Shingai Nyoka
BBC News, Harare

Zimbabwe's annual inflation has risen to more than 250% - its highest level for a year and a half.

With inflation quadrupling since February, many Zimbabweans are struggling to cope.

The authorities blame the after-effects of the coronavirus pandemic and the high global prices on fuel, grain and fertiliser.

A local shortage of American dollars to pay for imports has also contributed to the rising cost of basic goods and services.

On Monday the central bank released gold coins onto the market in an attempt to stem inflation by curbing the appetite for US dollars.

Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

The new US envoy for the Horn of Africa, Mike Hammer, has arrived in Ethiopia to advance peace efforts between the government and Tigrayan rebels.

On Thursday a senior official in the capital Addis Ababa said the government was ready to negotiate without pre-conditions.

Fighting has eased in recent months following a truce, to allow much-needed humanitarian aid into Tigray and neighbouring regions.

The UN says more than five million people are in urgent need of food in northern Ethiopia.

The US envoy is also trying to help resolve a regional dispute triggered by the construction of a dam on the River Nile in western Ethiopia.

South African triathlete Jamie Riddle says it is "an honour" and "a dream come true" to represent his country at the Commonwealth Games.

Jose Tembe
BBC News, Maputo

Image source, Getty Images

The tax authorities in Mozambique have added levies on weaves (human and artificial hair), a measure that will add to their price.

In a statement they said the 37% tax hike was part of plans to improve the collection of revenue.

Most weaves are imported from Asia, America and Europe, according to local media reports.

The price hike has dominated radio call-in and TV shows, with some women criticising the the new tax.

Some have cheekily suggested that the rise might have an impact on relationships at a time when families are experiencing a high cost of living.

Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

The Somali Islamist militant group, al-Shabaab, has launched an attack on the town of Aato on the Ethiopian border for the second time in just over a week.

A senior Ethiopian security official told the BBC that fighting broke out early on Friday between the militants and a combined force of Ethiopian federal soldiers and troops from the Somali region.

The official said there were casualties on both sides.

Last week, the al-Qaeda-linked group said it had killed dozens of Ethiopian security forces during cross border raids.

Officials in Addis Ababa said in response close to 200 al-Shabab fighters were killed.

Richard Kagoe
BBC Africa, Nairobi

Image source, Getty Images

Facebook risks being suspended in Kenya if it does not adhere to policies to prevent the spread of hate speech, a government agency has announced.

The National integration and Cohesion Commission (NCIC) says it has written to Meta, the company that owns Facebook, demanding a response to allegations of weak controls in moderating content on its platform ahead of next month’s elections.

The NCIC was responding to findings of a report by advocacy groups Global Witness and Foxglove which indicated that Facebook had failed to moderate content on its platform due to weak controls.

“If Facebook doesn’t comply with requirements we have set out within seven days, we will recommend they suspend their operations. We will not allow Facebook to jeopardise our national security”, NCIC's Dr David Makori said.

The commission, which was established in the wake of the violence that followed the 2007 election, does not have powers to suspend Facebook but can only make recommendations to the authorities if the firm fails to comply with guidelines as outlined in the law.

The Global Witness and Foxglove report says that the social media giant failed to detect advertisements with inflammatory content on its platform published in English and Swahili.

During the investigation, researchers submitted 20 ads with hateful language in English and Swahili that had originally been used in the 2007 elections.

The report says all the ads sent in bar one were approved.

One in English was rejected for not complying with Facebook's guidelines on hate speech.

Global Witness says the adverts were never published on Facebook but they were concerned by how they went through without detection.

Facebook has not responded to findings of this report.

In July, the technology firm was reported to have taken down 37,000 accounts for promoting hate speech and 42,000 for violating its violence and incitement policies in the run up to the August election.

The social media platform also said it had rejected 36,000 political adverts for not complying with its transparency rules.

Facebook's Director of Public Policy, East and Horn of Africa, Mercy Ndegwa, said enhanced controls had been placed on the platform which would make it easier to identify and remove content that could lead to election related violence.

Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

A regional minister and his son have been killed in a bomb attack in south-west Somalia.

The blast in Baidoa city targeted Hassan Ibrahim Lugbur - the south-west region's justice minister - as he was leaving the mosque after Friday prayers.

Several other people including his security guards were injured. Earlier this week the mayor of the port city of Merka - in the same region of Somalia - was also killed.

The Islamist militant group, al-Shabab, said it carried out that attack.

Image source, Reuters

Incoming Kenyan MPs will not enjoy a popular and controversial perk after the 9 August election.

The Salaries and Remuneration Commission which sets pay for state workers said new members will not enjoy sitting allowance for attending plenary sessions.

The body said 382m Kenya shillings ($3.2m, £2.6m) will be saved per year from the cuts that will affect 416 members of the lower and upper parliament houses.

Kenyan lawmakers are some of the best paid in the world with a monthly taxable pay of about $5,000 plus generous allowances.

SRC has also reversed a $17,000 car grant for county representatives - which it had been controversially approved last year.

It however retained the president and deputy president's salary.

Thomas Naadi
BBC News, Accra

Image source, Ghana Parliament

Ghana’s gender minister, Sarah Adwoa Safo, has been relieved of her duties after more than a year of continuous absence from work.

The presidency did not state the exact reason for her sacking in a press release, but it could be due to her continuous absence, which has raised concerns in the country.

A new caretaker minister has been appointed to serve at the ministry.

She had sought a leave of absence for personal reasons from President Nana Akufo-Addo that ended in August last year and was extended.

Ms Sarfo, who is also the ruling party's MP for Dome Kwabenya, a constituency in the capital, has also been absent from parliament.

The parliament's Speaker, Alban Bagbin, is expected to provide a written ruling on the recommendation of a committee to declare her seat vacant.

She had not been in parliament for more than 51 sitting days without the Speaker's approval and had failed to honour the invitation of a committee over her absenteeism.

Minority MPs have insisted that she should be given a fair hearing before the Speaker rules on the matter.

She is yet to respond to her sacking but had said that she was attending to her sick son in the US as a reason for her absence.

She had also indicated that President Akufo-Addo and the Speaker were informed about her family problems.

BBC World Service

The African Union has condemned the attacks against UN peacekeeping bases in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Late on Thursday a UN base was petrol-bombed in Beni as demonstrators accused the international troops of failing to protect civilians from attacks by various armed groups.

The AU Commission Chairperson, Moussa Faki Mahamat, called for an immediate end to the violence by the local population and by all armed groups.

He urged the Congolese authorities to help restore calm in the region.

This week protests in four cities have led to the deaths of sixteen civilians and at least three peacekeepers.

The UN has denied opening fire on the demonstrators. It says a local militia has joined the protests.

Opposition figure Julius Malema told the BBC white people and elite black people could be targets.

A new poll indicates that the Kenyan presidential race is on a statistical tie.

Raila Odinga, the opposition leader who is running for a fifth time, leads with 46.7%, his challenger William Ruto, the current deputy president, is on 44.4%.

Support for the other two presidential candidates has dropped, they are both polling at below 2%.

As it stands, the two candidates will go into a rerun 30 days after the 9 August election.

According to Kenya's constitution to win in the presidency in the first round, a candidate requires:

More than half of all the votes cast in the election and at least 25% of the votes cast in each of more than half of the 47 counties.

Read more about the candidates:

• Why farmers like William Ruto's big ambitions
• How a handshake changed Odinga's heartland

The Economic Freedom Fighters' leader says the uprising in the country will be like the Arab Spring.

Rhoda Odhiambo
BBC West Africa correspondent, Lagos

The World Health Organization has approved the use of a monthly injectable drug as an additional preventive measure against contracting HIV.

The long-acting injection is a form of pre-exposure prophylaxis, also known as PrEP. It works by preventing HIV from replicating in one’s body.

The first two injections will be administered four weeks apart, followed thereafter by an injection every eight weeks.

“Long-acting cabotegravir is a safe and highly effective HIV prevention tool, but isn’t yet available outside study settings,” Dr Meg Doherty said in a statement.

He added: “We hope these new guidelines will help accelerate country efforts to start to plan and deliver CAB-LA alongside other HIV prevention options, including oral PrEP and the dapivirine vaginal ring.”

Most people at a higher risk of getting HIV are currently on the daily oral PrEP pill. But due to the stigma associated with taking the drug, many fail to adhere to treatment.

CAB-LA was found to be 79% effective in reducing one’s risk of acquiring the virus, compared with oral PrEP.

The manager of the Kidderminster textile factory says he thought Tuesday's call was a "wind-up".

A Kenyan-born photographer has been named the first official photo editor for the office of the US Vice President Kamala Harris.

"Honored and grateful is an understatement," Polly Irungu tweeted.

Two years ago her work was featured on a Nasdaq billboard in New York's Times Square as part of Amplifying Black Voice season.

Polly told the BBC in 2020 that she discovered how hard it was for black women in her field to reach employment and recognition.

As a result she founded Black Women Photographers, a database and community of black women photographers around the world.

Watch her story below:

Nigeria striker Taiwo Awoniyi believes his arrival at Nottingham Forest will attract fans from Africa's most populous nation to the Premier League club.

Image source, AFP

The US has asked the government in the Democratic of Congo to protect UN peacekeepers and their facilities amid protests in the country.

Protests against the UN mission in the country, known as Monusco, have since Monday resulted in the deaths of 19 people – including three peacekeepers.

"We call on the national and local authorities in the [DR Congo] to ensure the protection of Monusco sites and personnel and for protesters to express their sentiments peacefully," State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters on Thursday.

The US said attacks against UN personnel and their sites was against international law and appreciated DR Congo government’s “commitment to investigating these events”.

Mr Price noted that Monusco serves “a critical role in fostering peace and security, protecting civilians, and facilitating delivery of humanitarian assistance”.

Image source, Owl Rescue Centre

A stray ostrich spotted running on a highway in South Africa's commercial capital, Johannesburg, died on Thursday morning hours after being restrained by a wildlife protection group.

The Owl Rescue Centre said efforts to resuscitate the 70kg (154lbs) ostrich after it had collapsed were unsuccessful.

"The stress of being on that highway for six hours and the stress of the rescue was just too much for her," it said, external.

Videos shared on social media showed the bird running on a highway as cars passed by.

The Owl Rescue Centre says attempts by its staff to mobilise police officers at a roadblock to close the N14 highway and herd the bird to a safer area were ignored.

"They declined to assist and said we shouldn't let our animals run freely on main roads," it said in a statement.

Rhoda Odhiambo
BBC West Africa correspondent, Lagos

The Nigerian government says it will penalise the BBC over a documentary made by its investigations programme Africa Eye about the so-called bandit warlords of Zamfara.

The country’s information minister says the documentary glorifies the militants' actions, who have terrorised residents over years in north-western Nigeria.

Lai Mohammad said the penalties against BBC will be set by the country’s National Broadcasting Commission.

The public affairs director of the commission has told the BBC that sanctions will be communicated to the corporation and a local newspaper, Daily Trust, if they are found guilty of breaching the journalism code of conduct.

In a statement, the BBC said Africa Eye often deals with controversial and complex subjects. It also said the story was overwhelmingly in the public interest and that it stands by its journalism.

The documentary has been widely discussed in Nigeria for the last three days. People here have questioned the government’s efforts to contain rising levels of insecurity in the country, especially in the north, where the militant groups operate.

Last month, the Zamfara governor asked residents to arm themselves against the militants and announced a shoot-to-kill order on anyone found using a motorcycle.

The governor defended his move saying that it will beef up security.

09:29 GMT - Correction: This entry was amended to remove the line stating that the broadcasting commission does not regulate international media houses.