Kenya government and doctors sign deal to end long-running health strike
South Africa police arrest four suspects of last week's airport heist
Kidnappers release eight South Sudanese aid workers
Ethiopia's parliament declares three days of mourning following rubbish dump deaths
Ethiopia officials say 72 people were killed
Haftar 'launches offensive' in Libya
Somalia observes a day of prayer to end the drought
Ghana's Essien set to play in Indonesia
Suspected Somali pirates 'board ship'
Email stories and comments to africalive@bbc.co.uk - Tuesday 14 March 2017
The ongoing political crisis in South Sudan has exposed civilians to wanton violence and abuses.
Hundreds have been killed and thousands displaced in fighting that has taken a tribal turn.
The BBC's Alastair Leithead spoke to victims who say they have been raped and attacked by government soldiers:
How murder, rape and looting are being carried out along ethnic lines
Forces commanded by Libyan military strongman Khalifa Haftar, say they have launched an offensive to seize two key oil terminals in the east of the country.
Haftar is opposed to the UN-backed government in Tripoli.
Two spokesmen said that ground, sea and air forces were taking part in the twin attack to retake Ras Lanuf and al-Sidra, which they lost earlier this month to a rival group called the Benghazi Defence Brigades (BDB).
However, the BDB's media arm has dismissed reports of the offensive as rumours.
Libya has been suffering from lawlessness and infighting since the overthrow of Colonel Gaddafi in 2011.
Image source, ReutersSouth Africa's Sport Minister Fikile Mbalula says that the country is disappointed that it will not be hosting the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
In 2015, Durban won the bid to bring the the games to Africa for the first time.
Mr Mbalula, in a statement, said the cost of hosting the competition had been a major factor in withdrawing the bid.
He added that the country would be willing to host the games in the future.
Here are some highlights from his statement:
Quote MessageThe Government of the Republic of South Africa wishes to express its disappointment at the announcement by the Commonwealth Games Federation to withdraw the country’s bid to host a successful Commonwealth Games in Durban 2022 this, despite all the efforts and the positive responses from the Commonwealth Games Evaluation Commission on the potential capacity of the Host City of Durban.
Quote MessageHowever, at this juncture, our country is regrettably not in a position to make huge financial commitments given the current competing socio-economic needs and global economic down turn. In the interests of fiscal discipline and financial prudency, our government has considered all options and remains confident that we have acted in the best interest of South Africa."
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Read: Commonwealth Games: Durban, South Africa will not host Games in 2022
Emmanuel Igunza
BBC Africa, Addis Ababa
Ethiopia's parliament has declared three days of national mourning for the victims of the rubbish dump collapse in the capital, Addis Ababa, as recovery operations continue.
Seventy two people have now been confirmed dead following a landslide at the weekend.
More bodies have been retrieved from under the debris of the rubbish dump nearly three days after the landslide destroyed makeshift houses at the Koshe landfill.
Many are still missing and authorities fear the death toll could rise even further.
Rescue operations have been going on day and night at the site and city authorities say they will continue until everyone is accounted for.
Family members are waiting at the site to hear news of their missing loved ones:
Image source, Reuters
Image source, ReutersThe government and locals living in the area have traded accusations about what triggered the landslide.
Residents say an ongoing construction of a biogas plant caused it but the government has dismissed the claims insisting people had refused an offer to be relocated.
The country’s prime minister has pledged to carry out an investigation of the disaster.
Nkosozana Dlamini Zuma is handing over power today after four-and-a-half years as chair of the African Union commission.
In some of her last tweets from Ethiopia she has been sharing her thoughts:
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And she had praise for Ethiopia, the home of the African Union headquarters:
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Her successor, Chad's Faki Mahamat, is due to formally take over in a few minutes
Emmanuel Igunza
BBC Africa, Addis Ababa
Seventy two people have now been confirmed dead following the weekend landslide at a vast rubbish dump on the outskirts of the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.
South Africa's Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan has said he is fairly confident welfare payments will be paid on 1 April despite an ongoing dispute over the company that runs the service.
He told a parliamentary committee that the debate now is over exactly how that is achieved.
The Social Security Agency (Sassa) has been scrambling to ensure that as many as 17 million people continue to receive their money, despite concerns that retaining the existing service provider is both unlawful and costly.
A court ruled in 2014 that Cash Paymaster Service had been awarded the tender unlawfully.
Image source, afRead: Sassa crisis: South Africa's social security payments in chaos
The BBC Somali service has spoken to a government official in Puntland, Ali Shire Mohamud Osman, who has heard from the men who boarded a ship off Somalia's coast on Monday.
He said:
Quote MessageThe men who are holding it claim that they are fishermen who suffered from the illegal fishing in the area. However, if we confirm that they are pirates, I will ask them to leave the area immediately. Otherwise, we will see how we can save the vessel.”
Quote MessageThe information I am getting is that the vessel is a cargo ship, carrying oil. There are conflicting reports over its ownership, but we are almost certain it's UAE owned. Last night, it arrived at a nearby area called Biyo Addo."
This is said to be the first hijacking of a major ship off the coast of Somalia for five years.
Piracy emerged in Somalia off the back of discontented fishermen, Time magazine, external reported in 2009.
Image source, Mohamed Deeq, SBCSomali journalist Mohamed Deeq sent us this picture of the ship off the coast of Somalia
BBC Sport
Image source, Getty ImagesEx-Chelsea and Real Madrid midfielder Michael Essien has joined Indonesia's Persib Bandung.
The 34-year-old, who left Panathinaikos in 2016 and has been training with Chelsea's reserve team, has reportedly signed a one-year deal.
Several greats have played in Indonesia. Mario Kempes and Roger Milla, stars of the 1978 and 1990 World Cups respectively, had short spells in the country, as did former England international Lee Hendrie.
Driving on Kenyan roads can be hectic especially because most drivers don't obey traffic rules.
A tweeter has shared a short video of a typical scene at a junction in the capital Nairobi - when drivers are rushing to beat the traffic peak time.
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Russia has denied reports that its special forces have been deployed to an Egyptian airbase near the Libyan border, Reuters news agency says.
Reuters had earlier quoted US and Egyptian diplomatic sources indicating that the deployment is to help Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar, who is leading a group opposed to the UN-backed government in Tripoli.
Haftar's forces recently suffered a setback in their bid to control the oil resources in the east of the country following an attack by the Benghazi Defence Brigades.
Image source, AFPRival Libyan forces are fighting over the oil resources in the east of Libya
Somalis gathered today in the capital, Mogadishu, to pray for rain as a severe drought continues to ravage the country, state-owned SNTV reports.
Prime Minister Ali Hassan Kheyre was present at the event, held at the Isbaheysiga mosque, which was also attended by many residents and Islamic scholars.
In his remarks Mr Kheyre asked for divine intervention "to lift the drought burden from the Somali people".
His official Twitter account shared pictures of the event and a prayer: "I pray to God to bring rain to the people who have been affected by the drought."
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He also called on Somalis to help each other and join hands to overcome the drought situation.
The scholars who addressed the gathering asked "God to lift the burden of drought from the Somali people".
They also asked the Somali public "to pray more to God and repent to Him," the report says.
Image source, Somali PM office
Image source, Somali PM officeMillions of Somalis face the risk of starvation due to a severe drought that has hit the country. The UN has warned that the country is on the brink of famine.
President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo has declared the drought a national disaster and urged aid agencies to quickly respond to the country's humanitarian needs.
In 2011, the UN estimated that nearly 260,000 people died as a result of famine in Somalia.
#DoctorsDeal, external is trending in Kenya in anticipation of an agreement between striking doctors and the government. This would bring to an end the 100-day strike that has paralysed public hospitals nationwide.
The ministry of health has tweeted that a deal is imminent:
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But the medical workers' representatives have not spoken yet and the government statement could be seen as a way to force their hand.
Several attempts to end the strike have failed with both sides accusing each other of not being honest.
Last week the government announced that it was withdrawing a pay offer with President Uhuru Kenyatta accusing officials the doctors' union of blackmailing the authorities.
It had also started sacking doctors who had not returned to work saying that it would replace them with foreign doctors.
The latest attempt to bring the the two sides together is being mediated at the Court of Appeal which gave both sides 24 hours to agree on a deal.
The doctors have been pushing for a 2013 deal to improve their pay and working conditions.
The government has said that it does not have funds to honour the agreement and it has also questioned the legitimacy of the deal.
Image source, EPAMedical workers protested in the capital, Nairobi, last month
Ethiopian officials have now confirmed that 65 people died in the weekend's landslide at a rubbish dump in the capital, Addis Ababa.
The search for more victims is continuing and funerals for some of those who have died have already taken place, reports the BBC's Emmanuel Igunza.
A number of makeshift houses are now buried under tonnes of waste.
The area has been a dumping ground for Addis Ababa's rubbish for more than five decades.
Image source, ReutersRescuers are using bulldozers and even bare hands to move tonnes of debris as the search for survivors and dead bodies continues.
Mohammud Ali Mohamed
BBC Africa, Nairobi
Suspected Somali pirates have hijacked a ship off the coast of Somalia, the first such incident in 5 years.
The vessels, thought to have been heading to the Somali capital, Mogadishu, has eight people on board.
Details are emerging of how the ship sent a distress call on Monday evening, saying it was being approached by high speed boats.
But according to the anti-piracy agency in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland there has been no contact with the ship since.
The tracking system is reported to have been switched off.
Piracy off the coast of Somalia was rampant up until a few years ago with pirates demanding millions of dollars in ransom.
However, following patrols by foreign navies and assistance for fishing communities, the problem has been contained.
Image source, AFPToday’s African proverb:
Quote MessageIntelligence is wealth."
A Swahili proverb sent by Joseph Kuria Mwangi, Jeffreys Bay, South Africa
Image source, AFPClick here and scroll to the bottom to send us your African proverbs .
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