Mary Harper
Africa editor, BBC World Service

Belgium's Prime Minister Charles Michel is expected to apologise later today for the kidnapping of thousands of children born to mixed-race couples during the colonial rule of Burundi, Congo and Rwanda.

At that time, children born to Belgian settlers and local women were forcibly taken to Belgium and fostered by Catholic orders and other institutions.

About 20,000 children are believed to have been affected. Most fathers refused to acknowledge paternity of their children. Some never received Belgian nationality and remained stateless.

Two years ago the Catholic church apologised for its role in the scandal.

Belgium was particularly brutal during the colonial period. An estimated 10 to 15 million Africans were killed during its rule of Belgian Congo, now known as the Democratic Republic of Congo.

A military-linked production company is in charge of some of the biggest TV shows in Egypt, the New York Times reports., external

Citing directors and actors, the newspaper says Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has clamped down on the country's entertainment industry in an attempt to make sure that the television content produced glorifies the army and police and vilifies the Muslim Brotherhood.

Filmmakers told the newspaper that stories need to follow approved themes or else they will not be aired.

TV programmes made for Ramadan are especially popular and lucrative for the industry. During Ramadan, Muslim families throughout the Middle East typically gather in front of the TV to enjoy Egyptian mini-series.

President Sisi, a former army chief, led the military overthrow of Egypt's first democratically elected president, Mohammed Morsi, in 2013 following protests against his rule.

Image source, Reuters

It's worth remembering that today's report from the Ethiopian authorities into last month's plane crash is just preliminary.

There are sill a lot of unanswered questions.

Transport Minister Dagmawit Moges said that the "crew performed all the procedures repeatedly provided by the manufacturer, but was not able to control the aircraft", which nose-dived six minutes after take off.

But we don't have the exact detail of what the pilots actually did, reports BBC Business reporter Theo Leggett.

There could be serious questions for the plane's manufacturer, Boeing, once we have that information.

We need to understand why the action the pilots took did not work, Theo adds.

Ethiopian investigators cannot yet say whether there is a structural problem with the Boeing 737 Max, based on flight and cockpit voice data, the head of the investigation has said.

"We will analyse whether other problems were existing on this aircraft," Amdye Ayalew Fanta told a news conference in Addis Ababa, saying this would take between six to 12 months.

The Ethiopian transport minister Dagmawit Moges said earlier that Ethiopian Airlines pilots had been unable to prevent the plane from repeatedly nosediving, despite having followed proper Boeing procedures.

BBC World Service

Image source, AFP

The UN secretary general, who's on a visit to Libya, says he's deeply concerned by troop movements in the country.

Antonio Guterres is in Tripoli to meet Libyan leaders.

The government based in the city declared a military alert on Wednesday, after rebel forces announced that they had advanced from the east of the country.

Skirmishes were reported to have taken place in one area. Mr Guterres called for calm, warning there was no military solution to Libya's problems.

Rival factions have been fighting for control since the overthrow of the long-time leader, Colonel Gaddafi, eight years ago.

Zimbabwe's Constitutional Court has outlawed physical beating as a judicial sentence, the state-controlled Herald newspaper reports, external.

The court called caning "inhuman and degrading punishment" and ruled that such "inhuman" treatment did not have a place in democracy, the Herald says.

As a result, it court struck down a section in the Criminal Procedure and Evidence act which makes possible the caning of juvenile offenders.

A 15-year-old boy was recently convicted of raping a 14-year-old girl and sentenced to six strokes of the cane.

BBC Monitoring

The Eritrean government has issued a strongly worded statement accusing Turkey, Qatar and Sudan of "collusion" and "subversive acts" against Eritrea and the peace agreement between Eritrea and Ethiopia, the state-owned Shabait website reports., external

Eritrea claims acts of subversion against it are done by the Turkish government, with the backing of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), and with funding from Qatar.

The statement from the Ministry of Information also accused Turkey of allowing an Eritrean opposition group to open an office in the country.

Eritrea is also angered by what is called inflammatory pronouncements against both Ethiopia and Eritrea in neighbouring Sudan.

"But they will remain no more than mere tantrum and posturing," concluded the statement.

Image source, HASSAN KATENDE / FACEBOOK / HANDOUT / PA

As Ethiopia releases the preliminary report into last month's plane crash that killed 157 people let's remember the victims.

Passengers from more than 30 countries were on board the Ethiopian Airlines flight from Addis Ababa to Nairobi that went down on 10 March.

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

UN Secretary-General António Guterres described the crash as a "global tragedy". A number of passengers are believed to have been affiliated with the UN.

A former Kenyan football administrator, a "stellar" US student and a Slovakian MP's family all died in the crash. One Kenyan man lost his wife, daughter and three grandchildren, while a Canadian family of six also died on flight ET302.

One of the youngest passengers was just nine months old.

Read more in this BBC story

In the preliminary report into last month's Ethiopian Airlines crash the Ethiopia's authorities made two main conclusions.

The first was that the flight control system should be reviewed.

And secondly that the Boeing 737 Max 8 should not be allowed to fly again until the problems with "flight controlability" are "adequately addressed".

Boeing, a superpower of the aviation world, is in the midst of a profound crisis, writes the BBC's Tom Burridge.

A brand new 737-Max 8 crashing after a new system on the modified aircraft malfunctioned is a disaster.

A second instance of the same model of plane suffering a similar fate five months later is a whole lot worse.

"There are new are add-ons going on to airliners all the time," says Capt Chris Brady, who has been flying 737s for 18 years.

"Each add-on needs to have a robust risk analysis put on it. And that clearly didn't happen here."

Nose pushed down

The new anti-stall mechanism on the Max relied on data from one single sensor at the front of the aircraft.

On both occasions, erroneous data caused the aircraft to nosedive shortly after take-off.

Read more: The fallout from Boeing's 737 Max 8 crisis

Image source, Jonathan Durron

In its reaction to the preliminary report into last month's plane crash Ethiopian Airlines said it was proud that the pilots followed the emergency procedures in "such extremely difficult situations".

The report said that while the pilots had followed the protocols outlined by Boeing they were unable to control the plane, which crashed six minutes after take off.

In the statement, Ethiopian Airlines said "it was very unfortunate that they could not recover the airplane from the resistance of nose diving".

Google is celebrating what would have been the 80th birthday of legendary South African jazz musician Hugh Masekela with a home page doodle:

Masekela, who is often referred to as "the father of South African jazz", was an influential trumpeter and a leading figure in the fight against apartheid.

He gained global recognition with his distinctive Afro-Jazz sound and hits such as Soweto Blues, which served as one of the soundtracks to the anti-apartheid movement.

He died last year aged 78.

Read more: Hugh Masekela, South African jazz trumpeter, dies

Image source, Getty Images

Ethiopia's Transport Minister Dagmawit Moges has given the following details into the crash of the Ethiopian Airlines flight last month:

• The aircraft possessed a valid certificate of airworthiness
• The crew obtained the correct license to conduct the flight
• The take-off appeared very normal
• The crew preformed all the procedures repeatedly provided by the manufacturer but were not able to control the aircraft

And she mentioned some recommendations including:

• It is recommended that the flight control system be reviewed by the manufacturer

You can follow the press briefing here:

Ethiopia's Transport Minister Dagmawit Moges has begun briefing journalists in Addis Ababa about the conclusions of the preliminary report into last month's Ethiopian Airlines crash.

So far she has said that the plane was in good condition.

The conflict in Somalia shows no sign of easing as militant Islamist group al-Shabab continues to mount attacks in the capital, Mogadishu, despite the fact that its fighters were forced out of the city in 2011.

The UN refugee agency's special envoy for the Horn of Africa, Mohamed Affey, has been discussing the conflict with BBC Newsday's Karnie Sharp:

Journalists are gathering in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa for the release of the preliminary report into the crash of the Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 MAX last month, killing all 157 people on board.

The plane crashed six minutes after take off.

Details leaked to the press suggested that there were problems with the plane's anti-stall software.

According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), external, the pilots initially took the emergency steps outlined by the manufacturer but still could not regain control.

The aeroplane manufacturer has said it has redesigned the system.

But Boeing has said that the upgrade was not an admission that the system had caused the crash.

Russell Padmore
Business correspondent, BBC News

Uganda is clamping down on imports of gold so that processors have to certify the precious metal is not from an area of conflict.

The move follows a United Nations report which concluded Kampala is a hub for gold traded illegally from the Democratic Republic of Congo. The value of gold processed and then exported from Uganda has jumped in recent years.

Image source, Getty Images

In 2015 Uganda exported about $35m (£26.5m) of the metal, but when the African Gold Refinery opened in 2016, the value of exports rose dramatically and last year $550m worth of bullion was exported, according to the Ugandan central bank.

That's more than the trade in coffee, one of the economy's important industries. In future gold brought into the country must be certified by the central bank and police to prove it is not linked to financing of conflict in places like South Sudan or the DR Congo.

However, it's feared the new certification process may be undermined because small-scale artisanal miners often smuggle their precious metal across the border, taking advantage of lax controls.

The UN believes the lack of procedures to prevent the illegal trade in trade in conflict minerals has led to the surge in gold exports, a situation that may change with the requirement for importers to certify where their gold came from.

In 2004, JJ Roble's family fled Somalia and ended up living in the shadow of Wembley Stadium.

She's now the first black, female, Muslim, hijab-wearing referee in the UK.

Her aim is to inspire more women into playing football and to get the England ladies to the top of their game.

Produced by BBC's The One Show.

BBC World Service

The authorities in Burkina Faso say more than 60 civilians have been killed in four days of ethnic clashes that began with the murder of a religious leader and six family members.

Violence has engulfed the area around the town of Arbinda in the north of the country.

The Fulani ethnic group have been battling with members of the Fulse community.

Eyewitnesses saw bodies near a gold mining site, the local market and in the town.

Image source, Getty Images

The government says the situation is being exacerbated by jihadist groups, who have taken advantage of the instability to carry out their own attacks.

A state of emergency has been in effect in the northern region since the end of last year.

A terminal at Kenya's largest airport has been shut down after a fire broke out on Wednesday night.

The Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) says the blaze at Terminal 1C of the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport was caused by a malfunction in baggage-belt system, stopping operations at two check-in counters.

The agency says all passengers and staff were evacuated and the blaze contained by the airport's fire-fighting team.

No-one was injured in the incident.

The incident comes barely a week after KAA said it had overhauled its firefighting services and commissioned two fire trucks at the airport.