Image source, AFP

Ethiopia's new Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has visited the hotbed of recent anti-government protests, promising that change will come if people are patient.

Speaking to a crowd of thousands at a stadium in the town of Ambo, the 42-year-old said the country was “on the path of change and love”, the AFP news agency reports.

Image source, AFP

After blessings from traditional leaders and a moment of silence in memory of those who died in protests, Reuters quotes Mr Abiy as saying:

Police struggled to keep the crowd from bandstand while he was speaking, AFP reports.

Men in traditional Oromo clothing also performed during the rally:

Image source, AFP

The new prime minister, a former army officer, is from the country's largest ethnic group, the Oromo, and his appointment was seen as a move to appease the protesters.

Demonstrations calling for political and economic reforms have lasted almost three years and have seen thousands arrested.

Image source, Reuters

A man living near the site where a military plane crashed in Algeria this morning has described what he saw:

At least 257 people have been killed in a military plane crashed shortly after take-off at Boufarik military airport near the capital, Algiers.

The Ministry of Defence says most of the dead are military personnel and their family members.

There are no reports of survivors and no information as yet on what caused the crash.

Tomi Oladipo
BBC Africa security correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

Armed attacks at sea have increased this year, with West Africa accounting for more than 29 of the 66 incidents reported globally.

A report by the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) warns that attacks on ships in the Gulf of Guinea are pushing up global levels of piracy.

The most recent pirate attack was recorded on Saturday when gunmen in a speedboat chased and boarded a cargo ship just off the Nigerian coast.

They seized some property and escaped before a Nigerian navy patrol boat arrived.

Such attacks are common in West African waters, where pirates kidnap crews for ransom and steal cargo.

The IMB report notes it is still risky off Somalia, on the other side of the continent.

There has been one reported incident there this year, indicating the pirates there have not lost their capability or intent to attack, despite the presence of multinational naval patrols in the Indian Ocean.

Two of the 16 prisoners that escaped from a Johannesburg prison on Monday have been shot dead by South African police, reports EyeWitness News, external.

The police told the South African news site that their officers stopped the car the suspects were travelling in, but then came under fire, which they returned.

The suspects had a 9mm pistol and a toy gun, the news site adds.

We reported yesterday that the prisoners, who were all awaiting trial and included murder and rape suspects, broke through iron bars and windows before escaping through the fence of the jail known as "Sun City".

Image source, AFP

The memorial service for South Africa's veteran struggle leader Winnie Madikizela-Mandela has now ended and the mourners will start making their way out of Orlando Stadium in Soweto.

Crowds sang to remember the campaigner:

Image source, AFP

Image source, AFP

Image source, SABC

South Africa's deputy president David Mabuza has revealed that Winnie Madikizela-Mandela spent her last days helping the family of a five-year-old girl who fell to her death in a pit latrine.

He was speaking during the memorial service for Makikizela-Mandela in Orlando Stadium, Soweto.

Five-year-old Viwe Jali died after falling into a pit toilet at a primary school in Eastern Cape, News 24 reported in March, external.

He went on to say "Mama Winnie" was a "galant fighter".

Image source, SABC

South Africa's Deputy President David Mabuza has praised Winnie Madikizela-Mandela's courage at her memorial service in Soweto.

"The mother of the nation is gone" he started.

He said she inspired freedom fighters and the crowd started cheering when he mentioned her motivation to women:

Nick Cavell
BBC Africa Sport

Image source, AFP

South Africa's Luvo Manyonga has won gold in the men's long jump in Australia – and he also set a new Commonwealth Games record of 8.41m. The athlete won the World Championship last year in London.

Australia's Henry Frayne was second and Ruswahl Samaai of South Africa took bronze.

And more gongs for Botswana as Amantle Montsho wins the women's 400m.

This makes it a 400m double for the southern African country after Isaac Makwala won the men's race yesterday.

Montsho, a former World Champions, was banned for two years for doping after testing positive at the last Commonwealth Games in 2014.

Image source, SABC

As South African politician and Zulu chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi addressed the crowd at Winnie Madikizela-Mandela's memorial service in Soweto, a master of ceremonies had to intervene to ask the mourners to be quiet.

But his tribute ended in cheers.

He said that a very big tree has fallen and a nation mourned.

Ms Madikizela-Mandela had been a lively ambassador for justice and had always welcomed him into her home, he said.

It was remarkable to see how Nelson and Winnie Mandela's two daughters had grown up despite being robbed of their parents as they grew up, he said.

He ended by saying that since Ms Madikizela-Mandela's death, many had been asking whether she was a saint or a sinner.

He said that, as Nelson Mandela had believed, "a saint is merely a sinner who dies trying".

Pumza Fihlani
BBC News, Soweto

Image source, Getty Images

Orlando Stadium in the heart of the sprawling township is a sea of black, green and yellow - the colours of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) – but this isn’t a party event.

Thousands of South Africans have gathered to commemorate struggle stalwart Winnie Madikizela-Mandela.

Singing and dancing are the order of the day as supporters sing anti-apartheid anthems in her honour.

In the days after her death, questions have been asked about her legacy, which has in part been tarnished - but for the people here, she was a hero – a woman who took on a brutal system on a daily basis and survived.

“There is no grave big enough to bury her legacy,” as one of the speakers, Mzwakhe Mbuli said.

That legacy for those gathered here is that of a hero, an imperfect being but someone worth celebrating.

Speakers have praised her for keeping fight alive, at a time when the ANC’s leaders where either in exile or prison - with no indication that they would ever return home.

In South Africa her death marks the end of an era - she was one of the few remaining leaders of her generation.

Image source, Reuters

Chris Ewokor
BBC Africa, Abuja

Image source, Getty Images

Nigeria's current population is nearing 200 million, according to the National Population Commission.

Chairman of the National Population Commission Eze Duruiheoma presented the figure at the Commission on Population and Development in New York.

He said the country was just two million people away from hitting that 200 million mark.

Mr Duruiheoma noted that at the last census in 2006 Nigeria's population was put at 140 million.

Just over a decade later, it is the seventh most-populous country in the world - and one in every 43 person in the world is Nigerian.

Nigeria is now projected to become the third most-populated country in the world in the next 30 years.

The UN has projected that it could overtake Pakistan, Brazil, Indonesia and the US by 2060 at the rate the country's population is growing.

Last month, the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Paul Arkwright, warned there could be "a demographic disaster” in the making, especially as so many young people are jobless, lack access to education and the competition for resources.

Rana Jawad
BBC North Africa correspondent

Image source, Reuters

The military plane crash in Algeria has killed at least 247 people, state media reports.

Algeria’s ministry of defence has still not given any death toll figures.

Reports suggest that most of the people on board the flight were soldiers and there are worries that few, if any, have survived the crash.

The Soviet-era aircraft went down shortly after take-off from Boufarik airport, 30km (18 miles) from the capital, Algiers, which is home to the Algerian Air Force.

We still do not know what caused the crash.

Read more on the BBC News website.

Image source, SABC

The people's poet Mzwakhe Mbuli is praising the "mother of the nation" Winnie Madikizela-Mandela at her memorial in Soweto.

it is an emotional tribute and some in the crowd are crying.

Here are some of his quotes:

Image source, SABC

Mozambique's president has announced the general election will be held on 15 October 2019, reports Reuters news agency.

It quotes a notice on the presidency website as saying the presidential, parliamentary and provincial elections will be on the same day.

The anti-apartheid activist's seven great-grandchildren have addressed the crowds at her memorial, talking of her kindness - with one saying that she was the "best gogo [grandmother] ever".

Image source, SABC

Image source, SABC

Image source, SABC

Image source, SABC

Winnie Madikizela-Mandela's grandson Bambatha Mandela has paid tribute to his grandmother as a woman:

He ended his tribute by hitting out at critics of his grandmother, saying the family would not tolerate defamatory messages and South Africans should not be behaving like ungrateful children.

Image source, SABC

Winnie Madikizela-Mandela's aunt, Nomasonto Madizela-Gigaba, has paid tribute to her niece, telling mourners how she started learning about politics when still young and how the apartheid police could not defeat her:

Image source, SAID

At least 105 people have been killed after a military plane crashed in Algeria, media reports say quoting civil defence officials.

But no official toll has been released yet.

At least 25 members of Polisario Front, supported by Algeria and seeking independence from Morocco for Western Sahara, are said to be among the dead.

The cause of crash is still unclear.

Read more on the BBC News website.

Image source, AFP

Kenya has lost the women’s 3,000m steeple chase to Jamaica in the Commonwealth Games taking place in Australia.

Jamaica's Aisha Praught claimed the gold medal with Kenya's Celliphine Chespol having to settle with silver. Kenyan Purity Kirui, a winner four years ago, took bronze.

The BBC's Nick Cavell reports this is a big shock as Jamaica is relatively unknown for competing in this category.

The steeple chase - a running race in which runners must clear hurdles - is historically dominated by Kenyans and Ethiopians.

Memorial service programme for Winnie Madikizela-Mandela has a portrait of the struggle leader in traditional attire:

Image source, SA government