Image source, AFP

Lawyers for the former rebel leader and Vice-President of DR Congo, Jean-Pierre Bemba, who was acquitted of war crimes by the International Criminal Court (ICC) last year, are seeking nearly $75m (£57m) in damages.

They want compensation for what they say was his unlawful detention, legal fees and losses due to the alleged mismanagement of his assets seized by the court.

During 10 years in detention, Mr Bemba’s assets "were simply allowed to rot", his lawyer Peter Haynes told journalists in The Hague.

The assets included seven aeroplanes, three villas in Portugal, three parcels of land in DR Congo and two boats.

The amount he is seeking is just under half of the ICC’s annual budget of some $168m, Reuters news agency reports.

No date was set for when the filing would be considered by ICC judges, who have rejected similar claims in the past.

Mr Bemba, a successful businessman and an opposition politician before his arrest, was acquitted May last year of crimes committed by members of a militia under his command.

His legal team said if awarded, part of the amount would go to pay reparation for war victims.

Mr Bemba was excluded from running in the December presidential election because he was convicted of witness tampering by the ICC, an offence which is a form of corruption under DR Congo electoral law.

Read more: Who is Jean-Pierre Bemba?

BBC World Service

Image source, AFP

Chad's Defence Minister General Daoud Yaya Brahim says 400 rebels have surrendered and crossed over to Chad from their base in Libya.

They said they were responding to an amnesty offer made last year by President Idriss Deby.

A spokesman for the Union of Forces for Democracy and Development said the Chadian authorities had exaggerated the number of rebels who had defected.

He said 86 fighters had left the group, with about 1,000 remaining active.

Chad has numerous rebel groups, many based in Libya.

Image source, Omondi family

A British soldier has won his fight to get his teenage daughter a UK visa so she can leave Kenya and live with him and his family in Scotland.

L/Cpl Denis Omondi, who is originally from Kenya, has uncontested custody of 14-year-old Ann.

He applied for an entry clearance application for her in November, but it was rejected by the Home Office.

After Ann's case was raised at Westminster, L/Cpl Omondi has been told her application now meets the rules.

MP Drew Hendry asked UK Prime Minister Theresa May about the family's situation during Prime Minister's Questions in January.

The prime minister said Home Secretary Sajid Javid would look into the circumstances of the case.

Mr Hendry said he was delighted that the Home Office had decided Ann's visa application met with immigration regulations.

He said it had been a "hard slog" for L/Cpl Omondi and his family.

Read the full story on the BBC website.

Ben Kuria, whose father died in the Ethiopian Airlines plane crash, has described how he wished he'd spent more time saying goodbye to his father.

His flight, ET302 to Nairobi, Kenya, crashed shortly after take-off from Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa, leaving no survivors.

Joseph Waithaka was returning to his home in Kenya from a trip to see his family in England when the plane went down. His son paid tribute to "a generous man who believed in justice."

Catherine Byaruhanga
BBC Africa, Kampala

Image source, AFP

A diplomatic row between Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame is showing little sign of abating.

Over the weekend the two leaders - who have traded accusations of interfering in each other's affairs in a row which eventually led to the closure of their shared border - once more traded harsh words.

The Rwandan leader accuses President Museveni of providing a haven for people opposed to President Kagame, a claim he denies.

“When I hear somebody say no one can destabilise their country, I agree. No one should actually be destabilising that country but that country should not also be destabilising others,” President Kagame said in an apparent response to comments made by Mr Museveni.

The Ugandan leader had earlier warned that anyone trying to destabilise his country would not succeed.

“Uganda is stable. I have said before that those who try to destabilise our country do not know our capacity. It is big. Once we mobilise, you cannot survive if you are a trouble-maker," he said.

In the past, the tow leaders have been quick to downplay the tensions between their countries, often leaving any public row to their officials and supporters.

Mr Museveni did not direct his comments to any particular group or individual.

But Mr Kagame appears to have seen them as a warning to him.

He said he had given up "begging" Uganda to listen to his complaints about militant groups operating in Uganda and the mistreatment of Rwandan citizens.

"You can shoot me with a gun and kill me. But there is one thing that is impossible; no one can bring me to my knees," Mr Kagame said.

Read more: How the Rwanda-Uganda border crossing came to a halt

Ashley Lime
BBC News, Nairobi

Kodjo Glato was the only Togolese national on board the Ethiopian Airlines flight ET302 that crashed on Sunday shortly after take-off from Addis Ababa.

Mr Glato was a professor at the University of Lomé in Togo.

Johannesburg bureau chief for international news organisation Christian Science Monitor, Ryan Brown, tweeted that Mr Glato had “a passion for sweet potatoes and how they could be used to improve food security in West Africa”.

He also owned a non-governmental organisation called Farmers Without Borders, she told the BBC.

The BBC's Horn of Africa team has gathered in Nairobi to pay their respects to the victims of Ethiopian Airlines ET 302 which crashed on Sunday killing all the 157 passengers and crew on board.

BBC World Service

Image source, AFP

More than 1,000 judges in Algeria have said they will refuse to oversee next month's election if President Abdelaziz Bouteflika is a candidate.

The judges said in a statement that they would not act against the will of the people.

The president's decision to run for a fifth term of office has prompted nationwide protests.

On Sunday, Mr Bouteflika, who rarely appears in public, returned to Algeria from Switzerland, where he has been receiving medical treatment.

The protests have been backed by various key groups - including students and lawyers.

A moment of silence has been held by the United Nations Environment Assembly for those who died in the Ethiopian Airlines 737 crash.

At least 19 of the victims were travelling to the meeting in Nairobi. All 157 people on board the plane were killed in the crash on Sunday.

The plane's black box has now been recovered.

Temidayo Olofinsawo
BBC Yoruba editor, Lagos

Image source, AFP

In Nigeria, ballots are still being counted following Saturday's elections in 29 of the 36 states.

The was seen as another popularity contest between the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the main opposition People's Democratic Party (PDP).

The results that have been released and winners declared are in the following states:

Lagos (APC), Kwara (APC), Gombe (APC), Enugu (PDP), Oyo (PDP), Abia (PDP), Kebbi (APC), Jigawa (APC), Katsina (APC) , Ogun (APC), Akwa Ibom (PDP), Ebonyi (PDP), Cross River (PDP), Nasarawa (APC) and Niger (APC).

The election in Rivers state has been suspended indefinitely by Nigeria’s electoral body, the Independent National Electoral Commission (Inec).

The commission took this decision because of the widespread disruption of elections and violence in polling units and collation centres.

Inec also declared governorship elections in Adamawa and Sokoto states inconclusive.

Elections in seven states - Edo, Ondo, Ekiti, Bayelsa, Kogi, Anambra and Osun - were not held because the tenure of their governors has not yet expired.

While the aftermath of Sunday's Ethiopian Airlines plane crash is dominating the headlines across Africa, we will also bring you developments from the rest of the continent.

Passengers from more than 30 countries were on board the Ethiopian Airlines flight from Addis Ababa to Nairobi that crashed on Sunday, killing 157 people.

Among the victims were 32 Kenyans, 18 Canadians, nine Ethiopians and seven Britons,according to a passenger list from the doomed flight published by Ethiopian officials., external

A number of passengers are believed to have been affiliated with the UN.

Here's what is known about some of the victims.

Among the victims was Cedric Asiavugwa, a third-year law student at Georgetown University.

Image source, Georgetown Law

He was travelling to Nairobi to attend the funeral of one of his relatives, reports say.

"With his passing, the Georgetown family has lost a stellar student, a great friend to many, and a dedicated champion for social justice across East Africa and the world," Georgetown Law Dean William Treanor said.

Mr Asiavugwa was committed to issues of social justice, especially for refugees and other marginalised groups, the university said.

He also carried out research on subjects ranging from peace to food security in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and South Sudan.

Read more about the victims

Peter Mwai
BBC Africa, Nairobi

Four African airlines were flying the Boeing 737 Max 8 passenger plane, before Sunday's crash.

South Africa's privately owned Comair received its first plane just two weeks ago, becoming the first airline in southern Africa to operate the passenger jet.

The airline has ordered seven more, with one expected to arrive later this month.

Comair has issued a statement , externalsaying it "will continue to monitor the various investigations by the relevant authorities and are in close contact with both Boeing and the SACAA [South African Civil Aviation Authority]".

According to Boeing, state-owned Mauritania Airlines was the first to operate the plane in Africa, receiving its first delivery in December 2017.

Ethiopian Airlines received its first Max 8 in July 2018. The country had placed an order for 30 Max jets.

Ethiopian Airlines has now grounded its 737 Max 8 fleet following the crash.

Morocco's state-owned Royal Air Maroc received its first 737 Max 8 in December last year, and received a second one in February.

In September 2018, privately-owned Air Peace of Nigeria signed an order for 10 737 MAX 8 airplanes.

About three months later, Boeing announced that Lagos-based Green Africa Airways planned to buy up to 100 of the jets as the airline continued preparations to begin commercial operations.

The proposed deal was worth $11.7bn (£9bn), and it would be Africa's largest aircraft deal if finalised, Boeing added.

Image source, Reuters

Indonesia has joined Ethiopia and China in grounding its Boeing 737 Max-8 jets after the Ethiopian Airlines crash.

An "inspection" of the jets would take place, and flying them was "temporarily prohibited", Indonesia's Director General of Air Transport, Polana Pramesti, said.

A Greek man says he missed the Ethiopian Airlines plane that crashed in Addis Ababa after arriving two minutes late at the boarding gate.

"I was mad because nobody helped me to reach the gate on time," said Antonis Mavropoulos, as he recalled his "lucky day".

A second man also says he narrowly missed the flight.

The Boeing 737 Max 8 flight to Nairobi crashed six minutes after taking off, killing all 157 people on board.

The victims are from more than 30 countries, including 32 Kenyans, 18 Canadians, and seven Britons.

Mr Mavropoulos, president of the International Solid Waste Association, said he was initially angry as staff had not helped him and he missed the flight.

In a Facebook post entitled "My lucky day," Mr Mavropoulos said he was put onto the next flight to Nairobi and only found out about the crash when he was stopped from boarding that flight.

He was taken to a police station for questioning when an officer told him that he was the only passenger booked on the flight that did not board.

Read the full story on the BBC website

Ashley Lime
BBC News, Nairobi

Tributes have been pouring in for former Kenyan journalist Anthony Ngare, who lost his life in the Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 Max 8 crash on Sunday that killed all 157 people on board.

Mr Ngare had just represented Kenya at a UN conference in Paris and was on his way to Nairobi.

The 49-year-old was formerly an editor at local media house Standard Group and had also worked at a government agency.

At the time of his death, he was working for the UN's cultural agency, Unesco, as a deputy director of communications.

Here's a sample of messages people posted on Twitter.

His nephew, 30-year-old Elvis Ngare, said his uncle was a cheerful and very funny person.

"We looked up to him as a mentor. He was like a big brother," said Elvis.

The father of two had in February posted on Twitter an emotional letter from his eight-year-old daughter thanking him for being a responsible father.

He is survived by his wife and two daughters.

Participants of a UN environmental meeting in Kenya's capital, Nairobi, are mourning the loss of delegates who were on the crashed Ethiopian Airlines plane.

The UN Environmental programme described the deaths as a "terrible loss":

"The environmental community is in mourning today. Many of those that lost their lives were en-route to provide support and participate in the UN Environment Assembly. We lost UN staff, youth delegates travelling to the Assembly, seasoned scientists, members of academia and other partners," it said in a statement. , external

Emmanuel Igunza
BBC Africa, at the crash site

Investigators and rescue teams have been going through the wreckage of Ethiopian Airlines flight ET 302 since Sunday morning when the plane crashed minutes after take-off.

It’s a slow, delicate process as much of the aircraft shattered into pieces on impact in a farmland near the town of Bishoftu, 60km (37 miles) south-east of the capital, Addis Ababa.

Debris from the plane and some personal belongings are scattered all over the crash scene, which is about the size of a football pitch.

Excavators have been deployed to dig through the big crater that was created when the plane hit the ground.

Authorities say the focus is the recovery of the victims' remains.

The aircraft manufacturer Boeing says its investigators will join the team searching for clues into why the plane crashed.

Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has promised a thorough investigation into the incident and vowed to make the findings public.

Hanna Temuari
BBC Amharic

An Ethiopian Airlines source has confirmed that the black box has been found but that it has been partially damaged.