Human rights activists are highlighting the plight of Alaa Abdel Fattah and thousands of others.

Bayelsa Queens set up a Women's African Champions League semi-final against hosts AS FAR after victory in their final group fixture in Morocco.

Ishaq Khalid
BBC News, Abuja

Image source, Getty Images

There has been controversy in Nigeria after the governing APC party presidential candidate decided to boycott a debate organised for presidential candidates ahead of elections next year.

Bola Tinubu was among four contenders invited for the event put together by the Centre for Democracy and Development and Arise TV station on Sunday.

Peter Obi of the Labour party and Rabiu Kwankwaso of the NNPP participated in the debate – where they spoke about some of their policies regarding the economy, security and corruption, as well as national unity.

However, the absence of both Mr Tinubu and his running mate has become a talking point.

Many Nigerians on social media criticised him for what they say was avoiding questions on critical national issues and issues surrounding his politics.

But a spokesperson for Mr Tinubu’s campaign, Festus Keyamo, has defended his boss' no-show saying "many radio and TV networks in Nigeria have indicated interests to host such debates’’ and that the candidate would not be "making selective appearance’’ on some networks and ignore others.

Mr Keyamo added that Mr Tinubu’s "hectic campaign schedules’’ would not allow him to honour all the debate invitations.

Instead of attending debates with other candidates, the ruling party flagbearer is "speaking directly to Nigeria’’ through town hall meetings.

Many Nigerians seem unconvinced by the Tinubu campaign office’s explanation with some saying he was avoiding the debate because he could not stand its rigour and scrutiny.

Atiku Abubakar of the main opposition PDP was also absent but was represented by his running mate, Ifeanyi Okowa.

Nigeria - Africa’s largest democracy - is due to hold elections in February to choose a successor to President Muhammadu Buhari who is serving his second and final term in office.

This year's climate summit comes amid spiralling energy costs and diplomatic tensions.

Omar Wally
Journalist, The Gambia

Families of the 70 Gambian children who died of acutre kidney injury (AKI), allegedly linked to consuming Indian made cough syrups, have rejected a compensation offer from the government.

The ministry of gender had offered $20,000 (£17,000) to be shared among the families.

Ebrima Sanyang, the chairperson of the grieving families, said the money was "an insult to the victims".

He said that accepting the money would mean that they were not fighting for justice.

The families want the state's Medicine Control Agency to withdraw its initial claim that the children had died in flood waters and not from faulty medicine.

They also want the agency to be barred from investigations called for by the president.

In October, the World Heath Organization (WHO) issued a global alert over four brands of cough syrups, saying they could be linked to acute kidney damage, following reports from The Gambia of children diagnosed with serious kidney problems.

The Indian company - Maiden Pharmaceuticals - has said it adheres to internationally recognised quality-control standards, external.

But some of its products have failed to meet national or state-level quality-control standards in India.

Read more: Cough-syrup scandal: How did it end up in The Gambia?

Rwanda has accused neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo of "provocation" after a military plane crossed into its territory on Monday morning.

A statement from the Rwanda government said the jet "briefly touched down" at the western Rubavu airport before it returned to DR Congo.

The authorities said they had expressed their displeasure with their Congolese counterparts, who are yet to make an official comment.

Tension has been rising between the two countries.

DR Congo has accused Rwanda of backing the M23 rebel group in the east of the country, a claim denied by Kigali.

In recent months, more than 100,000 people have fled their homes and many have been killed after fighting reignited between Congolese soldiers and the M23.

Read more on this story:

• DR Congo conflict: Why Kenyan troops are joining the battle

Richard Kagoe
BBC News, Nairobi

Image source, AFP

A meeting between the Ethiopian army chief and the commander of the rebel Tigray's People Liberation Front (TPLF) has begun in the Kenyan capital Nairobi.

The talks will focus on the disarmament of the rebel forces following the peace deal signed in Pretoria, South Africa, last week.

The talks kicked off on Monday led by the African Union's envoy to the Horn of Africa, former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, and former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta.

The meeting, which has been scheduled for three days, will discuss modalities of disarming rebel forces and provide a roadmap for humanitarian access and restoration of services in the Tigray region.

According to the peace agreement, disarmament should be completed two weeks after the meeting of the senior commanders.

The two-year conflict has claimed many lives and displaced millions.

BBC World Service

The Nigerian military says two leading officials from the militant group - Islamic State West Africa Province - have been killed in air strikes in the north-east of the country.

Local media have named Ali Kwaya and Bukar Mainoka as the two commanders killed, saying they were senior members of the extremist group's Shura Council.

Additional air strikes hit vehicles attempting to carry around a dozen injured jihadists to a hideout.

The operation follows new US and British security warnings of impending militant attacks in Nigeria's capital, Abuja.

Anne Ngugi
BBC News, Nairobi

Kenya's worst drought in 40 years has left carcases of wild animals strewn all over the Amboseli National Park - the country's second biggest park.

A BBC crew witnessed hundreds of herbivores struggling to survive as others died of hunger. Local community rangers say at least tens of animals die every day.

The BBC crew witnessed an elephant thought to be decades old die at the park.

Residents said this was an everyday affair.

They are emotionally connected to the animals and witnessing their deaths was painful, they said.

“We feel bad. You know there is a saying in the Maasai community that says when we see big animals such as elephants dying then things are catastrophic and dangerous," said one of the rangers.

Despite the drought, tourists on safari continue to throng the park. Safari holiday experiences are a big draw for tourists in the East African country.

Kenya’s tourism ministry last week said the country had lost 205 elephants, 500 wildebeests, 400 zebras and 50 buffalos to the drought.

The government this week started providing hay and water to some of the most affected parks.

BBC Sport analyses the psychology behind the 'chokes' which are holding South Africa back at major tournaments.

Keisha Gitari
BBC News, Lagos

Image source, BBC/Joshua Akinyemi

The sequel to the 2018 Black Panther film held its Africa premiere in Lagos, Nigeria, over the weekend.

In attendance were the film’s director and co-writer Ryan Coogler, cast members Lupita Nyong'o, Dania Gurira, Letitia Wright and Winston Duke, and Tenoch Huerta Mejia, the film's antagonist.

Speaking on the significance of the Lagos premiere, actor Nyong’o said: "This continent inspired this film... so the fact that we’re bringing it here, to celebrate it with the people who very much inspired it is monumental.”

“It’s as significant as it gets, to have an official premiere on the continent, in a major African city. I’m African-American, I tie my ancestry to this region of the continent, so it means a lot to come back,” Coogler said.

The film tells of the Wakandas fight to protect their nation from intervening world powers and a new formidable threat in the wake of King T’Challa’s death.

The sound track album, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, was released on 4 November by Roc Nation Records, Def Jam Recordings and Hollywood Records.

It features a host of Nigerian artists including Burna Boy, Ckay, Fireboy DML, Rema, Tems, Tobe Nwigwe and Fat Nwigwe, as well as other African acts.

The already-released single Lift Me Up by Rihanna and co-written by Tems came in at number one on Billboard’s relaunched Hot Trending Songs chart.

The first Black Panther remains the number one film in both East and West Africa, premiering on the continent in Johannesburg, South Africa in 2018.

Uganda has bombed hideouts of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) in regions outside the operational area previously agreed with the Democratic Republic of Congo in joint operations against the Islamist militants.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni said DR Congo had authorised the air strikes carried out on 4 November, destroying a "big terrorist camp".

Mr Museveni, who shared images of the aerial operation, said the militants had fled the boundary of the joint operations, necessitating precise offensives against them.

“The ignorant terrorists do not know that within just minutes - not hours - we can reach with deadly fire, many areas, far beyond the line of the limit of exploitation,” he said.

Mr Museveni pledged to continue to work with DR Congo to tackle the militants who Uganda blamed for a series of bombings in Kampala nearly a year ago, prompting the joint operations.

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

Image source, AFP

Somalia’s religious affairs ministry has banned the use of the name al-Shabab – “the youth” in Arabic – and asked the public to refer to the militant group as “Khawarij”, a derogatory term meaning a deviant sect.

In a statement, external, the ministry also prohibited clerics from dealing with the al-Qaeda-allied militants or meeting them.

The government said the directive to brand al-Shabab as “Khawarij” was part of the war against the group.

It is not the first time the Somali government has coined another name for al-Shabab.

In 2015 the government told the media to refer to the militant group as "Ugus", a Somali acronym for "the group that massacres the Somali people".

In response, the al-Shabab had threatened to punish anyone, including journalists, who obeyed government directives or used the term.

Last month, the federal authorities banned local media outlets from reporting on al-Shabab activities.

Read more:

• Who are Somalia's al-Shabab?

BBC Sport Africa previews the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, which kicks off on 20 November, profiling Cameroon, Ghana, Morocco, Senegal and Tunisia.

Charles Gitonga
BBC Africa business reporter, Nairobi

Image source, EPA

Kenya’s national carrier, Kenya Airways, has threatened to start disciplinary action against its pilots whose strike has entered its third day.

The airline maintains that the strike is unlawful, a position that has been backed by government officials who say the actions of the 400 pilots amount to economic sabotage.

The national carrier says it cancelled 56 flights over the weekend, affecting some 12,000 passengers.

Export and importation of cargo such as fresh produce and pharmaceutical products has also been affected.

The airline now warns that the window for negotiation is closing, and the pilots involved in the strike could face dismissal or legal proceedings.

The labour ministry on Sunday said the airline was at liberty to take necessary lawful measures against its pilots.

The government, which is the biggest shareholder at Kenya Airways, said it had invested nearly $500m (£442m) to keep the carrier afloat in the last three years.

The pilots say the strike is still in full force until their demands are met.

They want the airline to reinstate contributions to their retirement fund, as well as top managers including the CEO to be fired with immediate effect among other grievances.

The parties are due to appear in court on Tuesday after the airline acquired an injunction days to the strike.

Alfred Lasteck
BBC News, Dar es Salaam

Tanzania's Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa will on Monday lead mourners in paying their respects at a funeral service for 19 people killed after a passenger plane crashed into Lake Victoria in Tanzania.

The plane crashed on Sunday morning near the shore at the end of the Bukoba airport runway.

Of the 43 people on board, there were 24 survivors, according to the operator Precision Air.

The prayers will be held at the Bukoba football stadium, according to the area's regional commissioner Albert Chalamila.

Precision Air is Tanzania's largest privately-owned passenger airline.

BBC World Service

A prominent journalist has been arrested in Senegal over accusations that he distributed information liable to harm the country's security.

Pape Alé Niang, who runs the news website Dakar Matin, is well-known for his columns on current affairs, which are often critical of the Senegalese government.

Mr Niang's lawyer said his client had been detained at the central police station in Dakar on Sunday over three alleged offences.

Local media say the arrest came after the journalist published recent articles about rape charges against Senegal's main opposition leader, Ousmane Sonko.

Investing in new green infrastructure will create new jobs too, the UK PM says, as he addresses the COP27 climate summit in Egypt.

Mary Harper
Africa editor, BBC World Service

Image source, AFP

Large parties have been held across Cameroon to mark the four decades President Paul Biya has been in power.

The 89-year-old did not attend the celebrations.

Mr Biya is Africa's second-longest serving leader.

Thousands of people danced in front of the city hall in the capital Yaoundé.

It was draped in an enormous portrait of Mr Biya emblazoned with the slogan "An exceptional president".

Not everyone would agree.

The main opposition leader Maurice Kamto said Cameroon under Mr Biya was a highly corrupt country where people's basic rights were trampled upon in a ruthless and arrogant manner.

The administration has become even more repressive since 2017 when separatists launched a violent uprising in English-speaking parts of the country.

Read more:

• Cameroon's Anglophone crisis - fuelled by student rejects and poor spelling

BBC World Service

Image source, EPA

The world climate change summit in Egypt is to hear from heads of state and government looking to galvanise global action to tackle climate change.

The initial high-level segment of the COP27 gathering in Sharm el-Sheikh will comprise leaders’ speeches – from major oil producing economies as well as from developing countries worst-hit by the effects of global warming.

Richer nations are to outline their programmes for reducing carbon emissions.

Poorer countries have welcomed the prospect of a debate on setting up a compensation fund, with the issue included on the agenda for the first time since the United Nations adopted its climate convention.

The UN's new climate change chief, Simon Stiell, told the BBC there was still time to limit global warming to less than 1.5 degrees since the start of the industrial era - the target adopted at earlier summits