Kalkidan Yibeltal
BBC News

Image source, Reuters

Continued fighting in Ethiopia’s most populous region, Oromia, between government forces and the rebel Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) is raising concerns of worsening insecurity in the south.

The authorities in Oromia say they have launched a month-long offensive against OLA, but the rebel group says it is winning battles.

OLA’s spokesperson Odaa Tarbii tweeted that security forces from neighbouring Somali region have been deployed in Oromia to provide support in the fighting.

But speaking to the BBC, Abfikadr Rashid, a senior Somali regional official, dismissed the allegation but said forces from his region could enter Oromia if they were invited.

There are fears that an escalation in fighting in the south could deepen the political and humanitarian crises that the country is facing.

In northern Ethiopia, a 17-month civil war has unleashed a massive humanitarian crisis in which thousands have been killed and millions left in need of aid.

A humanitarian truce agreed between Tigrayan forces and the government last month was seen as an important step towards ending the civil war in the north.

But the amount of assistance getting through to Tigray is not nearly enough to meet the needs in the region, amid accusations that aid is being blocked.

At least 4.5m Somalis are facing a famine as the country experiences its worst drought in a decade.

Ishaq Khalid
BBC News, Abuja

Image source, AFP

Nigerian Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo has formally declared his intention to contest in next year’s presidential election.

He hopes to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari whose tenure ends in May next year.

Prof Osinbajo, a lawyer, was elected as Mr Buhari’s deputy in 2015.

In a short video posted on social media, he promised continuity in improving security and prioritising the economy, infrastructure, fighting poverty and reforming the justice system.

He also praised his boss as a "true Nigerian patriot and a servant of the nation".

He said their administration had done well for Nigerians on the security front despite facing "some of the most difficult times" in the country's history.

The 65-year-old vice-president will face-off with other aspirants within the ruling APC party to clinch the presidential ticket.

They include his benefactor Bola Ahmed Tinubu - the former governor of Lagos - who has often been described as the strong man of the party.

Others are the governor of Kogi state, Yahaya Bello, and the current Transport Minister Rotimi Amaechi.

The main challengers in the opposition PDP party are former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, Governor of Rivers state Nyesom Wike, Governor of Bauchi state Bala Muhammad, Governor of Sokoto state Aminu Tambuwal and former Senate President Bukola Saraki.

The presidential election is scheduled for February next year.

Both the ruling and opposition parties are struggling to pick a southerner for the presidency - based on a controversial informal agreement to rotate the presidency between the north and the south of the country for national cohesion.

President Buhari is a northerner serving his second and final term.

Esther Ogola
BBC News

Image source, UNDP/Said Fadhaye/2022

An all-female media unit has been launched in Somalia with the aim of overturning stereotypes and combating challenges surrounding female journalists in the country.

According to the UNDP, which launched the initiative, the unit is aimed at “providing a space where women media professionals can work with real decision-making authority and free from harassment”.

The female-led unit dubbed Bilan - which also means bright and clear in Somali - is made up of six team members.

Bilan will be fully independent to pick its own projects which will be aired on TV, radio, print and online by one of Somalia’s leading media houses, Dalsan Media Group, and international media houses as well.

Image source, UNDP/Said Fadhaye/2022

“For too long, Somali women journalists have been treated as second-class citizens and Somali news has ignored the stories and voices of half the population; now we are in charge of the boardroom and the narrative,” said Nasrin Mohamed Ibraham, Bilan’s chief editor.

A recent survey found that Somali women journalists faced harassment not just when conducting field work, but also in offices by their male counterparts.

They also reported being denied training opportunities, promotions and belittled even when they did reach a position of power.

Image source, UNDP/Said Fadhaye/2022

“We hope this will be a game changer for the Somali media scene, opening up new opportunities for women journalists and shining a light on new subjects that have been ignored, particularly those that are important for women,” said Jocelyn Mason, UNDP’s representative in Mogadishu.

The UNDP said the initiative also seeks to change the attitude of male journalists on harassment of their female counterparts.

More about being a female journalist in Somalia:

BBC World Service

The Egyptian government has denied allegations made by the family of a 42-year-old economist and activist that he was forcibly disappeared in early February.

The Interior Ministry said that Ayman Hadhoud had been placed in a psychiatric unit for attempting to break into an apartment in the capital Cairo, and carrying out what it called "irresponsible acts".

The family was told on Sunday to collect his body as he had died recently, but they have refused to do so without an established cause of death.

The public prosecutor has now ordered an autopsy.

Human rights groups in Egypt are calling on the government to address the issues of forced disappearances and deaths in custody.

Mr Hadhoud, who worked as a financial auditor at the American University in Cairo, ran in election in 2010 against the director of then President Hosni Mubarak's office.

Shingai Nyoka
BBC News

Image source, Reuters

Several roads have been closed to the public around a Pietermaritzburg court as the corruption trial of former South African President Jacob Zuma resumes on Monday.

Mr Zuma faces multiple charges of fraud, racketeering and money-laundering relating to a 1990s arms deal with a French company.

He says the charges are a witch-hunt by political rivals.

Last July, violent protests broke out in parts of South Africa after Mr Zuma was arrested in a separate case.

Numerous legal challenges have caused long delays and postponements in this highly anticipated trial.

On Monday, Mr Zuma’s lawyers will respond to the prosecution's affidavit, which seeks to introduce new evidence.

He has also applied to have the supreme court reconsider appeals rejected in March that sought the removal of the lead prosecutor citing bias.

The former president is accused of having received kickbacks in the 1990s in a $2bn (£1.5bn) arms deal with several European companies.

He is charged alongside French company Thales. Both deny the charges.

Mr Zuma also intends to proceed with a private prosecution of the lead prosecutor.

Ishaq Khalid
BBC News, Abuja

Image source, AFP

Gunmen have attacked villages in Nigeria's central Plateau state killing at least 26 people, with more feared dead.

The attackers on motorbikes stormed at least four remote villages on Sunday in Kanam area in the state, shooting people dead.

Most of the victims were children.

The gunmen also stole cattle and burnt down homes.

Residents say at least 20 bodies have been found in the village of Gyambau while at least six have been recovered in the village of Kyaram.

More killings were reported in the villages of Dungur and Kukawa.

A number of people are still missing and hundreds have been displaced.

The authorities say more security forces are being deployed to the area.

The latest attack comes as Nigeria grapples with a wave of violence by armed gangs who frequently carry out killings and kidnappings for ransom.

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Didier Drogba, Nwankwo Kanu and Yaya Touré. The African continent has produced some incredible footballers over the years, with players like Salah, Mané and Mahrez terrorising opposition defenders on a weekly basis. But who is English football's greatest ever African player? Gary Lineker is joined by Micah Richards and Alan Shearer for another episode to rank ten of the best African players to have played in the Premier League.

National and regional elections have frequently coincided with internet shutdowns or disruption. Shutdowns can occur whilst polls are open, or are sometimes imposed in response to protests that follow election results.

National elections were held on 12 August 2021 in Zambia, and part way through voting, access to WhatsApp, Facebook and Twitter was blocked. We hear from young voters in Lusaka about how the social media blocks affected them.

Reporting in Lusaka by Mutuna Chanda Producer: Beatrice Pickup

(Photo: A woman fills her ballot at a polling station in Lusaka on 12 August, 2021. Credit: Patrick Meinhardt/AFP/Getty Images)

Reflecting on the life of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the South African priest who became a prominent figure in the fight against apartheid, and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984.

Hundreds of young women from Sierra Leone, West Africa, have been trapped in the Arabian sultanate of Oman, desperate to get home. Promised work in shops and restaurants, they say they were tricked into becoming housemaids, working up to 18 hours a day, often without pay, and sometimes abused by their employers. Some ran away, to live a dangerous underground existence at the mercy of the authorities. Now, they are being rescued with the help of charities and diplomats. Back home, some have empowered themselves for the first time, joining a women’s farming collective. But others can’t easily recover from the ill-treatment and isolation they suffered in Arabia. (Updated version of a programme first broadcast earlier this year.)

Reporter: Tim Whewell.

(Photo: Sierra Leonean women hoping for repatriation after leaving their employers in Oman. Credit: Do Bold)

Several countries are seeing the pressure that a new wave of Covid-19 is placing on their hospitals once more, and they’re reintroducing measures to try and slow down the spread of infections.

Host Nuala McGovern brings together people working in the healthcare sector to think about the pressures on people’s mental health after almost two years of caring for those who are sick or dying due to the pandemic.

Nuala talks with hospital workers in the Dominican Republic, the United States and South Africa. For some it’s constant stress, anxiety and burnout. For others, it’s led to even more serious outcomes including post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD.

Jacob Zuma, South Africa's former president, believes the world is out to poison him. He has claimed that the CIA, MI6, local traitors, and perhaps even one of his wives, have tried to kill him. No wonder he has ordered toxicologists to test everything he eats. But is Zuma the victim of an elaborate international conspiracy that has its roots in the Cold War and South Africa’s liberation struggle? Or is he simply trying to distract attention from a mountain of corruption allegations?

Memory Sidira is buzzing with excitement as she talks about what she is learning during her course at Malawi’s Drone and Data Academy - the first of its kind in Africa. The Academy’s aim is to build local expertise for Malawi’s expanding drone industry and to teach young Africans from across the continent 21st Century skills in drone flight and data analysis. Ruth Evans hears how drones are inspiring young Africans like Memory to reach for the sky.

This year Zimbabwe has had a bumper crop of the staple food, maize. It is only the second time in two decades that it has grown enough food for the whole population. Last year they barely had half of what was needed and 7.7 million people went hungry. Better rainfall is largely to thank, but a new farming technique, called Pfumvudza is also being celebrated as having a dramatic impact on the amount Zimbabwe’s smallholder farmers have produced, increasing their yields up to four times. Dr Matthew Mbanga is CEO of the organisation which designed Pfumvudza explains the “more yield, less field” principle, which encourages farmers to more intensively cultivate a smaller area of land.

When President Thabo Mbeki came to power in South Africa in 1999, the country was gripped by an HIV-Aids epidemic - and the president's decision to question scientific evidence, and reject the use of life-saving drugs only made the situation even more dire. But activists and medical staff were ready to fight the government's position by any means.

When Aids began to emerge in the USA and Europe in the 1980s, South Africa was a fractured country, divided by Apartheid. During this time, the ruling National Party seemed disinterested in preventing a disease which was mainly affecting black people and gay men. The fall of Apartheid and the inauguration of President Nelson Mandela didn't improve the situation - the country's first black president was overwhelmed with rebuilding a fragile nation, and the problem of HIV-Aids was pushed down the list of government priorities. But perhaps the most malignant factor shaping South Africa's response to the Aids crisis, was the influence of President Thabo Mbeki, who bought into conspiracies and misinformation, propagated by a fervent Aids denialism movement.

Despite the life saving properties of vaccination against Covid-19, not everyone has chosen to get the jab - even in countries where vaccines are readily available. Karnie Sharp and James Reynolds hear from two Americans who regret their decisions - including the man who almost died and ended up with a double lung transplant after catching the disease. We also hear from flight attendants in Nigeria, Spain and the US about dealing with unruly passengers during a pandemic - especially when asked to wear a mask. Plus a scientist in Uganda explains the vaccine situation there during the country’s second wave.