Ishaq Khalid
BBC Africa, Abuja

Image source, Getty Images

Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari has met the governors of the country's 19 northern states to discuss the worsening security situation.

A faction of Boko Haram - which is known as Iswap and is linked to the Islamic State group - has become increasingly active in the north-east of the country where it has attacked civilian and military targets.

Hundreds of thousands of people have fled their homes over the last decade because of attacks by Islamist Boko Haram militants.

In the north-west of Nigeria kidnappings by armed bandits have also become rampant.

While efforts to resolve the conflict between cattle herders and farmers have failed to have an impact.

Ahmed Rouaba
BBC News

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An unprecedented situation is unfolding in Algeria as the possibility looms that there may be no candidates eligible for the presidential election scheduled for 4 July.

On Sunday, the deadline for candidates to register, the Constitutional Council announced it had had only two nominations.

But many observers say that Abdelkrim Hamadi and Hamid Touahri, who registered at the last minute, are unlikely to be eligible to run.

They are relative unknowns on the political scene and the rules state that they need to be sponsored by 60,000 voters or 600 elected members of parliament or local councils.

The Constitutional Council has 10 days to give its verdict on their eligibility.

In an interview on national radio, constitutional law expert Fatiha Benabbou warned that the country could be entering "a dangerous situation".

"We will have no president beyond 6 July", she said, explaining that beyond that date the interim president would have no constitutional powers.

The elections are being held to replace 82-year-old Abelaziz Bouteflika, who was forced to stand down in April as president after mass protests.

But the demonstrations have continued as protesters are unhappy that allies of Mr Bouteflika, who was in power for 20 years, are organising the polls.

They have been out on the streets every Friday for the last 14 weeks and opposition parties have also sided with them, calling for the elections to be delayed and the resignations of the interim president and prime minister.

Prominent figures - including Ahmed Taleb Ibrahimi, a former foreign minister, human rights lawyer Ali Yahia Abdennour and Rachid Benyelles, a retired general - issued a joint statement ahead of the registration deadline calling on the military to start a “frank and honest” dialogue with the protesters.

But the de facto man in charge of the country, army chief of staff Ahmed Gaid Salah, has been insisting that the vote be held to avoid a constitutional power vacuum.

According to Ms Benabbou, the electoral law does allow the interim president to call for a fresh vote with 90 days to prepare for it.

Yet even that is unlikely to appease the protesters unless those associated with the Bouteflika era are not in charge of any future poll.

Image source, Getty Images

A Zimbabwean treasury official has accused exporters of keeping $900m (£709m) of their earnings in offshore banks, reports Reuters news agency.

George Guvamatanga, the permanent secretary in the finance ministry, told a parliamentary committee that the money should be repatriated to ease dollar shortages and help stabilise the exchange rate.

Zimbabwe is gripped by a severe shortage in dollars which has triggered shortages of fuel and medicine.

The value of the local currency has fallen, sending prices of basic goods soaring.

This money "should be available in this economy to pay for the pharmaceuticals, to pay for the fuel and all the requirements we need as an economy", Mr Guvamatanga is quoted by Reuters as saying.

Exporters have 90 days to repatriate their earnings to the country, but some of them take longer.

Some told Reuters on condition of anonymity that they were worried about delays in getting US dollars again locally when they wanted to pay for imports.

Louise Dewast
BBC Africa

Image source, Getty Images

A judicial investigation is under way in Gabon about allegations that members of the women's under-20 football team were raped and mistreated by football federation staff during a recent trip to France.

Some of the allegations were first mentioned by a journalist who said some of the footballers were sexually assaulted by the Gabonese football officials after their passports and mobile phones were confiscated.

He also posted photos of the team in a cramped hotel room in Gabon and said they were still waiting to be paid.

Gabon's sports minister said the gravity of the allegations prompted him to request the country's prosecutor to investigate.

The football federation condemned what it described as alleged sexual practices between players and members of staff but avoided using the term sexual harassment.

Image source, _

Sierra Leone Football Association (SLFA) President Isha Johansen has been acquitted on all counts of corruption by a court in Freetown.

Her acquittal, along with SLFA General Secretary Christopher Kamara, paves the way for the lifting of a ban from global football.

Football's world governing body, Fifa, suspended Sierra Leone in October last year due to the third-party interference in the running of the SLFA.

Soon after the suspension Fifa said it would "wait for the completion of the trial before further measures can be considered, including the lifting of the suspension, if deemed appropriate."

Johansen and Kamara have always denied any wrongdoing.

Read more on the BBC Sport website.

Daniel Semeniworima
BBC Pidgin, Lagos

Many Nigerians are using the hashtag #RIPWura on social media to mourn a woman who was found dead in a canal on Sunday in Lagos after she is thought to have fallen down an uncovered manhole.

Adewura Bello, a 26-year-old accounting graduate, went missing in Lagos 11 days before she was found in the canal.

Uncovered manholes are a common sight in Lagos, where it is believed thieves steal the covers.

Social media users are using Ms Bello's death to call out the government for failing to recover them.

A relative of Ms Bello told BBC Pidgin that the family was still trying to retrieve her body so they could not fix a date for her burial.

The police have said an autopsy must be conducted to confirm the identity and circumstances of death.

Milton Nkosi
BBC Africa, Johannesburg

Hundreds of people in Johannesburg have given a hero's welcome to the first black African woman to summit Mount Everest.

A crowd gathered at South Africa’s main airport OR Tambo International to welcome Saray Khumalo with song and dance.

Ms Khumalo, a business executive, made history earlier this month when she reached the top of the world’s highest mountain Mount Everest.

As she arrived in Johannesburg she told well-wishers that it was not just about her.

It was her fourth attempt to climb the 8,850m (29,035ft) mountain, where 10 people have died this year alone.

BBC World Service

Image source, AFP

French police have arrested two men suspected of planting a bomb in a paper bag in the eastern city of Lyon last Friday, injuring 13 people.

French media said one of those arrested was an IT student of Algerian nationality.

The interior minister, Christophe Castaner, said joint action by several agencies had been decisive.

Police had released security camera footage of a bearded man on a bicycle. There's been no word on a possible motive.

Listen to the BBC World Service here.

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Zamalek coach Christian Gross has hailed his team after the Egyptian side beat Morocco's Renaissance Berkane on penalties to win the Confederation Cup.

The Egyptians won the second leg of the final 1-0 at the Borg el Arab stadium near Alexandria to make it 1-1 on aggregate.

With no extra-time in the tournament regulations the match went to penalties which saw Berkane miss their first spot kick allowing Zamalek to win 5-3.

"It was important to bring the giants back to their deserved place," Gross said after the win.

"We're all very happy, of course. I'm happy for my players and for the Zamalek fans, we had a wonderful night; it's fantastic to play in front of a crowd like this."

The victory ended a 16-year African trophy drought for Zamalek.

Read more on the BBC Sport website.

A resident of the Libyan capital has told the BBC why he has remained in Tripoli despite an ongoing battle for control of the city.

"The truth is residents of Tripoli are pretty used to wars and armed conflict - this is not the first time, but we really do hope it's the last time," he told the Newsday programme.

There are no signs that the fighting is going to to stop soon, as Gen Khalifa Haftar said in a French newspaper interview on Sunday that he would continue his assault until the militias defending Tripoli were beaten.

The commander of forces in eastern Libya said those who laid down their weapons in Tripoli would be allowed to return home safely.

After nearly two months of fighting, more than 500 people have been killed, and 75,000 forced to flee their homes.

The resident, who asked not to be named, said he had moved his family from the south of the city to the centre, where he says life is functioning more normally.

But he says the topic of leaving Libya is a conversation he has with his family regularly, as ever since the revolution in 2011 "life gets worse every single day", but it is something they "never seem to come to an agreement" about.

Listen to full interview:

Read: Why Libya is so lawless

Shingai Nyoka
BBC Africa, Harare

Image source, Getty Images

The bodies of eight gold miners have been recovered so far after an explosion in a mine shaft in central Zimbabwe.

The Ministry of Information says investigations are under way. In February, 24 illegal miners were killed when a dam burst, flooding a mine shaft just south of the capital, Harare.

The miners are believed to have been working illegally in the South African-owned Jumbo mine. The information ministry says initial indications are that some miners exploded dynamite in one shaft, causing a collapse in an adjacent one.

Illegal mining has increased in Zimbabwe, as commercial miners scale down operations because of an economic crisis. The mining methods are rudimentary and safety standards largely disregarded.

Polls have opened in the Indian Ocean island of Madagascar to elect new members of parliament.

The vote is being seen as the latest round of a bitter feud between President Andry Rajoelina and his longstanding rival Marc Ravalomanana, the AFP news agency reports.

Mr Ravalomanana lost out to Mr Rajoelina in the presidential election in December.

But there are many more candidates running: of the 800 fighting for the 151 assembly seats, nearly 500 are standing as independents.

Image source, AFP

Samba Cyuzuzo
BBC Great Lakes

Image source, AFP

Police in Rwanda have accused Ugandan military intelligence officers of abducting two Rwandans who crossed into Uganda on Sunday after being invited by their Ugandan friend.

The allegation is the latest sign of relations between the two governments being strained.

On Saturday Ugandan authorities accused Rwandan military of shooting dead two people - a Rwandan and a Ugandan - on the Ugandan side of the border.

Rwanda denied the allegation. Uganda has not yet responded to the abduction allegation.

As a result of the feud between the two countries, Rwanda has closed the Gatuna border for businesses transporting goods. It is Rwanda's busiest border with Uganda, and the move has jeopardised trade relations between the two nations.

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

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

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Sudan's military ruler, Lt-Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, visited the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Sunday, a day after making a similar visit to Egypt.

The trips come amid reports that the ruling military council is considering sidestepping protest leaders and establishing a transitional cabinet.

On 24 May, the council's vice chairman, Lt-Gen Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo , visited Saudi Arabia and held talks with Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman.

Sudan’s privately owned al-Intibaha newspaper reported on Sunday that the council's plans for a transitional government were at “an advanced stage”.

Talks between the council and the opposition Forces for the Declaration of Freedom and Change (FDFC) have stalled because of disagreements on the composition of a civilian-military body that will run the country during a three-year transition.

Saudi Arabia, UAE and Egypt are the main backers of Sudan's military rulers. Saudi Arabia and UAE have already given Sudan $500m (£392m) as part of a $3bn pledge to support the economy shortly after President Omar al-Bashir was ousted in a coup on 11 April.

Mary Harper
Africa editor, BBC World Service

Image source, AFP

Often, when I return to the UK from Somalia, I get a phone call from members of the militant Islamist group al-Shabab. It usually happens even before I talk to my family, while I am waiting for my luggage or in a taxi on the way home.

Once, after a trip to the south-western Somali town of Baidoa, I was given a detailed account of what I had done and where I had been.

"You walked to a bank but it was shut. You knocked on the doors and tried to open them. You took some photos," said the man from al-Shabab, an affiliate of al-Qaeda.

"Your bodyguards were not at all professional. They were wandering about, chatting amongst themselves with their guns slung around their shoulders, instead of keeping watch over you."

When I ask members of al-Shabab how they know all these things, how they can be so accurate, my contacts simply tell me they have friends everywhere.

I tell them I am scared they know my itinerary so intimately, but they tell me not to worry as they have far more important targets than me. However, they do say I could be in "the wrong place at the wrong time" and suffer the consequences.

I presume some of the people who track my movements in Somalia are part of the militant group's ruthless intelligence wing, the Amniyat. Others might be people who work on a "pay-as-you-go" basis, receiving small sums for imparting information.

Even more terrifying is the way the militants track people they want to recruit, threaten or kill.

"Al-Shabab are like djinns [spirits]. They are everywhere," said one young man.

Continue reading here

Abdullahi Abdi Sheikh
BBC Africa, Nairobi

Image source, Screebgrab

Ethiopia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs says it "sincerely regrets" that a map of Africa which incorporated Somalia into Ethiopia had "crept on its website".

The ministry added that it removed the "wrong and unacceptable" map as soon as it became aware of it.

The map erased Somalia, but showed the breakaway state of Somaliland.

The ministry's statement did not explain how the map appeared on its website, but said: "Please be assured that our ICT team is working to ensure the security of the website. We sincerely regret any confusion and misunderstanding this incident might have caused."

The map caused an uproar among Somalis on social media, with some saying it was part of a wider plan by Ethiopia to annex their country.

Image source, AFP

The Somali-born flamboyant former Lord Mayor of Sheffield city in England, Magid Magid, has been elected to the European Parliament by the Yorkshire and the Humber electorate.

A former refugee, Mr Magid was Sheffield City Council's first Green Party mayor and its youngest at 29.

He took to Twitter to thank voters after the result was announced:

Image source, Getty Images

Allies of Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta want William Ruto to step down as deputy president because he is "prematurely" campaigning to succeed his boss in the 2022 elections, local media reports say.

Legislators accuse Mr Ruto of regularly holding political rallies and frustrating President Uhuru's Big Four agenda that seeks to provide affordable housing, healthcare, food security and manufacturing, privately owned newspaper The Standard reports., external

The Star newspaper, external says lawmakers have warned Mr Ruto not to visit President Kenyatta's home county of Kiambu unless he is accompanied by the head of state.

Mr Ruto is accused by his critics of defying the president - an allegation he denies.

Mr Kenyatta's two terms as president are due to end in 2022, but there is speculation that he may push to change the constitution so that he can remain in government as an executive prime minister.

Image source, Google Earth

The former head of a notorious Ethiopian prison has been arrested and is expected to face trial.

Hassan Ismail Ibrahim, also known as Hassan Dhere, was arrested in neighbouring Somalia in a town where he had been hiding, following a tip-off.

Campaigners say inmates were routinely tortured at "Jail Ogaden", which he ran in Ethiopia's Somali region.

Many prisoners were accused of being linked to the separatist Ogaden National Liberation Front, which signed a peace deal with Ethiopia's government in October.

Read the full BBC story here

Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

Image source, Getty Images

The carbon tax due to come into effect in South Africa next month was first discussed by the government in 2010 but has been postponed at least three times after meeting strong resistance from industry - including energy hungry mining companies as well as steel firms.

President Cyril Ramaphosa wants to help South Africa fulfil its pledge of almost halving carbon emissions over the next 10 years.

Campaigners say this tax does not go far enough. But the government is in a difficult position. Whilst climate change poses a great risk and could for example have a major impact on food prices, South Africa is in an economic crisis.

President Ramaphosa badly needs to attract investors to create more jobs and an unpopular tax would play into the hands of his political opponents.