British government officials forged documents to produce "fake news stories" during the Cold War, newly released files show.

For 30 years, a secret propaganda unit called the Information Research Department (IRD) fed information to journalists and had its own news agencies too.

One complex scheme involved faking a press release from the World Federation of Democratic Youth (WFYD), a Communist-backed organisation based in Budapest.

In 1963, African students in Bulgaria made international news. Scores had left the country, claiming racial discrimination, and the IRD decided to use this to "intensify indignation... against Bloc countries".

On fake headed notepaper, the IRD circulated a press release to hundreds of newspapers and opinion formers - sending the releases via the British diplomatic bag which meant they would have the right postmark.

The press release - reprinted in full by a news agency in Zanzibar - included an offensive statement that the Africans "emerging from the jungle darkness of want, [they] were not equipped to understand that food, fuel and clothes were not freely attainable..."

African students were furious. The Nigerian student union said this was a declaration of "white superiority".

Some weeks later, the WFYD insisted it had been a fake release.

Read the full story by Sanchia Berg on the BBC News website.

When nude photos of leading Ugandan model Judith Heard were published without her consent last year, she not only found herself under arrest, but also under attack in the media and online.

She is now urging Ugandan women to talk openly about sexual abuse - and to show solidarity with one another.

Reporter: Ciru Muriuki for BBC Factfinder.

South Africa's troubled state-run electricity firm, Eskom, says 11 of its power plants have been shut down.

The country is in it fourth day of severe power cuts, which have caused transport problems in the main city Johannesburg, with many traffic lights switched off.

A joint press briefing by Eskom chairman Jabu Mabuza and Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan is being broadcast live by state broadcaster SABC, external.

Eskom has said it's working around the clock to return more generating capacity to the network and has appealed to customers to turn off all non-essential lights and appliances.

The power cuts highlight that South Africa's ageing network has suffered from years of under-investment and mismanagement, correspondents say.

Last month, the government announced a $5bn (£3.7bn) bailout of Eskom, as well as plans to break up the company.

Peter Mwai
BBC Africa, Nairobi

Kenyans on Twitter have been using the hashtag #WeCannotIgnore, external to criticise the government following reports that at least 10 people have died of hunger because of the drought in the north-western Turkana region.

They accuse the government of ignoring the plight of drought victims, say politicians only go and see them when they need votes, and sarcastically dismiss government claims that no-one has died of hunger:

These views have also been captured by a popular Kenyan cartoonist:

Ashley Lime
BBC News, Nairobi

The two main unions representing doctors in Kenya are piling pressure on the government to stop sending doctors to Cuba for training.

It follows the death of a Kenyan doctor in the country under circumstances that are still unclear.

Kenyan newspapers reported that Dr Hamisi Ali Juma allegedly took his own life shortly before he was to return to home to be with his wife and eight-month-old baby.

Dr Juma, who was in his mid-30s, was undertaking a postgraduate diploma training in family medicine in Cuba after the Kenyan government sponsored 50 young doctors to receive specialised training in the capital, Havana, last year.

In a statement, the Kenya Medical Association (KMA) said it was grieving the "untimely loss of this young promising life".

"Since our colleagues were shipped off to Cuba, we have heard numerous complaints from them on the treatment they have been receiving from, among others, representatives of our government," said KMA President Jacqueine Kitulu.

The Kenya Medical Practitioners Pharmacists and Dentists' Union said Dr Juma had reached out and expressed his frustration over the manner in which the government had "withheld or completely failed to pay their living expenses in a foreign country".

It said the government should train doctors locally - and end its deal with Cuba.

A fortnight ago doctors wrote to Kenya's parliament on the challenges faced in Cuba.

The Kenyan embassy in Cuba and the police are investigating the doctor's death.

Last year, Kenya's government brought in about 100 Cuban doctors to plug a shortage of specialist doctors, but this was met with resistance from local doctors who said the Cubans were receiving preferential treatment and earning huge perks.

Kenya's privately owned Daily Nation newspaper reported , external at the time that the Cuban doctors were to earn $8,000 (£6,000) a month, more than some senior government officials.

Do you need to expand your political vocabulary of African English?

A Dictionary of African Politics has been published and might just do the trick.

An unconventional compilation of political figures and terminology, it includes terms such as "don't kubeba", "legislooters" and "Rhodes must fall".

The dictonary has been compiled by three experts on African politics - a Nigerian graduate, a researcher in Burkina Faso, and UK-based academic Nic Cheesman - who spoke to BBC Newsday's Karnie Sharp:

Football's world governing body, Fifa, says it has received the biggest number of formal expressions of interest yet from countries wanting to host the next Women's World Cup.

South Africa, which hosted the 2010 World Cup, is among the nine nations considering hosting the women's tournament in 2023.

The others are:

• Argentina
• Australia
• Bolivia
• Brazil
• Colombia
• Japan
• South Korea & North Korea (joint bid)
• New Zealand
• South Africa

The next stage in the process will be to submit a formal bid to host the event.

South Africa has already been awarded the rights to host the Netball World Cup in the same year, 2023.

BBC World Service

Image source, Getty Images

Flood waters are still rising in Mozambique in the wake of Cyclone Idai, submerging large swathes of the country.

Rescue work has continued overnight to reach those who've been left stranded on rooftops.

Aid workers say up to 100,000 people around the port city of Beira are in urgent need of help.

They fear the town of Buzi could be completely underwater in the coming hours.

The storm also caused widespread damage in eastern Zimbabwe, where nearly 100 people have died.

The military has been repairing roads to get to people trapped by fallen rocks.

In Malawi, many people require medical supplies, food and shelter.

Ashagre Hailu
BBC Amharic editor

Image source, Getty Images

Ethiopia plans to indefinitely postpone its national census because of the large number of people left homeless by conflict in parts of the country, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's office has said in a statement.

People currently living in camps needed to return to their homes, before the census - which was due to have started on 7 April - could be conducted, it added.

Parliament - which has the final say - would be asked to approve the indefinite postponement.

The census had been postponed twice before - in 2017 and 2018, according to the state-linked Fana Broadcasting Corporate news site, external.

More than one million people have fled their homes because of largely ethnic-driven conflict in Ethiopia.

The census is vital to determine the country's population, and would influence the allocation of budgets for each region - a contentious issue that tends to spark political tensions.

Ethiopia last carried out a census in 2007. Its population is estimated to be 102.5 million, making it the most populous African state after Nigeria.

Read: The leader promising to heal a nation

Tuesday's African proverb:

Click here and scroll to the bottom to send us your African proverbs.

Welcome to BBC Africa Live where we will bring you the latest news from around the continent.

BBC Africa Live
Dickens Olewe

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 Monday's proverb:

Click here to send us your African proverbs.

And we leave you with this picture of a model from Nigeria's largest city, Lagos.

Joshua Ajayi
BBC Yoruba, Lagos

In Nigeria, at least four people have been rescued after a building partially collapsed during a demolition exercise in Lagos Island on Monday afternoon. It's the third building to cave in within a week.

Spokesperson for the Lagos State Fire Service, Amodu Shakiru, told the BBC that four people were rescued and are receiving treatment at the General Hospital.

The Lagos State Building Control Agency commenced controlled demolition of distressed buildings in the area after a four-storey building housing an elementary school collapse last week killing 20 people.

Read more: Six reasons why so many buildings collapse

Image source, AFP

A court in France has handed a two-year suspended jail sentence to Congolese music star Koffi Olomide after convicting him of having sex with a 15-year-old girl who was one of his dancers.

Olomide was not in court.

The popular rhumba singer went on trial after four former dancers claimed he sexually assaulted them several times between 2002 and 2006 and held them against their will.

The 62-year-old, whose real name is Antoine Agbepa Mumba, was also ordered to pay $5,700 (£4,300) in damages to the former dancer, as well as a $5,700 fine for helping three of the women enter France illegally.

He was first charged in 2012 with aggravated rape but the charges were reduced.

Prosecutors had been pushing for a seven-year sentence but the court dismissed the assault and kidnapping charges.

According to Olomide's lawyer, the court decision entails the lifting of an international arrest warrant issued against his client, who, he says, will now be able to travel to France freely, the BBC's Nadir Djennad reports.

Olomide fled to DR Congo in 2009 promising to defend himself but failed to show up for the trial last month which was held behind closed doors in a Paris court.

The Congolese musician has found himself in trouble several times:

• In 2018 Zambia ordered his arrest after he allegedly assaulted a photographer
• In 2016 he was arrested and deported after he assaulted one of his dancers in Kenya
• In 2012 he was convicted in DR Congo of assaulting his producer and received a three-month suspended prison sentence

• In 2008 he was accused of kicking a cameraman from DR Congo's private RTGA television station and breaking his camera at a concert in Kinshasa but a reconciliation was later brokered

Chris Ewokor
BBC Africa, Abuja

Image source, AF

The suspended Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen, appeared in court today for the next stage of his trial.

The top judge was suspended and a replacement named by President Muhammadu Buhari ahead of last month’s elections over allegations that he had failed to fully declare his personal assets before taking office.

Justice Onnoghen arrived today more than an hour early for his hearing at the Code of Conduct Tribunal which proceeded to examine his bank accounts.

At a previous appearance, he had pleaded not guilty to the six-count charge of non-declaration of assets which had been filed against him by the government.

The action was widely seen as politically motivated and triggered a public outcry.

Mr Buhari won the presidential election but the result is now being challenged by the main opposition candidates in the courts.

Peter Mwai
BBC Africa, Nairobi

Kenya’s Meteorological Department has warned that Cyclone Idai, which has wreaked havoc in several southern African countries, could affect the onset of long rains in Kenya.

Most parts of the country are currently experiencing dry conditions.

“Seasonal rainfall onset was expected in March over most parts of the country. However, sunny and dry weather conditions are likely to persist over the better part of the country and more so the eastern sector of the country and north-western Kenya,” the agency has said in a statement posted on Twitter, external.

"The season constitutes an important rainfall season in Kenya and more so in the Western, Rift Valley and Central regions."

"This seasonal rainfall highly impacts on the agricultural sector and hence food security in the country," the statement adds.

Some parts of the country in the north and north-eastern regions have been badly affected by the ongoing drought.

Deputy President William Ruto today announced the government has released $10m (£7m) to mitigate the effects of the drought that has affected 865,000 people in 13 counties.

A court in Kenya has awarded a tea picker $14,000 (£10,000) in damages after a tea agency used her picture in promotional material, privately-owned Business Daily reports.

Justice Lucy Gitari ruled that the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) used Ann Njoki Kumena’s image without consent on its marketing brochures, thus infringing on her rights.

“Having considered the purpose for which the photograph was used, which was for commercial purposes, a reasonable award ought to be given to the plaintiff,” Judge Lucy Gitari said.

KTDA opposed Ms Njoki's claim, saying she had given consent for her picture to be taken and was therefore not entitled to any royalties in a photo she does not have copyright to.

The judge also ordered KTDA to cover Ms Njoki's court costs.

More than 1,000 people may have been killed after Cyclone Idai hit Mozambique, President Filipe Nyusi has told national radio.

He said that although the official death toll was currently 84, he believes that more than 1,000 may have died.

Cyclone Idai made landfall on Thursday with winds of up to 177 km/h (106 mph) cauding loss of life and damage in southern Africa.

He spoke after flying over the hard-hit port city of Beira and viewing the flooding and devastation.

Mr Nyusi said he saw bodies floating in the flooded areas.

The Red Cross says the cyclone has had a "massive and horrifying" impact on Beira, the country's fourth largest city with a population of about 500,000 people.

Abdihafid Ismail
BBC Somali

A high-profile delegation headed by Eritrean Foreign Minister Osman Salah arrived in Hargeisa, the capital of the self-declared republic of Somaliland, this morning.

The delegation will remain in Somalialand for a few days, a staff from the Somaliland presidential office told the BBC.

Mr Salah said he was sent by the president of Eritrea to find more information on how the Somaliland government functions.

This is the first visit from the Eritrean government to Somaliland since it broke away from Somalia in 1991. Its independence has not been internationally recognised.

Somaliland has been allied to Ethiopia, which was a bitter enemy of Eritrea until last year when the two countries normalised relations.

Cyclone Idai has had a "massive and horrifying" impact on Mozambique's port city of Beira, the Red Cross says.

Drone footage shows the extent of the devastation caused by flooding and winds of up to 177 km/h (106 mph).

People have been rescued from trees, homes have been destroyed and roofs were ripped off concrete buildings, the Red Cross told the BBC.

There are fears that the impact outside the city could be even worse.