Jose Tembe
BBC News, Maputo

Image source, PA Media

The global head of the Anglican Church says that there are victims of violence in Mozambique who believe that jihadist attacks are a divine punishment.

The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, who has been visiting displaced people in the northern Cabo Delgado province, urged churches to help the victims of jihadist attacks to overcome the trauma.

The archbishop said the victims needed not just monetary help but also emotional support.

“People think they did something wrong. The church helps them to realise that what they have been through is not their fault, but it is a tragedy resulting from the cruelty of some people,” he said.

He said the church has been helping them to overcome the traumas and comforting them.

“So, there are no limits to what churches can do as they come together in one purpose.”

The archbishop’s visit to the country ended on Wednesday.

Jihadist attacks in northern Mozambique, mostly in Cabo Delgado, have displaced nearly a million people, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Richard Kagoe
BBC News, Nairobi

Image source, AFP

African leaders have declared a cessation of hostilities to start on Friday in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo where M23 rebels have been making substantial gains in recent months.

The statement was signed at the end of a mini-summit in Angola's capital, Luanda, attended by the Rwandan foreign minister and the presidents of the DR Congo, Angola and Burundi.

The signatories agreed an East African regional force would attack M23 positions if the rebels did not withdraw immediately from occupied areas.

There has been no word so far from the M23.

The US has welcomed the roadmap, external outlined in the Luanda summit and urged Rwanda to end its support to the M23.

DR Congo accuses Rwanda of backing the rebels, who have been advancing on the regional capital, Goma. Rwanda denies involvement.

The Luanda summit saw leaders from DR Congo and Rwanda meeting for the first time following a diplomatic fallout sparked by the raging conflict in the mineral-rich region.

BBC World Service

Image source, Sierra Leone Parliament

A row over a new electoral system in Sierra Leone has prompted a brawl in parliament.

Video footage shows punches being exchanged amid raucous shouting.

A huge object, apparently the parliamentary mace, is hurled from one side of the chamber to the other - and then back.

A journalist said security then threw out some MPs.

Members from the governing and opposition parties were pitted against each other over a plan to bring in proportional representation for next year's local and general elections.

The proposals from the electoral commission require parliamentary approval.

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The foreign secretary tells the BBC he wants to focus on the future and not the past.

Iwan Gwyn probably hit his head before drowning in a river in Ghana, a coroner concludes.

Ghana defender Denis Odoi says the squad have learnt from their struggles earlier this year and are ready for the World Cup.

Police discovered 30 bodies, believed to be of migrants who were being trafficked, in October.

That's all for now from the BBC Africa Live team and we'll pick things up again on Thursday morning Nairobi time.

In the meantime there will be an automated service here and you can also check the African news on our website or listen to our BBC Africa Daily podcast .

A reminder of our Africa proverb of the day:

Click here to send us your African proverbs.

And we leave you with picture of a giant teddy bear basking in Mauritania's capital Nouakchott.

The shortlist for the 2023 Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation has been announced, featuring 15 entrepreneurs and their pioneer technologies from around the continent.

The prize, founded by the Royal Academy of Engineering, is worth $30,000 (£25,000) and is awarded for the best engineering solutions that address the continent’s challenges.

Some of the selected innovations include a remote healthcare monitoring system improving rural healthcare, a low-energy low-pollution cooking stove, and accessible electric mobility solutions.

The 2023 prize aims to tackle challenges central to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, including clean water and sanitation, sustainable cities and communities, good health and wellbeing, and quality education.

Entrepreneurs from ten African countries have made the cut, including for the first time Angola and Sierra Leone.

Four finalists will be chosen to pitch their innovations and business plans to Africa Prize judges at an event in Accra, Ghana on 6 July 2023 and an additional One-to-Watch award of £6,000 will be given to the most promising entrepreneur from the remaining shortlist.

“Climate change is impacting Africa more severely than other continents, with agricultural production, food security and water resources being compromised, compounded by a weak adaptive capacity. This year, 11of our innovations are contributing directly to environmental sustainability," said Rebecca Enonchong, founder and CEO of AppsTech and Africa Prize judge.

Rhoda Odhiambo
BBC West Africa correspondent, Lagos

The rise in vaccine preventable diseases such as measles and polio in African countries has been attributed to the slow uptake of childhood vaccines at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.

A report by the Tony Blair Institute shows that the Covid-19 put some health systems under immense pressure and stretched others beyond their capacity.

For instance, when lockdowns were imposed to slow the spread of the virus, parents and guardians were not able to take their children to hospitals for their routine vaccination schedules.

According to the World Health Organization, almost 17,500 cases of measles were recorded in Africa between January and March this year - marking a 400% increase compared with the same period in 2021.

The cases were from 20 African countries.

In February, Malawi reported a case of wild polio in a three-year-old girl - the first of its kind in Africa for more than five years.

Mozambique also reported a case in May. Wild polio is endemic in only Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The continent has also witnessed outbreaks of anthrax, cholera, yellow fever, chikungunya, meningitis, and other infectious diseases which account for more than 80% of reported health events.

The authors of the report want governments to prioritise public-health spending and recruiting more health workers so as to deal with increasing outbreaks.

Pet owners in South Africa are surrendering their pit bull dogs because they are being attacked, poisoned or beaten to death, the agency against animal cruelty in the country has told TimesLive news site.

“The SPCA is taking action at great risk and cost to assist animals and communities. Realistically, the movement does not have the resources to cover the cost of this national campaign without support from other relevant role players,” Keshvi Nair, the National Council of Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NSPCA), public relations officer told the site.

There's been increased public anger over growing reports of pit bulls attacking and killing children in recent weeks.

An online petition garnered tens of thousands of signatures calling for owning the dog breed to be banned.

South Africa has one of the highest incidents of deaths related to dog attacks in the world relative to its population, according to reports.

Holding Croatia to a 0-0 draw in their first Group F game at the World Cup will give Morocco confidence, says coach Walid Regragui.

Shingai Nyoka
BBC News, Harare

Zimbabwe’s president Emmerson Mnangagwa has hailed the new parliament building gifted by China as a testimony of the strategic and comprehensive partnership.

He was presenting his state of the nation address at the opening of the fifth session of the ninth parliament – held for the first time in the recently completed multi-million dollar building.

President Mnangagwa arrived at the new parliament in a Rolls Royce to a gun salute, a fly past and guard of honour.

Much like the British colonial building it replaces, the impressive stone structure perched on a hill is symbolic of deepening ties with China, following strained relations with the West.

Designed, funded and built with a grant worth more than $100m (£83m), the entrance flanked by cone towers mimicking those at the ancient Great Zimbabwe city, is fronted by a massive sheet of water symbolising The Victoria Falls.

Inside, cave paintings by the San - an indigenous people of Southern Africa - adorn the House of Assembly’s ceiling.

Mr Mnangagwa highlighted a growing economy fuelled by increased mining investment and rebounding manufacturing sector as his government’s achievements.

But the economy is growing faster than the power supply.

The new session of parliament is expected to pass new provisions for holding crucial general elections next year and more controversially to tighten restrictions on civil society groups.

Peter Jegwa
Lilongwe, Malawi

Image source, Getty Images

Police in Malawi have arrested the step son of former president Peter Mutharika as part of an investigation into the discovery of an unmarked mass grave in the northern Mzimba district last month.

Malawi's authorities said the 30 bodies retrieved were likely of Ethiopian immigrants.

Police have said their investigations led to the arrest of Tadikira Mafubza as well as impounding a vehicle they suspect was used in transporting the dead men.

A pathologist, who is part of the team conducting autopsy on the bodies, said partial results have been presented to the Malawi police and that a full report will be submitted at the end of month.

Malawi is grappling with the problem of human trafficking in which organised syndicates traffic men, women and children from East African countries including Ethiopia and Somalia. From Malawi they are further trafficked to South Africa, Europe and the United States.

Syndicates are thought to involve influential Malawians.

In 2020, the Malawi High Court sentenced former Home Affairs Minister Uladi Mussa and an immigration officer to five years imprisonment for helping non-Malawians obtain Malawi passports.

Mr Tadikira has not made any public comments, but the former governing Democratic Progressive Party have described the arrest as part of a political witchhunt against Mr Mutharika's family and his supporters.

A crowd applauds as German military officer Curt von François's figure is removed from a plinth.

Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting says teamwork will be more important than his own form if Cameroon are to qualify from Group G at the World Cup.

Image source, Getty Images

Eighty-three rape incidents were recorded at South Africa's educational institutions, including day care centres, in the last three months, according to the latest crime records.

The youngest victim was only six weeks old, the Minister of Police, Gen Bheki Cele said during a live broadcast.

"As a ministry, we remain extremely concerned about rapes at educational premises", he said, adding that the location of the reported rapes, "should not be interpreted to imply that all perpetrators and all victims were pupils or students."

He said 68 rapists had been sentenced to life in prison in the last six months, proving that the authorities were "sending a strong message of zero tolerance on rape through steep sentences".

The newly-released figures also show an increase in contact crimes - categorised as murder, attempted murder and assault - against women and children, rose by 16.9% and 13%, respectively.

The murder rate also increased by 10.8% in the same period, marking an average of 76 killings per day.

• Kidnapping went up all 10 provinces with the rate of incident rocketing in Gauteng by 164.3%
• Carjacking went down in two provinces but was up overall in the country by 23.6%
• Robberies at residential premises increased by 8.4%

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

Police in Uganda have launched an investigation after a guard foiled an attack on Nakulabye police station in the capital Kampala by a man with an AK47 rifle, according to reports by the privately-owned Daily Monitor website.

Kampala Metropolitan Deputy Police Spokesman Luke Owoyesigyire said the guard shot at the assailant after he failed to identify himself during the 04:00 local time incident.

"The guard discharged several rounds of bullets to prevent the person from leaving his position. But the person abandoned an AK47 rifle before taking off. It had five bullets," the website quoted Mr Owoyesigyire as saying.

This would have been the fourth attack on a security facility in two months.

On 18 November, gunmen attacked and killed a soldier at the Gaddafi Barracks in the eastern Jinja district and took away two guns from him.

Another attack happened on 14 November when gunmen shot at the Kensington Luxury Heights police post.

In October, attackers killed three police officers and took away four guns in a raid at Busiika police station in the central Luweero District.

The police have blamed a new rebel group, the Uganda National Coalition for Change, for attacks on officers and have arrested at least 22 people.

He welcomed South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and hailed ties between the countries.