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The world through its media

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The health authorities in Ethiopia's Tigray region have commended the flow of medical supplies into the war-hit region following the peace agreement signed between the federal government and the rebel forces, the TPLF-run Tigray TV has reported.

"The Tigray Health Bureau has said basic medicines and medical equipment are flowing into Tigray and being distributed to health institutions following the ceasefire agreement," it reported

However, the health office said the supply still did not meet the demand in the region.

"One good news is that the first cargo plane landed last Thursday [8 December] carrying vaccines for children. We are very happy Unicef gave us the medicines it received from the Ethiopian government," the head of Tigray health office, Dr Amanuel Haile, said.

On Monday, the federal government said it was delivering "unlimited" humanitarian aid, including food, non-food items and medical supplies to Tigray in the wake of the peace agreement that was signed on 12 November to end the two year devastating war in the north of the country.

Jose Tembe
BBC News, Maputo

Image source, Getty Images

A nine-year-old child has escaped death from a crocodile attack in Chibuto district of the southern Mozambican province of Gaza.

The girl was swimming in the Limpopo river when the incident happened.

She told local media that when she realised that she was under attack, she tried to scratch the nose of the reptile which, before letting go, caused serious injuries to one of her legs.

“The crocodile grabbed me and dragged me so I hit it and scratched its nose [snout]. Then the crocodile immediately released me and threw me," she told state broadcaster Radio Mozambique.

She was immediately taken to a local hospital for treatment. Marta Moiane, a director at the hospital, has said the girl is in good health.

Dr Moiane said this was the second admission to the hospital this year from a crocodile attack.

Crocodile attacks are common in Mozambique’s major rivers and their tributaries.

BBC World Service

Image source, AFP

Dozens of leaders from across Africa are gathering in Washington DC for a major summit hosted by US President Joe Biden.

More than 40 heads of government or state as well as African Union officials and businesspeople are due to attend the three-day gathering.

US officials say the summit will promote democracy and trade.

The Secretary of State Antony Blinken told a meeting of African entrepreneurs that the emphasis would be on partnership.

The US is engaged in struggle for influence on the continent with China, Russia and others.

The chairman of the African Union - the Senegalese leader Macky Sall - said he and his colleagues had not been properly listened to for too long.

The government in the Democratic Republic of Congo has “strongly” denounced what it calls the "illegal presence" of Rwanda-allied journalists in Congolese territory.

DR Congo’s information ministry alleged that “propagandist media” were being escorted by M23 rebel soldiers and Rwandan forces to multiple parts of eastern DR Congo.

“This act should draw the attention of both the national and international community to Rwanda’s new campaign of lies and misrepresentation of the facts, promoting false testimony of local people and twisting the truth about the massacre in Kishishe,” it said in a statement.

Rwanda has always denied involvement in the violence in DR Congo.

Last week the US urged Rwanda to end its support for the M23 rebel group - but Rwanda said the responsibility ought to be placed on DR Congo.

It came amid a UN investigation that found that at least 131 civilians in DR Congo died in a November attack by the M23 rebel group.

The UN report last week said the massacre took place in two villages - Kishishe and Bambo - in the Rutsuhuru district of the eastern North Kivu province.

DR Congo says its government is determined to pursue legal means against those responsible for international crimes including the mass killings in Kishishe.

Image source, Getty Images

The Democratic Republic of Congo's government will organise the funeral of singer Tshala Muana who died over the weekend at the age of 64.

The minister of culture, arts and heritage on Monday paid a visit to Tshala Muana’s companion, external, Claude Mashala, where she made the announcement.

Tshala Muana was famous for several songs such as Karibu Yangu, Malu and Tshianza.

She had toured widely overseas, won several awards on the national, continental and global scene and had recorded over 20 albums.

Nomsa Maseko
BBC Southern Africa correspondent

Image source, AFP

South Africa’s parliament is expected to hold a special sitting on Tuesday to debate a report by a panel of legal experts which found that President Cyril Ramaphosa may have broken his oath of office.

This is in connection with the Phala Phala farm scandal hanging over the president, in which Mr Ramaphosa has been accused of a cover-up following the theft of foreign currency at his private game farm back in 2020.

President Ramaphosa’s fate will be in the hands of MPs as they vote on whether he should be impeached.

Evidence of potential misconduct after allegations that he concealed the theft of foreign currency from his game farm has fuelled calls for him to step down.

Mr Ramaphosa has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

The governing ANC party has instructed its 230 lawmakers, including those known to be against the president, to reject the report because its findings have been challenged in court.

But some could break ranks and side with opposition parties for impeachment proceedings to get under way.

If Mr Ramaphosa survives the encounter in parliament, he is likely to be re-elected as ANC president at the party’s elective conference which starts on Friday.

Read more on the 'Farmgate' scandal:

• A quick guide to South Africa's 'Farmgate' scandal
• Cash in the sofa scandal could bring down Ramaphosa

Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

Image source, Reuters

The US has imposed financial sanctions on four Zimbabweans, including the son of President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

It accuses Emmerson Mnangagwa Junior of being linked to the businessman, Kudakwashe Tagwirei, who is already under US sanctions for alleged corruption.

The Treasury Department says over the last five years, Mr Tagwirei has used a combination of opaque business dealings and his ongoing relationship with the president to grow his business empire dramatically and rake in millions of dollars.

President Mnangagwa is already under US sanctions.

In a statement, the Treasury Department urged Zimbabwe's government to address what it called the root causes of many of the country's ills, including corrupt elites abusing institutions for their personal benefit.

More on this topic:

• Zimbabwe sanctions: Who is being targeted?

Nicolas Negoce
BBC News

Image source, SALOUM ARBY

The world's only nonuplets - nine babies born at the same time - have safely returned to Mali, their home country.

The parents and their nine babies arrived at the airport in the capital, Bamako, in the small hours of Tuesday and were welcomed by Health Minister Diéminatou Sangaré.

They had been living in a flat with medical support in the Moroccan city of Casablanca since leaving the Ain Borja clinic, where the babies were born on 4 May 2021.

They broke the Guinness World Record , externalfor the most children delivered in a single birth to survive.

The babies - five girls and four boys - were conceived using in vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment and were delivered by C-section.

More on this story:

• Mali nonuplets in perfect health on first birthday

Our proverb of the day:

Click here to send us your African proverbs.

Abu Agila Masud is the first person charged on US soil in connection with the 1988 airline attack.

Uganda will withdraw from the African Nations Championships because of a row over government funding, says the president of the country's FA.

That's all from the BBC Africa Live team for now but we'll be back on Tuesday morning Nairobi time.

In the meantime there will be an automated service, but you can check the news by going to the Africa pages of the BBC News website or listening to our Africa Today podcast.

A reminder of our African proverb of the day:

Click here to send us your African proverbs.

And we leave you with this selection of pictures shared by the Lagos Photo Festival, which highlight the work of Malian studio photographer Seydou Keïta:

Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

Ethiopia's government says it will send experts to investigate the death of 27 of its nationals whose bodies were found in Zambia over the weekend.

Zambian police said preliminary investigations showed they were migrants between the ages of 20 and 38.

They are thought to have suffocated in a vehicle while trying to reach South Africa.

Their bodies had been dumped by the roadside on the outskirts of the capital, Lusaka.

A sole survivor was found alive in the early hours of Sunday morning and was rushed to hospital for treatment.

Chris Ewokor
BBC News, Abuja

At least four people, including a policeman, have been killed in an early-morning attack on one of the offices of the country's electoral commission in Imo state, south-east Nigeria just two months before a general election.

The commission was about to begin the distribution of permanent voters’ cards to newly registered voters on Monday.

It was the second attack on the Independent National Electoral Commission (Inec) in Imo state in just over a week.

The police said the gunmen came in several vehicles. They stormed the Inec office at about 03:00 local time in a deadly raid. They fired sporadically and threw dynamite and petrol bombs, damaging part of the building and vehicles.

Police spokesman Michael Abattam told the BBC that one policeman was killed while three of the attackers were shot dead.

“Another policeman was also injured as they were exchanging bullets with the assailants. Two of the attackers have been arrested,” he said.

Rising insecurity, especially attacks on Inec facilities, in the south-east have raised questions over the ability of the security forces and the electoral commission to conduct a successful poll next February.

African Champions League holders Wydad Casablanca are drawn in the same group as Petro Atletico, who they beat en route to the title last season.

Trophy hunting is legal in Namibia. The country relies on this trade, should they diversity their tourism?

Nkechi Ogbonna
West Africa Business Journalist, BBC News

Image source, Getty Images

Benin, Seychelles and The Gambia are the only African countries that allow visitors from any other African nation to enter without needing a visa, the just-released 2022 edition of the Africa Visa Openness Index says.

In contrast Sudan, Equatorial Guinea and Libya require all African visitors to have visas before travel.

While the researchers found that overall openness when it comes to visa regimes is improving, almost half of the continent’s more than 50 countries still impose visa restrictions on citizens of at least one other African nation.

The index is produced jointly by the African Union and the African Development Bank. They note that in order for the fledgling Africa Continental Free Trade Area to succeed, non-tariff barriers, such as visa restrictions, need to be dismantled.

Applying for a visa can be costly and time-consuming for anyone wishing to trade with or study in another African country.

"We need to break down all barriers that impede the free movement of people across the continent, especially that of workers. This is vital for promoting investment," the head of the African Development Bank Akinwumi Adesina said at the launch of the report.

Listen to this episode of BBC Africa Daily: Why is travel more difficult on an African passport?

Thomas Naadi
BBC News, Accra

Parts of Ghana’s capital, Accra, experienced two earth tremors on Monday morning at around 11:00 local time (11:00 GMT) .

The Android Earthquake Alerts System, external has indicated the seismic movement reached magnitude four which makes it one of the strongest tremors ever experienced in Ghana. But quakes of this scale usually only cause light, if any, damage.

A team of experts has been sent to the affected neighbourhoods, mostly in the west of Accra, to assess the situation.

There have been no reports of destruction of property or injuries because of the incident.

The last time an earth tremor occurred in the capital was in June 2020.

Morocco's Ines Laklalech becomes the first golfer from North Africa to qualify for the LPGA tour after being inspired by her country's World Cup run.

How Morocco fans celebrated as their national team became the first African and Arab country to reach a World Cup semi-final.