Twenty-two migrants were killed when a boat carrying 47 people sunk off the coast of Madagascar on its way to the French island of Mayotte.

Twenty-three people were saved while a search for two still missing was still under way, Madagascar maritime agency said.

The agency said the migrants had covertly taken the boat to Mayotte. It said the incident happened on Saturday.

Most of those who were rescued had fled to avoid being arrested, the Reuters news agency quoted a police officer as saying.

Image source, Twitter / Hage Geingob

Namibia's President Hage Geingob on Saturday named Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah as the candidate for the ruling Swapo party in next year's elections.

In remarks to the party's top organ, the president called on party members to support Ms Nandi-Ndaitwah when official campaigns begin next year.

Ms Nandi- Ndaitwah is the party's vice-president and the country's current deputy prime minister.

“Elections took place, we have the results that we are going to have one candidate only, that will be comrade Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah and we will campaign and we have a person who will lead us," President Geingob said.

He also called on Swapo members not to create factions from the outcome of the party nominations.

President Geingob is due to step down next year after serving two terms. He was first elected in November 2014.

Swapo has led Namibia since independence and remains the country’s biggest political party.

But its popularity has recently waned because of discontent over rampant unemployment and corruption linked to senior party officials.

The party lost its two-thirds majority in parliament in the last general election in 2019. It also lost control of key municipalities, including the capital Windhoek, the port towns of Walvis Bay and Swakopmund, and several regional councils.

Image source, Getty Images

South Africans continue to pay tribute to rapper Costa Titch who died over the weekend after collapsing while performing at a music festival in Johannesburg.

The musician, real name Constantinos Tsobanoglou, was 28. His family confirmed the death in an Instagram post.

Footage on social media shows the rapper collapsing twice before falling off the stage. There are conflicting reports on whether he died on stage or in hospital.

“It is with deep pain that we find ourselves having to acknowledge his passing at this time,” his family said.

“We are thankful for those emergency responders and all those present in his last hours.”

It did not not mention the cause of death

Costa Titch's song Big Flexa made him a star across the continent.

His death comes a month after another popular South African rapper AKA was assassinated.

Police said the gunman had approached AKA from behind and shot him at close range in the side of the head.

Image source, Getty Images

South Africa has deployed military personnel to hospitals as a public health crisis intensifies after medics joined other public service workers in a strike to demand better pay.

The military personnel are offering medical services in the worst affected facilities.

Public workers have been protesting since Monday last week to demand a 10% wage hike. The government has offered 4.7%.

Their union has vowed to intensify the strike until its demands are met.

Troops have been deployed to Thelle Mogoerane, Sebokeng and Bheki Mlangeni - the regions hardest hit by the strike, a local TV reports quoting a health official in Gauteng province.

Emergency teams are believed to have been unable to respond to some emergency calls as access to some facilities remained blockaded.

Health Minister Joe Phaahla has said the strike had led to the loss of lives.

Youssef Taha
BBC World Service News

Image source, AFP

Around 30 people are missing - feared dead - after a boat carrying migrants capsized off the coast of Libya.

A humanitarian group, Alarm Phone, said they would have survived if Europe had not decided to let them drown.

The charity said it alerted the authorities in Libya, Italy and Malta after it had been contacted by migrants on the boat on Saturday.

The Italian coastguard said the vessel was in the Libyans' search and rescue zone and was difficult to reach because of bad weather.

The Libyans said they had no available boats to send.

Italy's right-wing government, led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, is facing sharp criticism for failing to act promptly to save the migrants.

Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

Image source, AFP

Suspected rebels from the Allied Democratic Forces have killed at least 17 people in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo - the second mass killings in less than a week.

They also set fire to buildings during the dawn raid on Kirindera in North Kivu province.

On Wednesday, 45 people were killed during a raid on two villages by the same rebels - who are said to have links to the Islamic State group.

Peace talks have been tried, but the international response to the crisis in eastern DR Congo is to send in more soldiers.

The Ugandan army has been in North Kivu to fight the ADF rebels for over a year but without success.

Last week alone the ADF killed dozens of civilians in three villages.

There has also been a lot of attention on the M23 rebels who are widely reported to be backed by Rwanda. Kigali has always denied the accusations.

Angola is now sending troops to North Kivu. Kenyan and Burundian soldiers are also there.

The hope is these countries are united against all the rebel groups and don't turn on each other to exploit DR Congo's minerals - as has happened before.

Read more:

• Allied Democratic Forces: The Ugandan rebels working with IS in DR Congo

Peter Jegwa
Lilongwe, Malawi

Image source, Reuters

The authorities in Malawi have closed schools in 10 southern districts over safety concerns after Cyclone Freddy wreaked devastation in neighbouring Mozambique.

Heavy rains pounding southern Malawi have washed away roads and disrupted power generation, with more rainfall expected in the next few days.

Physical classes have been suspended for Monday and Tuesday in all learning institutions in the districts.

Teachers and learners have been encouraged to use available online platforms and radio lessons, the education ministry said in a statement.

"When physical classes resume teachers are urged to provide remedial lessons to recover the lost time,” it added.

Neighbouring Mozambique has received more than a year's worth of rainfall in the past four weeks as Cyclone Freddy made landfall on Sunday for the second time in a month.

The death toll in Mozambique is at least 28 since the storm first made landfall.

Kais Saied said sub-Saharan migrants were trying to change the nature of Tunisian society.

Freddy, which has caused at least 28 deaths over a month, has hit mainland Africa for a second time.

Grant Ferrett
BBC World Service Newsroom

Image source, Getty Images

South Africa's anti-corruption watchdog says there is no evidence of wrongdoing by President Cyril Ramaphosa linked to the theft of $580,000 (£482,000) - possibly more - in cash from his farm.

In a preliminary report, the public protector, Kholeka Gcaleka, concludes that Mr Ramaphosa did not violate an ethics code or abuse his role as head of state.

The report says the president declared the theft within weeks of it taking place three years ago.

But it says the head of the presidential protection service, Maj Gen Wally Rhoode, acted improperly by carrying out an unofficial investigation into the crime.

An independent panel set up by South Africa's parliament decided late last year that Mr Ramaphosa had a case to answer, prompting calls for his resignation.

More on this topic:

• A quick guide to South Africa's 'Farmgate' scandal

Angola's soldiers are to help secure M23 rebel areas after a ceasefire it brokered failed.

Nthenya Mwendwa's fish leather and Maasai beaded bags are proving their red-carpet appeal.

Nigerian footballers are well known - one UK student thinks the same could happen with polo players.

Judges in The Hague pause the trial of Félicien Kabuga, the alleged financier of Rwanda's genocide.

Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

Judges at a UN court in The Hague have put proceedings against Rwandan genocide suspect Felicien Kabuga on hold in order to assess whether he is in good-enough health to be tried.

Last September when the case opened, prosecutors accused him of using his radio station to urge ethnic Hutus to kill rival Tutsis.

He was also accused of supplying death squads with machetes.

He denies all the accusations.

Earlier this week Mr Kabuga's defence team called for the 90-year- old's trial to be halted, citing dementia.

He was arrested in Paris almost three years ago after spending decades on the run.

DJ Edu
Presenter of This Is Africa on BBC World Service

Image source, Courtesy of the artist

Seventeen-year-old Malian musician Seydou Chee says he often has to stay home when his friends and family go out because of the amount of attention he gets.

"They can go out and have fun when they like, but I can’t do that, I have to control myself, I can’t just go anywhere because of the crowds of people. You have lots of privileges being a star but there are inconveniences too," he tells the BBC.

Chee, who acknowledges that his looks got him far in the music industry, became popular on the back of hit songs like Celibataire.

“It’s true that some girls like me for my looks, and I am fine with that. Everything that is Seydou plays its part in my career.”

Being a teenager, he is still at school, and says he manages to balance his music career and his studies quite well.

"If I have an essay to do and I have something to do during the night, I do what I can in a certain period of time then I go and sleep so I can do my school essay.”

However, he can't get through a school day like any other regular student, he says.

"When I’m at school, everyone’s eyes are on me. At the beginning there were those who made a fuss, kids were rude and stuff. But anyway, now I like it. It’s not something everyone has - it’s sweet to be a star."

You can hear Seydou Chee on This is Africa on Saturday, on BBC World Service radio and partner stations across Africa, as well as here:

Ameyu Etana
BBC Afaan Oromoo

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is set to visit Ethiopia next week to discuss the implementation of a landmark peace deal which has halted the country's civil war, the State Department said on Friday.

It’s not yet clear if he will travel to the war-torn northern region of Tigray.

The visit could be a positive sign for the country, which was hit by US sanctions as the war weakened ties between the once close allies.

Mr Blinken will also meet African Union head Moussa Faki Mahamat in Addis Ababa to discuss "global and regional priorities," according to his office.

Ethiopia’s peace deal was signed in November between the government and fighters from the Tigray region following two years of conflict.

Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

Image source, AFP

Mali's military rulers are postponing a constitutional referendum which was due to take place later this month and was supposed to be a key milestone of the planned transition to civilian rule.

Last July the West African regional bloc, Ecowas, lifted sanctions on Mali after the military leader, Colonel Assimi Goita, said elections would be held in February next year.

Correspondents say the decision to postpone the referendum was no surprise and will prompt suspicion that Col Goita wants to prolong his stay in power.

Mali is currently facing a growing security crisis with frequent attacks by jihadist groups.

Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

The first aid plane has arrived in the city of Goma in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo as part of the EU's new operation to help hundreds of thousands of people displaced by conflict there.

It comes after clashes in the region between the army and M23 rebels - three days after a ceasefire was supposed to have begun.

The fighting is around the village of Murambi which is less than 30km (18 miles) from Goma, the capital city of North Kivu province.

The M23 rebels are widely reported to be backed by Rwanda which has long accused the Congolese authorities of failing to defeat Hutu rebels - some of whom are linked to the Rwandan genocide.

Rwanda denies backing the group.

Freddy, which may be the longest lived tropical storm, is due to make landfall in Mozambique on Saturday bringing more damaging winds and torrential rain as it moves inland.