BBC World Service

Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has said a military offensive against al-Shabab aims to eliminate the al-Qaeda linked group in the next five months.

Correspondents say a promise to eliminate the group is hugely optimistic seeing as it has been around since the early 2000s, is deeply embedded in communities and has adapted its tactics in the face of international military pressure.

Yet thousands of government soldiers have been gathering in a town in central Somalia to take part in a new military campaign against the jihadists.

During the first phase of the offensive, which began a year ago, the army and local clan-based militias managed to seize swathes of territory from al-Shabab.

Al-Shabab, which means "the youth" in Arabic, emerged as the radical youth wing of Somalia's now-defunct Union of Islamic Courts, which controlled Mogadishu in 2006, before being forced out by Ethiopian forces.

Nichola Mandil
BBC News, Juba

At least 22 aid workers have been killed in South Sudan his year alone, according to the UN, who say it tops the list of most dangerous countries for aid workers in the world.

Some 9.4 million people – more than two-thirds of its population – are in dire need of humanitarian aid, according to a UN estimate. The crisis has worsened, because access has become harder and funding is lower.

Since the start of this year there have been 40 attacks on aid workers in South Sudan - leaving 22 aid workers dead and 36 injured, according to the 2023 Aid Worker Security Report.

Peter Van der Auweraert, the UN Acting Humanitarian Coordinator for South Sudan, says most of those killed were South Sudanese nationals.

The humanitarian community there says it needs $1.7bn (£1.3bn) to target 6.8 million of the most vulnerable people.

In addition, the conflict in neighbouring Sudan has triggered an influx of over 220,000 refugees, returnees and third-country nationals into South Sudan since April.

Nduka Orjinmo
BBC News, Abuja

Nigeria’s University of Calabar has suspended a high-ranking professor after a protest by female students accused him of sexual harassment.

On Monday, around 30 female students demonstrated on campus, which is in the southern state of Cross River, holding up placards detailing graphic accusations against the academic.

Cyril Ndifon did not respond to BBC messages but he has been quoted by some local newspapers as denying the allegations.

“This won’t work. Colleagues of mine who are bent on tarnishing my reputation just to destroy me. The question is, ‘Where are the victims of sexual harassment?’” he told CrossRiverWatch news site.

Dr Tony Eyang, the dean of students’ affairs at the university, told the BBC investigations began after the protest on Monday, which he said had taken the authorities by surprise.

Unsatisfied with a written response from Prof Ndifon, the university’s vice-chancellor has now removed him from his post as dean of the faculty of law and also suspended him.

The matter has also been referred to an official investigative panel.

Protests against sexual harassment are rare on Nigerian university campuses. One placard on Monday read: “Stop grabbing us. The faculty of law is not a brothel.”

Last year, parliament passed a bill that criminalises sexual harassment by lecturers, with offenders facing up to 14 years in jail.

It also does not allow mutual consent as a defence in the prosecution of sexual harassment cases at universities.

The legislation came after a BBC investigation in 2019 that uncovered alleged sexual misconduct by lecturers in Nigeria and Ghana.

DJ Edu
Presenter of This Is Africa on BBC World Service

Image source, Courtesy of the artist

Tunisian rapper FBK is first and foremost a writer, who started writing poetry at about the same time she began rapping:

FBK gets her inspiration from nature, from her own experiences, and from those of her friends.

Some of her songs are very personal, like Césarienne. In it she talks about how she came into the world:

Other songs tackle more general topics such as the sexist attitudes women in Tunisia face.

The track Kaabi was inspired by some of the negative comments FBK received on social media in because of her decision to become a rapper:

FBK is also alive to the political context – and potential – of rap in Tunisia, saying:

You can hear the full interview with FBK online here: BBCworldservice.com/thisisafrica

Commonwealth 100m gold medallist Ferdinand Omanyala is targeting a knockout African win at this month's World Athletics Championships.

The region estimates at least 1,400 have died since a food corruption scam was uncovered in April.

Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

Image source, Getty Images

The UN's human rights chief has expressed grave concern for the people of Niger who he said were going to face even more hardship as a result of last month's coup.

Volker Türk called on the military generals to immediately restore constitutional order.

He said in a country where nearly half the population is mired in extreme poverty the situation was worsening with borders shut, trade at a standstill, power cuts and rising food prices.

His comments come as West African army chiefs are meeting for a second day in Ghana to co-ordinate possible military action should diplomatic efforts to reverse the coup fail.

Image source, Reuters

Chinese President Xi Jinping will pay a state visit to South Africa next week, and will also attend the Brics summit there, South African officials confirm.

Brics is an acronym for Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - and is seen by some as an alternative to the G7 group of developed nations.

Mr Xi's trip will be his second international one this year, after paying an official state visit to Russia in March.

It comes as leaders of Brics states are due to meet next week, with part of the agenda being the possible future expansion the group's membership. A number of African countries, including Algeria, Egypt and Ethiopia, have previously expressed a desire to join the bloc.

The summit had earlier been clouded by questions on whether Russia's president would personally attend, but it was later confirmed by South Africa's presidency that he would not.

If Mr Putin had left Russian soil, he would have been subject to an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant due to the war in Ukraine - and South Africa is an ICC signatory and therefore obliged to help in his arrest.

Image source, Getty Images

Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni has once again criticised the World Bank’s withdrawal of funding, saying that the organisation is mistaken if it thinks that the move will intimidate Ugandans.

In a statement posted on his X (formerly Twitter) account, external on Thursday, Mr Museveni branded the World Bank as "shallow and insufferable imperialist actors who do not know where to stop".

Last week, the World Bank suspended funding to Uganda, external because of a controversial anti-homosexuality law passed in May, which contradicted World Bank’s values.

The law has drawn global criticism for its harshness, including penalties of imprisonment or death for individuals who engage in certain same-sex acts.

In response to the World Bank last week, Mr Museveni accused it of trying to coerce Uganda to reverse the law by halting funding, but added that Uganda would continue to develop even without the World Bank’s support.

On Thursday, Mr Museveni reiterated that the withdrawn funding would not deter Uganda’s economic transformation. He added that World Bank’s drastic move would, in fact, aid Uganda’s bid to reduce external debt and become more self-reliant.

Mr Museveni said Uganda still has several Western allies, but said they were intimidated about continuing support for Uganda.

Nkechi Ogbonna
BBC News, Lagos

Image source, Getty Images

The Nigerian government has approved the disbursement of 5bn naira ($6.5m; £5.1m) to each of the country’s 36 states and the federal capital for the procurement of food items for the poor.

It will also distribute bags of rice, maize and fertiliser, Governor Babagana Zulum of the north-western Borno state told the media after a National Economic Council meeting at the presidential villa in the capital, Abuja.

The move is part of measures to ease the rising cost of living, a fallout from President Bola Tinubu's decision to remove fuel subsidies when we took power in May.

Since then fuel prices have risen by 200% and food prices have more than doubled - leading to the president declaring a state of emergency over food insecurity last month and announcing measures to boost food security, small businesses, manufacturing and affordable transport.

President Tinubu said the removal of subsidies had helped the government save more than 1tn naira ($1.2bn).

Nomsa Maseko
BBC News, Johannesburg

Image source, EPA

An alliance of seven political parties in South Africa has signed a pact in a bid to unseat the governing African National Congress (ANC) in the 2024 election.

The Multi-Party Charter for South Africa said if they came to power, they would work together and allocate ministerial positions and parliamentary seats.

They are also seeking to keep Julius Malema’s Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party from being voted into power.

The agreement, initiated by the main opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) party, comes as the country battles an ailing economy, corruption, crime, unemployment and an unprecedented energy crisis.

The other signatories are the Inkatha Freedom Party, Freedom Front Plus, ActionSA, United Independent Movement, Independent SA National Civic Organisation (Isanco) and the Spectrum National Party.

The new coalition says it will extend invitations to other parties in due course.

Analysts say the ANC risks losing its parliamentary majority for the first time since South Africa's return to democracy in 1994.

The new bloc, however, has not decided who will be elected president if it is successful in the election.

As the World Athletics Championships approach, where might Africa shine in the Hungarian capital Budapest?

Kenneth Mungai
BBC News, Nairobi

Image source, Getty Images

A Kenyan man who said he was protesting against the high cost of living set himself on fire in the coastal city of Mombasa on Thursday afternoon.

He had climbed on top of a statue in the middle of a busy roundabout before setting himself alight. In a video that has since gone viral, the man is seen holding the Kenyan flag, he then shouts and, in a moment, a huge flame engulfs him.

He was rescued by onlookers who quickly helped put out the fire and was taken to the nearby Coast General Teaching and Referral Hospital, where he is being treated.

The man, who has not been named, told eyewitnesses he was protesting against the high cost of living and last year's "stolen" presidential election, in which the opposition leader Raila Odinga lost to President William Ruto. The victory was upheld in court which dismissed Mr Odinga's claims of irregularities.

Dozens of people have been killed in Kenya in recent weeks as police have cracked down on mass protests demanding electoral reforms and an end to inflation.

Our proverb of the day:

Click here to send us your African proverbs.

There's currently a huge demand across the world for lithium and it's Zimbabwe that has Africa's largest lithium reserve.

A selection of the best photos from the African continent and beyond.

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

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

A reminder of Thursday's wise words:

Click here to send us your African proverbs.

We leave you with a photo of a fabric shop in the Tanzanian city of Arusha:

Image source, EPA

Gloria Aradi
BBC News, Nairobi

Kenyans are rallying on social media to save the life of a seven-year-old boy who has been in a coma since 8 August after falling off a moving roller coaster.

Caleb Odanga sustained serious head injuries after falling from the merry-go-round swing during a school outing at an amusement park in Ruiru, on the outskirts of the capital Nairobi.

The injuries resulted in the boy's admission to the intensive care unit at a hospital where his medical bill is more than 60,000 shillings ($415; £330) a day.

So far, Kenyans on social media have raised more than $2,400 for the boy’s treatment.

Peter Odanga, the father, has made an online appeal for continued help from the public. He told Kenya’s Citizen TV that the family remains optimistic and continues to pray for his son's recovery, even though doctors have advised him to put off life support.

According to Mr Odanga, doctors informed him that the injuries are so severe that the boy does not have a realistic chance of survival.

Police officers are currently investigating the accident to determine whether there was negligence by the management of the amusement park or the teachers who accompanied the boy and his classmates.

Six teachers have given statements to the police statements, while the school’s director, Hilda Mwangi, promised support for the family.

Workers at the amusement park have denied negligence, telling Kenyan media that the merry-go-round had adequate safety measures, including safety harnesses.

Alfred Lasteck
BBC News, Dar es Salaam

The Tanzanian government says the arrest of two opposition politicians and a lawyer has nothing to do with their criticism of the government's deal with a United Arab Emirates firm to manage the country's ports.

The arrested trio - former opposition leader and ex-ambassador to Sweden, Willibrod Slaa, activist Mpaluka Nyagali and lawyer Boniface Mwabukusi - are some of the leading critics of the port deal.

However, the government alleged that their detention was linked to “specific public threats", including "calling for the violent overthrow of the government”.

Lawyers for accused, who are still being held in police custody, have not commented on the allegations.

No-one will be arrested for simply criticising the port deal or any other government projects, according to a statement by Information Minister Nape Nnauye.

Human rights groups, including Amnesty International, have called for unconditional release of the detainees.

A man whose brother was among around 60 Senegalese feared drowned says he would take the same risk.