The Africa Geographic blog is reporting that a famous elephant called Satao 2, known as a tusker because of his giant tusks, has been killed by poachers in Kenya's Tsavo Conservation Area.

According to the online publication, this leaves only six tuskers - elephants whose tusks weigh more than 45kg (100lb) - left in the world.

It is not clear from the report when Satao 2 was killed.

He was named after the bull elephant Satao, who was poached in 2014 and had tusks weighing 51kg and 50.5kg, Africa Geographic reports.

Before the poachers had time to remove his tusks, Kenya Wildlife Service rangers discovered Satao 2’s body, it says. 

It is thought he may have been killed by a poisoned arrow. 

Some people have been sharing photos of the iconic animal on social media:

BBC World Service

Image source, AFP

The self-proclaimed republic of Somaliland has announced a new date for elections, which had been postponed because of the need to tackle severe drought.

The UN has warned about the risk of famine in the region.

Somaliland's President,  Ahmed Mohamed Silanyo,  has been given another nine months in office, as the elections will now take place in December.

The polls had originally been scheduled for the end of this month.

The three main political parties have welcomed the announcement.

Somaliland broke away from Somalia in 1991 but its independence has not been recognised internationally.

It has been far more stable than southern Somalia.

Read more: Making a success of 'independence'

Nigeria has advised it citizens against non-urgent travel to the US after several Nigerians with valid visas were denied entry.

The statement comes from Abike Dabiri-Erewa, a special adviser to the president on foreign affairs.

Ms Dabiri -Erewa said that "no reasons were given for the decision by the US immigration authorities."

She urged those without “any compelling or essential reasons to visit the US to consider rescheduling their trip until there is clarity on the new immigration policy". 

#HandsOffSocialMedia, external  is trending in South Africa following comments made by State Security Minister David Mahlobo, that social media platforms needs to be regulated to deal with the spread of fake news and scams, the online publication Citizen reports, external . 

Mr Mahlobo said that the regulation might extend to the "internet in general": 

Over the past few months, a number of images emerged of politicians that went viral on social media, including a fake one of a minister in the nude, the Citizen reports. 

Here's a selection of the tweets: 

Read more: How African governments block social media

Ghana is marking 60 years of independence from the UK today with the main celebrations taking place at the Black Star Square in the capital, Accra. 

The country was the second sub-Saharan country to break with colonialists, prompting many others to cut their ties.  

The BBC's Thomas Naadi is at the event and is busy snapping away:

Image source, AFP

A donkey abattoir that opened a year ago in Kenya is reportedly doing a booming business. 

Goldox slaughterhouse, owned by Lu Donglin, a Chinese national, opened in the western county of Baringo in April last year after the Kenyan government approved donkey meat as fit for consumption. 

The meat is exported to China but banned from being sold on the local market. 

At least 600 donkeys are slaughtered every day,  the Daily Nation reports., external

Mr Donglin says they have to follow strict regulations and pay about $77 (£63) for each donkey:

Trade in donkey skins is worth millions of dollars, with hides prized in China for supposed medicinal properties.

The gelatine in the hides is used as a medicinal tonic, with some believing it can slow down menopause in women.

It is also used to try to treat conditions such as insomnia and poor circulation.

Milton Nkosi
BBC Africa, Johannesburg

Image source, AFP PHOTO/AHMED KATHRADA FOUNDATION

Anti-apartheid struggle hero Ahmed Kathrada, an old friend of Nelson Mandela who was jailed with him on Robben Island, is in hospital recovering from brain surgery.

The African National Congress (ANC) veteran is in a stable condition after doctors removed a blood clot from his brain after he was admitted to a Johannesburg hospital on Saturday.

The Ahmed Kathrada Foundation said he was initially admitted for dehydration but doctors discovered a blood clot which was later removed.

“Doctors last night indicated that the operation was successful and he is in a stable condition. However, it would be some time before Kathrada fully recovers,” said the foundation’s director Neeshan Balton.

“We hope that you continue remembering him in your prayers and take time to reflect on the ideals and values that Kathrada and his generation stood for."

Mr Kathrada delivered one of the most memorable eulogies at Mr Mandela funeral a little over three years ago.

The 87-year-old is one of only three remaining stalwarts of the famous Rivonia trial – when Mr Mandela and seven others were sentenced to life imprisonment in 1964 for planning to overthrow the white minority regime.

Image source, AFP

At least eight people have died and 28 others have been injured in a stampede at a public hall in Zambia's capital, Lusaka, where a church was distributing food, police say.  

Five died on the spot while the others succumbed to injuries as they were being rushed to the hospital. 

Police say the victims were among 35,000 people who had gathered at the Olympic Youth Development Centre in the capital after a call to attend a prayer event and get free food. 

The BBC's Kennedy Gondwe in Lusaka says the event was advertised on social media.

Mwebantu, an online publication, has shared a picture of a ticket that was reportedly distributed for the gathering: 

The event was organised by a group calling itself the Lesedi Seven, which is part of the Church of Christ, the statement says. 

"The injured are receiving treatment at Chingwere first level hospital and Chipata clinic while the bodies of the deceased have been taken to UTH mortuary," it adds. 

Police say they have launched an inquiry.

A South African government spokesperson refused to speak English this morning on an English-medium radio station when asked to comment on the possible solution to the benefit cut-off facing millions of South African next month.

Social Development Department spokesperson Lumka Oliphant insisted on speaking in Zulu when questioned by radio 702 host Xolani Gwala, who was forced to end the interview , external .

Just before her 702 interview, she was on the state broadcaster Sabc, speaking in English, external .

She said on Sabc that she could not confirm media reports that the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) had signed a deal for a private contractor to continue distributing the payments.

The agency has come in for criticism for not sorting out a new contract for the 17 million recipients of benefits before 31 March, when its current one expires.

BBC Africa's Nick Ericsson says Ms Oliphant has been controversial in the past, and used Facebook to swear and rant at people who criticised her boss a few months ago.

And she is certainly causing a storm on social media this morning, and her name is trending in South Africa - with many saying her refusal to speak English was a diversionary tactic:

Some have come to her defence:

This week, the BBC is highlighting the need for adapted solutions to tackle air pollution around the world. 

This is part of our #SoICanBreathe , external season. Air pollution kills millions of people around the world every year, according to the World Health Organisation. 

In Ghana, the BBC's Thomas Naadi reports about the efforts to promote the use of improved cooking stoves requiring smaller amounts of charcoal:

Kenya's police boss Joseph Boinnet has denied media reports that his helicopter was shot at on Saturday during a visit to Laikipia region in central Kenya which has been experiencing violent attacks from armed herders. 

The report said the shooting happened in the area where British rancher Tristan Voorspuy was killed on yesterday. 

Mr Boinnet was in the region to meet commanders who have been leading an operation to end insecurity in the region. 

A police statement called the allegations were "lies" adding that the story had been "fabricated". 

Herders from the Pokot and Samburu ethnic groups have recently invaded ranches in Laikipia. 

The Star newspaper reports that  more than 1,000 men and youths, many with assault rifles, are operating north of Laikipia. 

The attackers have been killing people and wildlife, stealing livestock, looting and burning houses, the report adds. 

Tomi Oladipo
BBC Monitoring's Africa security correspondent

Image source, AFP

Militants in central Mali have attacked an army post near the border with Burkina Faso, killing 11 soldiers and wounding five.

The Malian army has sent reinforcements to the area to track down the attackers and assess the damage.

The defence ministry says the attack took place on Sunday morning in village where a Malian army contingent is based.

Its spokesman says some soldiers who fled the attack ended up across the border in Burkina Faso.

So far it is not clear who carried out the raid but government officials say this is the latest example of the jihadist activity that has been on the rise in region - targeting mostly army positions.

Last Thursday three groups active in the Sahel region announced a merger to form one organisation.

The factions that make up this alliance, linked to al-Qaeda, have carried out repeated attacks in the region, even spreading south to new territory.

Image source, OFFBEAT SAFARIS

Attempts to recover the body of a British rancher who was shot dead by armed herders over the weekend in Laikipia county in central Kenya, have failed after gunmen shot at the search team sent out by his family, the Star newspaper reports, external . 

Tristan Voorspuy was killed by pastoral herders when he went to inspect some of his lodges that had been burned by the attackers.

Laikipia and surrounding counties have been experiencing high rates of violence driven mostly by herders who are looking for pasture for their animals but some analysts have also attributed the rise insecurity to local politics. 

Ranch owners in Kenya’s central countryside of Laikipia have asked the government to provide more security in the area. 

They fear that the insecurity could spread in the next couple of weeks as grazing land runs out in the areas already occupied by the herders because of a severe drought in the north of the country. 

Meanwhile, tension is high in neighbouring Baringo county after the government deployed hundreds of security officers and issued a controversial shoot-to-kill order in response to similar drought-related raids.

Image source, AFP

Nigeria’s former President Goodluck Jonathan has denied a report by a UK newspaper that he snubbed an offer by the British air force to rescue more than 200 girls abducted by the Boko Haram in April 2014 from a boarding school in the town of Chibok.

“The girls were located in the first few weeks of the RAF mission. We offered to rescue them, but the Nigerian government declined” a source involved in search for the girls  in the UK Observer, external .  

But Mr Jonathan’s spokesman, Ikechukwu Eze, dismissed the allegations as false.

“We can confidently say the lies in this report are self evident,” he said in a statement.

He said the international collaboration to rescue the abducted girls involved neigbouring countries and Mr Jonathan's administration had been supportive of the efforts and allowed Western military to conduct reconnaissance flight over the country’s airspace.

“We are however not surprised that this kind of concocted story is coming out at this point in time, as it appears that some people who have obviously been playing politics with the issue of the Chibok girls will stop at nothing to further their interest,” Nigeria's Daily Trust newspaper quotes Mr Eze as saying, external .

A spokesman for the present administration told the BBC that the Observer's report confirmed their claim that Mr Jonathan had been "playing politics" with the Boko Haram insurgency.

Today's African proverb:

Image source, AFP

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