More than 340,000 people were convicted of breaking some of the world's toughest lockdown restrictions.

Dorcas Wangira
Africa health correspondent

A Kenyan court has awarded four women living with HIV - who were then sterilised without their consent - about $20,000 (£16,000) each as damages.

The judge ruled that the forced sterilisation was a violation of their fundamental rights including the right to establish a family.

Last year a court found the medical charities Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), Marie Stopes International and a maternity hospital culpable of coercing the women to undergo the procedure.

While the two charities did not directly carry out sterilisations, the women’s lawyer told the court that they had played a significant role by referring the women to hospital.

The court however dismissed claims against the health minister and the attorney general.

On the continent, allegations of women being sterilised without their consent are common in Kenya, Swaziland, Namibia and South Africa.

Springbok legend Joel Stransky says South Africa must be ready for the physical battle when they face Ireland at the Rugby World Cup.

Nomsa Maseko
BBC News, Johannesburg

Eighty-seven primary school pupils in South Africa have been discharged from hospital a day after eating biscuits laced with cannabis, known locally as “space cookies”.

Three of the students from Pulamadibogo Primary School in Soshanguve, north-west of the capital, Pretoria, are still receiving treatment, the provincial education authorities say.

They had all experienced nausea, stomach cramps and vomiting before being rushed to hospital on Wednesday after eating the snacks sold by a street seller outside the school premises.

It is unclear if the vendor is to face charges.

Thomas Naadi
BBC News, Accra

More than 50 protesters have been arrested in Ghana for defying a police order not to demonstrate in the capital, Accra.

A group calling itself the Democracy Hub was embarking on a three-day protest about economic hardships and alleged mismanagement of the economy by the government.

On social media, the organisers had used the hashtag #OccupyJulorbiHouse, a reference to the presidential palace.

The protesters, who were wearing red and black T-shirts, some draped in the Ghanaian flag, were gathering at a bus station about a mile from the presidency when they were rounded up by officers.

I was among some members of the media who were also detained, but we were later released at the central police station.

There have been complaints that officers were rough with some detainees at the station. A female journalist told the BBC that her shirt was completely ripped off by officers.

Police say they warned people not to participate as they had filed a petition in court to stop the protest - though Democracy Hub organisers said they had not been served with an injunction.

It is not yet clear what charges those in custody will face.

Tensions have been high in Ghana over the high cost of living with inflation standing at about 40%. Earlier this year, the country took out a $3bn (£2.4bn) IMF loan to help deal with the crisis.

More on this topic:

• Ghana IMF loan: Will $3bn solve the economic crisis?

Ashley Lime
BBC News, Nairobi

Image source, Gloria Orwoba

A female Kenyan senator who describes herself as a whistleblower, external has been suspended for six months by a parliamentary committee.

Gloria Orwoba was hauled before the Powers and Privileges Committee for comments she made on senate WhatsApp groups and at a press briefing alleging there was a culture in parliament of favouritism, ethnic discrimination, bullying and sexual harassment.

She suggested that behind the scenes the only way to get things done was to offer kickbacks or sexual favours, which she refused to do.

Her messages and complaints to colleagues were often accompanied by the hashtag #NoSexForWork.

But the committee said her accusations were unsubstantiated, external and after her ban was over, she would have to apologise for her comments before being allowed back to work.

In response to her suspension,, external Ms Orwoba, who is on a work trip to the Clinton Global Initiative in New York, said the committee had issued its report despite the fact that she had filed a case in court over the matter as she did not feel she would get a fair hearing.

She alleged the committee had gone ahead and published its report, despite the legal case, because of a recent request she had made for the travel expenses of senators and staff from October 2022 to September 2023 to be made public.

Ms Orwoba said her request had brought about “panic and anxiety in high offices in parliament”.

“Swiftly after this request, the motion to suspend me, which was earlier adjourned was reintroduced while I was away,” she alleged.

It is not the first time the 37-year-old politician, who also campaigns to end stigma about periods, has got into trouble with her colleagues.

In February she was asked to leave parliament for failing to adhere to the house’s dress code because of an apparent period blood stain in the crotch of her white trouser suit.

At the time she dismissed criticism from those who called her disrespectful, saying accidents happen: "Since I am always advocating against period shame, I thought I should go ahead and walk the talk.”

An estimated 43,059 individuals have been forced from the homes by the floods in north-eastern Libya, the UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM) says, external.

Lack of water supply is reportedly driving many from Derna, the city worst hit after two dams burst during Storm Daniel just over a week ago.

Many of those from Derna are moving to stay with relatives in other eastern cities like Tobruk and Benghazi.

Others have gone west to the capital, Tripoli, Hai Alandalus, Misrata, Ghiryan and Qasr bin Ghasheer.

Urgent needs included food, drinking water, and mental health and psychosocial support, the IOM said.

It tweeted the map below showing the areas affected:

Image source, IOM

Nomsa Maseko
BBC News, Johannesburg

Image source, Getty Images

Seven people have been arrested for allegedly kidnapping a gay university student in South Africa by luring him to a meeting through the dating app Grindr.

The 18-year-old undergraduate at the University of Witwatersrand was reported missing by his roommate on Tuesday.

Police say the kidnappers then demanded a ransom of around $1,500 (£1,200) from his family.

The gang was caught when one of the suspects attempted to withdraw the ransom money from a cash machine in Johannesburg.

He led the police to where the victim had been held captive - officers finding him bound and unconscious.

The suspects have been linked to at least 85 cases where members of the LGBTQ community have been targeted for ransom.

South Africa has one of the most liberal constitutions in the world which protects gay rights - and is the only African country where same-sex marriage is allowed, but many gay and lesbian people still face hostility and discrimination.

Rwandan police found more than 10 bodies buried under the 34-year-old man's house near Kigali.

Lt Cdr Gillian Malouw was one of three officers who died when high waves hit their vessel off Cape Town.

Ian Wafula
BBC News, Nairobi

A moment of silence has been observed at Kenya's Westgate Mall in the capital, Nairobi, on the 10th anniversary of a terror attack in which 67 people died.

Four heavily armed militants from the al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab group stormed the upmarket shopping centre and took control of the complex for four days on 13 September 2013.

The attack exposed the poor co-ordination of inter-agency security teams in responding to terror attacks.

The siege ended when the four gunmen were killed by security agents.

Details about the attackers still remain sketchy, though four people were charged with aiding the militants.

The government recently announced a new counter-terrorism strategy involving private security guards.

It hopes to train more than 900,000 individuals and issue them with a security force number to be entered into a centralised database.

Image source, AFP

Ousted Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum has appealed to the West African bloc Ecowas’s court for his release, his lawyer has said.

A suit was filed with the court on Monday demanding Mr Bazoum's release and reinstatement as president following his “arbitrary arrest” and “violation of freedom of movement” following the coup in July, his lawyer Seydou Diagne said.

“We request... in view of the violation of political rights, that the state of Niger be ordered to immediately restore constitutional order by handing over power to President Bazoum, who must continue to exercise it until the end of his mandate," he is quoted by the AFP news agency as saying

His wife and son, who are also being detained by the military junta, are named in the application, the Associated Press reports.

Ecowas has threatened military intervention to restore Mr Bazoum to power if diplomatic efforts fail.

South Africa's first female submarine navigator was among the three naval officers who died at sea off the coast of Cape Town on Wednesday, the country's military has now confirmed.

In a statement, the South African National Defence Force said Lt Cdr Gillian Malouw, as well as Master Warrant Officer William Masela Mathipa and Warrant Officer Mmokwapa Lucas Mojela, died when high waves swept them away as a helicopter was delivering supplies to their submarine.

Lt Cdr Malouw became a submarine navigator in 2019 at the age of 28.

“The world is filled with naysayers and negativity but no-one can take away what you’ve learnt and no one can take away your dreams,” she was quoted as saying at the time, external.

“If you truly want something, do everything in your power to make it happen.”

Image source, Getty Images

South Africa and the United States are to start testing a new preventative HIV vaccine and have begun enrolling participants to take part in a clinical trial.

According to US state research agency the National Institutes of Health (NIH), external, the vaccine, called VIR-1388, is designed to help a body's T-cells, these are part of the immune system and patrol and inspect other cells for problems.

The vaccine is intended to instruct the immune system to produce T-cells "that can recognise HIV and signal an immune response to prevent the virus from establishing chronic infection".

The vaccine trial is funded by the NIH, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the US company Vir Biotechnology.

The study will enrol 95 HIV-negative participants at four sites in South Africa and six sites in the US.

The initial results of the vaccine trial will be announced in late 2024, but some participants will continue with the trial for three years.

In 2020, the NIH suspended the testing of another HIV vaccine in South Africa after a review found that the vaccine was ineffective in preventing HIV transmission.

The 25-year-old travelled for four months from Guinea to reach top university Al-Azhar in Egypt.

Image source, Getty Images

Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo has demanded the payment of reparations to African nations for the historical injustices of the transatlantic slave trade.

Speaking at the UN General Assembly on Wednesday, he emphasised that this was the time to bring the subject of reparations to the fore.

He said the world had for centuries been unwilling and unable to confront the consequences of slave trade.

Image source, AFP

He said “reparations must be paid" - adding that while no money would make up for the horrors of slave trade, it would make the point that millions of “productive” Africans were put to work without compensation.

It is not the first time the Ghanaian president has spoken about reparations - last year he said the time was long overdue to intensify discussions about the issue.

He then called for a formal apology by European nations that were involved in the trade, and urged the African Union to engage the diaspora to advance the reparations cause.

The transatlantic slave trade, which affected millions of Africans, was the largest forced migration in history and one of the most inhumane, according to the UN.

The exodus of Africans was spread to many areas of the world over a 400-year period.

Ghana was one of the points of departure for many of those enslaved in West Africa.

You may be interested in:

• Quobna Cugoano: London church honours Ghanaian-born freed slave and abolitionist

The Newsroom
BBC World Service

Image source, State House Kenya/X

Haiti and Kenya have established diplomatic relations, according to a joint statement issued by both countries.

The document signed by both the Haitian and Kenyan foreign ministers announces they are to exchange ambassadors.

Kenya has offered to send 1,000 police officers to Haiti as part of an international assistance force.

The Haitian government appealed last year for foreign help to tackle widespread gang violence.

The United States has been leading UN efforts to organise a rescue mission.

A draft resolution is being prepared.

Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

The UK Supreme Court has ruled that Mozambique can sue the shipbuilder Privinvest in Britain, over allegations of bribery linked to a corruption scandal that caused a financial crisis.

Privinvest denies wrongdoing.

A decade ago three newly established companies in Mozambique took on debts of more than $2bn (£1.6bn) - much of it without the knowledge of the country's parliament.

The loans were for government-sponsored investment schemes including a maritime security fleet and a tuna fishery project.

Mozambique alleges that more than $130m in bribes were paid to corrupt officials and to Credit Suisse staff.

The bank has already been fined hundreds of millions of dollars by international regulators.

Ten years since the Westgate shopping mall attack remember the day when at least 67 people were killed.

Dorcas Wangira
Africa health correspondent

Kenya's pharmaceutical regulator has recalled an oral medicine used to relieve pain and fever in children, citing urgent safety concerns.

The Pharmacy and Poisons Board (PPB) said it had received multiple market complaints regarding the quality of several batches of the paracetamol oral solution called Tamedol.

The PPB ordered pharmacists to halt the sale of the branded drug and urged the public to return any stocks to the nearest health facility.

Manufactured by a Kenyan pharmaceutical company, it becomes the ninth in a growing list of medicines so far recalled by the regulator this year alone.

Meanwhile, the PPB has issued a warning about suspected substandard and falsified batches of Visipaque, a drug used to help diagnose disorders of internal organs.

The regulator says the affected product batches, which were manufactured in China and Ireland, had entered the country’s market illegally.