinda, Mr Gates has committed more than $3bn (£2.3bn) to the fight of HIV around the world, including in Africa, The Conversation says. 

Image source, AF

Ethiopia’s government says opposition leader Merera Gudina was arrested for violating the state of emergency, the state-linked Fana Broadcasting Corporate reports, external.

Mr Merera was detained after returning from a trip where he had attended a briefing given to European parliamentarians in Brussels about the situation in Ethiopia, which was also attended by opposition activists in exile (see earlier post).

EU parliamentarian Ana Gomes told the BBC’s Ethiopia reporter Emmanuel Igunza that she was extremely shocked by his arrest.

She said the discussions in Brussels had been very "fruitful and frank" about the state of emergency in Ethiopia and she had petitioned the EU leadership to immediately demand forthe release of Mr Merera, external and all others in detention.

She added that the EU should stop its soft handling of Ethiopia amid continuous violations of human rights during the state of emergency, which was imposed last month after nearly a year of anti-government protests.

Today is World Aids Day and this week in South Africa, a test trial has begun for new vaccine against HIV. 

It's the largest and most advanced clinical trial ever held in the country, and one of the most ambitious anywhere in the world.

It is being funded by the American National Institutes of Health.

Image source, AFP

Pro-Biafra leader Nnamdi Kanu, who is accused of treason, has been denied bail by a federal judge in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, local media is reporting.

Mr Kanu, who leads the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), has been held in detention without trial since October 2015.

Three other activists, who had also been campaigning for the creation of the state of Biafra in the south-east - home to the Igbo people, were denied bail.

Mr Kanu, who had been based in the UK where he was director of the banned Radio Biafra, was arrested when he landed in Lagos last year.

A month before he was detained he was filmed at a meeting of the World Igbo Congress in the US city of Los Angeles soliciting for arms.

According to The Punch newspaper, external, Justice Binta Nyako said she had denied bail to the suspects as they were charged with serious offences, but said trial proceedings should be expedited.

Justice Nyako is the third judge to handle Mr Kanu’s case after two other‎ judges withdrew from the case, the Cable paper reports, external.

He was initially acquitted on some charges but the secret police refused to release him and then pressed further charges.

Read more: Should new calls for Biafra worry Nigerians?

Ghana goes to the polls on 7 December, but some people are supposed to be voting today, as BBC Focus on Africa radio presenter Akwasi Sarpong reports from Accra: 

But he says he's hearing of people having problems:

And he wonders whether these issues might be a warning for next week: 

An election monitoring project has a link to further coverage on the problems for early voters: 

Read more about the Ghana elections

Tragedy Chingola has put an advert in the Daily Times of Malawi announcing he wants to change his first name - to Trevor.

He is an English teacher from Zomba, in the south of the country.

He says his name, given to him by his father, is a problem and he is now going through a legal process to change it. 

But why Trevor? He explained all to the BBC's Lawrence Pollard: 

A US bid to impose an arms embargo in South Sudan is struggle to secure the required backing at the United Nations, Reuters news agency reports.

A resolution needs nine votes in favour and no vetoes in order to be passed, but only seven members were currently supporting the move, according to an unnamed senior UN diplomat quoted by Reuters. 

The UN warned earlier this month, external of the "potential for genocide" in the world's youngest nation, with "the strong risk of violence escalating along ethnic lines".

Fighting is expected to intensify with the arrival of the dry season in December, with an arms embargo seen as one way of reducing, if not stopping the bloodshed. 

US ambassador to the UN Human Rights Council, Keith Harper, warned yesterday, external of fresh intelligence that showed preparations for a new wave of attacks: 

Human Rights Watch has shared this short video explaining more about the proposed arms embargo: 

BBC Monitoring
News from around the globe

Kenya’s private Daily Nation paper says that two Iranians have been arrested in the Kenyan capital:

This is the second pair of Iranians to be arrested in the country on suspicion of planning an act of terror.

In June 2012, the Kenyan authorities arrested Ahmad Mohammed and Sayed Mousavi for possessing explosives which they allegedly planned to use for an attack.

They were jailed for life in May 2013, but their sentence was commuted to 15 years after they appealed in February.

In November last year, two Kenyans - Abubakar Sadiq Louw, 69, and Yassin Sambai Juma, 25 - were arrested and accused of planning terrorism and spying on behalf of Iranian state intelligence.

South Africa cartoonist Zapiro compares President Jacob Zuma to a rotten egg in his latest cartoon.

With reference to the nursery rhyme Humpty Dumpty, external, he pokes fun at how South Africa's governing African National Congress (ANC) rejected a bid this week to oust the scandal-hit president.

Umaru Fofana
BBC Africa, The Gambia

Image source, AFP

In the lead up to today’s election an unprecedented number of Gambians turned out at opposition rallies.

The excitement is palpable: For a country that has known only two presidents since independence from the UK 51 years ago - its mostly young population is yearning for change.

Image source, AFP

The economic challenges besetting this small West African nation have forced many to make the perilous journey to Europe, with some drowning on the way.   

Last night the authorities shut down internet and overseas telephone calls. Sources say it will last until the weekend. Post-election demonstrations have been banned.

President Yahya Jammeh has said that he will rule for a billion years if Allah wills.

Image source, Reuters

His main challenger, Adama Barro, says he wants to bring the country back from the brink and restore human rights and true democracy.

Mr Jammeh seized power in 1994 through a military coup.

While his supporters say he has spread education and health care to remote parts of the country, his critics accuse him of repressive tendencies with many dissenting voices either killed, jailed or forced into exile.

The Oromo opposition leader Merera Gudina who has been arrested in Ethiopia (see earlier posts) had just returned from a briefing at the European parliament about the current state of emergency in the country.

Our reporter in Ethiopia says EU politicians are not happy about the arrest:

Umaru Fofana
BBC Africa, The Gambia

There are long voting queues here in The Gambia which has a unique way of voting for their president - instead of ballot papers, voters use marbles.

In the 2012 parliamentary election there were only two invalid votes when people placed their marbles on the top of the voting drums.

Watch me demonstrate, before the polls opened, how it is done:

Naziru Mikailu
BBC Abuja editor

Confusion exists among many of the 200,000 university and polytechnic graduates employed by Nigeria's government to start work today as teachers, agricultural and health workers. 

Many of them have not yet been told where they would work but the government insists that the scheme is going ahead as planned. 

They are the first batch of 500,000 graduates the government plans to recruit in a bid to tackle high levels of unemployment.

The government has promised to pay each of them a flat rate of about $100 (£80) a month.  

Image source, AFP

Hip-hop artists in the Central African Republic (CAR) have joined forces to use music to promote peace in their war-torn country. 

Performing under the name One Force, the group includes Christians and Muslims.

CAR was plunged into turmoil in 2013 when Muslim rebels from the Seleka umbrella group briefly seized power. This led to violent reprisals against the Muslim population by the Christian anti-Balaka militia.

Two of the singers - Lionel and Mohamed - told the BBC News Day programme they wanted to use the popularity of hip-hop: 

Lionel said: 

One Force has released a single - Nous Voulons la Paix (We Want Peace) - and they are making sure the message woven into their rhythms is heard far and wide across the country.

You can listen to some of the music and the whole Newsday interview below:

Emmanuel Igunza
BBC Africa, Addis Ababa

Image source, Getty Images

Prominent Ethiopian opposition leader Merera Gudina was arrested on Wednesday at the airport in the capital Addis Ababa, upon his arrival from Brussels (see earlier post). 

The authorities have not divulged the reason for his arrest.

But he has previously criticised the arrest of hundreds of people from the Oromo and Amhara communities, saying the state of emergency could not eclipse nearly a year of anti-government protests.

The meeting at the European Union attracted high-profile opposition figures, including Berhanu Nega, the leader of an outlawed group who is now in exile.

Also in attendance was Feyisa Lilesa, the Olympic marathon silver medallist, who brought months of protests to global attention in August when he raised his arms above his head in solidarity with Oromo activists.

Mr Merera is no stranger to controversy and has previously served seven years in prison for opposing the former government of Mengistu Haile Mariam.

He also took part in the overthrow of Ethiopia's last emperor, Haile Selassie.

Read more:

• Endurance test for Feyisa Lilesa
• Why is Ethiopia's diaspora so influential

Matthew Davies
Editor, BBC Africa Business Report

Africa's embattled oil exporters will take some relief from oil cartel Opec's production cuts and the corresponding rise in the price of oil. 

However, analysts warn that the price increase is by no means a cure for the economic ills of the main producers.  

The continent's largest oil producers, Nigeria and Angola, have had a tough time of it over the past couple of years. 

As oil prices slumped, so too did their currencies and economies, with Nigeria now mired in recession. 

And while a 10% jump in the price of crude will help, the road to economic recovery is long and hard.

Image source, EPA

Meanwhile, the low price meant that the promised bonanza of oil and gas production in East Africa failed to materialise, as exploration and development projects from Somalia to Mozambique were put on hold. 

Analysts say the experience of the large oil producers in Africa in recent years simply highlights the need for more economic diversity. 

Having all one's eggs in one basket or, in this case, barrels of oil, does not guarantee recovery or sustainable development.

As Gambians go to the polls today, the authorities have shut down the internet and have banned overseas telephone calls.

The BBC’s Umaru Fofana in the capital, Banjul, says post-election demonstrations have also been banned.

Our reporter says people were queuing early at this polling station in Sukuta, just outside Banjul, even before polls opened for voting:

Our reporter adds these are the most tighly contested presidential elections since President Yahya Jammeh came to power 22 years ago.

The president's main opponent is estate agent Adama Barrow, who has the backing of most opposition parties.

Mr Jammeh denies allegations that the opposition has been harassed.

Read the BBC News story for more.

Ethiopia has arrested opposition leader Merara Gudina when he arrived home from a trip to Europe, local media is reporting.

The English-language Addis Standard says four of his relatives were arrested along with him.

According to the website of opposition Ethiopian Satellite Television (Esat), Mr Merara was in Brussels where he testified at the European parliament on the current political crisis and human rights violations in Ethiopia.

He had called for Ethiopia's parliament to be dissolved and for the establishment of a transitional government, Esat reports.

Media outlets affiliated with the government had been campaigning for his arrest, saying he had violated the current state of emergency by attending the hearing at the European parliament, it added.

Ethiopia declared a six-month state of emergency last month in the face of an unprecedented wave of protests by members of the Oromo and Amhara ethnic groups.

Read more: Seven things banned under the state of emergency

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