Image source, AFP

Girls in the Nigerian state of Lagos are now allowed to wear a hijab to school, the authorities have said.

The Muslim headscarf has been at the centre of a row in the state since 2014 when a Lagos high court banned them in schools.

The decision was overturned on appeal two years later, but the state then took the case to the Supreme Court and did not lift the ban at school, the Daily Trust reports, external.

In a circular, the state government said it would now allow girls to wear hijabs pending the Supreme Court ruling.

It stipulated that a student’s hijbab had to be “short, smart, neat and in the same colour of the uniform”.

"No student should be discriminated against in any form on the basis of religion," it added.

Saheed Ashafa, from the Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria (MSSN) in Lagos State, welcomed the move, external, the Vanguard newspaper reports.

He condemned “the embarrassing way and manner that our members are being victimised, harassed, punished and denied entrance into their classrooms for wearing Hijab”.

The decision comes days after a school in nearby Oyo state closed after refusing to allow students to enter the school premises wearing hijabs.

This sparked protests by parents which had led to the closure of The University of Ibadan International School.

Nigeria's population is roughly divided between Muslims and Christians.

The majority of Muslims live in the north and Christians primarily are in the south - though Lagos has a religiously mixed population.

Read: Nigeria's war of religious robes

Image source, AFP

A rare pink diamond has fetched 50.3m Swiss francs ($50m; £38.5m) at auction, a record price per carat.

Pink Legacy, weighing in at just under 19 carats, was bought by US brand Harry Winston at auction in the Swiss city of Geneva.

The rectangular-cut stone was found in a South African mine around 100 years ago and has likely not been altered since it was first cut in 1920, the auction house Christie's said.

Finding a fancy vivid pink diamond larger than 10 carats is virtually unheard of, the auction house said.

The price of around $2.6m per carat marked a world record for a pink diamond, according to the Europe head of Christie's.

It had been valued at between $30-$50m before sale, and was bought after only five minutes of bidding.

The diamond's new owners have rechristened it the Winston Pink Legacy.

Read the BBC News story for more

Andrew Harding
BBC News

Image source, Getty Images

It is a year since Zimbabwe’s army staged a coup to force President Robert Mugabe out of power.

One year on, and the country is still wrestling with his 37-year legacy.

His successor, Emmerson Mnangagwa, has won a disputed election and the authorities insist they are making progress to end the country’s political isolation and a long economic slump.

The government is promising a new era of transparency and accountability, and what it calls painful reforms to balance the national budget.

That means new taxes, privatisation, and drastic cuts to the civil service wage bill.

But many Zimbabweans are sceptical. The local currency has collapsed in value, sending prices for many basic goods soaring.

And there are real concerns that the governing Zanu-PF – still stacked with feuding members of Mr Mugabe’s old regime – is simply not up to the task of transforming the country and reviving its shattered economy.

Still, Zimbabwe is a calmer, less fearful place right now.

Read: No cash, no bread, no KFC

Anne Soy
BBC senior Africa correspondent

Image source, AFP

African governments are being urged to do more to control meningitis, especially in the region that stretches from Senegal in the West to Ethiopia in the East.

A paper published in the medical journal, Lancet Neurology, found that while significant progress had been made towards controlling the disease worldwide, the so-called “meningitis belt” in sub-Saharan Africa was lagging behind.

Last year, some 18,000 cases were reported in Nigeria and Niger.

The contagious disease, which can cause brain damage, blindness and deafness, can be controlled with vaccines.

The Meningitis Research Foundation proposes the development of cheaper and more broad-based vaccines and the reduction in cost of diagnostic tests and treatments.

Image source, Getty Images

Diplomats at the United Nations say they expect the Security Council to vote unanimously later on Wednesday to lift the sanctions against Eritrea.

It comes amid a thawing of relations in the region and a landmark peace deal with neighbouring Ethiopia.

The sanctions were imposed nine years ago over the country’s alleged support of al-Shabab Islamist miltants in Somalia.

A draft resolution proposed by the UK recognises that UN monitors have failed to conclusively substantiate the allegations.

Adoption of the resolution would immediately lift the arms embargo, targeted asset freeze and travel ban imposed on Eritrea.

The BBC's Emmanuel Igunza says Eritrea sits on a strategic point on the Red Sea that connects Europe, Africa and the East, but its economy has been badly affected by years of sanctions.

The Eritrean government says it wants compensation for the punitive measures which it calls unjustified and politically motivated, he says.

But critics say the country has done little to address human rights abuses from within and, in particular, the indefinite national service conscription that has led to tens of thousands of young Eritreans fleeing the country towards Europe.

Ethiopia’s ambassador to the UN, Taye Atske Selassie, said the end of sanctions would "definitely open up a lot of possibilities for Eritrea," drawing foreign investors and bringing Asmara back into the international fold, the AFP news agency reports.

Our proverb of the day:

Click here to send us your African proverbs.

Welcome back to BBC Africa Live, where we'll be keeping you up to date on news and views on the continent.

That's all from BBC Africa Live for now. You can 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 Tuesday's proverb:

Click here to send us your African proverbs.

And we leave you with a picture of a trader selling traditional ornaments in a market in Kenya's capital, Nairobi.

Mary Harper
Africa editor, BBC World Service

Image source, AFP

The deputy president of Ethiopia's athletics federation, Gebereegziabhair Geberemaariam has described as a huge loss the unexpected resignation of the organisation's president, Haile Gebrselassie.

The distance running champion resigned on Monday, saying certain groups were violating the principles of athletics and trying to undermine his authority.

On Sunday, athletes from the country's largest region, Oromia, protested against his leadership and the quality of training facilities.

Haile Gebrselassie has spent his two years in the job trying to clean up Ethiopian sport, but said he only achieved about a third of what he had hoped to.

The BBC's Horn of Africa service says the long-distance athlete, Derartu Tullu, is widely expected to replace him.

The mayor of Johannesburg has tweeted a picture of a man pushing a shopping trolley packed with animal carcasses.

He said he wanted to ensure that the practice ends before diseases are spread in South Africa's largest city.

Image source, AFP

Zimbabwe's President Emmerson Mnangagwa has defended his economic policy, saying "painful reforms" are necessary to get the southern African country out of economic stagnation.

"Yes, the medicine is harsh, but the patient requires it in order to live,” Mr Mnangagwa said, quoting former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, in an article in the Financial Times. , external

He said that his administration had identified privatisation of state institutions, broadening of the tax base and fighting corruption as key to turning the economy around.

He also defended a levy imposed on electronic transactions:

The 76-year-old president, who won elections in July after Robert Mugabe's forced resignation last year, said Zimbabwe faced acute problems, but, echoing Mrs Thatcher, added: "We are not afraid of taking tough, and at times painful, decisions."

He highlighted increasing output in gold mines and privatisation of the agriculture sector as some of the positive developments in Zimbabwe since he came to power.

Pumza Fihlani
BBC News

Image source, AFP

South Africa’s embattled Home Affairs Minister, Malusi Gigaba, has resigned two weeks after a video of him masturbating was widely circulated online.

A statement from the presidency said Mr Gigaba - a senior member of the governing African Natuional Congress (ANC) - was "stepping aside for the sake of our country and the movement to which he belongs".

Mr Gigaba had accused South Africa's security services of hacking his phone and releasing the 13-second video which, he says, was for his wife.

The 47-year-old has courted controversy in recent years over allegations that he used his powerful roles in various ministerial portfolios to assist the controversial Gupta business family.

The Indian-born businessmen were widely linked to several corruption scandals under ex-President Jacob Zuma's administration.

All parties, including Mr Gigaba, deny any wrongdoing.

Many questioned Mr Gigaba's fitness to hold office, saying his reputation had been tarnished.

In recent weeks, the questions grew louder, first over a Constitutional Court ruling which upheld an earlier finding that he lied under oath while giving evidence about a government contract.

This was followed by a recommendation by the public protector that he be disciplined for ethical breaches.

Opposition parties had been pushing President Cyril Ramaphosa to sack him, and they have welcomed his resignation.

Kenyan social media sceptic Joey agrees to live her life on Instagram for a week to see what happens.

But can she remain true to herself when the line between real and fake starts to blur?

This is part of a series by the BBC on disinformation and fake news - a global problem challenging the way we share information and perceive the world around us.

To see more stories and learn more about the series visit www.bbc.co.uk/fakenews.

Milton Nkosi
BBC Africa, Johannesburg

Jailed murderer and disgraced South African athlete Oscar Pistorius has been allowed to attend his grandfather’s memorial service.

According to South Africa's prison department there was nothing improper about the former Paralympian’s brief release on Tuesday to attend the memorial in Centurion in Gauteng province, the country's economic heartland.

It was “on compassionate grounds,” the department's spokesman, Singabakho Nxumalo, said.

“This concession is only granted when it concerns a direct family member [father, mother, child, spouse, bro­ther, sister, grandfather and grandmother],” he added.

The 31-year-old double amputee was escorted to the memorial service and is currently back behind bars in the capital, Pretoria, Mr Nxumalo said.

Pistorius is serving a 15-year prison sentence for shooting dead his model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day 2013.

A video of Nigerian Nollywood actor Aremu Afolayan complaining about how he was treated by security officers at the main airport in Lagos is being shared on Twitter.

The actor complains about being asked to pay for his family to enter the Murtala Muhammed International Airport.

"In my entire life I have never seen a country as useless as this country," he says.

It's unclear when the video was filmed, but watch it below:

Image source, AFP

A court in Egypt has sentenced Mohamed Aboutrika, one of the country's football legends, to one year in prison for tax evasion with an option to pay a fine of 20,000 Egyptian pounds ($1,100; £860) to have the sentence suspended.

Aboutrika, who has lived in exile in Qatar since 2013, was not in court on Monday for the verdict, the Associated Press agency reports.

The court said Aboutrika failed to pay $39,500 in taxes on income from advertising deals with carbonated drink and telecommunications companies in 2008 and 2009.

Egyptian authorities froze his assets in 2015 and placed him in a no-fly list last year over allegations of links to the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, which authorities have labelled a terrorist organisation.

He openly has openly sympathised with the Muslim Brotherhood and publicly endorsed Mohammed Morsi in his successful presidential run in 2012, a year after the overthrow of longtime leader Hosni Mubarak, AP reports.

Aboutrika has, however, denied funding Islamist organisations.

The former attacking midfielder played for Cairo’s Al-Ahly club and was central to two of Egypt’s three straight African Cup of Nations titles in 2006, 2008 and 2010.

Those triumphs made Egypt Africa’s most successful team with a record seven titles.

Aboutrika was dubbed “Prince of Hearts” and “The Magician” by his fans.

Fergal Keane
BBC Africa editor

Journalists in Somalia face a constant battle with misinformation and propaganda.

But, unlike in many other parts of the world, they often pay with their lives for their commitment to seeking the truth.

The country is one of the most dangerous places for journalists, with nearly 40 killed in the past decade.

This story is part of a series by the BBC on disinformation and fake news - a global problem challenging the way we share information and perceive the world around us.

The former head of Ethiopia's military-run industrial firm, Metals and Engineering Corporation (Metec) has been arrested, a day after the attorney general said investigations had uncovered corruption at the company, state-linked broadcaster Fana reports.

Maj Gen Kinfe Dagnew was taken into custody while trying to enter Sudan via the northern city of Humera in the Tigray region.

He is expected to appear in court not later than 48 hours after his arrest, the report says.

Attorney-General Berhanu Tsegaye said on Monday that 28 suspects had been arrested over the corruption allegations at Metec.

The suspects were arraigned in court but the hearing was adjourned to 26 November.

Metec was one of the main contractors in the building of the $4bn (£3bn) Grand Renaissance Dam before its contract was cancelled in August by reformist Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.

Mr Berhanu alleged that officials at the firm embezzled public funds.

Another 36 former security and intelligence officials have also been arrested for alleged human rights abuses.

Ethiopia has been going through seismic changes since reformist Mr Abiy was appointed in April.

He has overseen the un-banning of political parties, released political prisoners and made peace with long-time foe Eritrea.

Patience Atuhaire
BBC Africa, Kampala

Police in southern Uganda have arrested three students thought to have been involved in setting fire to a school dormitory where nine students died.

Reports suggest the fire began early on Monday morning at a block that housed dozens of students from St Bernard Secondary School in Rakai.

Police say the suspect students, who had been suspended from the school for bringing alcohol to the institution, locked up the dormitory from outside trapping their schoolmates, and set the building alight.

Some 30 students have been admitted to hospital with injuries.

Police say they are having to do DNA testing to identify some of the bodies which are said to have been burnt beyond recognition.

They also say they are still looking for six alleged co-conspirators.

Damage done by school dormitory fires is usually aggravated by overcrowding, which hampers rescue efforts.

The rescue team had to use, "a hoe to break the padlock to save the lives of children who had been locked in the dormitory," Irene Nakasiita, Co-ordinator Communications and Public Relations, at Uganda Red Cross told the BBC.

In 2008, a dormitory fire at a primary school near the capital Kampala killed 20 pupils.

A wave of school fires followed shortly after that, but there have been fewer in recent years.

Rana Jawad
BBC North Africa correspondent

Image source, EPA

It is not clear what the aims of the conference in the Italian city of Palermo are, other than to keep Libya on the international agenda.

The country’s stability – however it may come - remains crucial to Europe’s continued policy to reduce illegal migration from there.

Europe is not united over how to move forward on Libya. In the run-up to Palermo, some diplomats privately described the meeting as a would-be “photo-op” that has more to do with the rivalry between the French and Italian visions of how to resolve the crises there, and less to do with Libya itself.

The controversial commander of Eastern Libya’s armed forces, Field Marshal Khalifa Hafter has so far dominated the headlines with his late arrival on Monday and conflicting signals on who he is willing to meet.

He has said he won't go to the official round-table talks but will meet leaders on the sidelines.

At best, observers believe he is reluctantly attending.

In May, a meeting in Paris between him and a now weakened Libyan Prime Minister, Fayez al-Serraj, ended with a verbal declaration to support elections in December.

This has since been abandoned because deep political and armed divisions remain.

The Italians are reluctant to bind any grand plans to a schedule.

A conference of this kind needs a clear vision on goals, and that is sorely lacking from all sides today.