Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

Image source, AFP

Burkina Faso's military ruler has in a surprise move met the president he overthrew in a coup last January.

Former President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré was accompanied by another former president, Jean-Baptiste Ouedraogo.

Officials said the meeting showed Lieutenant Colonel Paul-Henri Damiba's desire for reconciliation and that the country's security situation was discussed.

A video of the meeting shows handshakes and even some smiles as Burkina Faso's military leader invites the man he ousted for a walk along the red carpet at a place he knows well - the presidential palace.

A statement said Mr Kaboré was there to discuss security issues and to try to defuse the political situation.

Back in January Lt Col Damiba said he had toppled Mr Kaboré because he had failed to stop the attacks by jihadist fighters.

Despite a promise to improve security, the violence has continued.

The military ruler has also controversially declared a three-year transition period before elections.

Image source, AFP

Malawi's President Lazarus Chakwera has stripped his Vice-President Saulos Chilima of all his delegated powers after the latter was named in a $150m (£123m) corruption scandal involving government contracts.

The vice-president has not yet responded to the allegations.

A report by the country's Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) named 53 current and former officials as having received money from British-Malawian businessman Zuneth Sattar between 2017 and 2021, the president said.

This is in relation to 16 contracts that the Malawi Police Service and the Malawi Defence Force awarded to five companies belonging to Mr Sattar.

The officials named in the report include the vice-president and the head of police - who has been sacked.

But Malawi's law does not allow the president to sack or suspend his vice-president as the latter is an elected official.

"The best I can do for now, which is what I have decided to do, is to withhold from his office any delegated duties while waiting for the bureau to substantiate its allegations against him," the president said in a national address on Tuesday.

Mr Chakwera joined forces with Mr Chilima to defeat incumbent Peter Mutharika in 2020 presidential elections. The pair had promised to fight corruption in government.

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Many African leaders believe that a confrontational stance towards Russia is not in their interest.

The UK foreign secretary hopes to secure the release of Alaa Abdel Fattah, who is on hunger strike.

That's all from the BBC Africa Live team for now, but we'll be back on Wednesday morning.

In the meantime there will be an automated news feed and you can also check the BBC News website or listen to our Africa Today podcast.

A reminder of our wise words of the day:

Click here to send us your African proverbs.

And we leave you with this picture of South Africa's Xera Vegter Maharajh competing at the World Aquatics Championships:

Image source, AFP

Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

Image source, Getty Images

Wildlife authorities in Malawi say they are transferring 250 elephants to a national park where the population has fallen significantly mainly because of poaching for ivory.

Fifty years ago there were well over 1,000 elephants in central Malawi's Kasungu National Park. Today there are just over 100.

The new additions will be moved nearly 400km (250 miles) on lorries from Liwonde National Park in the south of the country, where poaching has almost completely stopped.

Elephant numbers there have increased causing conflict with local communities and the destruction of crops.

Some countries in the region, including Zimbabwe, are calling for a lifting of the global ban on the ivory trade, because the elephant population is growing and fatal accidents with humans have increased.

Mike Thomson
BBC World Service News

Image source, Getty Images

Egypt has signed a raft of deals with Saudi Arabia worth nearly $8bn (£6.5bn) during a visit to Cairo by the Gulf kingdom’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

It includes a $1.5bn investment in a wind power plant in Egypt, the government said in a statement.

This was the Saudi crown prince’s first tour outside the Gulf for three years.

He will later travel for talks with the leaders of Jordan, then Turkey - in what will be the latest step in restoring ties damaged by the killing of the Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul in 2018.

Napoli and Senegal defender Kalidou Koulibaly says he has a "special bond" with fans of the Serie A club after eight years in Italy.

Kalkidan Yibeltal
BBC News, Addis Ababa

The US says it's "gravely concerned" by the killings of many ethnic minority civilians in Ethiopia’s Oromia region.

A statement by Ned Price, the US state department’s spokesman, called the attacks an "horrific act", adding that continued reports of such violence "underscore urgency of ending the ongoing armed conflict in Ethiopia".

Survivors who spoke to the BBC said the attacks in several villages in Gimbi district were carried out by the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) - an armed group operating in the area - and had targeted members of the Amhara ethnic community.

The OLA denied the accusations.

While no official death toll has been provided, survivors indicate it could be as high as 250.

The attacks came in the backdrop of ongoing fighting between government forces and the OLA.

While Ethiopian's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said his administration’s priority was "ensuring peace and security" in the wake of the attacks, it is not clear if he has taken concrete measures to that end.

You may also be interested in:

• Ethiopia war-crime evidence burned - witnesses
• Why the Ethiopia conflict matters to the world
• Watch: The hidden side of Ethiopia's civil war

Dorcas Wangira
Africa health correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

Africa is set to have its first ever African-owned COVID-19 vaccine within the next three years, developers announced on Tuesday.

They say the mRNA vaccine will be stored at temperatures used in regular refrigerators, making it easier to store and distribute in rural and remote locations where fewest people are currently vaccinated.

"The Covid-19 vaccine will take up to 36 months because it will have to go through full clinical trials and we will position it as a booster," said Prof Petro Terblanche of Afrigen - which is collaborating on the vaccine with the Univercells Group.

The development and production of this new vaccine will take place in Cape Town, South Africa.

The announcement comes days after the World Trade Organization (WTO) reached a deal to waive a crucial intellectual property agreement, making it easier for developing countries to manufacture and export patented Covid vaccines without consent from the patent holder for five years.

A lack of super-cold chains and the lack of local cost-effective production are still two major challenges affecting the roll-out of coronavirus vaccines.

There also, however, seems to be an issue with demand.

The South African firm Aspen Pharmacare had signed a deal with Johnson & Johnson to produce its vaccine in South Africa. But its plant may have to close as there are not enough orders.

The continental health body – Africa CDC – says that 18% of the population has been fully vaccinated against Covid.

Shingai Nyoka
BBC News, Harare

Image source, AFP

Public health workers in Zimbabwe are into their second day of strikes after mediation talks called by the government ended in an impasse, union leaders said.

Low wages and poor working conditions are among the reasons for the strike, which was called by the umbrella group Health Apex Council.

The strike was partially observed, with reports of longer patient waiting times.

In a notice to members, the group’s leader Tapiwa Kusotera said the government’s Health Services Board (HSB) had on Monday called for an urgent negotiation meeting, but that it did not provide any solutions to the workers' grievances.

The board is yet to respond to the BBC's request for a comment.

Health workers last week rejected the government’s 100% wage increase offer, saying it was below the current inflation rate of 131.7%.

One nurse told the BBC that she earns 23,000 Zimbabwean dollars ($60; £49) a month. Even with a special Covid allowance of $175, most workers earn well below the living wage, she said.

Mr Kusotera told the BBC that the strike was not just about money but about the conditions of service, adding that most workers were demoralised but couldn’t leave after the government blocked the issuance of certificates that would allow them to seek work in private sector and abroad.

Government health facilities are under-equipped and often run out of basics such as paracetamol. Surgeons sometimes ask patients to buy their own sutures so operations can be performed, Mr Kusotera told the BBC.

"We often say amongst ourselves that our government loves roads more than it loves its hospitals."

Tracy Bircham
BBC World Service News

Image source, Getty Images

Representatives from nearly 200 countries are meeting in Nairobi to draft a global pact on how to protect nature from the damage inflicted by human activity.

The delegates attending the UN biodiversity convention in the Kenyan capital will try to hammer out a framework to ensure humans live more in harmony with nature by 2050.

Initial proposals include countries agreeing to make at least 30% of both land and oceans protected zones by the end of the decade.

Tackling plastic and agricultural pollution will also be key targets.

The meeting comes ahead of the delayed Cop15 Biodiversity Summit, now scheduled in Canada for December this year.

Members of the Maasai have fled from Loliondo in northern Tanzania to seek medical attention and food in Kenya.

The one month old was being breastfed when a troop of monkeys invaded the village in western Tanzania.

Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

The military rulers in Burkina Faso say they are creating two zones in the north and east of the country where no civilians will be allowed.

A military official said the aim was to make it easier to combat Islamist fighters who have carried out frequent attacks.

Maps purporting to show the no-go zones have been tweeted by Burkinabè analyst Dieudonné Lankoandé:

Earlier this month at least 79 people were killed during a jihadist raid near Burkina Faso's northern border with Mali. It was the deadliest attack since the military coup in January.

The soldiers who overthrew President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré said the government had not done enough to counter the Islamist threat and promised to restore security.

Didier Bikorimana
BBC Great Lakes Service

Image source, AFP

The Democratic Republic of Congo's presidency says Rwanda "should not" be included in a proposed regional force to fight the rebel groups in the east of the country.

Heads of East African countries met in Kenya's capital, Nairobi, on Monday for talks on the rules of engagement for the East African military force, which will be deployed to Congo’s restive North Kivu and Ituri provinces.

“Under the military command of Kenya, this force should be operational in the coming weeks and should not include elements of the Rwandan army,” the office of President Félix Tshisekedi said in a tweet, external.

DR Congo accuses Rwanda of supporting the M23 rebel group. Both Rwanda and M23 deny the accusation.

Last week, M23 rebels captured the town of Bunagana on the border with Uganda.

The East Africa leaders also ordered “an immediate ceasefire” and “cessation of hostilities" including the rebels withdrawal from positions taken recently.

BBC Great Lakes has contacted both the Rwandan government and M23 for comment.

In another development, the North Kivu province has issued a statement, external making it illegal for traders and customs officers to import and export goods through the Bunagana border point.

“Anyone whose goods of any nature would enter through this border point will be considered a smuggler-collaborator of the enemy and will face the full force of the law” it said.

Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

Image source, AFP

A British subsidiary of the mining company Glencore has pleaded guilty in a UK court to corruption offences, after being accused of paying millions of dollars in bribes to secure access to crude oil in Africa.

The UK's Serious Fraud Office said Glencore had, via its employees and agents, paid bribes of more than $28m (£22.8m) in Nigeria, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea and South Sudan.

Sentencing will take place in November.

The Swiss-based multinational has already said it expects to pay up to $1.5bn to settle allegations of bribery.

Anne Soy
BBC News, Kigali

Rwandan President Paul Kagame has urged fellow members of the Commonwealth to ensure that no country is left behind.

He added that there was a need to ensure that all Commonwealth countries felt included and that small developing nations must not feel that they are left out.

Rwanda is hosting this year's Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (Chogm), and made the comments while speaking on a panel at an event in the capital, Kigali.

Corruption is "eating away" at football in World Cup-bound Tunisia, says the president of a team at the centre of a match-fixing row.