Nomsa Maseko
BBC Africa, Johannesburg

The private ranch owner who was attacked by a lion in South Africa has been identified as Mike Hodge, a British citizen.

He was attacked after he went to investigate a strange smell from the animal's enclosure.

In the video, which has been widely shared online, horrified onlookers can be heard screaming as they watched the lion grab and drag him off.

The game park, located in Thabazimbi in northern South Africa, allows visitors to get up close and personal with the big cats and to watch them being fed.

It also offers tourists a chance to camp on-site.

Mr Hodge was rescued by a warden who opened fire with his gun, causing the lion to run for cover.

The 67-year-old was rushed to hospital with injuries to his neck and jaw.

It’s understood the lion has been put down and the park remains closed following the attack.

A number of law students have been expelled from the University of Exeter over allegations of racism.

An internal investigation was launched in March after "vile" comments from Bracton law society's WhatsApp group were shared on social media, in which students discussed "buying blacks in bulk" from South Africa and Mauritania.

Image source, .

The students involved received expulsions, suspensions and other sanctions, according to an email sent to staff and students.

A university spokesman has said the outcomes are subject to appeal.

• Read the story in full on the BBC News website

Several of the 6,000 people displaced by raging floods in Kenya's coastal county of Kilifi have said they want condoms, the privately owned Daily Nation reports, external

A woman told the Nation (in Kiswahili) the condoms would help people in the camps have sex without the worry of disease.

An elder at the camp identified as Mzee Kitsao told the government to consider the request urgently:

The Kenya Red Cross has said that at least 100 people have been killed and 242,000 displaced nationwide by four weeks of floods, landslides and heavy rains.

Funmi Jokotade
BBC Yoruba, Lagos

Image source, AFP

The Christian Association of Nigeria (Can) has criticised the comments by US President Donald Trump about religion in Nigeria.

When he met his Nigerian counterpart Muhammadu Buhari at the White House yesterday, he said:

"We've had serious problems with Christians who have been murdered, killed.

"We're going to work on that problem and working on that problem very, very hard."

He was referring to the battle between nomadic cattle herders and settled farmer over access to land and grazing rights - a complex and often politicised issue.

Secretary to Lagos state chapter of Can, Israel Akinadewo, told BBC Yoruba that the Christian community in Nigeria appreciated President Trump’s goodwill.

But he said the killings could not be described as “Christian killings” as both Christian and Muslims had been being killed in the attacks.

• Read: How Trump stirred up controversy in Nigeria

The priest who was shot dead inside a church earlier today in the Central African Republic has been named as Albert Toungoumalé Baba.

Local clergy have confirmed that he was among those killed by unidentified gunmen in an attack on Notre Dame de Fatima cathedral in the capital, Bangui.

At least six people have been confirmed dead.

An angry crowd of around 1,000 people reportedly gathered as the priest's body was carried to the presidential palace in protest, says Reuters new agency.

Local journalist Emery Elvis Pabandji tweeted photos of the scene earlier:

The identity of the gunmen was not known but the attack happened on the border of the predominantly Muslim PK5 neighbourhood, where 21 people were killed last month when a joint mission by UN peacekeepers and local security forces to disarm criminal gangs descended into open fighting.

Angry demonstrators, who blamed UN soldiers for firing on residents protesting against the operation, carried the bodies of the dead to Minusca's gates.

AFP reports that fighting between militia and security forces has erupted again in the PK5 district today. Security sources told the news agency that the fighting started after men in a militia group, led by an individual calling himself Force, rammed through a roadblock.

Security guards opened fire, and the militiamen responded.

US President Donald Trump has just tweeted a video montage of Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari's visit to the country.

The 30-second video shows highlights on the Nigerian leader's visit to the White House.

Watch below:

Police in Nigeria say that at least 24 people have died following twin bomb attacks in a mosque in the north-eastern town of Mubi, our colleague has tweeted:

We reported earlier that the blasts happened when Muslims were preparing for afternoon prayers.

Morocco says it is ending its diplomatic relations with Iran over Tehran's military support for the Western Sahara independence movement, the Polisario Front.

The Moroccan Foreign Minister, Nasser Bourita said Iran and its ally, the Lebanese militant group, Hezbollah, were training and arming Polisario fighters.

He told reporters that Morocco will will expel the Iranian ambassador in Rabat.

The Iranians are yet to respond to the accusation.

Morocco annexed Western Sahara in 1975, and since then it's been locked in a territorial dispute with indigenous Saharawi people - led by the Polisario Front.

Morocco controls two-thirds of Western Sahara and sees it as part of its historic territory.

However some, including the UN, see Western Sahara as Africa's last colony.

A referendum was promised in 1991 but never carried out due to wrangling over who was eligible to vote.

Thousands of Sahrawi refugees still live in refugee camps in Algeria - some have been there for 40 years.

Our BBC World Service colleagues recently aired this extraordinary documentary about Saharawi athlete Salah Ameidan, which explores the complexities of living under occupation and in exile:

• Read more: Western Sahara profile

Reuters news agency reports that at least nine people have been killed and dozens others wounded in Central African Republic's capital, Bangui, in an attack by unidentified gunmen on a church.

Notre Dame de Fatima cathedral was attacked with gunfire and grenades during a morning service, witnesses said.

French broadcaster RFI is reporting that a priest was among those killed (in French), external.

It was not clear if all the people taken to the hospital were killed in the church.

A dozen people were killed in the same church when it was targeted in 2014, according to the UN.

A local journalist has tweeted footage of what he says is a mass of people marching down Bangui's Avenue Barthélemy Boganda, close to the presidential palace and where the UN is based, calling on the president to bring security to the country.

CAR was plunged into turmoil in 2013 when Muslim rebels from the Séléka umbrella group seized power in the majority-Christian country. A band of mostly Christian militias, called the anti-balaka, rose up to counter the Séléka.

A new government elected in 2016 has failed to bring peace to the mineral-rich nation which has been unstable since its independence from France in 1960.

Last month,the UN said protesters who placed corpses in front of their headquarters in Bangui were using the bodies for "propaganda".

Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

Image source, ETV/Facebook

Ethiopia's football premier league has been suspended after a referee was attacked by players.

The match between Welwalo Adigrat University and a military team known as Defence was heading for a 1-1 draw when the referee ruled that the ball had crossed the line and awarded a goal.

The furious Welwalo Adigrat players chased the referee who uprooted a corner flag which he used to defend himself.

He was punched by a coach, who has since been fired.

After several incidents of violence, Ethiopia's Football Federation suspended all games.

It will meet all 16 teams on Thursday.

State broadcaster ETV has shared footage of the incident on their Facebook page:

Image source, AFP

The US has condemned Burundi for what it calls "numerous instances of violence" and "intimidation and harassment" against people opposed to a referendum which could extend the rule of President Pierre Nkurunziza.

The US State Department said in a statement that the vote on 17 May could hurt Burundi's democratic institutions.

It called on the government "to respect Burundi's international legal obligations regarding the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, and association".

On Monday a court sentenced an official from the ruling party to three years in jail for encouraging people in his home village to throw anyone who opposed the referendum into a lake.

Nearly 430,000 people, including opposition politicians, have fled Burundi since President Nkurunziza won a controversial third term in 2015.

If the referendum vote goes in his favour it will allow him to rule until 2034.

Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

There are reports of two bomb explosions in the north-eastern Nigerian town of Mubi.

It is not yet clear how many people were affected by the blasts - one of which was inside a mosque as Muslims were preparing for afternoon prayers.

Last November more than 50 people were killed when a suspected Boko Haram militants detonated a suicide bomb inside a mosque in the same town in Adamawa state.

Nigerian MPs recently called for the establishment of an army barracks in Mubi, in order to help secure the area which is close to the border with Cameroon.

Image source, .

Female journalists in Somalia face harassment and abuse in newsrooms, a new report has found.

The study was done by a group of female journalists who looked into the work environment in the south-central region.

It found that there were demands of sexual favours during recruitment and uncovered a huge gender pay gap.

The lead researcher, Farhia Mohamed Kheyre, spoke to BBC Somali and detailed some of the complaints:

A man in recuperating in hospital after being attacked by a lion in a private game reserve in South Africa's northern Limpopo province, News24 reports., external

It quotes police spokesperson Moatshe Ngoepe saying that the incident happened on Monday.

He adds: "The owner was immediately taken to hospital with serious injuries. He is currently recuperating."

The video of the attack has been widely shared online.

It shows the man walking into a fenced enclosure but then fails to outrun the lion as it chases after him.

The animal then drags the man to a bush as onlookers try to scare it away.

Warning: The video contains distressing scenes:

News24 says its attempts to contact the game reserve were unsuccessful.

Nigeria's First Lady Aisha Buhari says she is saddened by reports of cough syrup abuse, as revealed in an investigation by the BBC.

The medication contains codeine, a highly addictive opiate, and can only be sold legally with a prescription.

But a recent government report alleged that three million bottles of codeine cough syrup are drunk every day in just two of Nigeria's northern states.

Mrs Buhari told her followers on Instagram, external:

Image source, Chadian President Idriss Deby

Chad's parliament approved a new constitution on Monday expanding President Idriss Déby's powers and potentially allowing him to stay in office until 2033.

The vote, which was boycotted by most opposition lawmakers, eliminates the post of prime minister. Critics say the move to a fully presidential system is aimed at entrenching Mr Déby's power.

Another change is to the length of presidential mandates.

The current term is five years long with no limits on re-election. The new constitution imposes a six-year mandate, and re-instates a maximum limit of two terms which had been scrapped in a 2005 referendum.

The changes will not be applied retroactively. This means President Déby could serve two terms after the next election in 2021, staying in post until 2033.

The constitution now awaits President Déby signature for it to enter into force.

Tensions are growing in Chad after opposition groups boycotted a forum last month discussing the proposed changes.

AFP also reports that two human rights activists who wanted to stage a sit-in in front of parliament yesterday ahead of the vote were arrested and later released.

Tchindebbe Patalle, a spokesman for the National Union for Development and Renewal (UNDR) opposition party, is quoted by the news agency as saying all opposition groups had "wanted to demonstrate outside parliament to protest against the vote but the security forces are posted all around".

Chad is ranked by Transparency International as one of the world's most corrupt nations.

• Read more: Chad country profile

Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga has told his supporters to end a campaign of boycotting products and businesses allegedly linked to the ruling Jubilee Party and President Uhuru Kenyatta, months after he called for a nationwide boycott.

Safaricom, the country's biggest telecom company and Brookside,a top dairy processing firm were among those targeted.

Mr Odinga made the comments at May Day celebrations in the capital, Nairobi.

A local TV station tweeted his comments in KiSwahili.

"Today we are ordering our members to end the boycott of Safaricom, Bidco, Haco and Brookside," he said.

Some of the companies were also targeted over their alleged collusion with the ruling party to deny Mr Odinga a victory in last year's election.

In March the veteran leader called a truce with President Kenyatta and the two leaders are currently working together to "build bridges".

Today's announcement will be seen as another example of rapprochement between the two leaders.

• Read more: The handshake that left millions of Kenyans confused

A video of Nigerian musician Davido gifting his girlfriend - Chioma Avril Rowland - with a porsche has still got people talking, two days after the event.

The cost of the car is reported to be 45 million Naira ($124,650; £90,000).

The musician also released a song titled Assurance dedicated to his girlfriend at the event.

A video of the party on Sunday is still being shared on social media.

One person on Twitter joked that people were so preoccupied with the story that they hadn't even noticed the calendar slipping from April into May.

Some have taken the opportunity to compare the celebrity's spending habits with that of their own partners, while others say such comparisons are unfair and miss the point.

Mayeni Jones
BBC Africa, Lagos

Image source, .

One of Nigeria’s largest pharmaceutical companies has suspended the distribution of cough syrup containing codeine.

The announcement comes after a BBC investigation revealed some Nigerian pharmaceutical figures are involved in the black market trade of the addictive medication.

One of the company’s sales representatives was filmed by an undercover reporter boasting that he could sell one million cartons of the product on the black market in a week.

He has since been dismissed.

Emzor Pharmaceuticals says it is carrying out an internal investigation into the BBC’s findings.

Codeine is a highly addictive opiate and can only be sold legally with a prescription.

However a recent government report alleged that three million bottles of codeine cough syrup are drunk every day in just two of Nigeria's northern states.

Watch the report by the BBC’s new investigation unit, Africa Eye:

BBC World Service

Image source, Getty Images

English football writers have chosen the Egypt and Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah as player of the year.

The 25-year-old is the first African player to win the prestigious award.

He's already been chosen as player of the year by the Professional Footballers Association (PFA) after an outstanding season, in which he scored 43 goals in all competitions.

In December he received the BBC African Footballer of the Year award for 2017.

• Read more on the BBC Sport website