Patience Atuhaire
BBC News, Kampala

Image source, Getty Images

Uganda’s health ministry has proposed a new law aimed in part at preventing the illicit trade in human organs.

The bill on organ donation, which has just gone before parliament, aims to protect the dignity and rights of organ donors and provide an environment through which transplant surgery, which is increasingly sought after in the country, can be done.

As well as outlawing cash-for-organs, if passed, the new measure would create transplant centres, organ banks and council to oversee the process.

It would also provide for organ harvesting from both living and deceased donors.

Ugandans in need of transplant surgery of any kind have to travel abroad - mostly to Kenya, South Africa and India - to access it.

Costs for travel and surgery are prohibitive. A trip to India for a kidney transplant, for example, could set someone back by at least $25,000 (£21,000) and up to $40,000 in travel expenses and medical bills.

On top of this, there is currently a strict official vetting procedure to see if a trip is suitable.

It is also hoped that the law can work towards dismantling the underworld of illegal organ harvesting.

In recent months, there have been at least three reported cases of Ugandan migrant workers returning home from the Middle East allegedly with some organs missing, suspected to have been illegally harvested or sold without consent.

In February, five directors of a labour export agency were charged with aggravated human trafficking, related to a case in which a female migrant worker returned home paralysed, with what are believed to be surgical scars on her stomach, and medical tests indicated that her right kidney was missing.

If the law is passed Uganda would join a handful of African countries, including South Africa and Kenya, that have laws regulating organ donation.

Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Sudan's coup leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan have held talks in a bid to avert an escalation of the dispute between the two countries following recent clashes in a contested border area.

In a tweet, Mr Abiy said they had both committed to dialogue to resolve any differences:

Both leaders were in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, for a summit of the regional body, Igad.

The African Union, the UN and Igad had all voiced alarm over escalating tensions between Ethiopia and Sudan.

Officials in Khartoum accused the Ethiopian army of capturing seven Sudanese soldiers in the disputed al-Fashaga border area. Addis Ababa denied the accusation.

Tensions have increased in recent years after Ethiopia's decision to build a huge dam on the River Nile.

More on this topic:

• Viewpoint: Why Ethiopia and Sudan have fallen out over al-Fashaga

Wahiba Ahmed
BBC News

A large forest fire has taken hold in the self-declared republic of Somaliland.

It is reported to have started late on Sunday – and has grown in intensity as the region faces its worst drought in a decade.

The Gacidh Forest in Somaliland’s north-eastern Sanag region is near the Dallo Mountain national park, an area renowned for its beautiful woodlands.

Some people have been tweeting screengrabs from local TV:

It is not clear what has caused the blaze. The news website Horn Diplomat says no casualties have been reported.

Somaliland's Environment Minister Shukri Haji Ismail said officials were at the scene and urged tourists not to cook using fires, external.

Beating holders Nigeria 2-1 in their opening game at the Women's Africa Cup of Nations will boost South Africa's belief, says coach Desire Ellis.

Chris Ewokor
BBC News, Abuja

Image source, Edo State Police Command

The Catholic Church in Nigeria’s southern Edo state says an Italian priest who was abducted last Sunday by gunmen has returned alive - but there are contrasting accounts about how he regained his freedom.

The church said Father Luigi Brenna, 64, was abandoned in a forest by his abductors who thought he was dead after he had passed out.

But police say the priest was rescued by security forces following a gun battle that left three suspects dead and some others escaped, allegedly with gunshot wounds.

According to the church, Fr Brenna was watching a boys' football game at the Somascan Catholic Community's playground in the village of Usen when gunmen, shooting sporadically, stormed the venue.

The cleric was captured before he could run into his apartment.

The church says he was reportedly dragged into the bush after being beaten - including using machete on his head and body. He passed out in the forest and his abductors thought he was dead and abandoned him.

However, its statement says Fr Brenna regained consciousness and was able to find his way back to the village in a pool of blood and was rushed to a hospital.

But police spokesperson Jennifer Iwegbu said that security forces went after the kidnappers in a special operation that led to the rescue of the priest.

Three other Catholic priests who were kidnapped in two separate incidents over the weekend - in Kaduna and Edo states - are still missing.

Over the last few years Nigeria has been struggling to stop kidnappings for ransom by criminal gangs - and some armed groups have also now started targeting churches.

Isyaka Mamman, thought to be 85, used the wrong needle and inserted it into his patient's heart sac.

Will Ross & Shingai Nyoka
BBC News

Image source, Getty Images

Zimbabwe’s central bank says it will start selling gold coins later this month as a way to protect people against spiralling inflation.

Central Bank Governor John Mangudya said the 22-carat coin would be named the Mosi-oa-tunya, the Zimbabwean name for Victoria Falls, and would contain one troy ounce of gold - a little heavier than an imperial ounce and equivalent to 31.1g.

The coin will be easily convertible into cash and could also be used in transactions, the bank says.

But it will be beyond the affordability of most people, who are struggling in difficult economic circumstances. Currently, one troy ounce of gold costs more than $1,600 (£1,300).

The gold price fluctuates but is seen as a secure investment.

High annual inflation - which last month was measured at nearly 192% - has reduced the value of the local currency, so gold could be seen as an alternative store of value. US dollars are also used as legal tender but there is a dollar shortage in the country and it is hoped that the gold coins could reduce that demand.

Ishaq Khalid
BBC News, Abuja

Image source, Getty Images

The Nigerian government has offered slots for students who fled the war in Ukraine to continue their education at local universities and other tertiary institutions in the country.

In a statement, the Nigerian foreign affairs ministry says efforts are being made to "facilitate their placement into various Nigerian tertiary institutions".

The ministry has provided a registration form that interested Nigerian students can fill in on its website.

Thousands of Nigerian students were evacuated from Ukraine in the wake of the Russian invasion of the country - disrupting their studies.

But even if they get placements to complete their studies in Nigeria, it is likely to prove difficult because lecturers in local public universities have been on strike for several months over pay and working conditions.

It is not clear when the institutions will reopen.

More on this topic:

• Nigerian volunteer: 'Fighting in Ukraine is better than living here'
• Nigeria rejects Ukraine online degrees: 'It's not fair'

The Sierra Leone Football Association (SLFA) is investigating the outcome of two league matches that produced a staggering total of 187 goals.

Abiy Ahmed pledges to "eliminate" the group that he blames for a second recent attack in Oromia.

Mike Thomson
BBC World Service Newsroom

Image source, Getty Images

Two political parties in Tunisia have called for a boycott of this month's referendum on a new constitution.

The recently formed Work and Achievement party said President Kais Saied’s draft constitution “seeks to entrench individual rule” and threatens the independence of the judiciary.

The secular Democratic Current party was also highly critical saying that it “threatens the existence of the state”.

Speaking earlier President Saied denied that his proposed constitution would restore authoritarian rule, insisting instead that it would guarantee citizens rights and freedoms.

Tunisia’s referendum is due to take place on 25 July.

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

An Egyptian court has sentenced a researcher to three years in prison in a retrial over charges of "publishing false news".

Researcher Ahmed Samir Santawy, 30, was charged with "publishing false news from abroad" on conditions in the country in a Facebook post on his personal account.

He was sentenced by an exceptional court in a verdict that cannot be appealed.

Santawy's lawyer, Ahmed Ragheb, told the independent Mada Masr website that he would file a request with the recently formed presidential pardon committee for his client's release.

The researcher was initially sentenced to four years in prison over the same charges in July last year.

However the verdict was overturned after his lawyers filed a grievance.

Dozens of domestic and international human rights organisations have been calling for Santawy's release.

Santawy, who was studying in Austria, was arrested and detained by security forces on 1 February 2021 while on holiday at home.

His new sentence came one day before the start of political dialogue with opposition figures in the country on Tuesday.

Dozens of political activists were released ahead of the dialogue.

World champions South Africa will play Bristol Bears at Ashton Gate in November.

Nigeria international Chidera Ejuke becomes the latest African footballer to leave the Russian Premier League following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

BBC World Service
Newsroom

Image source, AFP

Pro-democracy campaigners in Sudan have reacted with caution to a promise by the country's military leader to hand power to a civilian government.

Activists said General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan had reneged on similar commitments in the past.

The general has not given a timeline for the transition.

One campaigner told the BBC he wanted Gen Burhan to step down now.

Some are also calling for military leaders to face justice for the more than 100 protesters killed since the coup in October.

"It's not exactly what we want because what we're actually asking for is for [Gen Burhan] to step down because after a protest that lasted for eight months after over 100 people killed, we want people to stand trial for what happened, so we want him to stand trial, not just to give up power," said Hajooj Kuka, a filmmaker and activist.

The activists said they expected demonstrations to continue until their demands were met.

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

Image source, AFP

Guinea has downplayed the warning issued to its military rulers by the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) to hand over power to civilians in two years.

Ecowas rejected the junta’s three-year transition proposal.

But the government spokesperson Ousmane Gaoual Diallo said this had been reached by consensus.

“This result is the fruit of the president's [Col Mamady Doumbouya] ongoing dialogue with his peers, but also the work of the minister of foreign affairs and Guineans abroad and the head of state,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mali’s military rulers pledged to return to constitutional rule, external after Ecowas lifted punitive sanctions against the country for failing to hold elections earlier this year.

The junta also expressed solidarity for neighbouring Guinea, and thanked Algeria and Mauritania for continued bilateral support since the sanctions were out in place in January.

More about Guinea:

• The former French legionnaire who took power in Guinea
• Are military takeovers on the rise in Africa?

Rwandan President Paul Kagame says he wishes the best but is "prepared for the worst" over the row between his country and neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo.

DR Congo accuses Rwanda of backing the Congolese M23 rebels and recently halted all trade and co-operation agreements. Rwanda denies the allegations.

President Kagame is due to hold talks with his Congolese counterpart, President Félix Tshisekedi, on Wednesday in Angolan capital, Luanda.

The talks are being mediated by Angolan President João Lourenço.

But ahead of the meeting, Mr Kagame says he is preparing for the worst.

The Rwandan president says there is no "magic solution" to the tensions between the two neighbours.

The presidency tweeted a video of his remarks:

Kalkidan Yibeltal
BBC News, Addis Ababa

Image source, Getty Images

A fresh round of attacks against ethnic minorities in western Ethiopia has left "many" villagers dead - the second such attack in a little over two weeks.

Farming villages inhabited by members of the Amhara community were targeted, according to witnesses who have spoken to the BBC.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has called the incident a "massacre" and vowed to "eliminate" the armed group - the Oromo Liberation Army - that he blamed for the violence.

The group has not yet responded to the accusations.

The attacks began around dawn on Monday in Oromia region’s Hawa Gelan district and continued for at least three hours.

Men and women, children and the elderly were killed indiscriminately, witnesses told the BBC.

Houses were set on fire and survivors are being sheltered in mosques.

There is no official death toll yet but there are fears it could be high.

Similar attacks against minorities around two weeks ago left 338 dead, according to official figures. Activists said the real figure was even higher.

Ethiopia has seen a rise in ethnic violence in recent years and it seems things are worsening.

BBC World Service

Officials in Burkina Faso say suspected jihadists have killed at least 27 people in attacks on villages in the north of the country at the weekend.

They said 15 people - some of them children - were killed in one attack late on Sunday in Kossi province.

Some witnesses said as many as 20 people had died.

In the other attack, 12 people were killed in Yatenga province on Saturday.

Burkina Faso, which is one of the poorest countries in the world, has been grappling with a jihadist insurgency that swept in from neighbouring Mali in 2015.

Read more:

• Burkina Faso - the country where it’s too dangerous to go to school

Ishaq Khalid
BBC News, Abuja

Image source, AFP

The authorities in Niger state in central Nigeria have ordered the immediate suspension of all mining activities.

It comes days after gunmen launched a devastating attack on a mining site, kidnapping at least four Chinese miners and killing more than 20 members of the Nigerian security forces.

Those abducted remain in captivity.

The Niger state government fears some of the privately run gold and other mines may harbour criminals, and intends now to screen mining sites state-wide.

The federal government also believes proceeds from mining may be funding some of the violent kidnapping gangs currently rife in Nigeria.

Nigeria is struggling to curb a wave of kidnappings for ransom by armed gangs - some of which have at times teamed up with Islamist extremists.

Mining activities have been suspended in some areas in the past but the measure failed to end the kidnapping crisis.

Read more:

• Nigerian outrage at brazen bandit attacks
• Nigeria's kidnapping crisis: Should ransom payments be banned?