The government says "stopping the boats" is a key political priority, but how is it going about it?

The BBC explores key issues in a vote that will test how far Zimbabwe has come since Robert Mugabe.

Fo the latest updates, please go to bbc.com/africalive

A radio presenter in Sudan has a baby by the road as she flees militias she says killed her other sons.

Natasha Booty
BBC News

Image source, Getty Images

Malian fabric producers are famed for their distinctive bogolan designs - the word means "made with earth" in the Bambara language.

Since June these fabrics have been stamped with a logo confirming their place of origin, but as RFI reports, Mali is now hoping to get additional certification for these goods from the African Intellectual Property Organisation, external (AIPO).

"The textile industries have started to take an interest in creations from Mali and we see them everywhere," teacher and entrepreneur Boubacar Doumbia tells the French-language broadcaster.

"Across West Africa, we see fabrics printed with bogolan-style designs. Given this reality of this piracy, the craftsmen who live off this work have difficulty selling their products."

Mali's bogolan makers are hoping they'll receive AIPO certification within six months.

Rescuers will make sure no-one is left beneath the rubble, vows a top official in the city of Douala.

Favour Nunoo & Thomas Naadi
BBC News, Accra

Image source, Getty Images

Ghana's president has accepted the resignation of Sanitation and Water Resources Minister Cecilia Abena Dapaah, following public outcry over huge sums of money discovered at her home in the capital city, Accra.

Two domestic staff there have been accused of stealing and stashing more than $1m in cash, €300,000 and several million Ghana cedis, as well as some personal items.

The disclosure has caused uproar in Ghana. Many are wondering how a minister could have such vast sums in her home.

MPs have called for an investigation to verify the source of the money.

"I intend to co-operate fully with all state agencies to enable them fully establish the facts," Ms Dapaah said on Saturday.

Elettra Neysmith
BBC World Service News

A search is under way in the Democratic Republic of Congo for a soldier who shot dead at least 13 people - nine of them children - in a dispute over a funeral.

Army officials say the officer appears to have been angry at having missed his son's funeral.

He opened fire at a memorial gathering late on Saturday before fleeing. The soldier's wife was among those injured at the scene - in the village of Nyakova, on the banks of Lake Albert in Congo's eastern Ituri province.

She is said to have ordered the boy's burial while the officer waited to find out when he could be relieved of his duties.

Opponents call it a "plot on democracy" and say the referendum result should be annulled.

BBC World Service

Image source, AFP

It's 100 days since fighting broke out in Sudan between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

At least 3,000 people have been killed, though the true number may never be known. More than three million Sudanese have been displaced by the conflict.

The fighting has centred on the capital, Khartoum, and the western Darfur region where a local lawyers' union report that at least 20 people have been killed in recent rocket fire.

Doctors in North Kordofan state say four hospitals near the capital El-Obeid were targeted on Friday and Saturday.

There's little sign that either the head of the army, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, or the RSF commander, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, are ready to pursue peace.

James Copnall
BBC Newsday, Camini, southern Italy

It’s easy to get caught up in the heat of the political debate over migration across the Mediterranean, a topic that has propelled right-wing parties into power in Italy and elsewhere.

It’s easy, too, to get lost in the sandstorm of statistics: the tens of thousands of arrivals on Italy’s shores, or the estimated 2,000 people who have died crossing the Mediterranean already this year.

In a week of reporting from southern Italy on migration, though, it is the personal stories, the fear and the hope, the tragedies and the triumphs, that stand far above anything else.

Take, for instance, Tessy, a young Nigerian woman who made it to Italy 15 years ago. She almost broke down as she told me about her journey to Europe.

She spent 10 days stuck in the Sahara desert, almost out of food and water. It was 50:50 whether she lived or died, she said.

Now, she is married, and happy, helping newly arrived migrants and refugees to settle into life in Italy. But, Tessy said, she would never advise her 21-year-old self to make that sort of journey.

Or what about Anicet, an Ivorian woman I met outside a reception centre for migrants in Crotone? She said she had been sold into slavery in Tunisia, and described beatings and rapes as commonplace for women making their way to Europe.

Men told me they had been imprisoned in Libya, and beaten, until they paid ransoms.

The physical and psychological scars will take a long time to heal.

In time, though, all those who make what is one of the world’s most dangerous journeys hope that they – like Tessy – will be able to settle in to a better life.

Listen to Newsday with James' reports from southern Italy.

The Tate showcases Africa's past, present and future through the lenses of artists from the continent.

Polyamory is on the rise in South Africa as people break with tradition, counsellors say.

Armed men attacked a team taking supplies to one of only two hospitals open in southern Khartoum.

As the Women's World Cup gets under way in Australia and New Zealand, history-making Rwandan referee Salima Mukansanga details how she made it to the top.

That's all from the BBC Africa Live team for now - we will be back on Monday morning. There will be an automated news feed here until then.

You can also get the latest updates at BBCAfrica.com and listen to the new Focus on Africa podcast for stories behind the news.

A reminder of the day's wise words:

Click here to send us your African proverbs.

And we leave you with this image of someone welcoming back young men and women from an initiation ceremony in South Africa - it's from our selection of the best pictures of the week:

Image source, Lucas Ledabwa/AFP

The former governor of Nigeria's Delta state, James Ibori, who has been ordered by a court in London to hand over $130m (£100m), has said he will "take [his] fight for justice to the highest courts in the UK".

He released a statement on Twitter, external in anticipation of Friday's court order.

Speaking about the judge, Ibori said "in the two years it has taken to write this judgment it seems apparent that he has forgotten many of the salient points and is prioritising expediency over justice".

Ibori was convicted in London in 2012 of fraud and money laundering. He is now back in Nigeria after serving some of his sentence in a British jail.

Lailla Mohammed
BBC News, Nairobi

Image source, Courtesy of Nahashon Muthoka

As the third and last day of opposition-led anti-government demonstrations across Kenya comes to an end, several families across nation are coming to terms with the loss of loved ones.

The uncle of one of those who has died has told the BBC that he is seeking answers for what happened to his 25-year-old nephew, Peter Ngolanye, who he says was shot by police in the town of Wote.

“At noon, a neighbour came calling and told me that my nephew had been shot and had been rushed to Makueni county referral hospital,” Nahashon Muthoka said, adding that he had been with Peter earlier, and both had decided to stay home instead of taking part in the demonstrations.

“Peter was a very kind-hearted young man,” Mr Muthoka recounted, expressing his concern over how the family, who are struggling financially, will afford a funeral.

Police have been accused of using extreme force to deal with demonstrators – who are protesting against a high cost of living and tax hikes.

Human rights groups have asked the government to look into the allegations of police shootings against protesters, as they urge for the immediate de-escalation of use of force.

However, some leaders allied to the Kenya Kwanza administration have lauded the police for “doing a stellar job, to restrain criminals masquerading as demonstrators to not loot property or harm civilians”.

Meanwhile, majority leader of the Kenyan parliament, Kimani Ichungwa, said that the police were doing their job and following orders based on the law.

Police have been accused by the Kenya Human Rights Commission of shooting to death at least 30 people since March.

Richard Hamilton
BBC World Service Newsroom

Image source, Reuters

The South African government has applied for a warrant to arrest the Russian President Vladimir Putin, if he visits South Africa.

The move follows a legal application by the opposition Democratic Alliance to compel the government to comply with an order from the International Criminal Court.

That stipulated that Mr Putin should be arrested in connection with the alleged abduction of children from Ukraine.

On Wednesday, the South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa, confirmed that Mr Putin would not be attending a Brics Summit in Johannesburg in August, ending months of speculation.

Read more on this story:

• Putin will not attend Brics summit - South African presidency

DJ Edu
Presenter of This Is Africa on BBC World Service

Image source, KS Bloom

KS Bloom had been making secular music for a while, then, one day, the day after his 21st birthday, he had a sudden revelation that changed his life and the direction of his career.

As he puts it, he met Jesus.

He’d been debating with friends about heaven and hell and who gets there and how. A Christian uncle stepped in, and KS Bloom decided his life had to change.

He stopped getting drunk and messaged all his girlfriends to tell them he was a changed man.

At first he thought he’d have to give up music, but then, on hearing gospel rap in his church, he realised this was his calling:

Not only has it not stopped, it’s been a phenomenal success.

KS Bloom’s song Enfant Dieu had been viewed more than 60 million times when I last checked, and KS Bloom was named best Ivorian artist of 2022 at the Primud d’Or awards. That is not best gospel artist, it’s best artist overall.

So what’s his secret?

Well, he embraces every and any genre of music:

And he isn’t judgemental:

KS Bloom says God isn’t just there for the well behaved, but for him and his friends who used to hang out in discos and bars:

You can hear the full interview with KS Bloom online here.