BBC World Service

The military government in Mali has declared that 49 soldiers from Ivory Coast, who were detained at the airport in Bamako when they arrived on Sunday, were mercenaries.

However the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Mali, MINUSMA, said the men were part of a unit that provided routine logistical support to the Ivorian military contingent of MINUSMA.

The government in Mali says the case will be referred to the judicial authorities.

A local journalist told the BBC that Mali's military government - which has promised to restore civilian rule - has had a troubled relationship with the UN.

Jersey's hopes of making the 2022 T20 World Cup are over after defeat by Zimbabwe in their second qualifying match in Bulawayo.

The Egyptian Football Association names former Benfica manager Rui Vitoria as the new coach of the national team on a four-year deal.

Richard Hamilton
BBC World Service Newsroom

Image source, AFP

Angola's Attorney General Helder Pitta Gros says a post mortem examination into the death of former President José Eduardo dos Santos has ruled out poisoning.

A court in Barcelona had authorised the post mortem following a request from his daughter, Tchize dos Santos, who had alleged he had been murdered.

Mr Dos Santos died in a Barcelona hospital on Friday, where he had been undergoing medical treatment.

The family's lawyers have denounced moves by the Angolan government to return the body to his homeland for a state funeral, saying he wanted a private burial in Spain.

Image source, South African Police Service

South African police have arrested a man after intercepting a minibus taxi carrying 21 sheep suspected to have been stolen.

They said preliminary investigations showed the bus ran out of petrol as the occupants travelled from Kuruman in Northern Cape where the livestock were allegedly stolen.

The stationary vehicle was spotted by a police unit on road patrol over the weekend.

“Upon approaching the vehicle for enquiries, the police saw two individuals fleeing from the scene leaving the 43-year-old man behind,” the South African Police Service said in a statement on Monday., external

The suspect was arrested after failing to account for possession of the sheep and the vehicle was impounded, the police added.

They said investigations were under way as the suspect was due to appear in court on Monday.

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

The Democratic Republic of Congo on Monday officially became the seventh member of the East Africa Community (EAC) after depositing the instruments of ratification to the bloc's headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Christophe Lutundula presented the documents to EAC secretary general Peter Mathuki, who described the development, external as significant for DR Congo and the community.

Member states approved DR Congo's request to join the bloc in April and the country's parliament ratified the decision in June.

DR Congo's presidency tweeted about the latest development:

DR Congo joins Burundi, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, South Sudan and Tanzania and becomes the second Francophone country in the organisation.

The EAC is already engaged in efforts to end violence in eastern DR Congo, with a regional force expected to be deployed there.

Tunisian President Kais Saied has warned against interference with the referendum later this month on a controversial new constitution.

The president said any “attempts to interfere with the voter registration and polling station change processes must be addressed".

“We will not tolerate the actions of those who want to make the referendum fail,” he said.

The president made the remarks when he met the head of country’s electoral body, Farouk Bouasker, at the Carthage Palace on Monday.

It comes amid renewed opposition against the 25 July referendum on the new constitution which the president has promoted.

On Monday, an opposition alliance, the National Salvation Front, renewed its calls for Tunisians to boycott the referendum.

Critics accuse President Saied, who sacked the government last July and dissolved parliament before seizing executive power, of trying to return the country to one-man rule.

He denies the claim.

Teklemariam Bekit
BBC News Tigrinya

Somalia's new President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud on Monday visited members of the Somali army receiving naval training in Eritrea.

The soldiers have been undergoing three years of rigorous military training, according to Eritrea's information ministry .

The ministry tweeted photos of President Mohamud with his Eritrean host, President Isaias Afewerki, during a visit to the port city of Mossawa where they "inspected military parade of speed boats of members of the Somali army".

On Sunday, Eritrea's state television aired footage of the Somali soldiers in a parade.

Former Somalia President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo was criticised for sending the troops - estimated to be thousands - to Eritrea.

This followed claims that some of them fought alongside Eritrean soldiers in backing the Ethiopian army's offensive against rebel fighters in the Tigray region.

The Somali government denied the allegations.

South African actress Busisiwe Lurayi, who acted in Netflix's comedy series How To Ruin Christmas, died in her residence on Sunday, according to her management.

The actress passed away suddenly and was pronounced dead by medical personnel, Eye Media Artists Agency said in a statement, external.

The cause of her death is still unknown, it added.

Netflix South Africa has eulogised the actress as an "incredible light" in the entertainment industry.

"An incredible light has gone out in the South African entertainment industry. We are deeply saddened by the passing of award-winning stage and screen actor Busi Lurayi. We will hold onto the laughs, the beauty and all the moments of joy she brought us," it said in an Instagram post.

Sir Mo Farah has been praised after revealing how he was trafficked as a child from Djibouti to the UK, and forced to work as a domestic servant.

The Olympic star told the BBC how he was flown over from the east African country aged nine by a woman he had never met, and then made to look after another family's children.

"We applaud Mo Farah for his bravery in telling his heart-breaking story," tweeted Britain's Refugee Council charity.

"He underlines the human reality at the heart of so many stories like his - and the desperate need for safe and humane routes for people seeking asylum."

Read more:

• Sir Mo Farah reveals he was trafficked to the UK as a child

The Olympic star revealed that he was trafficked to the UK and forced to work as a domestic servant.

Image source, AFP

South African police say they have arrested two suspects in connection with the tavern shootings over the weekend that left a total of 19 people dead.

Fifteen people were shot dead in a bar in Soweto and four others in another bar in Pietermaritzburg in KwaZulu-Natal, but police do not think the incidents are related.

The announcement of the arrests came as the minister for police, Bheki Cele, on Monday received a report on the mass shootings.

In a statement,, external the police assured that the arrest of the two linked to the Pietermaritzburg shooting was “a first step of bringing to book all those who orchestrated one of the country's bloodiest weekends”.

The police said that some of its response team had been deployed to Soweto to assist with policing in response to the needs of the community.

It comes amid pressure for the authorities to find those responsible for the killings, with the police being blamed for not doing enough to protect the citizens.

The country has one of the highest crimes rates in the world.

Our proverb of the day:

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Attitudes have changed since Najla Bouden became the first female prime minister in the Arab world.

You may think you know Sir Mo Farah - national treasure, Somali-born British hero of the London 2012 Olympics and one of the most successful athletes in history. But there's a lot about Sir Mo's childhood we didn't know - until now. For the first time, he's revealed he was a victim of child slavery and trafficked into the UK. He says he was taken away from his family in Somalia at the age of nine and put into forced labour for a family in west London. For 5 Minutes On, Mo shares his story for the very first time.

Reporter: BBC Community Affairs Correspondent, Adina Campbell.

Image Credit: BBC News

Olympic marathon champion Peres Jepchirchir and distance runner Francine Niyonsaba will miss the World Athletics Championships in Eugene.

Jambo Radio broadcasts in multiple languages to cater for the growing African and Caribbean community in Scotland.

Mo Farah says he was brought to the UK illegally, when he was a child.

That's all for now from the BBC Africa Live team for now. There will be an automated news feed until we're back on Tuesday morning.

You can also keep up to date on the BBC News website, or by listening to the Africa Today podcast.

A reminder of Monday's wise words:

Click here to send us your African proverbs.

And we leave you with this shot from a beach in South Africa:

Image source, Getty Images

Paul Kagame's recent announcement that he's considering staying in power for another 20 years is "bad news" but not a surprise, a Rwandan opposition leader has told RFI, external.

Rwanda has few opposition parties and President Kagame won 99% of the vote in the latest election five years ago, making it his third term in office, in a process which many outside the country dismissed as a sham.

Speaking on Monday, Bernard Ntaganda who leads the opposition Social Imberakuri party said it was high time Mr Kagame released his grip on power: