The lawyer for the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) has been presenting his arguments to the Constitutional Court as the opposition MDC Alliance tries to overturn July's presidential election result.

Tawanda Kanengoni says that while there may have been minor clerical errors the opposition lawyers have failed to prove that there was large-scale rigging.

Image source, ZBC

"The evidence is not before you," Mr Kanengoni told the court, adding that "the standard of proof has not been met".

President Emmerson Mnangagwa narrowly avoided a second-round run off when he took 50.7% of the vote (Zec has revised this figure from the 50.8% it originally released).

A tanker with 17 Georgian sailors on board has been missing off the coast of Gabon for more than a week, the ship's managers and government officials say.

The Pantelena, which can be used as an oil or chemical tanker, was last heard from on August 14.

The AFP news agency quotes a Gabon military source as saying that the ship's locator beacon was switched off on that day.

It is unclear what may have happened to the vessel, but the waters off the coast of Gabon, and the Gulf of Guinea in general, have seen an increase in pirate attacks, according to the International Maritime Bureau.

The self-declared republic of Somaliland's traditional nomadic farming methods have always depended on camels, but now commercial camel farming is becoming a big business in the region.

Since 2017, four big commercial camel milk dairies have opened in the Hargeisa area and people are developing an appetite for camel milk and meat.

The BBC's Bidhaan Dahir visited the Hargeisa Camel Market to find out more about the industry.

Listen to his report:

Umaru Fofana
BBC Africa, Freetown

Sierra Leone’s former Vice-President Victor Bockarie Foh and two former ministers, Mohamed Allie Bah and Minkailu Mansaray, have appeared before a high court on corruption charges.

The charges relate to the misappropriation of public funds during the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca last year.

They all plead not guilty and have been released on bail.

Many see today’s court appearance as the start of a string of trials of former public officials. The anti-graft agency says it has more prominent figures in its sights.

Image source, Ola Alsheikh

"People here aren't used to seeing a woman holding a camera in the streets," says Sudanese photographer Ola Alsheikh, "but I just decide to get the photo whatever it takes".

Being mocked, rejected or verbal harassed by strangers are things Ola regularly has to deal with in the capital, Khartoum, but she refuses to let that put her off.

"I want to show real life in Sudan - we've been marginalised by the rest of the world for a long time," she says.

Here are more of her pictures:

Image source, Ola Alsheikh

Image source, Ola Alsheikh

For more pictures from Ola have a look at our full story.

Lawyers for Zimbabwe's opposition MDC Alliance are at the Constitutional Court arguing that the result from July's presidential election should be overturned.

They say that rigging took place. But the electoral commission said that there was "no skulduggery" in the collating of results.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa narrowly avoided a run-off election taking 50.7% of the vote in the first round.

The court action is being broadcast live on television and media outlets have been tweeting pictures of people trying to follow what has been going on:

National broadcaster ZBC is also streaming the proceedings live on Facebook:

The family of a South African man filmed making racist insults say they are appealing for "calm" despite "understand[ing] the outrage his words have rightly caused" (see earlier post).

"Members of the extended family and some of our staff and business associates have been threatened and intimidated, with death threats made", says Adam Catzavelos's brother Nik in a statement sent to the BBC of behalf of the family.

They say he has been fired from their family business, St George’s Fine Foods, removed from its board of directors and say a "settlement" on his "minority 33% stake in the business" is being "negotiated".

The social media backlash is in response to a video Adam Catzavelos filmed of himself on a beach calling it "heaven on earth" because there were no black people in sight. He also uses a racist slur in the clip. Mr Catzavelos is still on holiday abroad, his family say.

Emmanuel Igunza
BBC Africa, Addis Ababa

Image source, Abebe Bayu/BBC

Authorities in Ethiopia say eight people have died and thousands have been displaced following heavy rains that have hit several parts of the country.

More than 20 people have been safety by the military after raging waters marooned their homes. One of them, Derjie Tekletsadeqe, described his ordeal to the BBC:

Mudslides in the north-west of the country are what caused the eight deaths, the National Disaster Risk Management Commission says.

Flooding and mudslides also affected some parts of eastern and southern Ethiopia.

BBC World Service

Image source, EPA

Lawyers for Zimbabwe's opposition MDC Alliance have told the Constitutional Court that there was a massive cover-up and doctoring of evidence as it tries to get President Emmerson Mnangagwa's election victory overturned.

MDC lawyer, Thabani Mpofu, suggested that identical results in different polling stations was evidence that last month's poll was rigged.

President Mnangagwa won by just enough votes to avoid a run-off election.

He has urged the court to throw out the opposition appeal, which has caused the postponement of his inauguration.

The case is being broadcast live on state television and there is a heavy deployment of police outside the court.

Image source, Getty Images

Benin's Angelique Kidjo and Coldplay frontman Chris Martin are among the dozens of stars who have signed a petition calling for the release of Ugandan musician-turned-MP Bobi Wine.

"We can't just turn a blind eye - this is serious," Dele Sosimi, who started his career as Fela Kuti's keyboard player, told the BBC. He says he signed the petition because "it's alarming to see the rule of law and basic human rights cast aside".

"It's like a re-run of Fela [Kuti]. He was often beaten for speaking out," says Rikki Stein, the former manager for the Nigerian music legend, who started the petition.

Uganda's army denies reports that Bobi Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, has been tortured while in their custody since last week, and President Yoweri Museveni has labelled it "fake news".

The petition, signed by some of the biggest names in music, criticises the "vicious, life-threatening physical attack" on Wine and the killing of his driver after a by-election campaign turned violent last week in northern Uganda.

The artists say they are using their "voices and networks" to call for the MP's immediate and unconditional release as well as the "lawful and humane treatment" of others detained alongside him.

Wine is due to appear in court on Thursday to face charges relating to the illegal possession of firearms.

The video of a South African man on a beach using a derogatory term for black people and saying it was "heaven on earth" that no black people were there has been widely condemned (see earlier post).

South Africa's culture minister, Nathi Mthethwa, has tweeted that it was "absolutely unacceptable and has no place in our society".

He has also tweeted a quote from US author Maya Angelou:

Adam Catzavelos has been sacked from his family's firm, St George's Fine Foods, and companies connected to it have distanced themselves from their products.

The Ugandan army has released a video which it says is of MP Robert Kyagulangyi, popularly known as Bobi Wine.

If true, this is the first time any images purporting to be of the MP have emerged since he was arrested in the north-western town of Arua nine days ago and detained in a Military Police facility.

The army spokesman posted the video on his official Twitter account.

In the frame is also Deputy Speaker of Parliament Jacob Oulanya, smiling and working on his phone.

The MP has been detained since last week and is due to appear in court on Thursday over the illegal possession of firearms.

There have been concerns that he has been tortured while in custody. President Yoweri Museveni dismissed the reports as "fake news".

NBS Television quotes Mr Oulanya as saying that the MP, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, "is in a lot of pain. He is however in a uniquely humorous mood and we were laughing with him".

Sporadic protests have been breaking out in the capital, Kampala, and across the country during the past week, over his detention and the alleged brutality by the security forces.

The MP seems to have support among young Ugandans and is seen by some as a formidable challenger to President Museveni’s 33-year rule, the BBC's Patience Atuhaire reports from Kampala.

Poultry farmers in South Africa and the US are pushing for the imposition of tit-for-tat trade barriers as the row over American trade policies increases, Reuters news agency reports.

In 2016, the two countries resolved a row over the chicken trade after South Africa allowed a quota of 65,000 tonnes of meat to be imported tariff-free every year.

South African poultry farmers want that deal to end after the US decided not to exclude the country's steel and aluminium exports from its new tariffs.

James Sumner, president of the USA Poultry and Egg Export Council, told Reuters that it would push for retaliation if South Africa changed its policy.

Image source, Getty Images

Malawian opposition activist Manice Dawood is due to appear in court after being detained at the airport in the capital, Lilongwe, on Tuesday, journalist Peter Jegwa Kumwenda reports.

She was on her way to the US where she is based.

Ms Dawood is a member of the new opposition United Transformation Movement (UTM), which was recently launched by Vice-President Saulos Chilima after he left the governing party.

President Peter Mutharika has warned that he has heard enough from his critics and has promised to act.

Ms Dawood appears to have fallen victim to this, but the charges against her have not been confirmed, Kumwenda reports.

President Mutharika is due to run for re-election next year.

BBC World Service

Image source, Getty Images

A diplomatic tussle is under way over the tiny southern African nation of eSwatini, formerly known as Swaziland.

The country is Taiwan's last remaining African ally.

China - which doesn't allow countries to have official ties with both itself and Taiwan - has said it wants eSwatini to establish diplomatic links with Beijing.

But Taiwan says its relationship with the African nation is "extremely firm". Officials from eSwatini agree, saying there are no plans to switch allegiance.

Taiwan, which China considers its own territory, has a dwindling number of official partners -just 17 at present. On Tuesday, El Salvador pledged support for Beijing.

Pumza Fihlani
BBC News, Johannesburg

Yet another racist video is causing a stir in South Africa (see earlier post).

Many have taken to social media calling for action, with people expressing anger and even disgust – but very few are shocked.

This is perhaps because the country has been here before. It seems it is yet another lesson not learned.

The use of the "K-word" (a derogatory term referring to black people) could be a punishable offence in South Africa. The government plans to criminalise hate speech following the rise of hate-speech incidents in the country.

But despite some prosecutions, it seems the message is not getting across.

As many in the country debate what should happen to the man in this latest video Adam Catzavelos, and the next person like him, there is growing impatience from black South Africans to what they see as "turning the other cheek".

It has left many to wonder what can be done to end racist intolerance 24 years after the end of apartheid’s divisive white-minority rule.

Louise Dewast
Kinshasa, DR Congo

Image source, AFP

Authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo have approved the use of four experimental Ebola treatments in two provinces, where 75 people have tested positive for the illness and 32 people have died.

Ten patients have already received doses of a previously approved treatment - which consists of antibodies from a survivor - and patients are reportedly showing signs of progress.

The ongoing vaccination campaign in DR Congo's north-eastern North Kivu and Ituri provinces faces significant challenges.

This is the 10th outbreak in the country but the first in a conflict zone.

The World Health Organization has called for a cessation of hostilities to allow access to some of the affected areas to administer treatments.

Children have been particularly affected by this outbreak - at least six of the confirmed cases concern people younger than 14.

Neighboring Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania are on high alert as there is significant border trade and cross-border movement into this densely populated part of DR Congo.

We've been posting about the South African man filmed using a racist term on a beach when saying that it was "heaven on earth" that no black people were around.

There has been widespread condemnation as well as reports that his family business St Georges Fine Foods, which supplies meat marinades, had sacked Adam Catzavelos.

One of the companies that St Georges supplies says it has confirmed that Mr Catzavelos has been sacked and had his company shares withdrawn:

The Butcher Shop has been very keen to distance itself from the comments:

Image source, AFP

Ugandan independent MP and musician Bobi Wine, who has been detained on charges of the illegal possession of firearms and ammunition, has hired a US law firm, lawyer Robert Amsterdam says in a statement, external.

Mr Amsterdam described his client's arrest as a "politically motivated act of repression" and alleges that he has been tortured in custody.

The army, which is holding Wine, denies that he has been tortured and President Yoweri Museveni has dismissed the claims as "fake news".

Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, won a by-election last year.

He has been held since last week, along with four fellow MPs and dozens of others. They were campaigning in a bitterly contested by-election in Arua in the north of the country. Wine is due to appear in court on Thursday.

Mr Amsterdam is recommending that the US should "hit [government] officials in their wallets with a Magnitsky-style sanctions schedule as they need to understand the consequences of this attack on human rights”.

The US Magnitsky Act allows Congress to impose sanctions on human rights abusers anywhere in the world.

A panel of judges in Zimbabwe's Constitutional Court has begun the hearing on a challenge to the result of July's presidential election result.

Lawyers are presenting their preliminary arguments.

You can follow the proceedings on the Facebook page of the national broadcaster, ZBC: