Image source, AFP

Teachers in Namibia are not keen on the idea of adding Swahili to the national curriculum, reports the privately owned The Namibian newspaper, external.

The southern African country is mulling the introduction following a visit from Tanzania’s President John Magufuli in May when he offered help to train teachers, the paper says.

Mahongora Kavihuha, president of the Teachers Union of Namibia, cautioned that there should be clear reasons for the move, such as creating “competitiveness in terms of employment, exposure and opportunities” - and these had not yet been made.

Swahili is the lingua franca of eastern and south-eastern Africa. It is spoken by millions of people.

For Jekura Kavari, head of language and literature studies at the University of Namibia, indigenous languages should remain the focus.

“[We have] to bring them to the level of other European languages, and they are saying they don't have money to do that. So, do they have money to develop kiSwahili, which is also going to contribute to the marginalising of our languages?” he is quoted as saying.

One teacher in the capital, Windhoek, made the same point - telling the paper that some primary-age pupils were struggling with Oshiwambo and Otjiherero.

Meanwhile, a secondary school teacher interviewed by the paper said English was already proving difficult for his pupils.

An education ministry official told the Namibian that consultations were ongoing and preparations were being made to go to Tanzania to discuss the Swahili proposal further.

South African athlete Caster Semenya has tweeted that a "determined spirit is unstoppable" after she suffered a legal setback in her challenge to the restricting of testosterone levels in female runners.

Semenya has twice appealed against IAAF rules preventing her from running without medication, but a ruling allowing her to compete has now been overturned by the Swiss Federal Supreme Court.

It means she will not be able to defend her World Championship 800m title in Doha in September.

Read the full BBC story here

An urban planner in Kenya says "it's quite scary" to hear about China's plan to export some of its second hand cars.

Constant Cap told BBC Newsday that it "almost sounds like they are using the continent as a dumping ground for what they don’t need anymore".

Kenya already has a big market for used Japanese cars, he added.

China has an estimated fleet of more than 300 million privately-registered vehicles, the largest in the world. One of its potential markets is Africa where second hand cars are very much in demand because they’re much cheaper than new vehicles.

But Mr Cap has strong reservations about what it could mean for the Kenyan capital, especially in terms of air pollution.

"At the moment, the last thing we need is second hand vehicles that are almost like wastes from other countries", he said.

Listen to what Mr Cap told Newsday:

Lessons in all Sudanese schools have been suspended indefinitely amid mass demonstrations over the shooting dead of schoolchildren at a rally.

The ruling military authorities ordered schools nationwide to close their doors from Wednesday, the state news agency said.

Protesting students gathered in cities including the capital Khartoum following the killings on Monday.

Five people died in North Kordofan state, four of them school students.

Dozens more were injured after snipers and other gunmen opened fire on a protest in El-Obeid over fuel and bread shortages.

Read the BBC News story for more

Image source, Getty Images

Former US President Ronald Reagan described African delegates at the UN as “monkeys” in 1971 when he was governor of California in newly released tapes published by The Atlantic, external.

He made the racist comment on the telephone to then-President Richard Nixon, who infamously recorded all his calls.

The governor was angered that African delegates at the UN had sided against the US in a vote to recognise China and expel Taiwan.

After the vote, members of the Tanzanian delegation had started dancing in the UN General Assembly.

When Mr Reagan called up Mr Nixon the next day, he asked if he had watched the vote on television.

He then goes on to say:

This then prompts Mr Nixon to laugh.

The recording was unearthed by Tim Naftali, a clinical associate professor of history at New York University, who had directed the Nixon Presidential Library, which kept all Mr Nixon’s tapes, from 2007 until 2011.

In his piece in The Atlantic, Naftali explains that the racist exchange was removed from the conversation when it was released in 2000 by the National Archives for privacy reasons – Mr Reagan was still alive at the time.

Naftali says following a court order the recordings were ordered to be reviewed: “Reagan’s death, in 2004, eliminated the privacy concerns. Last year, as a researcher, I requested that the conversations involving Ronald Reagan be re-reviewed, and two weeks ago, the National Archives released complete versions of the October 1971 conversations involving Reagan online.”

According to Naftali, Mr Reagan had called Mr Nixon to press him to withdraw from the UN, but in the president's telling he says Mr Reagan’s “complaints about Africans became the primary purpose of the call”.

In one retelling of the conversation to his secretary of state Mr Nixon says: “He saw these… these cannibals on television last night, and he says, ‘Christ, they weren’t even wearing shoes, and here the United States is going to submit its fate to that,’ and so forth and so on.”

Naftali says the recording sheds new light on Mr Reagan’s defence of the apartheid states of Rhodesia and South Africa later in the 1970s.

Image source, AFP

Caster Semenya says she will not defend her World Championship 800m title in September after a setback in her challenge to the restricting of testosterone levels in female runners.

But the South African athlete said she would "continue her fight for human rights" despite her "disappointment".

Semenya has twice appealed against IAAF rules preventing her from running without medication.

But a ruling allowing her to compete has now been overturned.

Semenya is challenging world governing body the IAAF's new rules that she and other athletes with differences of sexual development (DSD) must either take testosterone-reducing medication in order to compete in track events from 400m to the mile or change to another distance.

Semenya had been able to race while awaiting the decision of a Swiss court, having previously lost an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) in May.

The latest ruling by the Swiss Federal Supreme Court means she will not be allowed to compete at the World Championships in Doha.

Click here to read more on this

A second case of Ebola has been detected on Democratic Republic of Congo's border with Rwanda, raising fears the deadly illness could spread.

The case was confirmed in the city of Goma, home to two million people, authorities said.

More than 1,600 people have died of Ebola in DR Congo since the outbreak began in August 2018.

The World Health Organization (WHO) last week declared the crisis a global health emergency.

It is the highest level of alarm the WHO can sound and has only been used four times previously - including the Ebola epidemic that devastated parts of West Africa from 2014 to 2016, and killed more than 11,000 people.

On Tuesday, Dr Aruna Abedi - who is co-ordinating the response to the illness in North Kivu - told AFP news agency he had been informed of a second case.

"All measures have been put in place so that the case is taken care of in Goma," an official statement said.

The area is densely populated and there are fears this could spread the illness into Rwanda.

Although the country as yet has not had any confirmed cases, it has set up an Ebola treatment centre and is preparing 23 isolation centres in case of any infections.

Read the BBC News story for more.

• Six steps to stop Ebola from spreading
• Ebola outbreak in five graphics
• Your questions about Ebola answered

Our proverb of the day:

Click here to send us your African proverbs.

Welcome to BBC Africa Live where we'll be bringing you the latest news from around the continent.

That's all from BBC Africa Live for now. Keep up-to-date with what's happening across the continent by listening to the Africa Today podcast check the BBC News website.

A reminder of Tuesday's wise words:

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

And we leave you with this picture from the trendy Maboneng district of Johannesburg, South Africa:

Image source, EPA

Ishaq Khalid
BBC Africa, Abuja

Image source, Getty Images

Nigeria's police chief has said that anyone associating themselves with the Shia Muslim group Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) will be treated as a terrorist.

Muhammad Adamu told a conference of police officers that the group was a threat to national security and unity.

He said all forms of protest or procession by the IMN are banned.

The sect condemned the ban saying they are a peaceful organisation.

Human rights groups have also criticised the move but the Nigerian authorities say their decision does not violate religious freedom.

The leader of the IMN, Sheikh Ibrahim el-Zakzaky, was arrested in 2015 during a military crackdown in which more than 300 of his followers were killed.

The military had accused his followers of trying to assassinate Nigeria's army chief when they allegedly blocked a major road on which a military convoy was travelling leading to clashes between the two sides in Kaduna state.

He is now facing charges relating to attempted murder, inciting violence and public disturbance.

IMN members frequently march on the streets to demand for his release citing deteriorating health conditions.

A high court in the capital, Abuja, ruled in 2016 that Sheikh Zakzaky should be released, but the authorities have ignored the order.

More than 20 people including a senior police officer and a journalist were reportedly killed following clashes between the Shia members and the police in Abuja last week.

Sheikh Zakzaky's bail application hearing is expected on 5 August.

Image source, Getty Images

Rights activists have called an amnesty law passed this week a "betrayal of the thousands of victims of Mozambique’s conflicts".

The law exempts from prosecution members of government forces and the rebel-turned-opposition group Renamo for crimes committed between 2014 and 2016.

Renamo fighters and government forces were involved in clashes since disputed elections in 2014.

Renamo has carried out a spate of attacks on civilians and government targets since the disputed election, as it insists on the right to govern six of Mozambique's 10 provinces.

During this time, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said the two forces were involved in enforced disappearances, torture and killings.

Mozambique's President Filipe Nyusi denies that the government forces committed any crimes.

Given this, HRW question why he submitted the draft law to parliament.

They also challenge the idea that the amnesty will promote peace, saying that four previous amnesties did not such thing.

"Sadly, this law will do more than ensure impunity for past grave crimes. It will also likely pave the way for future abuses," said HRW, external.

Tanzanian police have said the reason they arrested journalist Erick Kabendera is over his citizenship.

We reported earlier that the arrest of Mr Kabendera had caused upset in Tanzania where the hashtag #FreeErickKabendera had been trending on social media all day.

Dar es Salaam's police chief Lazaro Mambosasa insisted to Reuters news agency that they are working with the immigration department and would probably file criminal charges after the investigation.

Police sources told Reuters that Mr Kabendera's family allegedly originated from a neighbouring country and he did not follow proper procedures for naturalisation.

Mr Kabendera, external wrote in 2013 that the police had questioned his mother for ten hours over her Tanzanian citizenship and had asked her to tell him that he "should 'stay quiet,' otherwise I would end up in jail".

International media watchdog The Committee to Protect Journalists says that his arrest sends the message that journalists are not safe in Tanzania.

Reporters Without Borders told AFP news agency that in their eyes the reason the police gave for the arrest "did not hold water".

On Saturday, Mr Kabendera had published a report in The East African newspaper about infighting within Tanzania's ruling party and apparent efforts to block President John Magufuli from running in 2020 elections, reports AFP.

Image source, Getty Images

Footballer Ben Malango has signed a three-year deal with Moroccan side Raja Casablanca from TP Mazembe.

The 25-year-old Congolese player has been signed as replacement for Moroccan striker Mouhcine Iajour, who moved to Saudi Arabia earlier in July, after finishing as the top scorer in the league last season.

He is Raja's sixth recruit this off-season alongside compatriot Fabrice Ngoma as well as Mohsine Moutouali, Omar Arjoun, Salif Coulibaly and Hamid Ahaddad.

Read more transfer news on the BBC Sport website.

Image source, Getty Images

About six million rosewood trees have been cut down in Ghana for illegal export to China since 2012, an environmental group says.

The rare species, which takes 100 years to grow, is mostly used to make imperial-style furniture in China.

The report by The Environmental Investigation Agency blames corrupt officials in Ghana for forging documents to allow the wood to leave the country.

Ghana's information ministry has not yet responded to the BBC's request for comment.

Read more on the BBC News website.

It is exactly 10 years since the leader of Nigeria's militant Islamist group Boko Haram, Mohammed Yusuf, was killed in police custody.

His death sparked a campaign of terror in Nigeria that has left more than 30,000 people dead and displaced more than two million people.

BBC Nigeria correspondent Mayeni Jones examines the roots of the militant group, its rise to global infamy and whether it will remain a force in the region in the next decade.

Watch:

Police in Tanzania say top investigative journalist Erick Kabendera was forcefully arrested at his home on Monday afternoon because he declined to come in for questioning.

At a press conference in Dar es Salaam, the city’s police chief Lazaro Mambosasa, said Mr Kabendera had refused to comply with a letter asking him to report to police.

The police commander was vague about why the journalist was wanted for questioning, saying it was to do with his work and “identity”.

The incident has caused upset in the East African nation where the hashtag #FreeErickKabendera has been trending all day.

Image source, Tanzania Human Rights Defenders Coalition (THRDC)

According to the East African newspaper, before he was taken into custody Vodacom was ordered by the Tanzania Communication Regulatory Authority (TCRA) to jam his line.

His phone and that of his wife were also confiscated, the Citizen reported.

Since President John Magafuli, nicknamed “The Bulldozer”, came to office in 2015, laws overseeing the media have been toughened.

The BBC’s Eagan Sala in Dar es Salaam says there have also been a spat of abductions in the last few years.

The most high-profile was journalist Azory Gwanda, who is still missing after his abduction on 21 November 2017 by several men in a 4x4 in Kibiti district.

At the time of his disappearance he had been investigating the killings of local government leaders and police officers in eastern Tanzania.

Other cases include opposition activist Mdude Nyangali, who has been critical of the government. He was taken by unidentified men and beaten up over three days in May this year.

Last week, Leopold Kweyamba Lwabaje, a top finance ministry official went missing for three days. He was found dead on Sunday.

Tanzanian billionaire Mohammed Dewji was also kidnapped and held for 10 days in 2018 - his family later said no ransom was paid for his release.

Image source, Mohamed Ould Cheikh Ould Mkhaitir

Mauritania has freed a blogger convicted of blasphemy, his lawyer is quoted by the AFP news agency as saying.

Mohamed Ould Cheikh Ould Mkhaitir was sentenced to death in 2014 over an article deemed to be insulting to the Muslim Prophet Muhammad, although he said at the time it was meant to criticise the use of religion to justify discrimination.

His blog was accused of questioning choices made by the Prophet Muhammad during holy wars in the 7th Century.

It also attacked the mistreatment of black Mauritanians who Mr M'khaitir argued were discriminated against.

An appeals court in the West African nation reduced his death sentence to a two-year jail term in 2017.

Peter Mwai
BBC Africa, Nairobi

Photos and videos showing a man dressed as Jesus Christ have been widely shared on social media across Africa.

But who is the man and what was he doing?

One tongue-in-cheek tweet, shared more than 8,000 times and retweeted by among others South African opposition politician Julius Malema, says “a pastor from South Africa invited Jesus Christ from heaven to preach in his church”.

But the photos are actually from an event late last week in Kiserian town, which is about 25km (15 miles) south-west of Kenya's capital, Nairobi.

The man is a US preacher and actor called Michael Job, attending an interdenominational Christian event as a guest speaker.

He lives in Orlando, Florida, where he has been playing Jesus at The Holy Land Experience theme park, which describes itself as “a living, biblical museum”.

From a video he uploaded to his Facebook page over the weekend, Kenyan agricultural and furniture shops are visible - the same ones that can be seen in the photos purporting to be taken in South Africa.

Tweeters have generally been making fun of the photos and how pastors in Africa like to claim miracles.

One that has been shared on some blogs alleges that “a Kenyan pastor claims he has found Jesus Christ walking on the streets of Kenya".

The photo in the tweet is actually of Mr Job preaching earlier last week at the Pentecostal Evangelistic Fellowship of Africa (Pefa) church in Kitengela town.

In videos of his Kenyan sermons, the US preacher promises miracles and healing - for which he has received some criticism on social media.

This is not his first African tour, earlier this year he was in Togo, although photos he posted from there show him dressed less theatrically - in a suit.

Image source, Getty Images

The shooting of four schoolchildren and an adult during a demonstration in Sudan’s North Kordofan state on Monday is part of a ploy to scupper a transition to civilian rule, a member of the main protest group in Sudan has told the BBC.

“It is continuation of a series of massacres adopted by supporters of the past regime,” Hamid Aldood of the Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA), the group that spearheaded protests leading to Omar al-Bashir's ousting as president in April.

He told BBC’s Newsday programme that whenever there were positive steps towards any agreement between the ruling military council and the opposition, “jihadi units and the battalions will start spoiling the political agreement”.

BBC Africa security correspondent Tomi Oladipo says such protests in Sudan are usually countered by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which was behind the 3 June massacre in which more than 120 people were reportedly killed in the capital, Khartoum. The RSF has its roots in the conflict in Darfur, where it was known as the Janjaweed, an Arab militia.

Videos emerging from El-Obeid in North Kordofan show students in uniform chanting - their cries for better living conditions often drowned out by heavy gunfire, our reporter says.

In one video, an armed officer is seen approaching the crowd and firing to disperse them. Images from a hospital show bloodied victims.

According to the Central Committee of Sudan Doctors, an organisation affiliated to the pro-democracy protesters, at least 62 people were wounded in El-Obeid.

The authorities have since declared a state of emergency in the area and a night time curfew.

Reuters reports that the head of Sudan’s ruling military council has said there must be immediate accountability over the incident, according to state news agency Suna.

“What happened in El-Obeid is a regrettable and upsetting matter and the killing of peaceful citizens is unacceptable and rejected and a crime that requires immediate and deterrent accountability,” Abdel Fattah al-Burhan is quoted as saying.

The military council and opposition were due to resume talks about forming a power-sharing government.