Pumza Fihlani
BBC News

Image source, AFP

In the moments after the Soweto mass shooting at Mdlalose Place, residents rushed to the dead searching for their relatives. Petrus Mkhize’s brother was one of those killed.

"I’d last seen him just hours before the shooting, he told me he was going to the tavern to play snooker next thing I got a call telling me there had been a shooting there and I rushed to see what was going on. When I got there he was already dead," said Mr Mkhize

People here have blamed law enforcement for not doing enough to keep them safe. Police minister Bheki Cele’s visited on Monday to address them and speak to investigators.

Mr Cele told me the police are doing their job, but admitted more was needed.

"Yes we could [do] much better and we should do much better but to say we’re not doing anything, otherwise [is not correct] - we would not be sitting with 27% overpopulated in prison if police were not doing anything."

Yet he also admitted that the police force is under-resourced and even outnumbered.

South Africa has one for the highest crimes rates in the world - most of it is notoriously violent.

The people of this community say they are under siege, they say crime is a serious problem, one that even the police are afraid to tackle.

Making matters worse, for three years now this community has been without power and under this cover of darkness criminals do their worst. Residents say when night falls everyone needs to be behind closed doors – locked away until morning light. It is no way to live, they tell me.

Nichola Mandil
BBC News, Juba

Image source, Nichola Mandil/BBC

The Vatican has spoken of its willingness to help resolve the conflicts in South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Last month Pope Francis had to postpone his trip to both countries because of a knee injury - and the Vatican’s secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, went in his place.

"I was impressed that the people in South Sudan were so welcoming," he told the BBC. He added that the country had a "bright future" but said the implementation of the peace agreement was crucial.

"The Catholic Church – especially the Holy See – is always open to intervention, for instance mediation. We offer it in Europe, for instance on the occasion of the war that is going on in Ukraine," he added.

"I think also in Africa we are open if the parties [to the conflicts] are willing to do so."

Pope Francis still intends to visit DR Congo and South Sudan at a later date, and Cardinal Paolin has called communities in South Sudan to heed the Pope's call to live together "as brothers and sisters".

Related stories:

• Have the women of South Sudan’s independence fight been forgotten?
• Invest in South Sudan research, says university don
• Children starve in South Sudan after food aid cut
• Why a Darfur sultan regrets a twist of colonial fate
• A quick guide to South Sudan

South Africa's Thembi Kgatlana will miss the rest of the Women's Africa Cup of Nations after rupturing her Achilles tendon.

The family of 79-year-old José Eduardo dos Santos alleged there was a plot to kill him.

Moroccan media report that Donald Trump's daughter has been visiting the disputed territory of Western Sahara, which has been agitating for independence from Morocco for decades.

A photo on news site le360 appears to show Ivanka Trump, external sitting on a beach in the city of Dakhla.

Under President Trump, the US agreed to recognise Morocco's claim to the whole of Western Sahara, in return for Morocco normalising relations with Israel.

Western Sahara is not a common destination for tourists. The UK government, among others, advises travellers to remain vigilant at all times, external because of the likelihood of attacks.

Ms Trump's choice of local attire, known as melhfa, in this photo has bemused some online while others have praised her:

You may also be interested in:

• A quick guide to Western Sahara
• Western Sahara welcomes Morocco's AU membership

The Catholic Church in Kenya has warned the public war-of-words between President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto could derail the quest for peace, according to the Nation newspaper, external.

It quotes the Bishop of Meru, Salesius Mugambi, as saying that public disagreements between the two politicians had left the church appalled, and that Kenyans must do all they can to ensure a peaceful vote and democratic transition.

Mr Kenyatta has already served two terms as president and will step down after elections in August.

Following a rift he has not given his backing to Mr Ruto's bid to succeed him. Instead, he has endorsed his long-standing rival Raila Odinga.

Mr Odinga's previous bid in 2017 saw him narrowly lose to President Kenyatta, amid allegations of fraud and fears of renewed political violence.

Read more about Kenya's elections:

• The misinformation circulating over academic qualifications
• This woman rallies election crowds - but won't vote herself
• Raila Odinga: The eternal candidate hoping it will be fifth-time lucky
• William Ruto: The former chicken seller with presidential ambitions
• Obama endorsement and other false Kenya election claims

Jose Tembe
BBC News

Mozambique has recorded nine cases of paralysis in children who are suspected to have contracted polio over the first half of the year.

The suspected polio cases have been registered in the southern Inhambane province raising concern among health authorities there.

“The suspicion arises from the signs and symptoms that the children present. They are usually children from zero to 14 years of age. They start with a fever and then progress rapidly with loss of muscle strength. This loss of muscle strength can affect one of the limbs," a health official said.

In May, Mozambican authorities declared a polio outbreak after confirming that a child in the north-eastern Tete province had contracted the disease.

As of Saturday, the health sector in Inhambane province had vaccinated 196,000 children against the disease.

Heath teams in the province have also embarked on a mission to identify new cases of children with signs of the disease.

Women's Africa Cup of Nations debutants Botswana believe they can reach the Women's World Cup, says defender Bonang Otlhagile.

Jose Tembe
BBC News

Mozambican militants on Saturday raided a military camp located near a site exploring a major gas field in the northern Cabo Delgado province.

It was the third such attack against a military position in the province in less than two months.

The attackers were reported to be looking for arms and food supplies.

Local media outlets say there were fierce confrontations between soldiers and the suspected Islamists, with casualties on both sides.

Some soldiers are said to have abandoned the camp to seek refuge in the nearby town of Palma.

The camp was shared by Rwandan soldiers, according to reports, although neither the Mozambican nor Rwandan army has responded to the reports.

More on this topic:

• The deadly flight from Mozambique's jihadist attack

• What's driving the conflict in Mozambique?

Former Liverpool team-mates Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah are on the shortlist for the Confederation of African Football's Player of the Year award.

Foggy conditions on Monday morning in Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa, have forced flights to divert from Bole International Airport.

Aviation data tracking websites Flight Radar 24 and Flight Aware showed flights from Beirut, Dubai and Toronto were forced to land at other airports.

Ethiopian Airlines said that departing flights had been delayed but did not indicate the total number of flights affected, according to a statement.

Last year, operations at the airport were also disrupted by severe weather and flights were diverted to regional cities and neighbouring countries.

On Twitter, one passenger has shared a video clip of their flight from London landing in Awassa in southern Ethiopia where it was diverted:

Pumza Fihlani
BBC News, Johannesburg

Image source, AFP

There is growing pressure on the authorities in South Africa to find those responsible for the killing of 15 people in a bar in Soweto over the weekend.

Four other people were also shot in a bar in Pietermaritzburg in Kwa-Zulu Natal, but police do not think the incidents are related.

The minister for police, Bheki Cele, is due to receive a report from local officers about the shooting. The killers and their motives are as yet unknown.

Local people are demanding to know when arrests will be made and what the police will do to ensure it doesn't happen again.

They say they are still in shock and have told the BBC they want answers. They blame law enforcement officers for not doing enough to keep ordinary people safe.

South Africa has one of the highest crimes rates in the world.

We meet Tunisian handball triplets Amine, Anis and Yassine, who are making headlines in the youth game.

Meet the African sprinters setting the pace ahead of the 2022 World Athletics Championships.

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

Image source, AFP

Christian organisations in Nigeria have pledged to vote against the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) party after its presidential candidate Bola Tinubu named Senator Kashim Shetima as his running mate.

Mr Tinubu and Mr Shetima are Muslims, thus their presidential ticket is seen as lacking religious balance.

The Punch website quoted the Christian Association of Nigeria as saying that it was a political mistake to unveil a Muslim-Muslim ticket in a polarised country like Nigeria.

Privately-owned Vanguard website reported that the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) had said it would advise its followers against voting for APC.

But Mr Tinubu defended his choice, external, saying he chose competence and integrity over religion.

Christian and civil society organisations have warned the main presidential candidates against fielding Muslim-Muslim tickets for the February 2023 election.

Mr Tinubu’s main rival, Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), a Muslim, has picked Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, a Christian, as his running mate.

More on Nigeria's main presidential candidates:

• Bola Tinubu: Lagos 'godfather' sets sights on conquering Nigeria
• Peter Obi: The frugal businessman capturing young hearts
• Atiku Abubakar woos Nigerians with a reminder of the good times

BBC World Service

Image source, AFP

Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid has promised the Egyptian president to investigate media reports of a mass grave containing the bodies of Egyptian commandos killed during the 1967 war.

Israeli newspapers Haaretz and Yedioth Ahronoth published archival material and witness accounts about how dozens of Egyptian troops were killed in Latrun, west of Jerusalem, and buried there.

During a phone call, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi raised the issue with Mr Lapid, who said he had ordered a thorough and transparent investigation and to update Egyptian officials.

Egypt was the first country to sign a peace accord with Israel in 1979.

BBC World Service

Image source, EPA

A court in Barcelona has authorised an autopsy to be carried out on the body of the former Angolan president, José Eduardo dos Santos.

He died in the Spanish city on Friday, where he had gone for medical treatment.

The autopsy was requested by the late president's daughter, Tchize dos Santos.

She has spoken of a conspiracy to kill her father to prevent him supporting the opposition in the upcoming Angolan elections.

Lawyers for the Dos Santos family have denounced moves by the Angolan government to return the body to Angola for a state funeral, against the ex-president's expressed wish to be buried privately in Spain.

Dos Santos was president of Angola for nearly 40 years, until 2017.

More on this topic:

• Angola’s José Eduardo dos Santos: The flawed 'architect of peace'

BBC World Service

Image source, AFP

Seven children are reported to have been killed by an improvised bomb in Togo.

Witnesses said they were woken by a loud blast late on Saturday in the Savanes region, in the north of the country.

"An investigation is ongoing to determine the circumstances of this explosion and identify the perpetrators," the army is quoted as saying in a statement on Sunday.

Islamist militants linked to Islamic State and al-Qaeda have attacked numerous targets in a string of countries in the Sahel.

The Togolese army has been on high alert following the country's first deadly militant attack in May, when eight soldiers were killed near the border with Burkina Faso.

Togo last month declared a state of emergency in its northern region following the attack.

Chris Ewokor
BBC News

Image source, AFP

The emergency services in Nigeria say they have now recovered 17 bodies after a passenger boat capsized on a waterway in the commercial capital, Lagos.

Four bodies were recovered on Saturday and a further 13 on Sunday.

The inland waterways authority said the boat had set sail on Friday later than the rules permitted, and that the tide carried the vessel towards a barge, causing it to overturn.

The accident came only three days after another passenger boat capsized in the same waters, reportedly drowning two people.

Boat accidents are common on Nigerian waterways mainly because of overcrowding and poor maintenance.

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