Shingai Nyoka
BBC News, Harare

Image source, Getty Images

Zimbabwe has been ordered to suspend power generation from its main source of electricity, the Kariba hydroelectric dam.

The news is a blow to Zimbabweans who are already facing up to 12 hours a day with no electricity.

The Zambezi River Authority (ZRA) said water storage levels were too low for power generation.

It added that Zimbabwe had already used up its annual allocation of water for electricity, and It was eating into neighbouring Zambia’s share.

Kariba supplies more than 60% of Zimbabwe's electricity.

Currently its reservoir has 4% useable water or a quarter of last year’s levels.

Zimbabwe will only be able to resume generating power from Kariba in January.

Zimbabwe has faced rolling power cuts due to drought, and breakdowns at its aging power plants.

Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

Officials say the militant Islamist siege of a hotel in Somalia's capital Mogadishu is nearly over but at this stage we've no idea how many lives were lost.

Somalia's state minister for the environment, Adam Aw Hirsi, was in a meeting in the Villa Rays hotel at the time of the attack by al-Shabab militants.

He told the BBC that after the first deafening explosion, some managed to escape via a back door just before al-Shabab gunmen stormed the building.

But he spoke of others being in their rooms in different wings of the hotel.

Of great concern to the government is the fact that this area of Mogadishu, close to the presidency, is meant to be extremely well protected.

After Ghana's defeat to Portugal, the Black Star fans are confident they can beat South Korea.

Watch highlights from a thrilling match as Cameroon fight back from being 3-1 down to earn a deserved 3-3 draw against Serbia in their Group G match at the World Cup.

Watch all the angles as forward Vincent Aboubakar scores an "outrageous" goal for Cameroon in their Group G match against Serbia at the World Cup.

Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

Image source, Getty Images

A court in Comoros has handed down a life sentence for high treason to former President Ahmed Abdallah Sambi.

He was convicted of selling passports to stateless people living in the Gulf and had been accused of embezzling millions of dollars.

Citing an unfair trial, Sambi, 64, refused to attend the hearings at the State Security Court whose rulings cannot be appealed.

Sambi - who is an arch rival of the Comoros President Azali Assoumani - had already spent four years behind bars before he faced trial.

He pushed through a law in 2008 allowing the sale of passports for the east African island nation for high fees. His lawyer said there was no evidence of missing money.

Watch Aleksandar Mitrovic extend Serbia's lead with a "beautifully constructed" third goal in their Group G match at the World Cup.

Watch as Serbia score two quick-fire goals in first-half stoppage time in their Group G match against Cameroon at the World Cup.

Morocco coach Walid Regragui believes his side can improve further after shocking Belgium in Group F at the World Cup in Qatar.

Richard Kagoe
BBC News, Nairobi

Image source, AFP

Leaders from the East Africa region are holding talks in Kenya aimed at ending conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

In his opening address Kenya's former President Uhuru Kenyatta - who is a mediator - appealed to all sides to give peace a chance.

Last week regional leaders agreed on a ceasefire following intense fighting between DR Congo's army and the M23 rebel group in North Kivu province.

The situation was reportedly calm over the weekend.

A spokesman for the rebels said they were not invited to attend the latest talks in Kenya.

DR Congo's government has accused Rwanda of backing the group - which Kigali denies

Meet Chinny Obinwanne, the Doctor behind the first breast milk bank in Nigeria.

The world’s football governing body Fifa has lifted the suspension imposed on Kenya in February after the sports minister disbanded the national football federation.

The decision came after the new sports minister reinstated Football Kenya Federation (FKF), which was disbanded last year over alleged misappropriation of funds.

A caretaker committee was appointed to replace its board amid an investigation.

On Monday, Fifa said, external that it lifted the suspension after a letter by the FKF general secretary confirmed that the ousted board members were reinstated to their positions.

“In view of the circumstances, the Bureau of the council decided on 25 November 2022, to lift the suspension of the FKF with immediate effect,” Fifa said

Fifa says this has taken place “without prejudice to the ongoing investigations and court proceedings at national level”.

Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

Officials in Somalia say al-Shabab militants are holed up in a hotel room surrounded by government forces.

Gunfire and explosions could still be heard more than 12 hours after the Villa Rose hotel was stormed by the jihadist group.

The national security agency says at least four people have been killed and government officials are amongst the injured.

Correspondents say al-Shabab would have targeted the hotel because several ministers are known to stay there.

Eyewitnesses said shots were also fired at the nearby presidential palace.

Al-Shabab has intensified attacks against civilian and military targets since the government recently launched what it called all-out war against the group.

The African Union mission in Somalia praised what it called the swift security response to the attack.

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

Unknown assailants have razed the offices of the National Electoral Commission (Inec) in the Izzi local government area of south-east Nigeria's Ebonyi State amid concerns poll violence could mar the February 2023 presidential vote,

Inec national commissioner Festus Okoye said no one was injured in the attack but all poll materials in the office were destroyed.

"These include 340 ballot boxes, 130 voting cubicles, 14 electric power generators, large water storage tanks, assorted office furniture and fixtures and yet to be determined quantities of permanent voters' cards (PVCs)," Mr Okoye was quoted as saying.

He said the Nigerian security agencies had begun investigating the incident.

The electoral agency has shared images and a video showing the destruction after the attack:

This is the third attack on an electoral agency office this month after other incidents in the south-western Osun and Ogun states on 10 November.

On 12 November, Inec called for the deployment of army and police teams to its offices countrywide following the attacks, which the US and UK have expressed concerns about.

Meet the Congolese eco-friendly group, Fulu Miziki. The band recycles waste and turns it into instruments.

Salim Kikeke
BBC presenter in Doha, Qatar

Image source, Getty Images

Cameroon and Ghana will be looking to win their next two group games to stand any chance of getting into the round of 16 in the World Cup finals in Qatar.

Both teams lost their opening games.

Cameroon who face Serbia at Al Janoub stadium are still seeking their first victory at a World Cup finals since 2002.

“We have the fighting spirit; we are a football loving country,” a Cameroon fan told me here in Doha. Cameroon lost 1-0 to Switzerland in their first game in group G.

Ghana, on the other hand, put up a fight against Portugal and nearly claimed a point in their first game in group H.

The game ended in a 3-2 loss to the Black Stars.

“What we saw in that game, has given us belief,” Said Benjamin Nedi, a Ghanaian who lives in Doha. I met him at Souq Waqif, buying sunglasses with Ghanaian flag lenses for his children. “We must win against South Korea.”

The Black Stars have not won a World Cup game in their last five outings, losing three and two draws.

The two African football giants will have to draw inspiration from Senegal and Morocco, who both won in their second group games, with the Atlas Lions stunning Belgium in a 2-0 win at Al Thumama stadium on Sunday.

Moroccan fans will be waking up on Monday morning – if they went to bed at all - with a broad smile on their faces after their shock victory against Belgium who are number two in the Fifa world rankings, 20 places above the Lions.

Image source, Getty Images

Kenya rugby sevens players have taken to Twitter to ask fans for upkeep money after going for three months without pay.

The players have shared a link to a fundraising platform where fans can send money.

The Kenya Rugby Union has not responded on the tweets.

One of the players, Billy Odhiambo, said the players were still keen to play on the Dubai and Cape Town legs of the IRB Sevens World Series.

Another player, Willy Ambaka, external, said their "lives and those of our loved ones have been greatly strained".

Head coach Damian McGrath had earlier told journalists that the "last couple of months had been so difficult".

He added: "We are fighting to find a field we can train in, the gym is not fit for purpose and yet the country is expecting us to go out there and go toe to toe with rivals."

Kenya have played at the past five Rugby Sevens World Cups, reaching the semi-finals in 2009 and 2013.

Richard Kagoe
BBC News, Nairobi

Image source, Getty Images

Talks aimed at bringing peace to eastern Democratic Republic of Congo are set to begin on Monday in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi.

Leaders from the regional bloc, the East African Community, will try to broker the third round of talks aimed at accelerating ongoing regional efforts to attain sustainable peace.

The meeting comes just days after regional leaders agreed on a ceasefire following talks in Angola.

This is the latest attempt to find a lasting solution to the conflict in eastern DR Congo - home to dozens of armed militia groups including the M23.

The Congolese army will resume talks with armed groups under a process mediated by Kenya’s former President Uhuru Kenyatta.

The M23 group that has been fighting the military will not be part of the Nairobi talks.

The Congolese government has refused to engage M23 until they stop their offensive and vacate areas they have seized in recent months.

Kenya and Burundi have deployed troops to eastern DR Congo under a regional force seeking to help the military quell violence in the mineral-rich region.

Image source, South African Police Service

More than 20 people have drowned in rivers and dams across South Africa’s northern Limpopo province in less than two months amid persistent rains, the police have said.

The police said they were attending to “numerous calls” of drowning cases in all the five districts of the province.

“From the beginning of October 2022 to date, the police have recorded 20 incidents of inquests resulting from drownings, with the number of victims counting more than the incidents,” the South African Police Service said in a statement., external

The provincial police commissioner called on communities to be wary of rivers and dams, noting that continuing rains may raised dam levels and flooded rivers.

South Africa experienced one of its worst floods and landslides in KwaZulu-Natal province after exceptionally heavy rainfall earlier in the year.

Emmanuel Igunza
BBC News

Image source, Reuters

Gunfire and explosions could still be heard on Monday morning near a hotel in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu where militants laid siege overnight.

The Villa Rose hotel is a short walk from the presidential palace in central Mogadishu and is known to be popular with government officials.

Al-Shabab militants said they had stormed the hotel.

Witnesses have told the BBC of hearing multiple explosions on Monday.

At least one minister is reported to have been injured while another one told reporters that he had survived the attack.