Thomas Naadi
BBC News, Libreville

Image source, Reuters

Gabon's military leader Gen Brice Oligui Nguema has met the opposition candidate Albert Ondo Ossa as part of consultations on rebuilding the country.

Mr Ossa was the main challenger to ousted President Ali Bongo in the election that was annulled when the military seized power last week.

The military authorities appear to be courting the support of the opposition to chart a new path for Gabon.

Mr Ossa boycotted Monday’s inauguration ceremony of Gen Nguema.

He indicated that he had won the annulled elections and should have been sworn in as president.

The meeting between the two could mean the opposition may have a role to play in the interim government.

Mr Ossa gave no details, but said the talks focused on the transition and restoration of government institutions.

Last Wednesday’s coup seems to be enjoying some popular support, but many are uncertain about the future.

Gen Nguema has not said when he plans to return the country to civilian rule.

Meanwhile, the junta has released some prisoners, including pro-democracy activist and leader of the most powerful trade union confederation, Jean Rémi Yama.

Our proverb of the day:

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Its soldiers are scattered between Belarus and Africa, while others have joined the Russian army.

Residents say that with Lake Baringo getting bigger they are at greater risk of attack.

That's all from the BBC Africa Live team for now until Wednesday morning.

There will be an automated news feed here until then, plus you can get the latest updates at BBCAfrica.com and find out about stories behind the news on the 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 recent shot of a horse-drawn carriage passing by a newly opened train line in Senegal carrying Muslim pilgrims around 130km (80 miles) from Thies to a Mourid religious gathering that is taking place in Touba.

Image source, AFP

Priya Sippy
BBC Focus on Africa podcast

Image source, Maison Maphosa

Two teenage debaters have told the BBC how they managed to become African champions in their field.

Seventeen-year-old Raima Muhammad from Uganda and Menzimuhle Craig Ncube, 18, from Zimbabwe both made it to the World Debating School Championships held in Vietnam in July.

“Debate is something anyone can learn. It is about being able to articulate your ideas. You have to build some confidence into yourself,” Raima told the BBC Focus on Africa podcast.

“I have a dream of becoming the first female director of the United Nations, using my debate skills to engage in diplomatic and international relations.”

For Menzimuhle, convincing people is a skill.

“I don’t believe it is luck. When it comes to debate, there are certain things you need to be able to do - and it is the same thing when it comes to convincing an average individual in your day-to-day conversation.”

Eight African countries took part in the tournament out of 64 countries that entered, including Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

The highest performing African team was Zimbabwe, reaching eighth place after losing in the quarter-finals.

Zimbabwe’s head coach, Maison Pieterson Maphosa, told the BBC that he was “extremely proud and thrilled”.

“I feel an immense sense of pride and accomplishment, it is moment of validation for all the hard work, dedication, and training that my team and I have put in.”

Listen to their interviews in full here.

Kennedy Gondwe
BBC News, Lusaka

Image source, Getty Images

Zambia’s government has handed back a troubled copper mine to its original owners, Vedanta Resources.

Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) was placed under liquidation in 2019 after former President Edgar Lungu accused it of failing to meet its obligations.

The action led to a protracted legal dispute as Zambia failed to find new investors for the operation.

Mines Minister Paul Kabuswe now says Vedanta is back and the company had committed to invest $1bn (£796m) to develop the mine.

Another $250m would be put towards the payment of all local creditors, a Vedanta executive said.

Added to this $20m would be invested in the local community in the Copperbelt every year, he said.

Kenyan police have found 26 Ethiopian women locked up in partially built house by traffickers in the central town of Murang’a.

The raid took place on Monday night on the small house where the women had been kept for about a week with just a single mattress on the floor.

It is reported they had been brought in over the Moyale border point and were bound for South Africa.

The police said they had detained the women and confiscated their passports and mobile phones.

The owner and guard of the house have also been arrested as a search for the traffickers continues.

Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

The newly sworn-in military leader in Gabon who seized power last week in a coup has met a mediator sent by countries in the central African region.

This comes a day after the Economic Community of Central African States (Eccas) suspended Gabon.

State TV gave no details of what took place in the meeting between General Brice Oligui Nguema and the president of the Central African Republic, Faustin-Archange Touadéra.

When he was sworn in on Monday, Gen Nguema promised to hold fair elections and to restore civilian rule but he gave no time scale.

Read more:

• Who is Gabon's coup leader?

Fifteen countries have now qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations, but a handful of places can still be claimed.

Kalkidan Yibeltal
BBC News, Addis Ababa

Image source, AFP

The rights group Amnesty International has accused Eritrea’s military of continued war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ethiopia's northern region of Tigray despite a peace deal signed last November.

In November 2022, Ethiopia’s government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) agreed to end the two-year conflict in Tigray.

However, Eritrea's government, whose forces supported Ethiopia’s military in the fighting, was not included in the agreement.

“Despite the signing of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement, atrocities against civilians in Tigray continued with Eritrean soldiers subjecting women to horrific abuse including rape, gang rape and sexual enslavement, while civilian men were extrajudicially executed,” Amnesty International’s Tigere Chagutah said in a statement.

The rights group said it had gathered testimony about the alleged atrocities from witnesses, survivors and family members of victims and also analysis of satellite images.

It had also received reports of the offences from social workers, medical experts who treated victims and survivors, local government officials and civil society organisations.

The rights group is now urging the Eritrean and Ethiopian governments to investigate and prosecute those responsible.

Damian Zane
BBC News

Image source, National Museums in Berlin

Researchers investigating human remains looted from East Africa in the colonial era and tansported to Germany have identified some living relatives of those whose body parts were taken.

The head of the institution where the remains, mostly skulls, are now housed described the discovery as a "small miracle".

In the 19th and early 20th Centuries, the skulls were sometimes taken as trophies, but more often the remains were transported to aid with now discredited research into racial classification.

In 1899, German anthropologist Felix von Luschan sent out a message encouraging people to collect remains from the country's colonies.

Thousands were sent back and after passing through several institutions they ended up with the Berlin-based Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation (known by its German initials SPK).

Researchers at Berlin's Museum of Prehistory and Early History found that there was enough material to extract the DNA from eight skulls. Then using saliva samples collected in Tanzania they managed to link some of them with people alive today, the SPK said in a press release.

But this kind of discovery would "probably remain a rare case", SPK president Hermann Parzinger said.

SPK will now be contacting the relatives and the Tanzanian government.

More background to this story:

• The search in Germany for the lost skull of Tanzania's Mangi Meli

Fifty-three members of Burkina Faso's security forces have died in heavy clashes with Islamist militants, the army has said.

The fatalities occurred on Monday while the forces were repelling an "attack" by jihadists, a statement released the following day said.

The fighting had taken place in the northern Yatenga province, where the army has been trying to reclaim territory.

Extremists linked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group have been carrying out frequent attacks in Burkina Faso since 2015.

Several militants in Monday's clash had been "neutralised" in a counter-operation, the army said, while fatalities on the military's side comprised of 17 soldiers and 36 civilian volunteers.

Last year, two military coups were carried out in Burkina Faso. Like in neighbouring Mali and Niger, the soldiers' key reason for seizing power was the growing threat from jihadists.

None of the three military regimes have so far managed to reduce the violence.

Image source, Getty Images

Serbian basketballer Borisa Simanic has had his kidney removed after an injury at the Basketball World Cup in the Philippines.

Simanic was hit in the stomach by South Sudan's Nuni Omot during their match on Wednesday last week.

He had surgery on the same day in Manila, but because of complications, a second operation took place on Sunday to remove the organ.

Officials saw no foul play when the incident took place and Omot has apologised for the incident:

"I am deeply saddened by the news of Simanic's injuries. As a sportsman, I first hand understand the severity of his situation and I am deeply sorry that this happened.

"No player should have to go through that. I pray for Simanic's recovery and speedy return to the court."

The South Sudan Basketball Federation said that Omot had faced some racism and harassment over the unintentional and unfortunate accident.

“We condemn any sort of racism directed towards the player. Basketball is a sport that is recognised to bring people together rather than to be used as a tool of prejudice."

Serbia's team doctor says Simanic is now recovering well.

The team is also into the semi-finals of the tournament, having defeated Lithuania in the quarter final earlier on Tuesday.

Muthoni Muchiri
BBC News

Image source, @WilliamsRuto

Kenya's top-ranking female freedom fighter, Muthoni wa Kirima, has died aged 92.

She was a pivotal figure in the struggle for Kenya's independence and the only woman given the rank of field marshal during the Mau Mau uprising in the 1950s.

Kirima was born in 1930 and endured a challenging upbringing filled with racial violence that fuelled her determination to fight for the freedom of her people.

In 1952 she joined the Mau Mau, offering to provide its members with information.

However, she quickly became a forest fighter and was highly respected for her combat skills, fighting alongside revolutionary leader, Dedan Kimathi, who led the armed military struggle against the British colonial regime.

Kirima was nicknamed "the weaver bird" because of her talent at weaving great strategies.

She also supported the movement off the battlefield by taking care of the injured and securing food, which led to her promotion to the rank of field marshal.

President William Ruto tweeted, external that he was saddened to hear of the death of a powerful figure who had such a great influence on the country's fight for freedom.

"She was courageous, hardworking and loved her family, served her community and sacrificed for our country, always with diligence from the frontline," he said.

“We honour her heroic contribution to the freedom and development of our country."

The former freedom fighter will be laid to rest in her hometown of Nyeri.

Samantha Granville
BBC News, Johannesburg

A gas explosion has caused a fire on a street in the heart of the South African city of Johannesburg.

The City of Johannesburg Emergency Management Services (EMS) told the BBC that Egoli Gas workers were doing maintenance on an underground gas pipeline in Braamfontein when it caught fire.

Their truck and part of the building they were working in front of were caught up in the blaze, EMS said.

Two engines responded with 12 firefighters and the fire was extinguished quickly. There were no injuries or fatalities.

The cause of the fire is still unknown, but EMS says it will follow up with investigation.

This is the second fire in Johannesburg city centre in less than a week.

Last Thursday, a fire in an apartment building killed atleast 76 people, including 12 children.

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

Image source, AFP

Eritrea's government has said foreigners posed as Eritrean political opponents during violent clashes in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv on Saturday.

Around 140 people were injured as police tried to stop in-fighting between supporters and opponents of the Eritrean government.

Eritrea's embassy has accused media outlets and some Israeli officials of "distorting reality" by blaming the Eritrean community in Israel for the trouble.

It began after activists said that they had asked Israeli authorities to cancel an event organised by Eritrea's embassy.

The embassy did not name any groups, but an Eritrean social media user and a pro-government media outlet has said ethnic Tigrayan Ethiopians were responsible.

Renowned Somali musician Ahmed Naji Sa'ad, whose career spanned nearly seven decades, has died.

He had a huge fan base - young and old - in Somalia and across the world amongst the large diaspora community.

He too was based outside Somalia, eventually settling in London after leaving in 1991 when the country descended into decades of conflict.

Naji was a singer-song writer - famous for poetic and patriotic hits - and could play many instruments.

He was synonymous with rhythmic Banadiri music from the south of the country, but was at the cutting edge of blending Somalia’s rich mix of musical styles with contemporary sounds.

Born in Shibis, one of the oldest neighbourhoods of the capital, Mogadishu, in 1939, he finished school, as well as quranic school, in the city when it was under colonial rule.

He learnt how to read music and started performing around the age of 15 in the years leading up to independence in 1960.

“At that time, patriotic songs were sung,” he once said.

He was one of the founder members of the Sharero Band, famous for its funky tunes that was hugely popular in Mogadishu in the 1960s and 1970s.

He went on to become the head of music at the government’s Council of Culture and Entertainment.

Naji is remembered too as a great producer, bringing famous female singers like Fatumo Qasim Hilowle and Asha Abdow to the fore.

He also wrote plays, poetry and short stories - and helped many others break into the industry.

He reportedly last visited Somalia in 2011, but would often urge the young to return.

During a visit to the BBC studios in London in 2015, he said one of his songs had the lyrics "your country is waiting for you" in which he urged young people to go home to rebuild the country as it tried to recover from years of civil war and an Islamist insurgency.

President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud praised Naji as one of the pillars of Somalia’s arts scene who would be much missed.

“His name carried weight in the arts community and with all Somali people,” he wrote on Facebook, external.

You may be interested in:

• The Somali funk spirit that has overcome anarchy and exile
• The Somali 'king of oud' who was felled by coronavirus
• Somalia's lost tapes revive musical memories

Kennedy Gondwe
BBC News, Lusaka

Image source, Hakainde Hichilema/Facebook

Zambia’s President Hakainde Hichilema has warned potential coup plotters not to threaten the southern African nation’s democratic rule and stability.

It is not clear why he sounded the warning, but it comes in the aftermath of several recent coups in Francophone Africa and complaints at home about the rising cost of living.

"To colleagues that think, we are timid by being kind and that they can break the laws and entertain thoughts of illegal takeover of government including undemocratic coup d'état... we are coming for you," he said.

Since gaining independence in 1964, Zambia has never experienced military rule, though there have been several foiled coup attempts.

Mr Hichilema, who won a landslide victory over an incumbent president in 2021, made the remarks on a visit to Kanyama, a suburb of the capital, Lusaka.

He acknowledged food prices were high and said the government was addressing the issue.

On Facebook on Monday evening after his Kanyama visit, external, the president wrote that this included stopping maize grown in Zambia being smuggled into other countries and ensuring millers charged a fair price.

Two executives from a Swedish oil company have gone on trial in Stockholm, accused of complicity in war crimes allegedly committed by the Sudanese authorities more than two decades ago.

Ian Lundin was chief executive of the family firm, Lundin Oil, while Alex Schneiter was vice-president during the late 1990s and early 2000s.

It is alleged that they asked the Sudanese government to secure a region of the country in what is now South Sudan where they wanted to operate, meaning local people were burned out of their villages while others were shot.

South Sudan seceded from Sudan in 2011, taking most of the oil fields.

Both Mr Lundin and Mr Schneiter deny the charges, arguing that the prosecution case lacks sufficient evidence.

According to the AFP news agency, the trial is set to be the biggest in Swedish history and follows an investigation that took years and produced an 80,000-page.

Closing arguments are scheduled for February 2026, it reports.