Adebola Adebanjo
BBC Africa Sport, Lagos

Image source, Fifa

Police are searching for gunmen who seized the mother of Samson Siasia - the former striker and coach of Nigeria's national football team - from her home in Bayelsa state in the early hours of Monday.

Bayelsa state police say an investigation is ongoing, telling BBC Africa Sport that they are "winning the war" against the scourge of kidnappings.

It is the second time in four years that Beauty Siasia has been kidnapped, and this is the second kidnap of 2019 linked to Nigerian football.

In February, the mother of Super Eagles and Bordeaux winger Samuel Kalu was kidnapped in Abia State, also in the south of Nigeria, and was released six days later.

Kidnappers have sought ransom from high-profile targets in the past and Nigeria's footballers, currently away in Egypt for the Africa Cup of Nations, are known to live in fear of such threats to their families.

Team captain John Obi Mikel's father was kidnapped during last year's World Cup in Russia, just before Nigeria's final group match against Argentina.

Mikel later told the BBC:

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

BBC World Service

A controversial social media tax introduced in Uganda last year has raised just 17% of the expected revenue.

The head of the Ugandan Revenue Authority, Doris Akol, said the shortfall was due to people using wireless networks and virtual private networks to avoid the daily tax of around $0.05 (£0.04).

The government said the levy was needed to raise more funds.

It led to street protests and was criticised for being part of a wider attempt by the authorities to stifle free speech and prevent social media from being used to organise peaceful protests.

Image source, AFP

Image source, AFP

The pastor who was the first person to be confirmed with Ebola in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo city of Goma, has died, an official told the BBC's Gaius Kowene.

The man tested positive after arriving in the city by bus from Butembo, 300km (186 miles) to the north of Goma, on Sunday.

On Monday, the World Health Organization (WHO) said the case could be a "game-changer" given the city's population of more than two million.

The mayor of Butembo, Sylvain Kanyamanda, told our reporter that the pastor was being transferred back to Butembo, for proper care in an Ebola treatment centre, when he died.

"We received a dead body," he said.

Goma remains on high alert as the response team is trying to reach all those who were identified as having been in contact with the pastor.

At least six of them were vaccinated yesterday, according to a source from the Ebola response coordination team.

Goma is close to the Rwandan border, and officials there are also taking preventative measures.

There will now be a 21-day wait, the incubation period of the Ebola virus, to see if there are any new cases.

Ashley Lime
BBC News, Nairobi

There has been a large decline in Aids-related deaths across the world since 2010 mostly driven by a huge reduction in eastern and southern Africa, a UN report says, external.

Between 2010 and 2018 the number of people dying in the region from the disease plunged by 44% to 310,000.

The study, by UNAids, highlights South Africa as having lowered Aids-related deaths in that period by 40%, while new HIV infections have dropped by more than 40%.

In western and central Africa the numbers dying declined by 29%, to 160,000.

Globally, the number of deaths from HIV has fallen by a third since 2010.

UNAids attributes the declining death rate to increased access to antiretroviral drugs. Some 23.3 million people out of the 37.9 million people living with HIV now use the drugs.

But the agency warns the gains made risk being slowed down by inadequate funding, saying some countries made promising improvements while others have reported new HIV infections and HIV-related deaths.

Nevertheless, UNAids chief Gunilla Carlsson said that ending Aids altogether is possible "if we focus on people not diseases".

Read: 'My mother died without telling me I had HIV'

Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

The BBC is closing its bureau and operations in Burundi until further notice after efforts to resolve issues with the authorities there failed.

In March, the government banned BBC transmissions and anyone in the country from providing information to the BBC after accusing it of airing a documentary that it said had damaged the country's reputation.

The Voice of America was also suspended in March.

There has been growing international concern about the freedom of the press in Burundi.

Last weekend, Human Rights Watch criticised the appointment of the head of a notorious militia as the head of the national broadcaster.

Residents of Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo were surprised to hear about the case of an Ebola patient in the city.

Journalist Esdras Tsango who lives in the city, said people were puzzled and angry "given all the medical checkpoints on the road between Butembo and Goma", he told BBC's Newsday programme.

Authorities in DR Congo have stepped up efforts to contain the spread of an Ebola outbreak after the first case of the virus was identified in the city of Goma on Sunday.

Vaccinations have been given to people who came into contact with the person infected, a pastor.

Goma is a major commercial hub on DR Congo's border with Rwanda, with transport links to the wider region.

Mr Tsango confirmed that security forces are involved in ensuring that people follow hygiene procedures, but there’s a large proportion of people who do not believe that Ebola exists, while others say the Ebola outbreak is part of a political scheme.

Grammy award-winning Senegalese musician Youssou N’Dour has been reflecting on his brief political career, saying he was "really happy to work for my country".

He told BBC Focus on Africa that his 17 months as culture and tourism minister between 2012 and 2013 "was very hard".

Looking at it from the outside, he said, "you think that you touch a button and everything changes, but this is not the reality".

But he added that he still advises President Macky Sall.

He talked about his time in politics and his new album, History, to our colleague Veronique Edwards:

Image source, Reuters

South Africa's former President Jacob Zuma says an anonymous caller threatened to kill him and his children after the first day of questioning at a corruption inquiry.

As the hearing resumed on Tuesday, Mr Zuma testified that his personal assistant who answered the telephone call on Monday night was told: "Tell Zuma we are going to kill him, his children, and people around him."

Presiding Judge Ray Zondo said any threats of violence and intimidation are "totally unacceptable", adding that witnesses called before the commission of inquiry must be granted the utmost protection.

But Judge Zondo cast doubt on whether there was a level of protection available to former head of state that was higher than what he already receives: "What I don't know is whether you don't already have maximum protection. I don't know if there's anything beyond the protection you get."

The inquiry is investigating allegations that the former president oversaw a web of corruption during his term in office.

Proceedings are being broadcast live:

The allegations against Mr Zuma focus on his relationship with the controversial Gupta family, which was accused of influencing cabinet appointments and winning lucrative state tenders through corruption.

He has also been accused of taking bribes from logistics firm Bosasa, run by the Watson family.

They all deny allegations of wrongdoing.

South African police are investigating if the killing of former footballer Marc Batchelor was a professional hit.

Batchelor, who once threatened to break the legs of athlete Oscar Pistorius, was shot dead near his home in Johannesburg last night.

Eyewitnesses have told police that Batchelor was ambushed by two men who were driving a motorbike. He was shot several times and died on the scene.

It’s widely speculated that the former footballer had dealings within the criminal underworld.

One of his friends, Mikey Schultz, admitted to killing South African mining magnate Brett Kebble in 2005.

Schultz was controversially granted immunity from prosecution in exchange for his testimony during the trial of former police chief Jackie Selebi.

A burglar who left an apology note after breaking into a church and leaving empty-handed has apparently been forgiven by worshippers, Kenyan media report.

The would-be thief reportedly destroyed part of the iron sheet walls of the PEFA church in Engineer town hoping to find cash. They left this note behind, which they signed off "the person who broke the church":

A photo of the handwritten note has been tweeted by the Daily Nation:

In response, Rev Peter Wanyoike has said the congregation "have forgiven" the burglar, and "are praying" for their salvation. He is quoted in Kenyan media as saying the would-be thief "is welcome to confess and worship with us".

Nigerian presidency says a recent book about the Chibok schoolgirls is a "farrago of misrepresentation", that "risks a negative judgment of history".

Beneath the Tamarind Tree, by former CNN journalist Isha Sesay, is a book about the 2014 abduction of Nigeria's Chibok schoolgirls and their years in captivity.

The kidnapping of over 200 schoolgirls by militant group Boko Haram made global headlines and though some have been rescued, the Nigerian government says 110 still remain in captivity.

Presidential spokesperson Garba Shehu who put out a series of tweets, external, said it was wrong to say that the "government and people of Nigeria no longer cared about the girls because 'they are poor...they don’t have famous names'".

He also said it was incorrect to say that the current government did not "know who to negotiate with because Boko Haram had split into factions".

Mr Shehu also criticised Ms Sesay for not "differentiating which of the two administrations that served Nigeria from 2014 to date", noting that the government of President Muhammadu Buhari was responsible for bringing back "50 percent" of the girls.

Ms Sesay has not addressed the criticisms directly, but in a tweet she said that she hoped that the government would talk about the Chibok girls at other times as well:

She also retweeted a message backing her:

Somalia's government has announced that it will be awarding an annual prize to honour journalist Hodan Nalayeh, who died in an attack in Kismayo on Friday.

She and her husband Farid Juma Suleiman were among the 26 people killed as gunmen stormed the Asasey Hotel, where regional politicians and clan elders were discussing a forthcoming regional election.

Nalayeh was born in the northern Somali city of Las Anod but grew up in Canada after moving there with her parents and 11 siblings when she was six. She decided to base herself in Somalia last year.

She has been credited with showing a different side to Somalia to the stories of civil war, militancy and famine.

In honour of her "inspirational life" Somalia's foreign ministry "will recognise an outstanding individual who made a positive contribution from the Somali diaspora", it said on Twitter.

Read more:

• Hodan Nalayeh: Somalia's 'inspirational' journalist

A rescue operation at the site of a collapsed building in the central Nigerian city of Jos is due to resume on Tuesday.

Rescue workers say the three-storey building fell down killing at least five people and injuring several others.

The building, comprising of homes and several shops, collapsed on Monday evening trapping a number of people including children.

Emergency workers spent several hours trying to pull out those trapped in the rubble as hundreds of people gathered around.

They used an excavator, simple digging tools and even their bare hands.

A Red Cross official in Jos told the BBC that the owner of the building and two of his children were among the dead.

The victims were taken to hospital.

It is not known why the structure came down, but previous buildings collapses in the country are often attributed to a disregard for building regulations.

Image source, Communication Présidence de la République de Madagascar

Madagascar's national football stars, who enjoyed a fairy-tale run at the Africa Cup of Nations, have arrived home from Egypt to a big official welcome, during which they were given the rank of Knight of the Malagasy National Order.

The team was also given a cash award according to online newspaper News Mada. , external

The players and coaching staff were received by President Andry Rajoelina , externalat the Lavoloha State Palace in the capital, Antananarivo.

Before the official reception, videos showed hundreds of people lining the streets of the city to cheer on the national heroes.

The Afcon debutants became one of the talking points of the competition after beating Nigeria 2-0 and topping their first-round group.

They knocked-out the Democratic Republic of DR Congo in the second round but lost to Tunisia in the quarter finals, falling to a 3-0 thumping.

The president had travelled to Egypt for the team's second-round tie, and said they "will come back stronger" after they exited.

Somalia-born US lawmaker Ilhan Omar says President Donald Trump made a "blatantly racist attack" on her and three other politicians of colour by telling them they should "leave".

He has defended his comments and denied widespread allegations of racism.

The four US congresswomen dismissed his remarks as a distraction.

Ms Omar, along with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley and Rashida Tlaib urged the US people "not to take the bait" at a Monday press conference.

"The eyes of history are watching us," Ms Omar said, decrying the "mass deportation raids" and "human rights abuses at the border".

She also quoted civil rights leader Martin Luther King saying "all we say to America is 'be true to what you say on paper'".

Read more:

• Times when Americans were told to 'go home'
• The women tangled in Trump's racism row

Andrew Harding
BBC News, Johannesburg

Image source, Reuters

South Africa’s former President Jacob Zuma will face a second day of questioning at a corruption inquiry on Tuesday.

On Monday, he angrily rejected allegations that he was personally corrupt and said he was the victim of a decades-long conspiracy.

Less drama, and more detail is now expected from Mr Zuma, as he is obliged to answer specific allegations made against him by at least nine other previous witnesses.

The former president used his opening statement to the corruption inquiry to make furious claims about a conspiracy against him.

He suggested that the inquiry itself was the culmination of an intelligence plot to derail his career.

But Mr Zuma must now respond to the testimony of former cabinet ministers, and other senior officials, who allege that he used the presidency to enrich himself, his family, and his close friends, the Guptas.

On Monday Mr Zuma acknowledged that he might have urged officials to push government contracts towards the Gupta’s media companies. But he insisted he had done nothing improper or illegal.

The aim of this inquiry is to investigate and expose the rot of the Zuma era. But it is also part of a wider, and potentially explosive factional battle taking place within the governing ANC.

Read more:

• State capture: Zuma, the Guptas, and the sale of South Africa

BBC World Service

Hundreds of people in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, have taken part in a vigil in memory of pro-democracy protesters who were killed last month by the security forces.

Earlier, police were reported to have used tear gas to disperse crowds who had gathered to denounce the killing on Sunday of a demonstrator in the south of the country.

Image source, AFP

Sudan's military rulers and the civilian opposition are scheduled to meet on Tuesday to discuss the details of a power-sharing agreement.

Previous efforts in recent days have been postponed.

The military has so far failed to relinquish power since President Omar al-Bashir was overthrown in April.

Watch the BBC Africa Eye documentary on the events of 3 June:

The United Nations says the number of people going hungry has increased for the third year running.

A report, external from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the UN Children’s Fund, the World Food Programme and the World Health Organization, said reaching the target of zero hunger by 2030 is “an immense challenge”.

More than 820 million people worldwide are not getting enough food, with the situation most alarming in Africa, the report says.

Africa "has the highest rates of hunger in the world" and the rates are rising in some of the continent's sub-regions.

The report says that in East Africa more than three in 10 of the population are undernourished.

Across the continent, "in addition to climate and conflict, economic slowdowns and downturns are driving the rise.

"Since 2011, almost half the countries where rising hunger occurred due to economic slowdowns or stagnation were in Africa," it added.

While hunger remains widespread, obesity continues to rise in all regions. Africa and Asia are home to nearly three-quarters of all overweight children worldwide, according to the report that says it is largely driven by consumption of unhealthy diets.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Former South African footballer Mark Batchelor has been shot dead near his home in Johannesburg, police say.

“He was shot through the window several times and died at the scene," police spokesperson Col Lungelo Dlamini is quoted by TimesLive as saying, external.

"The motive for the attack is unknown at this stage as nothing was taken. No suspects have been identified.”

"Police are investigating a murder case," the spokesman is quoted by IOL as saying, external.

A photo of a bullet-hole ridden window from the scene being shared on social media appears to show that he was shot at seven times.

Batchelor, who played for some of the country's top clubs, is being mourned by his former colleagues.

“He was a player who was always looking forward to the next training session. He wanted to win, and losing was not part of his vocabulary,” Steve Lekoelea who played with Batchelor at Orlando Pirates is quoted by Times Live as saying.

“He always wanted to perfect his game and he was a team player. I’m devastated by his passing away.”

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