Image source, Getty Images

Health authorities in Zimbabwe will from tomorrow start recruiting retired and unemployed nurses to fill 15,000 vacancies left after the government fired all nurses in state hospitals.

An advisory letter orders recruitment teams to be ready to start accepting new staff from Thursday. It also stipulated the number of nurses who should hired.

Zimbabwe’s Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga, the former army chief, said that striking workers had refused to return to work despite their outstanding allowances being paid.

He said the decision to fire the nurses had been taken in the interest of saving patients' lives.

But the nurses said they wanted to see the money in their accounts first.

A senator who was serving a suspension after falling out with fellow lawmakers and people described by the Nigerian Senate as "armed hoodlums" are being blamed for the theft of the assembly's ceremonial mace.

Pictures shared by photographer Buhari Sallau captured the melee that took place during the incident.

They show the moments after the mace was taken and how officials tried to wrestle it back:

Image source, Buhari Sallau

Image source, Buhari Sallau

Image source, Buhari Sallau

Ishaq Khalid
BBC Africa, Abuja

Amnesty International has criticised the Nigerian police's response to the protests this week staged by the followers of Shia Muslim leader Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky in the capital, Abuja, saying they are putting lives at risk.

The rights body said the use of live bullets, water cannon and tear gas was "reckless", adding that the mass arrests of the protesters was worrying.

Police said yesterday that they had arrested 115 people, accusing the protesters of starting the violence by throwing stones that left some of the officers and pedestrians injured.

The protesters want Sheikh Zakzaky, who has been held without trial since 2015, to be released from prison - and say they will not relent until he is freed.

However, the situation is calmer today.

Favour Nunoo
BBC Pidgin, Accra

Image source, WhatsApp

Police in northern Ghana are hunting for three brothers after a video of them allegedly flogging their sister with a horsewhip went viral.

The disturbing footage, showing a screaming girl being held down on a wooden bench in a courtyard by two strong men and then a third man whipping her, has caused outrage in Ghana.

She was allegedly beaten for her habit of coming home late.

Otiko Djaba, Ghana’s children’s minister, has called for the prosecution of all those involved.

Emmanuel Horlutu, a deputy superintendent, told BBC Pidgin that the police needed the public’s help in apprehending the suspects.

The incident was filmed in Shishagu, Sanerugu municipality, in Ghana's Northern Region.

Adline Okere
BBC Igbo editor

A Nigerian has been arrested for allegedly being in possession of pepper spray in Lagos - creating a legal frenzy on Twitter.

It started when Dolapo Pizzu complained about the arrest to Abayomi Shogunle, the assistant police commissioner:

In his response, Mr Shogunle said that carrying pepper spray was an offence:

But lawyers, who responded under the aegis of @LegalNaija, said that the constitution did not list the pepper spray as an offensive weapon:

Other tweeters have continued to argue for and against - the assistant police commissioner amongst them, who pointed out that pepper spray was considered an "offensive weapon".

Supporters of Nigeria's detained Shia leader Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky have gathered for the third day in the capital, Abuja to demand his release, Premium Times reports., external

It says that police have also gathered near the National University Commission in Maitama.

The paper reports that the situation has caused panic among road users:

The protests, which started peacefully on Monday and Tuesday, turned violent after police forcefully dispersed the protesters.

The pro-Iranian Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) leader was arrested in 2015 during a military crackdown in which more than 300 of his supporters were killed.

His supporters say his detention without any formal charge is illegal.

Nigeria’s Senate has given the police chief and secret service boss 24 hours to recover the mace stolen from the chamber earlier today.

Senators have now resumed their session after this morning’s chaos, using a spare ceremonial staff, a statement said.

It referred to the incident as an "assault on democracy":

The “armed hoodlums” who walked into Nigeria’s parliament and stole the Senate’s mace have committed treason, the Nigerian Senate has said in a statement.

The Senate has asked all security agencies to mobilise their personnel to retrieve “the mastermind and the perpetrators of this act”.

Senate spokesman Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi said the protesters were led by suspended Ovie Omo-Agege, a suspended senator.

He described the mace as the “symbol of authority” of Nigeria’s upper chamber.

Nigeria’s parliament has two maces – one for the Senate and one for the House of Representatives.

This is the one for the lower house:

Image source, Nigeria's House of Representatives

Image source, Getty Images

Celebrated Burundian singer and composer Khadja Nin is one of five women on the nine-member jury that will decide the top prize at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, external.

The AFP news agency says that in a year when the #MeToo movement has dominated the headlines, and with only three female directors among the 18 films in competition, festival organisers must have felt the need to make a stronger gesture towards gender equality.

The 58-year-old Burundian, who sings in Swahili, Kirundi and French, moved to Belgium in 1980 and became hugely popular in 1996 with her album Sambolera.

Zimbabwe turns 38 today and the official celebrations are being held at the National Sports Stadium in the capital, Harare.

The BBC's Shingai Nyoka in Harare says these are probably the most significant independence celebrations since 1980 as for the first time former President Robert Mugabe will not be leading them.

In his message to the nation, the man who took over from Mr Mugabe - Emmerson Mnangangwa - described today as a second independence, a new period of openness and freedom.

A local news site has been sharing some colourful pictures to mark the day.

Inside the stadium there are several banners with different messages, including one calling for free, fair and credible elections, which are expected to be held before September.

Another refers to new president as the biblical Joshua who led Israelites to the promised land.

Meanwhile outside the stadium a group of food vendors are busy preparing a variety of meals hoping to target the thousands who are attending the celebrations:

Protesters have invaded Nigeria's National Assembly in the capital, Abuja, and made away with a ceremonial staff, known as the mace.

A local television station has tweeted photos of what looks like a chaotic scene in the Senate chamber:

Without the one-metre long gilded mace, meetings are not allowed to be officially convened or decisions made in parliament as it symbolises its authority and unity. This is what it looks like:

Nigeria's Premium Times newspaper is reporting that 10 people came into the chamber with a suspended senator, stole the mace and then drove away in a black four-by-four vehicle, external.

A video of a man with a striking resemblance to controversial Kenya opposition politician Miguna Miguna walking along a busy road in the capital, Nairobi, has got people talking.

This is because Mr Miguna was deported to Canada earlier this year.

The footage shows a man of imposing height, with a cap similar to Mr Miguna's signature headgear.

The person recording the video can be heard engaging in an animated discussion with someone about whether or not it is Mr Miguna.

The vocal opposition figure was deported after taking part in the mock swearing-in of opposition leader Raila Odinga as "peoples' president" in January.

Kenyan officials said that Mr Miguna, who holds dual Canadian nationality, was not a citizen.

He insists he is Kenyan and tried to return last month - but was again deported.

This is the real Miguna Miguna:

Image source, AFP

Now watch his doppelganger and compare for yourself:

Armed groups in South Sudan have released 207 child soldiers, a statement from UN children's agency Unicef says.

The 112 boys and 95 girls were from serving in the ranks of the South Sudan National Liberation Movement (SSNLM) and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army-In Opposition (SPLA-IO).

SSNLM in 2016 signed a peace agreement with the government and is now integrating its fighters into the national army.

Tuesday's release is part of a ongoing programme that saw 300 children set free in February.

"For every child released, today marks the start of a new life," said Mahimbo Mdoe, Unicef's representative in South Sudan.

The children would be reintegrated and given vocational training and education, he added.

Unicef says there are around 19,000 child soldiers in the country.

South Sudan, the world's newest country, has been beset by violence between rival groups since 2013 - two years after it seceded from Sudan.

Read: South Sudan country profile

The union representing nurses in Zimbabwe has told its members to continue their strike despite being sacked following a government directive.

Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga sacked more than 15,000 nurses, saying the decision had been taken in the interest of saving patients' lives.

A statement from Zimbabwe Nurses Association has been shared on Twitter by a local journalist.

It says, in part, that "nothing has changed thus far with regards to the industrial action".

Image source, AFP

Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates has said his foundation and other donors will be announcing nearly $4bn (£2.8bn) of new funding aimed at halving the number of deaths from malaria.

After two decades of decline the disease is again becoming more common as mosquitoes develop resistance to existing medication.

Mr Gates spoke to the BBC as campaigners and health groups gather for a major malaria summit in London:

He said he wanted his money to improve the bed-nets used to help combat the spread of the disease and refine the mapping of where they should be located.

Another goal is to find a long-lasting vaccine. Mr Gates said the ultimate aim would be to wipe out malaria:

He said market forces had an impact on what research money went where.

Read more: The village that is defeating malaria

Three Nigerian students have been killed and 16 others injured in a wildlife park in northern Cameroon after a tree fell on them, the news agency AFP quotes state radio as saying.

The students were part of a group of 50 who were on a tour of the Bouba Ndjida National Park.

Regional governor Jean Abate Edi'i said that "following a tornado, a tree fell on to the group".

The park is known for its elephant population.

In February, six troops and two guides were killed at the park during a clash with heavily armed poachers on horseback.

Image source, AFP

Zimbabwe’s former army chief Constantino Chiwenga has fired more than 15,000 nurses who went on strike to demand better wages.

Mr Chiwenga led the military takeover last November that resulted in the overthrow of President Robert Mugabe – and is now vice-president.

In a statement, he said money had been released to the health ministry to pay outstanding allowances to the striking nurse on Monday, but they had not returned to work.

The decision to fire them had been taken "in the interest of patients and of saving lives", the vice-president said.

The nurses said they wanted to see the money in their accounts first.

According to Zimbabwe's Independent Online new site, this strike comes after the government gave in to doctors’ demands, external and increased their salaries and allowances following a month-long strike that had crippled the health sector.

Today’s African proverb:

Image source, AF

Click here to send us your African proverbs.

Welcome to the BBC Africa Live page where we'll be bring you the latest news and trends from across the continent.

That's all from the BBC Africa Live page for today. Keep up-to-date with what's happening across the continent by listening to the Africa Today podcast or checking the BBC News website.

A reminder of today's wise words:

Click here and scroll to the bottom to send us your African proverbs.

We leave you with this photo taken of locally harvested produce for sale in Cameroon's south-western town of Penja.