Image source, Getty Images

South Africa’s lower house of parliament has passed a contentious universal healthcare bill - described by the health minister as a “historic” moment for the country.

The National Health Insurance (NHI) bill seeks to give South Africans “of all races, rich or poor and legal long-term residents, external” access to quality healthcare.

This is in accordance with the constitution, adopted after Nelson Mandela was democratically elected as president in 1994 following the end of white-minority rule.

The country is still considered one the most unequal societies in the world, with a huge wealth gap and 84% of South Africans relying on often poor quality public healthcare.

The bill intends to create one public health fund for private and public healthcare providers - a pool of money to be funded through general taxes, contributions from those earning above a set amount and monthly contributions from employees.

Health Minister Joe Phaahla said the vote by the National Assembly - with 205 MPs in support and 125 against - was a major milestone and laid a foundation for big reforms, the South African Government News Agency (SANews) reports.

“This is one of the most revolutionary pieces of legislation presented to this house since the dawn of democracy," News24 quotes Mr Phaahla as saying, describing him as elated after the vote.

At the moment, the government says the 16% of the population who have private medical insurance benefit from 51% of the national expenditure on medical treatment, leaving the system squeezed trying to provide free care for the vast majority of South Africans.

“This has led to a situation where the public health system is under tremendous pressure while the private healthcare is over-servicing its clients leading to ever-rising costs to the members of medical schemes while the investors are enjoying huge dividends,” Mr Phaahla said.

This often race-determined health system was an inheritance of apartheid and had become class based as inequality was growing “even cutting across race”, the health minister said.

The opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) and Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) voted against the bill.

The DA feels it will be disastrous for the private healthcare system, destroying it through a lack of funding.

The EFF says the only cure for the "two-tier" system is for the full nationalisation of healthcare.

The proposed legislation will now go to the upper house - the National Council of Provinces - for consideration before it is signed into law by the president.

In Senegal, families demand justice for the victims of the clashes following the sentencing of opposition leader Ousmane Sonko.

Image source, Reuters

Kenyan athletic champion Faith Kipyegon became emotional after receiving prize money for breaking two world records in a week, saying she would use it to buy a car for her father.

President William Ruto presented her with 5m Kenyan shillings ($36,000, £28,000) - in the form of a giant cheque - for her stunning achievements.

Image source, @StateHouseKenya

The 29-year-old is being hailed as "superhuman" after beating the world record for the women's 5,000m at the Diamond League meeting in Paris on Friday, winning in 14 minutes, 5.2 seconds.

It comes a week after the mother of one broke the world record in the 1,500m in the Florence Diamond League, in 3 minutes 49.11 seconds.

The two-time Olympic champion attended a reception on Tuesday in her honour at State House, where she was told she had also been given a house worth 6m Kenyan shillings in the capital, Nairobi, as part of her prize.

“Thank you so much, Mr. President. I’m so happy with the reward, now I can own a house in Nairobi, and with the money I can say now I can buy my father a car.

“I promised him that when I broke the World Record that I was going to buy a car for him... now I can fulfil my promise.”

Mr Ruto said he was making it a new policy to award other Kenyan athletes who set world records a sum of 5m Kenyan shillings.

More about Faith Kipyegon:

• How Kenyan achieved the mother of all feats in Tokyo

Image source, Getty Images

Nigerian Chef Dammy has reached her goal to cook for 120 hours, in an attempt to break the record for cooking non-stop, which is held by another Nigerian chef and recognised by Guinness World Records (GWR) just 24 hours ago.

On Tuesday, GWR confirmed that Hilda Baci's cooking marathon last month was the longest ever recorded in its history.

She had cooked for 100 hours - and was allowed a five-minute break each hour or the equivalent over several hours. However, GWR logged her record at 93 hours 11 minutes, docking her seven hours for taking a longer break on one occasion.

Ekiti State-based Chef Dammy, whose full name is Adedamilola Adeparusi, has been celebrated by locals, who gathered in what looks like their hundreds to cheer her on shouting "Go Dammy", according to Punch News., external

In the early hours of Wednesday, she posted on Twitter: "120hrs done! I want to appreciate you all for your support emotionally, financially, physically & spiritually..if not for you guys I wouldn’t be able to achieve this."

However, not everyone has been supporting Chef Dammy so-called "cook-a-thon", with some online saying that what she is doing so soon after Chef Baci makes a "mockery" of her.

"It’s a mockery of every single thing Hilda put into that feat and the fact that... anyone would place her side by side with Hilda in any discourse is hurtful," one person wrote on Twitter., external

Another person described Chef Dammy's attempt as "a very bad imitation".

"Just few weeks after Hilda Baci tried to break record for our country Nigeria and Africa we can't even allow her to enjoy the fame," someone else wrote., external

GWR is yet to review or rule on Chef Dammy's attempt.

Read more about Hilda Baci:

• GWR confirms Nigerian's non-stop cooking record

Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

Image source, AFP

Human Rights Watch (HRW) says it has found further evidence that rebels backed by Rwanda killed dozens of people in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo who were then buried in mass graves.

It says civilians and militia members who had been captured by the M23 rebel group were killed in the village of Kishishe between last November and April.

Rwanda has denied backing the M23 rebels who have in the past said they were not behind the massacre.

HRW has called on the Congolese government to get help from the UN and African Union to conduct proper exhumations, return remains to families and hold those responsible to account.

Who are M23 fighters?

• Largely made up of Congolese army deserters, they first took up arms in 2009 accusing the government of marginalising the country's ethnic Tutsi minority and failing to honour previous peace accords
• Early last year they began regrouping, a decade after disarming as part of peace agreement
• They captured territory in North-Kivu province and hundreds of thousands of civilians fled their homes
• They have since pulled back from some areas as part of a regional ceasefire initiative
• But the group says it will not disarm unless the government agrees to direct talks.

Charles Haviland
BBC World Service newsroom

Image source, Getty Images

New research suggests that the world's most famous early human ancestor, nicknamed Lucy, could walk fully upright as well as living in trees.

It means her posture is not replicated in any living species today.

The individual, from the species Australopithecus Afarensis, was discovered in Ethiopia in 1974, with 40% of her skeletal bones.

Scientists at the University of Cambridge have now digitally modelled her lower limb muscles.

They conclude that Lucy could straighten her knee joints, enabling her to stand upright and inhabit grasslands - but also that her powerful leg muscles helped her live in trees like modern apes.

Lucy lived more than three million years ago.

Image source, PA

BBC World Service
Newsroom

Image source, Reuters

UN chief António Guterres says he is appalled by reports of large-scale violence in the Darfur region of Sudan.

His spokesperson says Mr Guterres has called on all warring parties to stop fighting and commit to a durable cessation of hostilities.

“He is highly worried about the increasing ethnic dimension of the violence, as well as by reports of sexual violence,” Stéphane Dujarric said, external.

“With nearly nine million people now urgently requiring humanitarian aid and protection in Darfur, he stresses the need for an end to looting and widened access so aid can reach those who most need it.”

Earlier the UN's head of mission for Sudan, Volker Perthes, said these attacks appeared to have been committed by Arab militia and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

“These reports are deeply worrying and, if verified, could amount to crimes against humanity,” he said in a statement, external.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia has announced it will jointly lead a conference on the humanitarian response to the war in Sudan next week. Saudi Arabia and the US have been trying to mediate in the eight-week conflict between the army and the RSF.

More on the Darfur fighting:

• 'Everything civilians can use has been burned or destroyed'
• Sudan's Darfur conflict: Why an accountant took up arms
• Student engineer electrocuted fixing power in Darfur clinic

Our proverb of the day:

Click here to send us your African proverbs.

BBC Arabic's new radio programme has been hearing about the suffering caused by the conflict.

John Ward, 89, spent £2m trying to find out who killed his daughter Julie in Kenya in 1988.

That's all from the BBC Africa Live team for now and we'll leave you with an automated service.

You can also check out African news stories on the BBC News website or listen to the new Focus on Africa podcast.

A reminder of Tuesday's wise words:

Click here to send us your African proverbs.

And we leave you with this picture of athletes competing in Kenya's first ever Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournament:

Image source, AFP

The US music industry's top honours will now include a new category solely for African performers, reflecting the explosion of global appreciation for homegrown styles like afrobeats and amapiano.

"Best African Music Performance", as the new category is known, was announced on Tuesday by the Grammys.

It will be introduced at next year's ceremony along with two other new categories - Best Alternative Jazz Album and Best Pop Dance Recording.

Munira Hussein
BBC Africa, Dar es Salaam

There is outrage in Tanzania after a middle-aged woman was found to have raped an eight-year-old boy and infected him with sexually transmitted diseases.

Desderia Mbwelwa, 57, has been sentenced to 29 years in prison at a court on Friday but details of the verdict have not been widely reported until now.

On the day of the attack, the woman found the victim herding cattle at a village in southern district of Iringa and asked where his friends were.

She is then said to have sexually assaulted him under a tree after he said that his friends were not around.

The case had five witnesses including a doctor who examined the boy and confirmed he had injuries and had contracted sexual infections due to contamination in the genital area.

Mbwelwa is said to have defended herself by saying she is an adult with children and grandchildren who depend on her.

Her lawyer, Frank Mwela, said that he plans to appeal against the verdict because his client was not tested to confirm if she indeed had sexually transmitted diseases.

"My client was not tested positive for those diseases, which both my client and her witness have confirmed they do not have because one of the witnesses is her husband," he said.

John Fru Ndi became a hero to many in the 1990s for his bravery at taking on the one-party state.

Image source, Getty Images

It's thought that dozens of people may have drowned and many others are missing after the boat carrying them down the River Niger capsized.

Some reports suggest the passengers were returning from a wedding party.

The vessel had been travelling from Niger state to Kwara state on Monday, say local authorities. It is not known what caused the accident.

A statement from the Kwara state Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq said "dozens of people were feared killed and many others [are] still missing".

According to the Emir of Patigi - the locality where it happened - more than 150 people have now been confirmed dead.

The Kwara state governor gave his "heartfelt condolences" to the victims' loved ones - and said rescuers were continuing to search for survivors.

Such accidents are sadly common in Nigeria. Just last month 14 people died after a boat capsized in nearby Sokoto state, external.

Patience Atuhaire
BBC News, Kampala

Uganda’s Director of Public Prosecutions has dropped all charges against King Charles Wesley Mumbere of the Rwenzururu kingdom and 217 other people, who had been facing prosecution for treason since 2016.

Under law, anyone who denounces rebellion and asks for a pardon qualifies for amnesty in Uganda.

The government had accused the monarch, known as the Omusinga in the local Lhukonzo language, of trying to incite his people and of recruiting and arming fighters to form a breakaway "republic", known an as Yiira.

At the time, when security forces raided the office of the prime minister of the Rwenzururu kingdom, a number of people were killed and their families never received justice.

The government says 60 people died in the raids but Human Rights Watch reported that at least 153 people were killed.

When King Mumbere was granted bail in 2017, he was restricted from visiting his home region in western Uganda or carrying out any of his royal duties.

Their pastor allegedly told them that they would "meet Jesus Christ" after fasting for 40 days.

Richard Hamilton
BBC World Service Newsroom

The United Nations' Human Rights office (OHCHR) says it's deeply troubled by developments in Senegal, where at least 16 people have been killed and more than 500 have been arrested during anti-government protests.

The OHCHR condemned the use of firearms by security forces and said it was concerned by restrictions on freedom of speech and peaceful assembly.

Last week the government imposed a ban on opposition rallies.

The unrest was triggered by the imposition of a two-year jail sentence for the opposition leader, Ousmane Sonko.

Peter Mwai
BBC Verify

Image source, Planet Labs

Latest satellite images show a huge fire that broke out at a fuel storage depot in Sudan's capital Khartoum is still burning nearly a week later.

The fire broke out on Wednesday last week at the al-Shajra fuel depot in the Yarmouk area during heavy fighting between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces.

It is still not clear how the fire started.

The Yarmouk area has a number of factories, a military complex as well as oil and fuel storage facilities.

Images and video posted on social media last week showed huge flames and clouds of smoke rising from the area during the day and later illuminating the night sky.

There were several fires burning then, but over the past few days it was burning at one location.

Yesterday, Nasa satellites recorded heat signatures from one location which corresponds to the smoke seen rising from the main gas storage tanks in the satellite images from Planet Labs.

The RSF claimed to have taken control of the area and posted a video on Twitter showing its fighters inside a building, with one of them saying they were in a warehouse that stored weapons.

The army hasn’t commented on the fighting there.

Richard Hamilton
BBC World Service Newsroom

The authorities in Ethiopia have repatriated 80 people from Uganda, who are suspected of belonging to a doomsday cult.

Members of the Christ Disciples Church were allegedly told to sell their property, make a pilgrimage to Ethiopia and starve themselves to death in order to meet Jesus.

Police said they were hunting for the leader of the cult, Simon Opolot.

In Kenya, more than 250 bodies of suspected cult members have been discovered in a remote forest. Paul Mackenzie allegedly convinced his followers to kill themselves by starvation.