BBC World Service

Image source, Reuters

A powerful businessman has become the latest of Algeria's financial and political elite to be arrested as part of a major corruption investigation.

Mahieddine Takhout made his fortune in the transport industry, benefiting from government contacts; his group also owns one of the biggest car retailers in the country.

Several billionaires, including four brothers, have been detained in the past two months on charges of corruption since the veteran president, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, was forced to resign by mass anti-government protests.

Read: How Algeria's army sacrificed a president to keep power

Mary Harper
Africa editor, BBC World Service

Reports are coming in from Mali that at least 95 people have been killed in an attack in the central region.

Details are sketchy but the attack is said to have occurred in a village inhabited by members of the Dogon ethnic group.

There have been numerous attacks in Mali in recent months, some ethnic, some carried out by jihadist groups.

Pictures circulating on social media in Tanzania show President John Magufuli visiting the former first lady, Maria Nyerere, in hospital.

Last week, there were reports that Mrs Nyerere, widow of the country's founding President Julius Nyerere, was unwell and had to return to Tanzania from Uganda, where she had gone for a pilgrimage.

Details of her illness have not been released.

The pictures appear to show Mrs Nyerere, 88, eating her breakfast. The president and his wife, Janet Magufuli, are also seen praying next to the former first lady.

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

Workers in Zimbabwe are preparing to challenge the central bank to insist they get paid in US dollars, reports Zimbabwe's Newsday newspaper, external.

The workers claim their salaries had been illegally converted into the Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) dollar by the central bank.

In February, the government introduced the RTGS dollar, which is being described by some as a new currency, after a lengthy history of currency problems.

The RTGS dollar is supposed to bring together bond notes, debit card and mobile money payments to make sure that they are all worth the same.

But the value of the RTGS dollar against the US dollar is set by the market.

Newsday adds that workers argue that being paid in RTGS dollar has eroded the value of salaries.

The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) is preparing a legal suit against Zimbabwe's central bank "for illegally imposing itself on our contracts of employment", reports Newsday.

"The contracts that are in existence were signed as US$ contracts," ZCTU President Peter Mutasa told the newspaper.

The newspaper adds that President Emmerson Mnangagwa said on Friday that government was working on abandoning the multi-currency regime altogether and aims to introduce the country’s own currency before the end of the year.

Ishaq Khalid
BBC Africa, Abuja

The authorities in Sokoto state in north-western Nigeria say gunmen have killed at least 25 people in a series of attacks on several villages.

Residents say the armed men stormed four villages in Rabah area of Sokoto state on motorbikes shooting at people indiscriminately.

The wounded have been rushed to hospitals.

Victims of the weekend raids - most of them elderly people - have been buried in the town of Rabah.

The funeral was attended by Sokoto state government officials including the Governor, Aminu Tambuwal, who once again called on the security forces to do more to contain the incessant violence.

The police say they have arrested four suspects in connection with the latest deadly attacks.

North-western Nigeria has been plagued by criminal gangs, who usually hide in vast forests and frequently carry out deadly raids on communities as well as kidnappings for ransom.

The deployment of thousands of troops by the government has so far failed to end the violence.

Read: How Nigeria and its president are being held to ransom

Three mechanical diggers are at the site of a landfill in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, after it collapsed killing one person.

Rescuers were searching for survivors, spokesperson for the city's emergency services Negatu Mamo told BBC Amharic.

In 2017, a collapse at the same place, Koshe, killed more than 100 people.

The US ambassador in Kenya, Kyle McCarter, has used Swahili and thrown in some slang in his latest tweet about corruption in the country.

Mr McCarter has used Twitter before to call out what he has termed "thievery" and his latest message has garnered a lot of attention:

In English his tweet reads:

"Mg'ondi" is a word in Kenyan slang, or Sheng, which means "thug".

The message has been retweeted more than 2,000 times and many people have commented.

There has been some praise for the message, but others have questioned the ambassador's motives.

On Twitter, Mr McCarter got involved in a dialogue with someone who accused the US of being behind corruption in the past.

The ambassador responded: "We cannot live in the past. You have good reason to be skeptical. But now my country as well as many others are taking a stand against the thievery. Everyone must do their part."

He also said that he is trying his best to learn Swahili.

Mercy Juma
BBC Africa, Nairobi

Image source, AFP

A new study shows that nine out of every 10 breast cancer patients in Nigeria and Ghana have to pay for their breast cancer diagnostic tests and treatment themselves.

In Kenya, the figure stands at three out of every 10 patient, says the report by Switzerland-based biotech company Roche.

Roche says these delays, coupled with the high cost of treatment, have contributed to high mortality rates across Sub Saharan Africa.

A patient’s chance of survival can be impacted by delays in diagnosis and treatment, limitations in access to appropriate and quality cancer care, and financial burdens associated with receiving care.

Patients also face significant delays and lengthy waiting times for diagnostic tests and treatment.

Waiting times for surgery stands at at least four months.

Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in women in Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya.

The Kenyan authorities have stopped buses from travelling to the north-east border town of Mandera after movements by Somalia-based al-Shabab militants were spotted on the road to the town.

They were seen between El Wak and Rhama, which are on the road that links the capital, Nairobi to Mandera.

No buses are allowed to leave El Wak meaning that many passengers who were already travelling are now stranded.

Militants have targeted buses in the region before. In 2014, a bus full of teachers was attacked in Mandera County and 28 were killed.

BBC Great Lakes

After having been closed for more than three months, the Rwandan authorities have temporarily reopened the country's busiest border crossing with Uganda to allow heavy goods vehicles to cross.

A diplomatic feud between the two countries stopped most cross-border movements, a situation that has had a huge effect on business and daily life for families in both countries.

It is estimated that 70% of border trade was stopped, the Uganda authorities have said.

In February, Rwanda abruptly closed the main crossing at Gatuna citing ‘"quick renovation works" and denied that there was a political motive. In its words, Rwanda "advised" its citizens not to cross over to Uganda.

Rwanda's revenue authority now says the border has been reopened to assess whether the renovated border crossing works.

Rwanda has accused Uganda of illegal arrests and the torture of its citizens soil. For its part Uganda says Rwanda is spying on the country.

Aboubakar Famau
BBC Africa, Dar es Salaam

Rescuers efforts are under way at a gold mine in the east of Tanzania after five miners died when it collapsed at the weekend. Five others are being treated in hospital.

It is not known how many people are trapped underground at the unlicensed mine in Morogoro region.

The authorities are reported to have ordered the closure of the mine where small-scale miners work.

Regional Commissioner Kebwe Stephen Kebwe is quoted in local media as saying that people flocked to the area after the discovery of rich gold deposits there.

Catherine Byaruhanga
BBC Africa, Khartoum

Image source, AFP

Sudan’s military council says it will reinforce the deployment of security forces including the feared Rapid Support Force as the country enters the second day of a civil disobedience campaign.

The campaign is trying to force the country’s military leaders to transfer power to a civilian authority.

On Sunday at least four people were killed when the nationwide strike began.

Most people are heeding the call from opposition groups for civil disobedience and the majority of businesses and offices in the capital, Khartoum, remain closed for a second day.

Public transport is barely running with just a few private cars ferrying passengers, while doctors are only treating emergency cases.

Outside the capital there are reports of a similar shutdown in the cities of Omdurman, al-Obeid and Port Sudan.

But information is restricted because of an internet shutdown.

The strike is in response to a military crackdown on pro-democracy supporter a week ago which left more than 100 people dead, according to opposition groups.

Activists say the civil disobedience will continue until the country’s military rulers hand over power.

Police in north-west Tanzania have arrested nine people on suspicion of being involved in a series of gang rapes dating back to 2016.

Some women in the Kigoma region have told the BBC that they have been living in fear because of what a group of men - locally dubbed "Teleza" - are alleged to have done.

The men are accused of rape and attacking women with machetes.

There have been 43 rape cases in the region since 2016, a local women's rights group Tamasha told BBC Swahili.

Some women have fled their homes and are living together in a bid to find safety.

"I want to move out of Kigoma," one of the victims told the BBC while showing her scars.

Locals call the group "Teleza" (meaning "slide" in Swahili) because the men are said to smear themselves in dirty oil before they attack.

What can you do with all the plastic waste lying around?

To encourage people to clear it up, a school in Nigeria is accepting empty plastic bottles from parents and guardians in exchange for the payment of their children's school fees.

Organisations African Clean Up Initiative and WeCyclers are working with Morit International School in Ajegunle, Lagos, for the Recycle Pay project.

Those taking part say it has reduced the burden on parents it's hoped that the project can be expanded.

Video Journalist:Faith Ilevbare

Producer:Abdulwasiu Hassan

A US army vehicle hit an improvised explosive device as it entered a firing range during a training exercise near the town of Oullam, south-west Niger, the army says.

There were no fatalities but the soldiers are "being evaluated", it adds in a statement.

The soldiers were travelling in a mine-resistant vehicle when the explosion happened.

The US is supporting Niger in its fight against Islamist militants in the region.

In 2017, four US soldiers and four Nigerian soldiers were killed in an ambush near the Malian border.

Sudanese refugee Abdul Aziz Muhamat has been granted asylum in Switzerland after receiving an award for his work on human rights.

He was one of hundreds of refugees held in detention by the Australian government on Manus Island - part of Papua New Guinea - after trying to reach Australia by boat.

The 25-year-old was kept in the detention camp for six years and has become a prominent activist for the rights of others who remain there.

He told the BBC's Newsday programme that "it's been such a long journey that started in 2013" when he left Sudan.

But he is not "able to celebrate the moment of joy and moment of happiness" as most of the people he has been campaigning for are still on Manus.

Listen to the interview:

Image source, Getty Images

Ghana has leapfrogged over South Africa to become the continent's top gold producer, according to research by Bloomberg news agency, external.

South Africa has for decades been the continent's preeminent gold miner but high production costs and troubled labour relations have hobbled the industry there, Bloomberg says.

On the other hand, in addition to new investment, Ghana has lower costs.

Citing figures from the Ghana Chamber of Mines and the Minerals Council of South Africa, Bloomberg says that Ghana produced 4.8 million ounces of gold in 2018 as opposed to South Africa's 4.2 million ounces.

The 2018 figure represents a 12% jump in gold production in Ghana as compared to the previous year.

“[Ghana is] an important part of our portfolio and, geologically we see really good potential to continue to expand,” Newmont Goldcorp Corp boss Gary Goldberg is quoted as saying.

“We’re very happy operating in Ghana.”

Our proverb of the day:

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

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