Ugandan pop star MP Bobi Wine has spoken to BBC Africa from the US, where he has been receiving medical treatment.

He says he was tortured while in military custody in Uganda, allegations the army denies.

The singer, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, has been a fierce critic of the removal of the age limit for presidential candidates in Uganda, which will allow current leader Yoweri Museveni to run for a sixth term in office.

In response on Thursday, a Ugandan government spokesperson has urged Bobi Wine to come home and put his allegations to a court.

Image source, Getty Images

The Swiss food multi-national Nestle is investing $1.25m (£1m) in Zimbabwe to help revive its coffee industry, news agency Bloomberg reports.

It is set to buy nearly all the coffee produced by the country's smallholder farmers and plans to produce limited editions of its Nespresso coffee pods to appeal to a market looking for new tastes.

"We are rebuilding an industry that was disappearing," Chief Executive Officer Jean-Marc Duvoisin told Bloomberg.

"They produced a lot of coffee before, so there’s a lot of history. Some people know Zimbabwean coffee but most have never tried it."

The economy suffered during the decades-long presidency of Robert Mugabe. His successor, President Emmerson Mnangagwa, has pledged to re-engage the country with the world.

Girmay Gebru
BBC Tigrinya, Mekelle

An outbreak of acute watery diarrhoea in Ethiopia's northern Tigray region has killed 10 people over the past two weeks and more than 1,200 people have the illness.

Those affected are being treated at the main hospital in the regional capital, Mekelle.

The authorities have put the spread of the disease down to unsafe drinking water and poor hygiene, and have identified contaminated holy water in some of the region's monasteries as being behind the outbreak.

It is thought that the water is being taken from rivers that are carrying the disease.

Interfering in religious affairs is a very sensitive matter here, but the local government is working with religious leaders to temporarily stop the use of holy water.

The authorities say that the disease is under control but efforts to contain it need to continue until it disappears altogether.

Mohammed Zanna makes his home in Tarkwa Bay, Lagos State, alongside many others from the West African region.

But a recent ambitious development has displaced a neighbouring community, and Mohammed fears his could be next to go.

Hear the full story on Neighbourhood from BBC World Service.

The foreign ministers of Somalia, Ethiopia and Eritrea have all travelled to Djibouti to try and ease tensions between Eritrea and Djibouti.

Ethiopian state-linked broadcaster FBC has been tweeting pictures from the meeting:

Djibouti's Foreign Minister Mahmoud Ali Youssouf has tweeted that it is a "time for peace" and that "a new chapter has been opened today":

There has been a long-running dispute between the two countries over the status of Dumeira Mountain and Dumeira Island, which is claimed by both Djibouti and Eritrea.

The two countries' armed forces clashed on the border in 2008. Both states later accepted Qatar's offer of mediation and the deployment of peacekeepers, though bilateral relations have remained strained.

The meeting of the four foreign ministers is the latest chapter in the rapidly thawing relations in the region that has come since Abiy Ahmed became Ethiopia's prime minister in April.

Pumza Fihlani
BBC News, Secunda, South Africa

Hundreds of workers and members of their family picketed outside petrochemicals company Sasol, in South Africa’s Free State province.

The demonstration by the mainly white trade union Solidarity at the company’s Secunda plant was the largest gathering yet since the union’s technical staff and artisans began their strike on Monday.

Strikes over unfair labour practices are not uncommon in South Africa but today you’d be forgiven for thinking you were at picnic as some enjoyed a barbecue, or braai, and drinks under gazebos.

But the gathering was in fact about a controversial issue - it was a protest against a new share scheme for black employees only.

The company has defended its decision to offer shares to its black employees saying the scheme is aimed at boosting black ownership in the firm and at redressing historic injustices, which saw black workers discriminated against.

But Solidarity says its white members are now facing similar discrimination and will not relent until the company reconsiders.

Meanwhile it has been reported that the strike has put the company two days behind in production.

Sasol says it has contingency measures in place to minimise disruptions.

Solidarity has 6,300 members working at Sasol and they’re all said to be taking part in the strike action.

But for the 18,000 black employees, it’s business as usual and they are keeping the plant open.

Image source, AFP

A military court in South Sudan has ordered the government to give the family of murdered journalist John Gatluak 51 cows as compensation.

Two soldiers were convicted of his murder and sentenced to life in prison.

He was taking shelter in the Terrain Hotel in the capital, Juba, when it was attacked by troops in 2016.

Three other soldiers were found guilty of raping aid workers, four of sexual harassment, and one of theft and armed robbery.

They have been sentenced to between seven and 14 years in jail.

See earlier post for more details

The Chinese man filmed making derogatory remarks about Kenyans has now been deported from the country, the immigration department says.

In a tweet it cites racism as the reason for the deportation of the man named as Liu Jiaqi:

In the video, Mr Liu can be seen referring to Kenyans as monkeys.

He also said he disliked Kenya because it "smells bad and [its people are] poor, foolish and black".

Nigeria has lost an estimated 96% of its forest cover since independence, according to Muhtari Aminu Kano, head of the Nigerian Conservation Foundation.

He told Focus on Africa radio that population pressure as well cutting wood for fuel has been behind the huge depletion.

Danny Aeberhard
Europe analyst, BBC World Service

The Roman Catholic Church in Italy has been defending the right of migrants it has given shelter to, to leave its centres.

It follows critical comments by Italy's far-right interior minister, Matteo Salvini, connected to a high-profile stand-off that was ended in part by the church's intervention.

Last month, the church took in most of about 130 migrants, mainly Eritreans, held aboard an Italian coastguard vessel.

Mr Salvini had been blocking their disembarkation.

On Wednesday, he criticised the fact that some 50 of them had since left its centres, saying it was further evidence that not all those arriving in Italy were, as he put it, skeletons escaping from war and hunger.

His ministry admitted that the migrants had freedom of movement, a point reinforced by church officials.

One cardinal said the migrants had not come to stay in Italy, but wanted to reach relatives elsewhere.

A crippling fuel shortage has hit Kenya following the introduction of a 16% Value Added Tax on all petroleum products, reports the BBC's Bonney Tunya.

The shortage, which has resulted in long queues at petrol stations, is a result of a protest against the price rise by the fuel distributors.

Kenya's energy regulator has revoked the license of the Kenya Independent Petroleum Distributors Association for allegedly leading the fuel boycott, equating their action to economic sabotage.

Parliament approved the tax in 2013 but its implementation has been repeatedly postponed.

The high court on Tuesday refused to suspend the new tax despite the public outcry.

President Uhuru Kenyatta is expected to approve a measure to suspend the tax once he returns back in the country from his trip to China.

We've been reporting on the reaction in Kenya to a video showing a Chinese man using derogatory terms to describe Kenyans.

He is set to be deported.

Chinese officials have responded saying that action has already been taken, the AFP news agency reports.

It quotes an embassy official, Zhang Gang, as saying that the video was recorded in June and that the man had been "punished by his company for his wrongdoing and apologised to his Kenyan colleague.

"The personal talk and personal feeling of this young man does not represent the views of the vast majority of Chinese people," he added.

Image source, YouTube

The Ugandan government has called the torture allegations by musician-turned-MP Bobi Wine "unproven" and "nonsensical".

Bobi Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, says he was tortured while being held by Ugandan security forces. He is facing treason charges, which he denies.

A government statement says that the MP's lawyer is "employing diversionary tactics in raising the tantalising, although unproven, allegations of torture".

It calls on Bobi Wine to take his allegations to court where they can be "transparently investigated".

He is currently in the US where he is seeking treatment for his injuries that he has said were sustained in detention.

Ahmed Rouaba
BBC News

Dozens of people have taken to the street of the southern Algerian city of Ouargla to protest against Health Minister Mokhtar Hasbellaoui after his comments about the death of a university professor who was stung by a scorpion.

Talking about Aisha Aouissat's death, the minister, Mokhtar Hesbellaoui, told reporters in Algiers that "animals are inoffensive. They do not attack unless they are under threat."

The 38-year-old was rushed to a local hospital right after the accident but died of a heart attack 10 days later due to the lack of appropriate services and personnel, according to her family.

But the department of health in the province of Ouargla said that the victim died of complications due to the strength of the venom, and not of negligence.

However, the report does not deny the allegation that there is a lack of specialist doctors in the oil-rich province.

The protesters in Ouargla on Thursday denounced the minister and the lack of specialised services and personnel in the local hospital.

The professor's death sparked a debate about traditional methods used by locals to treat scorpion stings.

Image source, Reuters

Two of the 10 South Sudan soldiers found guilty of raping aid workers and murdering a journalist in 2016 have been sentenced to life.

The other eight received a range of jail terms upwards of seven years

They were convicted for involvement in an attack on a hotel in 2016, as rival groups of soldiers fought in the capital, Juba.

This was the first conviction of South Sudanese soldiers accused of carrying out atrocities, the BBC's Africa security correspondent Tomi Oladipo reports.

The trial has been seen as a major test of South Sudan's will to deal with impunity and abuses carried out by its armed forces, our correspondent adds.

The attack itself exposed some of the failings of the UN, as a BBC investigation found that troop contingents were reluctant to put themselves in danger to protect civilians.

Ugandan musician-turned-MP Bobi Wine has struck a defiant tone in an interview with the BBC.

He was speaking in the US where he is seeking treatment for injuries he alleges were sustained while he was detained by Ugandan security forces.

He says he was tortured, allegations that have been described as "fake news" by President Yoweri Museveni.

He said he was going to return home soon adding:

Bobi Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, has been charged with treason in connection with an alleged attack on the president's car. He denies the charges.

He was arrested along with three other MPs and dozens of other activists.

Who is Bobi Wine?

Ethiopia has reopened its embassy in the Eritrean capital, Asmara, the latest step in restoring ties after two decades of hostilities.

The ceremony was attended by Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.

It is still not clear when Ethiopian troops will withdraw from territory disputed with Eritrea, a key part of the recent peace deal.

The Somali president, Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo, is also in Asmara.

On Wednesday, the three leaders signed an agreement to strengthen political and economic ties, and to cooperate on regional security.

They also agreed to help ease tensions between Eritrea and Djibouti according to a tweet from a spokesperson for Somalia's president.

A fire in a high-rise building in the centre of South Africa's main city, Johannesburg, is continuing to burn a day after it started and could be spreading, local media are reporting.

Three firefighters died on Wednesday trying to put out the blaze.

One firefighter fell to his death while battling the blaze, while the other two were found inside the building.

Thirteen people who worked in the building were admitted to hospital, officials said.

The wife of one of those who died has shared pictures of her husband and children saying: "Today I lost my husband, my best friend, father to my children. I love u so much".

A fundraising campaign has been launched to help pay for her children's education.

The fire broke out on the 23rd floor of the building in downtown Johannesburg, and was apparently caused by an electrical fault, the local News24 website reported.

A court in South Sudan's capital, Juba, has convicted 10 soldiers of raping aid workers and murdering a journalist.

The trial concerned a July 2016 attack on Juba's Terrain Hotel, home to aid workers from a number of international organisations.

It happened as rival forces in the civil war clashed in the city.

Three days of fighting in the city killed at least 73 people, including more than 20 internally displaced people who had sought UN protection. Two peacekeepers also died.

A UN report into the hotel attack accused UN peacekeepers of failing in their duty to protect civilians.

The Kenyan authorities have detained a Chinese national after he was caught on film talking about Kenyans in derogatory terms, Kenya's immigration department has tweeted.

It added that he will be deported "on racism grounds".

The man, named as Liu Jiaqi, was recorded in the brief video saying that "all Kenyans [are] like a monkey, even [President] Uhuru Kenyatta".

From the conversation, the video appears to have been filmed by an employee of Mr Liu's who was about to be fired, though it is not clear why.

The employee challenged Mr Liu saying that "whatever you're doing is extremely wrong".

"I don't care," he responded.

"I don't like here, like a monkey people. I don't like [to] talk with them. Smells bad and poor... and black. Who like them? Why not the bright people like the Americans?," he added.

"So why are you coming to do business here?" the employee asked.

"For money...money's important," he replied.

The man or his legal representative has not yet commented.

China has invested a lot of money in Kenya in recent years, including in the new railway linking Kenya's capital, Nairobi, to the coast.

President Kenyatta was in Beijing earlier this week to take part in the China-Africa cooperation summit where he said: "Kenya appreciates China’s demonstrated commitment in supporting Kenya’s development goals."