Ghana's international striker Asamoah Gyan is among a group of more than 40 players deemed to have "unethical hair" under United Arab Emirates Football Association guidelines.

Image source, Getty Images

The mohawk-style cut, as sported by the 31-year-old Ghanaian, is regarded as un-Islamic by some conservative Muslims.

Some Islamic teachings ban so-called "Qaza" hairstyles, including Gyan's cut, because only part of the head is shaved, leaving other parts unshaven. 

It got us thinking: Which other African players' hairstyles would not go down well in The Gulf? 

Image source, Getty Images

1. With his iconic Mauhawk-style hair, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, the charismatic Gabon and Borussia Dortmund star could definitely find himself falling foul of the rules. 

Image source, Getty Images

2. Ivory Coast's Serge Aurier is often in the news in France for the wrong reasons, including mouthing insults at referees. 

If he joined a team in the Gulf, his dyed orange hair would probably add to his troubles with the authorities. 

Image source, Getty Images Sport

3. With his full head of hair in an Afro style, Benoit Assou-Ekotto of Cameroon would surely be a no-go. 

And for anyone planning on rebelling against the system, it's worth remembering the case of Saudi Arabia goalkeeper Waleed Abdullah, who was required to have a last-minute haircut, external on the side of the pitch before being allowed to play in a game in 2012. 

Sammy Awami
BBC Africa, Dar es Salaam

Image source, AFP

Religious leaders could be the key to curtailing the spread of HIV, according to a report, external published in British medical journal The Lancet. 

The research, conducted in Tanzania East Africa found that religious leaders there can play an essential role in changing views on male circumcision - which has been proven to reduce HIV infection rates. 

Getting religious leaders in the country on side could save up to 200,000 men from fresh infections, according to the research.

In a country where more than 90% of people belong to a religion, the Lancet report says religious leaders have an influential voice which they can use to change their followers' views on circumcision.

The study involved 16 villages and took place at the same time as a voluntary circumcision campaign. 

Religious leaders took part in training in half the villages, and researchers found their participation led to an increase of more than 23% in the number of men undergoing the procedure.

The report's authors suggest the intervention of religious leaders should be considered as part of the male circumcision programmes in other sub-Saharan African countries.

Nigeria's President Muhammadi Buhari, 74, will return home once his doctors in the UK give him a "clean bill of health", his media adviser Femi Adesina has told the BBC. 

Mr Buhari was "a lot better than rumour-mongers have made it seem", Mr Adesina added, pointing out that he took a call from US President Donald Trump on Monday.  

Mr Buhari has been in the UK since last month for unspecified "medical checks", fuelling rumours at home that he is seriously ill. 

A change of attitude towards peacekeeping under US President Donald Trump could spell disaster for places like the Central African Republic, where the presence of a UN mission is trying to keep notorious warlords in check, writes BBC correspondent Fergal Keane. 

He's visited the city of Bambari, where UN peacekeepers are literally keeping the two sides apart: 

Read the full piece: Peacekeeping, African warlords and Donald Trump

BBC World Service

 A court in Kenya has released seven officials representing doctors of government hospitals who have been on strike since December over demands for a pay hike. 

The officials were jailed on Monday for disobeying an order to call off the strike. 

 Operations in some private hospitals in Kenya were cancelled on Tuesday after doctors refused to work until the seven officials were released.  

Image source, AP

In what was the first visit of a UK foreign secretary to The Gambia on Tuesday, Boris Johnson hailed President Adama Barrow's decision to rejoin the Commonwealth. 

He couldn't resist the chance to poke fun at exiled former leader Yahya Jammeh, who had taken his country out of the grouping in 2013, describing it as a "neocolonial institution". 

But Mr Johnson's use of old-fashioned British slang did leave some journalists scratching their heads, including the Guardian's West Africa correspondent: 

So what on earth did he mean by the phrase "Jammeh dodger"? That's what we've been trying to decide in the office this morning. It's difficult to pin down but this is as far as we've got: 

"Jammeh dodger" is a play on words, alluding to the English phrase "jammy dodger". 

The definition is further complicated by the fact that "jammy dodger" is also the name of a popular British biscuit (made from shortbread with a raspberry or strawberry flavoured jam filling)! 

However, assuming Mr Johnson wasn't trying to insult the former Gambian strongman by likening him to a biscuit, then he was using the slang meaning of the term. 

The term "jammy dodger" can be used to mean "lucky person" (in a teasing tone) in British slang, so perhaps he was saying that Mr Jammeh was lucky to have made his escape after eventually losing power. 

But "dodger" also calls to mind the word "dodgy", which is used to mean someone who is in some way not to be trusted or relied on. 

Or, as one colleague said when I asked their opinion: 

"He probably just liked the way it sounded and didn't mean anything at all."

That's cleared up then! 

The BBC is seeking a future star of African journalism for the BBC World News Komla Dumor Award, now in its third year.

Journalists from across the continent are invited to apply for the award, which aims to uncover and promote fresh talent from Africa.

The winner will spend three months at the BBC headquarters in London, gaining skills and experience.

Applications close on 15th March 2017 at 23:59 GMT.

The award was established to honour Komla Dumor, an exceptional Ghanaian broadcaster and presenter for BBC World News, who died suddenly aged 41 in 2014.

It will be made to an outstanding individual living and working in Africa, who combines strong journalism skills, on-air flair, and an exceptional talent in telling African stories with the ambition and potential to become a star of the future.

As well as spending time with the BBC in London, the winner will also get to travel to Africa to report a story - and have that story shared across the continent and the world.

Find out more about the award here

Tamasin Ford
BBC Africa, Abidjan

Cocoa farmers in Ivory Coast, the world’s biggest cocoa exporter, are on strike today. 

It has been prompted by cocoa buyers backing out on contracts to buy up to 80% of this year’s harvest, which has left cocoa rotting at the ports and farmers penniless.  

Hundreds of thousands of tonnes of cocoa beans are backed up at ports. 

Estimates suggest a third of the country’s yearly export is sitting in trucks with nowhere to go. 

It is a similar situation in plantations and farmers’ villages – fresh cocoa beans slowly rotting in the intense humidity. 

There are even reports of farmers leaving the pods to rot on the trees. 

It is all down to falling international cocoa prices along with a rise in the local price of cocoa.  

This has meant exporters face massive losses if they honour their contracts. About six million people live off of cocoa in Ivory Coast - more than a quarter of the entire population.

Farmers are calling on the government to use their emergency cocoa funds to make up the difference.

Image source, AFP

World-famous Ethiopian runner Feyisa Lilesa has reunited with his family for the first time since going into exile in the US after protesting against the government at last year's Olympic Games in Rio, the New York Daily News reports.   

His wife, daughter and son flew into Miami, where the 27-year-old athlete met them after a separation of about six months. 

Feyisa told the newspaper through a translator: 

Back in August, Feyisa became the first Ethiopian to finish in the top two of a men's Olympics marathon since 2000, claiming silver behind Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge.

As he crossed the line, he lifted his arms in an X-shape above his head in solidarity with the Oromo people, the country's largest ethnic group, who have suffered a crackdown at the hands of the Ethiopian government.

The country's officials said the runner would be welcomed home from Rio as a hero, but Feyisa said he might be killed if he returned.

Image source, AFP

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