Boeing is warning that it might have to halt production of the 737 Max if grounding continues much longer.

The company reported its largest-ever quarterly loss of $3.4bn (£2.7bn) on Wednesday due to the troubled plane.

If hurdles with regulators worldwide continue, Boeing said it would consider reducing or shutting down production of the 737 Max entirely.

However, Boeing boss Dennis Muilenburg is confident the plane will be back in the air by October.

Boeing's entire fleet of flagship 737 Max planes were grounded in March after an Ethiopian Airlines flight crashed, killing 157 people.

Five months earlier, 189 people were killed when a Boeing 737 Max operated by Lion Air crashed.

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An MP in the Democratic Republic of Congo says he is worried about a new Ebola vaccine being considered in the country.

Muhindo Nzangi Butondo told the BBC's Newsday programme that in his view "our people are going to be used as mere guinea pigs without their consent".

Mr Butondo's comments come after former Heath Minister Oly Ilunga resigned, saying it was fanciful to think that another vaccine would have much impact on the control of current outbreak.

There are currently four experimental vaccines considered to tackle this outbreak: Merck & Co, Janssen (Johnson&Johnson), CanSino Biologics Inc, and Rospotrebnadzo.

Only the Merck vaccine has been given approval from the DR Congo ethics committee.

Listen to more of what the MP had to say:

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The mayor of Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, is to be flown to Turkey for treatment along with several others injured in Wednesday's suicide attack that killed six people, officials have told BBC Somali.

Mayor Abdirahman Omar Osman is still unconscious, the officials, who did not want to be named, said.

A female suicide bomber blew herself up inside the mayor's office during a security meeting.

Militant Islamist group al-Shabab says it carried out the attack, hoping to target the new UN special envoy to Somalia, James Swan, a US citizen.

But he had met the mayor earlier, leaving before the blast occurred.

In a statement condemning the attack, Mr Swan said that it "not only demonstrates a violent disregard for the sanctity of human life, but also targets Somalis working to improve the lives of their fellow Somalis".

It is unclear how the bomber managed to enter the heavily guarded building.

The victims, five men and one woman, were all government officials, the BBC was told.

Al-Shabab seeks to overthrow Somalia's central government and has been carrying out regular attacks in Mogadishu, despite the heavy presence of African Union peacekeepers and US-trained Somali troops.

The group is affiliated with al-Qaeda and remains a powerful presence in rural Somalia.

Image source, Getty Images

Drivers in Nigeria now have the option of hearing route advice in a Nigerian accent when they use Google Maps.

The technology giant unveiled new features on Wednesday with the local accents also available on Google Assistant. It is the first move by the company to offer such a service in Africa as it seeks to attract more users on the continent.

Up to now, Nigerians have had to deal with travel advice from Google in an American accent, that struggled with pronouncing local names such as Lagos' Alfred Rewane road - which came out as Alfred Re-wain. It also couldn't cope with the suburb Oworonshoki.

Earlier, when it was tested by some Nigerians, they were surprised to hear an "accent that sounded like them", according to social media comments.

Google said in the coming months, the maps feature will also allow users in Lagos to seek directions on what it calls “informal transit” - such as the yellow minibuses, known as danfo, that ply virtually every road in the comercial capital, but about which it is difficult for outsiders, or even Lagosians travelling to a new neighbourhood, to find information.

Tunisia's President Beji Caid Essebsi is in hospital once again, Reuters news agency is reporting, quoting the president's son.

This is the third time he is being treated there in a matter of weeks.

At the end of June, Mr Essebsi was in hospital after suffering a "severe health crisis", officials said at the time without giving more details.

The president's office has not made any official comment, Reuters says.

The 92-year-old is the world's oldest sitting president.

Mr Essebsi won Tunisia's first free elections in 2014 following Arab uprisings across the region.

Earlier this year, he announced he would not stand in elections expected in November, saying someone younger should take charge.

Former Tunisian President Zine el-Abedine Ben Ali was ousted in 2011 after 23 years in office.

Since then, Tunisia has won praise as the only democracy to emerge from the revolutions of the so-called Arab spring.

Image source, AFP

Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

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The Sudanese army says that after foiling a military coup it has arrested several high ranking officers and senior members of the former governing National Congress Party (NCP).

It is not clear exactly when the coup attempt happened, but the authorities could be referring to one that allegedly took place earlier this month.

This news comes as the military generals running Sudan and the opposition protest movement are due to continue efforts to finalise details of a power-sharing deal.

Those arrested include the head of the joint chiefs of staff, Gen Hashim Abdel Mottalib Ahmed, and the head of the armoured brigade, Maj Gen Nasr al-Din.

Also detained were former Vice-President Bakri Hassan Salih and a foreign minister who had served under the deposed President Omar al-Bashir.

A military statement said the failed coup was an attempt to return the former NCP regime to power.

The new head of the joint chiefs of staff, Gen Mohamed Othman al-Hussein said:

Despite deep mistrust, military generals, the opposition protest movement and rebel groups are trying to negotiate the details of a deal to share power.

Thursday's African proverb:

Image source, George Wafula/BBC

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

BBC Africa Live
Dickens Olewe

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 or check the BBC News website.

A reminder of today's wise words:

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

We leave you with this picture of fishermen in the waters of the Gulf of Guinea, outside Jamestown, the oldest fishing community in Ghana's capital, Accra.

Image source, AFP

Louise Dewast
BBC Africa

Image source, AFP

An MP from the east of the Democratic of Republic of Congo, where more than 1,700 people have died since the start of an Ebola outbreak nearly one year ago, says he does not want residents to be "guinea pigs" for a new vaccine.

Muhindo Nzangi Butondo comments come a day after former Heath Minister Oly Ilunga resigned, saying it was fanciful to think that another vaccine would have much impact on the control of current outbreak.

He argued the Ebola outbreak - the 10th in the country - was a public health emergency that should be coordinated by the government and warned against the risk of installing a parallel health system that he says isn't going to build local capacities.

There are currently four experimental vaccines considered to tackle this outbreak: Merck & Co, Janssen (Johnson&Johnson), CanSino Biologics Inc, and Rospotrebnadzo.

Only the Merck vaccine has been given approval from the DR Congo ethics committee.

While international charities and the World Health Organization (WHO) are pushing for the deployment of a second vaccine, some say it is not going to help control the outbreak and worry that it could confuse an already distrustful population.

Merck's experimental vaccine has proven effective in 97.5% of cases and mounts protection against Ebola in about 10 days. Already 170,000 people have been inoculated.

One of the issues raised by Ebola health workers is that the stock of Merck vaccine in the DR Congo is low - yet the outbreak is not under control, with about 75 to 100 new cases on average each week.

The Johnson&Johnson vaccine aims to give protection on the long term which is why some people are wondering if should be a priority.

The vaccine needs to be administered two times in about two months apart. That might be difficult to do in a region where people often have to flee due to insecurity and are in general very mobile.

The company has recognised that it is a measure for times of peace and says the vaccine could for example be used outside of the conflict zones.

But there are concerns that people could question why one vaccine is used in one place and another in a second place.

Communication around the Ebola response is key to build trust: nearly 200 health workers and facilities have been attacked since January according to the WHO.

For example, the Merck vaccine was not initially offered to pregnant and lactating women.

That eventually changed but some say that health officials failed to explain the reasoning, leading to a lot of fear and misunderstanding.

The amount of money poured into the Ebola response is an additional factor of mistrust.

Far more people die from malaria and other illnesses in the area and so there is confusion around the support received to tackle Ebola.

Islamist militant group al-Shabab has said it was behind the suicide attack inside the mayor's office in the capital Mogadishu.

The attack killed at least four people and injured the city's mayor.

Deputy Mayor Mohamed Abdullahi Tulah told state radio that Mayor Abdirahman Omar was injured in the attack and rushed to hospital.

"The mayor was wounded in the blast and he is currently being treated. Some of the commissioners of Mogadishu district have also been wounded," he said.

The attacker entered a room where officials were meeting and detonated the bomb, news agency AFP reports quoting a security source.

Mr Omar had earlier met UN special envoy James Swan in the building.

Mr Swan had, however, left by the time the attack happened, AFP reports.

The UN has shared a picture of Mr Swan's meeting with the mayor and his team:

The mayor of Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, has been injured in a explosion at his office.

Several other officials have also sustained injuries.

A VOA journalist reports that the mayor has been rushed to hospital:

The details of the attack are still unclear.

Inmates have burnt down part of a prison in south-west Cameroon in protest over being detained on charges of secession, rebellion and terrorism.

Security forces fired shots and teargas to restore order at the facility in the town of Buea on Tuesday. It is not yet clear if there are any casualties.

A video showing smoke billowing from the prison amid sounds of repeated gunfire was shared online:

This week there has also been a riot inside a prison in the capital Yaoundé following a protest by inmates accused of involvement in the Anglophone separatist rebellion.

More than 1,000 people have been detained in connection with the conflict which has displaced more than half a million people since it broke out in the country's English-speaking regions in 2016.

The separatists are fighting for a breakaway state they call Ambazonia.

Image source, .

Fifa has banned Confederation of African Football (Caf) executive committee member Musa Bility for 10 years and fined him $500,000 (£400,000) for breaching its code of ethics.

Football's world governing body found the former Liberia FA (LFA) president "guilty of having misappropriated Fifa funds, as well as having received benefits and found himself in situations of conflict of interest".

Fifa said it has been investigating the 52-year-old since May 2018 following a forensic audit of the LFA.

The misappropriation of Fifa funds relates to those granted under the global body's "11 against Ebola" campaign and as part of its Financial Assistance Programme.

Liberia was one of three west African countries affected by an outbreak of Ebola between 2013 and 2016, when more than 10,000 people lost their lives.

In a statement, Fifa added that there were also "various payments made by the LFA to (and received from) entities owned by or connected to Mr Bility and his family".

His ban starts on Wednesday, the statement added.

The sanctions against Bility, who has yet to comment on them, come shortly after he filed a case against Fifa and Caf at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

He is unhappy with what he calls the "co-operation agreement" between Caf and Fifa and wants it to be made "null and void with immediate effect".

The recent agreement will see Fifa Secretary-General Fatma Samoura work with Caf as a General Delegate to Africa, with the Senegalese starting her role on 1 August.

At a Caf ExCo meeting in Cairo last week, Bility was the sole member to oppose the plan - arguing that it contravened both Fifa and Caf regulations.

Read more on this story on the BBC website

An Algerian court has banned a former justice minister from leaving the country while a corruption inquiry is carried out.

Tayeb Louh served under President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who was forced to resign in April after weeks or pro-democracy protests.

Mr Louh is one of dozens of political figures and rich businessmen who've been caught up in corruption investigations since the president was ousted.

Image source, AFP

Image source, AFP

Kenya’s Finance Minister Henry Rotich has been sacked - a day after he was arraigned in court on charges of corruption.

Labour Minister Ukur Yattani has been seconded to the role in an acting capacity.

Mr Rotich pleaded not guilty to charges of flouting procurement procedures in awarding a contract worth more than $450m (£405m) for the construction of two dams to an Italian firm, CMC de Ravenna.

The company also denies any wrongdoing.

Top Kenyan officials led by Foreign Minister Monica Juma have handed back 35.4kg of gold smuggled from Tanzania.

The value of the gold - which the team handed to President John Magufuli - has not been declared but a Kenyan news site is reporting that it is worth at least $1m (£800,000).

The consignment left Mwanza Airport and was on its way to the UAE, before it was seized at the main airport in Nairobi,The Citizen newspaper reports., external

The Kenyan delegation also handed back $152,000 stolen from a Tanzanian bank, the newspaper reports.

Mr Magufuli said that he discussed the return of the minerals and cash with his Kenyan counterpart Uhuru Kenyatta.

"I want to remind Tanzanians that you can't commit crime in Kenya and come and hide in Tanzania and vice versa... you will be nabbed," Mr Magufuli said.

He also said that investigations will be opened to find out if state officials were involved in the smuggling.

Uganda's musician-turned-MP Bobi Wine has announced at a meeting of his People Power movement that he will run for president.

He unveiled a team that will run his 2021 presidential election campaign.

His popularity among Uganda's youth is seen as a challenge to veteran President Yoweri Museveni.

Mr Museveni, 74, is expected to run for a sixth term.

Bobi Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, is currently facing treason charges after being arrested last year after the president's convoy was allegedly pelted with stones following a campaign rally.

He has alleged he was tortured and beaten while in custody in August, something denied by the authorities.

Image source, AFP

Read more about Bobi Wine:

• Bobi Wine: The pop star seeking 'people power'

Ronald Bikyahaga died as a result of injuries he received at Nabbingo Police Post in Uganda.

He was picked up at a film hall and dragged into the police cells, where he was found dead the following morning.

The BBC's Catherine Byaruhanga and Gloria Achieng follow his mother's story as she continues to seek answers to what happened and compensation for her loss.

Teklemariam Bekit
BBC Tigrinya

The office of the UN's refugee agency (UNHCR) in Egypt has confirmed that authorities there are still holding five Eritrean refugees who had been arrested during a demonstration on Sunday.

They had been protesting outside the UNHCR's premises about delays in processing registrations for newly-arrived asylum seekers.

The UNHCR told BBC Tigrinya that it regretted the protest ended with arrests. More than 40 were picked up initially, but most were later released.

The five Eritreans who remain in custody have been requested to appear before the public prosecutor’s office.

UNHCR said it following the case closely and also working hard to minimise the delays in processing newly-arrived refugees.