Flooding and massive mudslides caused by torrential rain have destroyed many roads and homes in parts of Libya.

Private and public property including buildings and entire neighbourhoods have been submerged under muddy water and vehicles swept away.

Hundreds of residents are still believed to be trapped in difficult-to-reach areas as rescuers and the situation in the worst-hit city of Derna in the east has been described as "catastrophic".

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

BBC World Service

Image source, Getty Images

Officials in Libya's eastern government based in Benghazi are counting the cost of heavy flooding as a result of a storm.

Unverified local estimates of casualties put the number of dead upwards of several hundred.

Widespread flooding and mudslides caused by torrential rain have destroyed many roads and homes.

The worst-affected place is the port of Derna, much of which is under water after two dams and four bridges collapsed.

The prime minister of the unofficial eastern-based Libyan government, Oussama Hamad, said more than 2,000 were dead and thousands missing in Derna alone.

The storm later swept through Egypt.

Image source, AFP

More than half of the victims of the 31 August fire that gutted a hijacked building in the South African city of Johannesburg are still unidentified.

The Gauteng Department of Health says that it has identified 18 more victims in addition to the initial 12, bringing the total number of bodies whose identities are known to 30.

Motalatale Modiba, the spokesperson of the Gauteng Department of Health, said that the additional bodies were identified through forensic digital analysis of salvaged fingerprints of the victims and examinations of bodies by their family members.

However, Mr Modiba revealed that 44 of the total 77 bodies recovered from the fire were still unidentified.

He told local media that they were currently conducting DNA analyses on 38 of the remaining 44 bodies to uncover their identities.

Mr Modiba also said that 27 survivors were still being treated in hospital.

Grant Ferrett
BBC World Service newsroom

Image source, AFP

There has been criticism in Morocco about the speed of the official response to Friday's earthquake, which is now known to have killed more than 2,800 people.

Heavy lifting equipment has begun to arrive in remote regions of the Atlas Mountains, which have been the hardest-hit.

But in many areas villagers have themselves been digging through the rubble of collapsed homes.

A human rights activist in Rabat, Maati Monjib, told the BBC he did not understand why the Moroccan government had not broadened its appeal for outside help.

The authorities have accepted emergency aid from four countries - the UK, Spain, Qatar and the UAE.

Read more on the earthquake:

• 'We need help from whomever will give it'
• Why authorities accept only limited international help

Nkechi Ogbonna
BBC News, Lagos

Image source, Nigerian presidency/X

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has lifted a year-long visa ban imposed on Nigerian travellers.

It comes after negotiations on Monday between Nigeria’s new President Bola Tinubu and UAE leader Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi.

President Tinubu’s spokesperson Ajuri Ngelale says following the agreement, Emirates and Etihad airlines are to resume Nigeria flight operations immediately.

Flights were stopped last year after Dubai’s Emirates airline suspended operations in Nigeria as it was angered by moves preventing it from transferring its revenues overseas because of a foreign currency crisis.

Image source, Getty Images

Tanzania airports regulator has denied allowing the smuggling of wildlife from a park in the northern region to Middle East countries.

It follows allegations on social media that the wild animals were being trafficked on cargo planes from Loliondo, near the famous Serengeti National Park, to the United Arab Emirates.

The Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority (TCAA) said the accusations were “completely false” and noted that the airport in Loliondo was not a designated entry or exit point.

There were allegations that a plane carrying wildlife had been seen on 26 August, but TCAA said the last flight to Loliondo was on 19 July with ordinary cargo.

“The authority has a real-time monitoring system and all international flights enter and exit through designated entry/exit airports such as Kilimanjaro International Airport (KIA), Julius Nyerere International Airport (JNIA) and Aman Abeid Karume International Airport (AAKIA),” it said in a statement.

It said the reports were aimed at soiling the image of the country and urged Tanzanians to ignore them.

Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

Image source, Reuters

Flights from the Malian capital, Bamako, to the northern cities of Timbuktu and Gao have been cancelled because of insecurity.

Several shells landed near Timbuktu airport on Monday. A United Nations camp was hit.

Malian authorities reportedly imposed a 30-day curfew on Timbuktu on Monday. The city has been under a blockade for the past month after Islamist militants cut off road and river routes.

There are concerns of further instability as thousands of UN peacekeepers pull out of the country following a request by the military rulers who seized power in a coup.

Both Timbuktu and Gao have also seen fighting between the army and predominantly Tuareg rebels.

Image source, Getty Images

Zimbabwe's President Emmerson Mnangagwa has been accused of nepotism after appointing one of his sons as one of a new set of ministers following his controversial re-election last month.

On Monday he named his son, David Kudakwashe Mnangagwa, as deputy finance minister as part of the parliament's youth quota.

He also appointed his nephew, Tongai Mnangagwa, the deputy tourism minister, local media reported.

Mthuli Ncube, an ex-banker, was retained as the finance minister while the ruling Zanu-PF party's national chairperson Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri was re-appointed as the defence minister.

Outspoken main opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) lawmaker Fadzayi Mahere termed the new ministerial line-up as “indefensible”, and accused Mr Mnangagwa of stoking nepotism, external.

Some social media users have been expressing disappointment with the appointment.

There has been no official reaction from the ruling party or the presidency over the accusation. However supporters of Mr Mnangagwa say his son is qualified for the position.

Mr Mnangagwa's re-election has been disputed by the opposition citing claims of fraud, while some observers said the poll failed to meet regional and international standards.

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The storm causes severe flooding in eastern Libya after killing a dozen people in Europe last week.

British-Nigerian horror writer Nuzo Ono tells the BBC that she sleeps with a "bright light on".

Shabina Bano says she did not know if her family would survive when Friday's quake struck.

The Moroccan community appeals for aid to send to families impacted by the disaster.

Steve Sleight, a mountain guide living in Morocco, is helping those caught up in the disaster.

The EU's Sentinel-1 satellite traces how the ground buckled in response to Friday's powerful quake.

A team of rescuers from Lincolnshire is part of UK efforts to find earthquake victims in Morocco.

Ex-Scotland goalkeeper Alan Rough was on holiday in Morocco when the deadly earthquake took place.

BBC Monitoring

Image source, Reuters

Algeria is offering Morocco 80 specialised rescue workers from its Civil Protection forces to help the country with its relief efforts following Friday’s deadly earthquake.

The package of help includes a canine unit, medical personnel as well as emergency supplies in the form of tents, beds and blankets, a government spokesperson has said.

Algeria had already said they would open their air space to flights carrying humanitarian aid, despite cutting off relations with Morocco two years ago.

The two nations have a long history of tension, tied to the countries' competing claims over the disputed Western Sahara.

Image source, Eritrea Minister of Information

Sudan's military leader, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, has visited Eritrea’s capital, Asmara, for an official meeting with President Isaias Afwerki.

An official statement said the two leaders would discuss bilateral issues, the situation in Sudan and matters of mutual interest, but did not give any more details.

Eritrea is the fourth country that Gen Burhan has visited since Sudan descended into conflict in April this year, after visits to South Sudan, Egypt and most recently Qatar.

On 2 September, he ordered the reopening of Sudan’s border crossings with Eritrea, a move he said would facilitate trade and movement of people between the two countries.

The Gambia secure their place at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations with a dramatic 2-2 draw against Congo in Morocco.