South Africa's medical regulator denies cautioning a doctor who's been criticised online for his style of dress.

"The Health Professions Council of South Africa does not regulate how its registered practitioners dress or their lifestyle. We only regulate their work-related code of conduct with the sole purpose of guiding the profession to protect the public,” spokesman Christopher Tsatsawane told local media, external.

Dr Sandile Qwabe's videos on TikTok often show him with a stethoscope slung around his neck, wearing his medical scrubs in a pantsula style.

Pantsula culture has its roots in apartheid-era townships. Dr Qwabe's detractors on social media say it's unprofessional for a doctor to dress this way but others have defended him for what they say is an authentic expression of blackness.

Image source, AFP

The UN mission in South Sudan says it's following the recent sacking of the defence minister - urging “parties to exercise restraint and engage in a collegial spirit in order to resolve such sensitive national issues”.

President Salva Kiir sacked the country's first female defence minister, Angelina Teny, who is from the main opposition party - with the party calling for her reinstatement.

On Monday, the UN envoy to the country, Nicholas Haysom, called for the transitional government in South Sudan to implement a peace agreement to hold “credible elections” next year.

He told the UN Security Council, external that 2023 was a “make or break” year, noting that parties had agreed there would be no extensions on the timelines of the peace deal.

He noted key hurdles that the country must address to complete the transitional phase next year, including the drafting of a new constitution.

He said it was an opportunity for South Sudanese to agree how they would live harmoniously and avoid a repeat of civil wars that have plagued the country.

A five-year civil war that ended in 2018 claimed the lives of almost 400,000 people. It led to a peace agreement and the formation of a transitional government led by President Kiir and his rival Riek Machar.

Mr Haysom noted that there was still armed violence occurring in parts of the country, which “increasingly present an ethnic or tribal dimension”, posing a threat to the peace process.

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

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A spokesperson for the winner of last month’s Nigerian presidential election, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has accused the main opposition candidate of “staging a theatre of the absurd” after he led supporters in protest against the results of the vote.

Thousands of opposition supporters dressed in black and led by the runner-up in the 25 February presidential election, Atiku Abubakar, protested at the electoral commission’s headquarters in the capital, Abuja, on 6 March, blocking the entrance as they demanded a rerun.

Reacting to the protests, Mr Tinubu’s media and publicity director, Bayo Onanuga, said in a statement “what was on display today by Alhaji Atiku and his motley crowd was a new low from the perennial election loser”, the country’s Vanguard newspaper reported., external

He added: “With Atiku staging a theatre of the absurd, we fail to see how a march to [the electoral commission] by a scanty crowd will provide any victory window for him and his fragmented PDP [ Peoples Democratic Party].

Mr Abubakar, a former vice-president who ran for the presidency for the sixth time, has vowed to challenge Tinubu’s win in the courts, alleging rigging and voter intimidation.

The electoral commission said Mr Tinubu won the election with 37% of the votes.

Image source, Reuters

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak held a phone conversation with President Paul Kagame on Monday evening about the controversial scheme to deport migrants to Rwanda.

The leaders "committed to continue working together to ensure this important partnership is delivered successfully", a statement from Downing Street said.

London has paid about $170m (£142m) to Kigali, which is creating facilities to house any future arrivals.

But no migrant has yet been despatched to Rwanda as the plan continues to face legal challenges in the British courts, with opponents arguing that Rwanda is not a safe destination for asylum seekers and that the scheme breaks human rights laws.

During their phone call on Tuesday, Mr Sunak also raised the escalating violence in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, which the UN and the United States have in part blamed on Rwandan support for the M23 rebels.

The British government will announce on Tuesday plans for a new law barring those entering the country through unofficial routes from claiming asylum, the Reuters news agency reports.

More on this topic:

• What is the UK's plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda?

Anthony Muigai has been a farmer in Kenya for the last five years, but he doesn't just rely on his chickens for eggs.

Image source, AFP

The Economic Community Of West African States (Ecowas) ambassador to Liberia, Josephine Nkrumah, has reported to the authorities about threats on her life by a Facebook user.

In a letter to the Liberian justice ministry, Ms Nkrumah said the user, identified as Carson, posted on Facebook urging the Monrovia mayor to send her "down six feet".

The user claimed the move would draw the international community's attention to the insecurity in Liberia.

Ms Nkrumah told the Liberian authorities that the comment was considered a "grave threat" to her life and the staff of the Ecowas mission in the country.

Monrovia City Mayor Jefferson Koijee has blamed his political opponents for spreading misinformation ahead of October elections.

The Newsroom
BBC World Service

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The UN children's agency, Unicef, says the number of pregnant women and girls who are suffering from malnutrition has soared by a quarter in the last two years in countries like Somalia, Ethiopia and Afghanistan.

Unicef estimates that more than a billion women and adolescent girls across the world are malnourished.

It is worried that recent crises including war and Covid 19 have made it increasingly hard for them to get the food they need.

It has urged the international community to make food security a priority, including supporting failing nutrition programmes.

Read more on this:

• Malnutrition in pregnancy surges in poor countries

Richard Kagoe
BBC News

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The UN Secretary General has urged M23 rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo to respect a ceasefire agreement set to come into effect on Tuesday.

Antonio Guterres has welcomed regional and international efforts led by the Angolan president and the African Union to try to stop a conflict that has displaced hundreds of thousands already.

Hours before the ceasefire brokered by Angola takes effect, heavy fighting between the Congolese army and the M23 group has continued in North Kivu province.

The UN Secretary General has condemned all violence against civilians and urged all armed groups to lay down their weapons and disarm unconditionally.

Mr Guterres has asked the M23 to honour a pledge to cease hostilities to facilitate full and effective withdrawal from areas it has occupied, some near Goma, the biggest city in the east of the country.

The ongoing conflict has displaced hundreds of thousands in the past year and led to accusations that Rwanda is funding the rebels, which Kigali denies.

Image source, Taiwan presidency

Eswatini Prime Minister Cleopas Dlamini said in Taipei on Monday that his country remains committed to diplomatic relations with Taiwan and is opposed to "any sort of bullying or aggression" against Taiwan.

"The people of Taiwan should be governed within Taiwan by a government they elect themselves in fair and free elections, with no external pressure," Mr Dlamini said during a meeting, external with President Tsai Ing-wen.

Mr Dlamini also thanked the Taiwan government for its decades-long support of Eswatini.

Eswatini is the only African state and one of 14 countries worldwide that maintain diplomatic relations with Taiwan - which China regards as a breakaway province.

Taiwan and Eswatini are set to celebrate 55 years of diplomatic ties in September.

Crises including war and Covid have made it hard to get adequate food supplies, the UN says.

BBC World Service

Image source, Getty Images

The World Bank has suspended talks over its future engagement with Tunisia following President Kais Saied's recent criticism of sub-Saharan migrants.

The outgoing head of the bank, David Malpass, said Mr Saied's remarks had triggered racially motivated harassment and even violence in Tunisia.

He described the situation as deeply concerning, but added that recent steps by the Tunisian government to support migrants were positive.

On Sunday, President Saied denounced racism, despite making comments last month that African immigrants were part of a plot to change Tunisia's demographic profile.

Mary Harper
Africa editor, BBC World Service

Image source, Reuters

South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed a former mayor, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, to the newly created position of electricity minister in an effort to address the country's long-running power crisis.

The new minister faces two vast challenges. Power cuts of up to 12 hours a day - the government has declared a national disaster- and allegations of high-level corruption at the state-run energy giant Eskom.

The company's former chief executive recently told the media that senior politicians were looting the firm.

Eskom is massively in debt - almost $24bn (£19.9bn) in the red.

The rolling power cuts are strangling the economy. Some say people's fury over the blackouts might even cost the governing party ANC next year's election.

In the cabinet changes announced on Monday evening, Mr Ramaphosa also appointed the deputy head of the ANC Paul Mashatile as deputy president.

The move was widely expected following David Mabuza's resignation last week.

He also replaced the outspoken Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu, who has opposed the president in recent months. Her position was handed to a leader of the small opposition party GOOD, Patricia de Lille.

Others who were replaced were the sports arts and culture minister as well as the minister in the presidency for women, youth and persons with disabilities

Hundreds of Cameroonians are stuck in Antigua unable to afford the onward journey to the US.

The artefact found in the Hathor Temple is thought to represent the Roman Emperor Claudius.

An "electricity minister" has been appointed to address the country's unprecedented energy shortages.

How a little-known team that only competed in seven Grands Prix brought tobacco branding into F1.

Alfred Lasteck
BBC News, Dar es Salaam

The Tanzanian government has banned boarding at nursery and lower years at primary schools, saying their aim is to give children the opportunity to bond with their families - understanding the traditions, cultures and values of the country.

Education Commissioner Lyabwene Mtahabwa says boarding services for children up to the age of 10 will end next month, and they will remain as day scholars until they reach the next grade - known in Tanzania as standard five.

She did however say exceptions can be made for pupils whose parents or guardians obtain a special permit exempting them from the change in rules.

Ms Mtahabwa says any school found to be violating the directives will face disciplinary measures, including striking pupils from their books.

Boarding schools are very popular in Tanzania and are offered both privately and by the state. Most of the boarding schools affected by this measure will be private, as not many state-run primary schools accept boarders.

Rhoda Odhiambo
BBC Africa health reporter, Nairobi

Image source, AFP

Hundreds of children under the age of five are to be vaccinated in western Kenya, as the health ministry rolls out its programme to five counties there.

The "RTS,S" vaccine was first introduced in 2019 in eight counties that have a high malaria burden, helping to bring down the number of children being hospitalised for malaria or dying of it.

To date, more than 1.3 million African children have received at least 1 of the 4 doses of the vaccine since it was piloted four years age. The first dose is given from the age six months, and the fourth dose at two years.

"RTS,S" is the only approved malaria vaccine. It took scientists more than 30 years to develop and it is effective in about 30% of cases.

The mosquito-borne illness kills more than 400,000 people each year, most of them children in sub-Saharan Africa.

Ghana and Malawi have also expanded access to the vaccine in areas that have high numbers of malaria cases.

The World Health Organization says that the vaccine should be rolled out across all of sub-Saharan Africa, but the manufacturer, GlaxoSmithKline, says it can only produce about 15 million doses annually.

England will be positive but not using full-on 'Bazball' tactics at the Over-50s World Cup, says batter Giles Ecclestone.

BBC World Service

The United Nations says Eritrea's record on human rights remains dire and shows no signs of improvement.

The UN's deputy high commissioner for human rights, Nada Al-Nashif, said the withdrawal of Eritrean troops from Ethiopia's northern region of Tigray was "very slow" and "largely incomplete".

She said there were credible reports of torture, arbitrary detention and enforced disappearances.

The Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki recently described such accusations as fantasy.

It is estimated that as many as 600,000 people died during the Tigray war.