Mike Thomson
BBC World Service News

Image source, Getty Images

Tunisia's most powerful union has called for a second general strike in protest at government economic policies.

The UGTT has about a million members, and its last nationwide strike earlier this month brought the north African country to a standstill.

The Tunisian government is preparing to negotiate a loan with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to save public finances from bankruptcy.

The union, which represents many public sector workers, has said it will refuse to accept IMF demands for a wage freeze and cuts in food and energy subsidies.

No date has yet been set for the strike.

Ishaq Khalid
BBC News, Abuja

Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari has sworn in the most senior judge at the country’s Supreme Court – Justice Olukayode Ariwoola – as the acting chief justice of Nigeria.

This followed the resignation of Chief Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad due to ill health, and amid allegations from fellow judges of corruption, nepotism and neglect of welfare.

Speaking with journalists shortly after his appointment, Justice Olukayode promised to "protect" and "preserve" the constitution of Nigeria as well as abide by it.

He is expected to hold the post until the president appoints a permanent chief justice which needs the approval of the Nigerian senate.

The chief justice is the head of the Supreme Court and the highest judicial officer in Nigeria.

The Supreme Court hears disputes on various cases including election results. Nigeria is due to hold elections next February to choose a successor to President Buhari.

Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

There are reports that at least 26 people have been killed in an attack on a village in Cameroon's English-speaking regions, where the military has been fighting separatist rebels for nearly five years.

It isn't yet clear who was behind the violence.

A district medical officer said some people were still missing after the attack on Ballin village, near the border with Nigeria.

Human Rights Watch has accused Anglophone separatist fighters of committing numerous atrocities during the first six months of this year including killings, kidnappings and burning schools.

Cameroon's former defence minister caused a stir in court in the capital, Yaoundé, after arriving to face corruption charges with a glass of champagne in hand.

Edgar Alain Mebe Ngo'o was charged in 2019, external with diverting public funds and corruption. He denied the charges and was being held at the Kondengui prison as the trial continued.

But at the Special Criminal Court last week, photos published by local outlet Actu Cameroun, external showed him looking clean shaven and well groomed in a double-breasted grey suit, while holding a full champagne flute in his left hand.

Another photo showed Mr Ngo'o consulting his lawyers in court with the glass empty.

The charges are related to awarding of military contracts, including one to a company linked to his wife between 2009 and 2015, Journal du Cameroun, external reports.

Mr Ngo'o was sacked from government while serving as transport minister in 2018, after being tipped as a successor to long-time President Paul Biya.

Yves Bucyana
BBC Swahili

Rwandan students studying in Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo are facing security threats arising from the ongoing spat between the two neighbouring countries.

DR Congo accuses Rwanda of backing the Congolese M23 rebels and has recently halted all trade and cooperation agreements. Rwanda denies the allegations.

The situation at the border is still tense and this is now causing concerns, with some parents worried for their children studying across the border.

Some students have told the BBC that they risk being targeted for who they are and this has had an impact on their education.

“I live in Rubavu and study medicine just across the border in Goma. When the protests started they chased Rwandese. The director [of my college] said those that have families in Goma can stay in school and those of us who study while crossing back to Rwanda should return home immediately,” a Rwandese student told the BBC.

A parent whose children study in DR Congo told the BBC that there was initially no problem with them studying in Goma and returning to Rwanda “but now we are very concerned”.

The mayor of Rubavu, Ildephonse Kambogo, said Rwanda has cautioned its citizens to observe their safety as a priority and reduce unnecessary travel across the border.

The exact number of Rwandan students studying in Goma is not known but there are thought to be many.

Peter Jegwa
Lilongwe, Malawi

Five people convicted of the murder of a man whose body parts they planned to sell have been sentenced to life imprisonment with hard labour in Malawi.

Macdonald Masumbuka, who had albinism, was killed in 2018 in the southern district of Machinga.

One of those sentenced to life was Masumbuka's own brother.

Also sentenced by the Malawi high court on Tuesday was a Catholic priest, Thomas Muhosha, who along with four other men received a lesser sentence of 30 years in prison.

Judge Dorothy NyaKaunda Kamanga said factors she considered in the sentencing included the fact that the deceased was betrayed by people close to him, that his murder was carefully planned and that he was killed violently in a graveyard.

The Catholic Church in Malawi suspended Muhosha from priesthood when news of his involvement in case first broke back in 2018.

Over the past decade, Malawi has experienced violent attacks on persons with albinism driven by superstitious beliefs that their bones and body parts can be used to make charms that bring wealth or good luck.

According to official statistics, since 2014, more than 170 people living with albinism have been killed or maimed in such attacks.

Charles Gitonga
BBC News

Image source, AFP

Some $3bn (£2.4bn) will be invested over the next 10 years to end vaccine dependency across the continent, the Africa Development Bank (AfDB) has pledged.

The plan incudes a new pharmaceutical centre for research, development and manufacturing based in Rwanda's capital, Kigali.

It has been widely lauded as key towards ending Africa’s dependence on outside donations, as recently witnessed during the Covid-19 pandemic

AfDB say it will also help patent and license African-made medicines, and support governments to navigate the intellectual property rights to global vaccines and medicines.

It follows a recent World Trade Organisation announcement of a partial waiver on coronavirus vaccine patents, allowing select developing countries to produce the jabs.

AfDB says Africa currently imports more than 70% of all its medicines, spending about $14bn every year.

Chris Ewokor
BBC News

A Catholic priest who was kidnapped in Nigeria's southern state of Edo has been found dead hours later.

Local church leader says Father Christopher Odia was abducted from his home in Ikabigbo on Sunday as he was about to head to mass.

Witnesses say his body was discovered by a search party of outraged locals and security forces.

It comes less than 24 hours after another priest - Father Vitus Borogo - was murdered on his farm in north-western Nigeria, and three weeks after gunmen killed at least 40 worshippers at a church in south-western Ondo state.

Nigeria has been grappling with deadly violence including kidnappings in numerous parts of the country. Criminal gangs remain active, with some of them targeting churches and priests.

Meanwhile authorities in Nigeria’s north-western state of Zamfara state are urging citizens to arm themselves against bandits after a spate of attacks.

Some Nigerians living in other states hit by violence say they too want to register to carry guns and defend themselves against attackers.

Nduka Orjinmo
BBC News, Abuja

Nigeria’s highest-ranking judicial officer Justice Tanko Muhammad has resigned from his position.

Multiple local reports say Mr Muhammad, Nigeria’s Chief Justice, resigned on the grounds of ill health.

His resignation comes amid allegations of corruption, nepotism and neglect of personnel welfare against him by other Supreme Court justices.

He denied the allegations, saying "judges in all climes are to be seen and not heard" and that the unprecedented public spat was "akin to dancing naked in the market square".

Mr Muhammad first became a justice of the top court in 2006 and became Nigeria’s Chief Justice in 2019 after the controversial removal of his predecessor by President Muhammadu Buhari.

The next ranking justice is expected to be sworn in as a successor by President Buhari.

Nomsa Maseko
BBC Southern Africa correspondent

Promise Matinise, the entertainment manager of a nightclub where at least 21 people died over the weekend, has told the BBC that he “saw people falling one after the other after bouncers struggled to control large crowds that had entered the establishment”.

He also says that “at first he assumed they had passed out from drinking too much and then realised that some had stopped breathing”.

This is when they phoned the owner of the establishment to alert him to what was happening, he says.

He added that the venue often hosted large crowds, but that this past weekend it seemed like more people had attended the event.

There are reports that people who had gone to the Enyobeni Tavern in the city of East London were celebrating the end of school exams.

The cause of the deaths was not immediately clear and the authorities are investigating. The victims were found strewn across floors and tables

Nomsa Maseko
BBC Southern Africa correspondent

South African authorities have revoked a nightclub's permit to sell alcoholic beverages following the deaths of at least 21 people, mostly teenagers, at the establishment.

The cause of deaths remains unknown.

Yellow police tape has been used to cordon off the tavern where the teenagers died after a party on Saturday night.

Police have also been sent there as forensic investigators carry out their work.

South Africa’s liquor board has said the nightclub owner will face criminal charges after the underage patrons died at the premises.

Residents in the area want the nightclub to be closed down. They’ve accused the owner of ignoring the rules on liquor trading licences, and only focusing on making a profit.

By law, nobody under the age of 18 is allowed in nightclubs in South Africa.

Authorities say there were no visible injuries on the bodies of the deceased and suspect that the deaths could be linked to poisoning.

Image source, Getty Images

Nigerian singer Tems says she's honoured to have been recognised by BET in the US, saying "this is my first award show that I’m winning something".

She was crowned this year's best international act at the ceremony in Los Angeles on Sunday.

The 27-year-old is best known to fans outside of Nigeria for her huge hit with Wizkid in 2020, called Essence, external.

A later remix of that song featuring Canadian star Justin Bieber was also named best collaboration at the BET awards on Sunday.

"I just want to use this as an opportunity to speak to every single young, old, whatever, every single woman watching this, every single girl watching this at home. Where I’m from, things like this don’t happen," Tems said accepting her prize.

Jose Tembe
BBC News, Maputo

Police in Mozambique have arrested nine people suspected to have tortured and buried alive seven suspected cattle rustlers in the district of Manhiça, near the capital, Maputo.

A spokesman of the provincial police command, Juarce Martins, has confirmed the deaths and arrests, and said the identity of the victims had not yet been confirmed.

He said a team of government officials had visited the site to for the exhumation of the bodies.

Over the weekend, some relatives of the victims went to collect the bodies of their relatives.

Image source, Getty Images

The African Union has called for an immediate investigation into the death of at least 23 migrants who died on Friday when a huge crowd tried to cross into Spain's North African enclave of Melilla.

AU Commission chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat said he was shocked and concerned about the treatment that African migrants receive when they attempt to cross international borders.

“I remind all countries of their obligations under international law to treat all migrants with dignity and to prioritize their safety and human rights, while refraining from the use of excessive force,” Mr Mahamat said in a tweet.

The authorities in Morocco said some of those who died had fallen from the top of a border fence that separates Morocco and Melilla.

More than 130 people managed to jump over the fence.

Melilla and Ceuta, Spain’s other North African enclave, have the European Union’s only land borders on the African continent.

Friday’s mass crossing attempt was the first since Spain and Morocco ended a year-long diplomatic dispute in March.

This was after Spain supported Morocco’s autonomy plan for the disputed region of Western Sahara.

Rhoda Odhiambo
BBC West Africa correspondent, Lagos

Image source, AFP

Nigerian authorities in the north-western state of Zamfara are calling on locals to arm themselves against criminal gangs, in an attempt to deal with the increasing numbers of kidnappings and violent attacks.

Residents there must register before getting a weapon, and the state authorities say steps are being taken to guide people through this process.

Asking citizens to arm themselves against violent threats is always going to be controversial. But the state government believes that arming civilians will help deal with rising levels of insecurity in the area.

In other measures, the governor of Zamfara has also ordered the closure of markets in three districts, banned the use of motorcycles and sales of petroleum products.

A shoot-to-kill order has been given to anyone found using a motorcycle in these areas.

Nigeria is struggling to curb a deadly wave of kidnappings for ransom by armed gangs in the northern part of the country.

The gangs often target unprotected rural communities, schools and motorists on highways.

BBC World Service

Image source, AFP

Forensic experts in South Africa are trying to determine what caused the deaths of 22 young people in a nightclub in the city of East London.

Police have ruled out a crush and say the party-goers may have ingested a toxic substance.

Most of the dead were teenagers. Some are reported to have been celebrating the end of their exams.

Local officials said they feared it was a case of under-age drinking gone wrong.

President Cyril Ramaphosa expressed his condolences, and said he was concerned that young people had gathered at a venue that should be off-limits to under-18s.

Rhoda Odhiambo
BBC West Africa correspondent, Lagos

Image source, Getty Images

Nigeria’s Immigration Service says an alleged victim of trafficking for organ harvesting is not a child.

Last week Nigerian Senator Ike Ekweremadu and his wife Beatrice Nwanneka Ekweremadu were charged in a London court with conspiring to transport a boy to the UK in order to harvest organs.

But Nigeria’s Comptroller General, Idriss Jerre, said the alleged victim’s birth certificate and national identity number presented during registration for his passport showed that he is 21 years old.

“During his interview for his passport on 2 November, 2021, he presented his birth certificate which was certified by the National Population Council. It showed that he was born on 12 October, 2000.

“Please resist making utterances that may damage the image of the service,” Mr Jerre told journalists in a virtual press briefing.

Last week, the UK’s Metropolitan Police said the alleged victim had been taken into care and agencies were working to support him.

Organ-harvesting involves removing parts of the body, often for commercial gain and against the will of the victim.

Mr Ekweremadu, 60, and his wife Beatrice, 55, live in Nigeria but have family in London, magistrates were told.

The two, who were arrested on 21 June, are still in police custody and will appear in Uxbridge Magistrates' Court in West London on 7 July.

BBC World Service

Image source, Getty Images

Sudan's military has accused the Ethiopian army of executing seven Sudanese soldiers and a civilian who were captives.

A statement published on Sudanese state media gave no further details.

But it called the alleged killings a treacherous act, and said there would be a response.

There has been no comment so far from the Ethiopian side.

A long-running border dispute has flared up over the last two years, with occasional clashes in the al-Fashaga area.

Sudan has also been angered by Ethiopia's construction of a giant dam on the River Nile.

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