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BBC World Service

Image source, EPA

Algeria has summoned senior Danish and Swedish diplomats to condemn the continued attacks on copies of the Quran in the two countries.

Earlier on Monday, the biggest market in Qatar is reported to have removed any products which come from Sweden.

There have been protests against this in several Muslim-majority countries, with campaigners and governments demanding that Sweden ban the burning of Islam's most sacred book.

Earlier on Monday, two people from a group calling itself "Danish Patriots" burned a copy of the Quran in Denmark's capital, Copenhagen.

BBC Great Lakes

Image source, Rwanda Parliament

Rwanda’s senate vice-president has penned and posted on Twitter, external a lengthy apology to President Paul Kagame after she participated in a function to introduce a clan leader.

Espérance Nyirasafari said she had "done a horrible thing” for taking part in that function, an act that the governing RPF party said “threatens the unity of all Rwandans”.

Other party members who took part have also apologised.

One vice-mayor resigned on Monday night following the incident.

The clan leader who was introduced at the function that took place early this month, also said sorry.

The issue around ethnicity in Rwanda remains sensitive, almost three decades after the genocide where around 800,000 Tutsi and moderate Hutu were killed in 100 days.

Mrs Nyirasafari's apology puts her political influence and position in doubt.

She has previously served as a national prosecutor, minister of gender and minister of sports and culture.

In her apology she said she regretted not "doing anything” to stop the clan meeting.

Public apologies aren’t new for the RPF and the opposition says their purpose is to shame and discredit officials who otherwise would give different ideas on policies.

Mike Thomson
BBC World Service News

Image source, AFP

The bodies of five sub-Saharan Africans have been discovered by Libyan authorities in a militarised buffer zone between the country’s border with Tunisia.

The discovery comes after weeks of mass expulsions of black Africans by the Tunisian government.

The policy followed violent clashes between migrants and residents in Tunisia’s second city of Sfax – a main departure point for people trying to cross the Mediterranean illegally to Europe.

Rights groups say hundreds of black Africans - some of whom have legal status in Tunisia - were bussed to the remote desert buffer zone and abandoned without food or water.

Read more:

• Tunisia migrant attacks: 'They held a knife to my throat'

Muthoni Muchiri
BBC News

Image source, Google

Egyptian-German doctor Mohamed Helmy, who sheltered and supported a Jewish family during World War Two, has been honoured with a Google Doodle.

Google commissioned the work by Berlin-based artist Noa Snir on what would have been Dr Helmy’s 122nd birthday.

It depicts the doctor with his arms wide open, showing his "open-hearted nature".

Dr Helmy was born Sudan in 1901 to an Egyptian father and a German mother and later moved to study medicine in Germany, where he rose to become head of a urology department at a hospital in Berlin.

Persecution of Jews intensified when Adolf Hitler rose to power in 1933.

Non-Aryan citizens also faced discrimination and Dr Helmy lost his position, was barred from marrying his German fiancée and was arrested twice by the Nazis in 1939 and 1940.

Nonetheless Dr Helmy decided to help out the family of one of his Jewish patients - in particular a teenage girl called Anna Boros who at one stage he disguised in a Muslim headscarf and passed off as his niece.

“I think Helmy's case is an especially interesting one as he himself suffered persecution due to his background and ethnicity, and that still didn't stop him from helping as many people as he could. It's unfathomable to me, this type of courage and integrity,” Snir told Google, external.

Image source, AFP

After the end of the war, Anna and Dr Helmy stayed in touch, external until his death in Berlin in 1982.

The doctor was posthumously honoured with the Righteous Among the Nations award in 2013 by Israel’s Yad Vashem, the Holocaust memorial site in Jerusalem.

Nicolas Negoce
BBC News

Two people have been rescued alive but 17 others were found dead after the boat they were all travelling in capsized off Senegal's capital city, according to local officials.

Divers and firefighters are still searching in Dakar, a day after the vessel was first discovered.

President Macky Sall has offered his "heartfelt condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims", who he says were Senegalese.

It's not known where the passengers were going, but their canoe-like boat suggests they were migrants, says Ouakam neighborhood Mayor Ndeye Top Gueye.

Migrant deaths at sea are becoming more common in Senegal. The Atlantic migration route is one of the deadliest in the world, with nearly 800 people dying or going missing in the first half of 2023 according to Spanish aid group Walking Borders.

Search operations have also taken place recently in Spain, to find migrant boats from Senegal that have gone missing, carrying more than 300 people, according to the NGO Caminando Fronteras.

Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

The health authorities in Burkina Faso have given the go-ahead for a new malaria vaccine to be used on young children offering hope that millions of lives can be saved.

The R21 vaccine has already been approved in Ghana and Nigeria.

Malaria is the leading cause of infant mortality in Burkina Faso, and Health Minister Robert Kargougou says this new vaccine will be an extremely important tool in the effort to eliminate the disease.

Researchers say trials involving 5,000 children have been successful.

The R21 vaccine will be available for children aged between five months and 36 months - and each dose is likely to cost a couple of US dollars.

The Serum Institute of India can produce two million doses a year, and a factory is also to be built in Ghana which has already approved use of the vaccine along with Nigeria.

Wagner fighters overseeing Malian troops are accused of targeting civilians and other rights abuses.

Nduka Orjinmo
BBC News, Abuja

Image source, AFP

Nigeria’s suspended bank chief has appeared in court more than a month after he was arrested by the country’s secret police.

Godwin Emefiele was charged with illegally owning a shotgun and ammunition at Tuesday’s appearance in Lagos, where he arrived clutching a huge Bible.

He denied the allegations.

The 61-year-old has been granted bail by Justice Nicholas Oweibo, who rejected the government’s claim that Mr Emefiele was a flight risk.

It marks a spectacular fall for a man that only recently flirted with the idea of becoming Nigeria’s president.

He was not successful in getting the nomination of the ruling party, but his decision to pursue it while he was still at the bank was heavily criticised and marked a low point in the institution's history, critics said.

Then ahead of February's tightly contested presidential election, Mr Emefiele spearheaded an unsuccessful attempt to redesign the local currency to prevent vote-buying.

Many Nigerians consider him an integral figure in the government of former President Muhammadu Buhari. It oversaw eight years of economic turmoil marked by two recessions - plus an 18-year-high inflation, currency devaluation, soaring unemployment and ballooning debts.

Ben Henderson & Hannah Ajala

Image source, BBC/Ben Henderson

The global trade in church bells heralds a new era for Christianity - one with Africa at its beating heart.

"Our bells are like the thermometer of the faith… Through our trade, we can immediately understand where the faith is most alive, and where it is waning," says Armando Marinelli, an artisan church bell-maker from Italy.

"We currently have orders from Tanzania, Nigeria, [Democratic Republic of] Congo... So we can tell that, whereas faith here in Italy is a bit up and down, in Africa it's thriving."

His foundry, Campagne Marinelli, is hundreds of years old and its bells hang in some of Italy's most famous places - including the Leaning Tower of Pisa and St Peter's Square in the Vatican.

These days, the dwindling demand for Marinelli bells at home reflects the decline of Christianity in western Europe - once the religion's heartland.

So rather than finding homes nearby, the Marinelli bells are shipped across the oceans.

For a BBC World Service documentary we followed the Marinelli bell to Odoni, in south-western Nigeria, where we found a thriving Christian community.

"The bell, we see it as the voice of God… the church in Africa is booming," announces Father Cletus, the parish priest.

"We believe the re-evangelisation of the Earth is going to happen from sub-Saharan Africa, Nigeria in particular," agrees Pastor Paul Enenche of Dunamis International Gospel Centre.

"Believe in that!"

• Click here to listen to the documentary Song of the Bell

Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

Image source, Reuters

The World Health Organization (WHO) is warning of a deepening humanitarian crisis in Sudan where more than two-thirds of the country's hospitals are out of service.

There are increasing reports of attacks on health care facilities and staff.

It says for the hundreds of thousands who have fled the violence and crossed borders, life remains precarious.

According to the WHO, disease outbreaks – including malaria, measles and dengue – that had been well under control before the current conflict, are increasing due to the disruption of basic public health services.

It also says there are increasing reports sexual and gender-based violence against women and girls.

Several efforts at peace talks have been attempted but have failed to result in a proper ceasefire.

The WHO has called on all warring parties to protect civilians, humanitarian workers and health facilities.

Muthoni Muchiri
BBC News

Image source, Reuters

Kenya's opposition leader, Raila Odinga, says he plans to launch a fund for "families who lost their loved ones and those still in hospital receiving treatment" amid nationwide demonstrations.

Speaking to members of the International Press Association of East Africa, external on Tuesday morning, the Azimio coalition leader added that the fund would be available for others to contribute as well.

More protests had been planned for Wednesday from 06:00 to 18:00 but, in a statement on Twitter,, external Mr Odinga has called for a different type of protest to take place instead. He said they would hold solidarity parades and vigils for victims of police brutality at various locations across the country.

"We condole with the families who have lost loved ones and they are the reason as to why we called off the demos," he added.

Kenya's police have been battling protesters in the latest opposition protests against the rising cost of living and tax hikes.

Lailla Mohammed
BBC News, Nairobi

Image source, Getty Images

The main opposition group in Kenya says it's taking a break from cost-of-living protests this week, and will instead hold public vigils in honour of people killed in previous demonstrations.

The Azimio coalition claims there have been at least 50 deaths so far, with hundreds of wounded people taken to hospitals.

It accuses police of engaging in excessive force and brutality against civilians, some of whom it says were nowhere near the protest scenes.

The interior minister has defended the police's use of force, saying they had found themselves in "highly dangerous situations". The state also accuses Azimio of exaggerating the number of dead.

A police oversight body says they've begun investigations into the latest reports of atrocities, but told the BBC their capacity to conduct investigations was limited as they only had 250 officers spread across the country.

A Ghanaian minister allegedly lost $1m cash, handbags and jewels from her house.

Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

Image source, Reuters

A court in London has ordered the lawyer for a former Nigerian governor to pay around $36m (£28m) for helping him hide funds.

Bhadresh Gohil was convicted in 2010 of money laundering linked to his role in helping the former governor of oil rich Delta State, James Ibori, to hide the proceeds from criminal activities.

Both men have already served prison sentences in the UK for money laundering.

On Friday, Mr Ibori who now lives back in Nigeria was ordered to hand over $130m of stolen money.

The London court said both men would face further prison sentences if they failed to pay.

Image source, Griote

A four-storey building that collapsed in Cameroon killing 34 people had been built without a permit, says the housing and urban development minister.

Célestine Ketcha Courtès visited the scene in Douala on Monday, telling reporters an investigation has been launched and rescue efforts will continue so that nobody is left trapped under the wreckage.

Building collapses are not uncommon in Cameroon, but this is the worst in some time.

"We'd been happy not to have had any such disasters for a while now - especially in Douala where the mayor is really trying to bring order," said Kizito Ngoa, the head of Cameroon's Order of Civil Engineers which regulates housing in the country.

He told the BBC that builders often fail to secure permits and try to cut corners to save money, adding "there is a widespread feeling that everyone can just do what they want".

Yusuf Akinpelu
BBC News

Image source, AFP

The US has announced sanctions against three top Malian officials said to be co-ordinating the spread of Russian private military firm Wagner in the West African country.

They are Mali's defence minister, air force chief and the deputy chief of staff, says US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, external.

He says civilian deaths have tripled since Wagner forces were deployed to Mali in December 2021, adding "many of those deaths were the result of operations conducted by the Malian armed forces alongside members of the Wagner group".

Washington and its allies have for years hit the Wagner group and its supporters with sanctions, accusing the paramilitary group of rights abuses and spreading misinformation. In January, Washington designated Wagner as a "transnational criminal organisation”.

Last week, the UK sanctioned 13 individuals with links to Wagner in the Central African Republic, Mali and Sudan.

Since French troops left Mali last August and the subsequent demand for withdrawal of the UN force there, the Malian junta, which seized power in May 2021, has increasingly turned to Wagner.

Wagner is thought to have some 1,000 troops in the Sahel nation that has been the epicentre of jihadist turmoil and political unrest for years.

Our proverb of the day:

Click here to send us your African proverbs.

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

You can also get the latest on the BBC News website and listen to the Focus on Africa podcast.

A reminder of our wise words for the day:

And we leave you with this photo of Egyptian and UAE aerobatics air force teams performing at the New Alamein Festival 2023 in El-Alamein, Egypt, on Sunday.

Image source, Getty Images

Chris Ewokor
BBC News, Abuja

Chad has started preparations for the planned referendum due to take place on 17 December, on a new constitution aimed at returning it to civilian rule.

On Monday the government launched an initiative to revise and update the list of the electoral register from the 2021 biometric file.

A team comprising of the Minister of Territorial Administration, who is also chairman of the national committee in charge of organising the referendum, and other government officials were in the Moyen-Chari region for the launch.

The new electoral register is expected be published on 12 November to pave the way for campaign activities.

Provisional results of the referendum will be announced on 26 December before being transmitted to the Constitutional Court for validation.

A new constitution aimed at returning Chad to civil rule was approved on 27 June by a majority of the members of the Transitional National Council.

However, there have been deep divisions among the government, opposition, and civil society groups over the provisions of the new constitution.

Chad is currently run by transitional President General Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno, who took over in April 2021 following the death of his father President Idriss Déby in a military operation.

Nkechi Ogbonna
West Africa Business Journalist, BBC News

Ghana’s Central Bank has increased key interest rates 30% to curb the country's soaring inflation.

This is a 0.5% increase.

The hike was announced on Monday at the end of its monetary policy meeting.

“A hike in rates is the best way to go in the midst of the crisis,” financial analyst Richmond Frimpong told the BBC.

This makes it more expensive to borrow money, and is intended to reduce consumer spending.

The West African nation has been grappling with a battered economy marred by inflation currently over 42%, huge public debts and a cost-of-living crisis.

Last Friday, the World Bank said about 850,000 more Ghanaians were pushed into poverty by the end of 2022 owing to the rising cost of living marred by a loss in purchasing power, and an increase in food prices.

Africa’s largest gold producer has received $600m (£518m), the initial tranche of a $3bn bailout programme from the International Monetary Fund aimed at stabilising its economy while it embarks on debt restructuring and other economic policies aimed at boosting revenues.