Ameyu Etana
BBC Afaan Oromoo

A young Ethiopian man who jumped from a moving bus and waded through a flooded river to save a 10-year-old boy from drowning has been hailed an "angel".

The rescuer, Abdi Tufa, said he was hit by rocks and logs that had been carried by the flood waters from the highlands but he kept going until he reached Riyad Nesru.

"My leg is broken. My back and waist are badly injured. I am getting treatment now," he told BBC Afaan Oromoo.

Abdi, who was travelling in a bus to Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa, was jolted from sleep by the anguished screams of villagers calling for help to rescue Riyad, whom they feared was minutes away from drowning or being swept away by raging flood waters.

The boy had been trapped in the flood while out herding his family's goats in the small town of Hirna, 350km (220 miles) east of Addis Ababa.

Abdi says he jumped out of the window of the bus in a spur-of-the-moment decision, shocking the other passengers and then going into the river.

"I just saw the child through the window. He was about to drown yet no one was heading to save him," he told BBC Afaan Oromoo of the moment he opted to help the helpless boy.

Abdi is still recovering under the care of the boy's family. He said he was too injured to even walk on his own but that he was happy to have saved the boy's life.

Riyad's uncle said that the family viewed Abdi as "an angel who was sent by God to save our child".

''We would have been bereaved [by now]. Abdi is a hero. Now we see him as our oldest son,'' Nasir Ibroshe said, adding that the family will look after Abdi until he gets better.

Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

Amnesty International has described a decision not to renew the mandate of a UN-backed inquiry into abuses in Ethiopia as a gross betrayal of victims and survivors.

The International Commission of Human Rights Experts said atrocities were committed by all sides in the Tigray war.

It has also warned of further abuses in the Amhara and Oromia regions.

The Ethiopian government was highly critical of the inquiry and severely restricted the movements of investigators.

The European Union played a key role in pushing for the inquiry.

Correspondents say it now appears to favour normalising relations with the Addis Ababa government over the inquiry.

This week the EU announced a new aid package for Ethiopia.

Image source, AFP

Kenyan President William Ruto will be travelling to China later this month to seek a $1bn (£820m) loan to pay for stalled road projects, his deputy Rigathi Gachagua has said.

Mr Gachagua told local-language Inooro FM radio that many contractors had abandoned projects around the country as they were not getting paid for their work.

He said while Kenya was already heavily in debt to China, the president would ask for an extra $1bn while seeking a longer repayment period for the money that is already owed.

He said the president would tell the Chinese that “we admit we owe you money, can we talk so that you add more time, we pay more slowly, and can you add some little more money to finish building our roads?”.

Kenya owes China more than $8bn from loans mostly contracted during the former government under President Uhuru Kenyatta for infrastructure projects.

The deputy president addressed the issue of extravagance by government officials, saying it was the reason the president had ordered a curb on foreign trips.

Earlier this week, the presidency banned public officials from taking non-essential trips abroad to cut spending and has ordered all ministries to cut their budget for the next financial year by 10%.

The government has been accused of unnecessary spending amid complaints by many Kenyans over the rising cost of living and tax hikes put in place by the government.

Image source, Uganda Police

Uganda's police have hailed their operation to prevent supporters of opposition leader Bobi Wine from welcoming him back to the country a "success".

On Thursday, his supporters had planned to greet him at Entebbe International Airport and accompany him to his home about 50 km (30 miles) away in a huge march, but the police said this was illegal.

The security forces say that as part of their operation they arrested 40 suspects, including an MP, "for inciting violence".

"Joint deployments, including both overt and covert officers, were strategically positioned, and snap checkpoints were established on all roads leading to Entebbe... Various items intended for use in processions, such as red berets, handheld megaphone speakers, and white and red [party] T-shirts... were recovered and exhibited," the police said in a statement, external.

On Thursday, Bobi Wine said he was "grabbed" by "goons" and put under house arrest on his return from South Africa.

But the police denied arresting the 41-year-old singer-turned-politician saying he was merely "escorted" home.

A Nigerian former Olympian and his fighters are targeting the Games and world titles - even though their gym does not have room for a ring.

Bose Ogulu aka Mama Burna won a History Maker award at the Best of Africa Awards.

Kalkidan Yibeltal
BBC News, Addis Ababa

Image source, Getty Images

The US has announced it’s resuming delivery of food aid for refugees in Ethiopia after a five-month hiatus.

This comes after the authorities in Addis Ababa agreed to step away from distributing the supplies.

Washington suspended aid in May - following a similar move by the UN - saying it had found “widespread and coordinated” theft of food aid.

Reforms made by the Ethiopian government that led to the resumption of the aid include strengthening monitoring and oversight as well as increasing commodity tracking, a statement by USAid has said.

Additionally Ethiopia has “transferred responsibility” for dispatching and warehousing of food aid, It added.

Hundreds of thousands of refugees currently residing in Ethiopia - mostly from neighbouring countries like Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia and Eritrea - will benefit from the resumption of aid.

However food aid for around 20 million Ethiopians currently in desperate need of humanitarian support remains paused.

Officials in the war-scarred region of Tigray previously told the BBC that at least 1,400 people had starved to death in the region since the suspension of aid while in neighbouring Amhara where recent conflicts are compounded by drought, scores have died for lack of food aid.

Image source, Getty Images

Senegal’s government has maintained a ban it imposed on the social media app TikTok in August.

Authorities had banned the app on accusations that it was “the preferred network for malicious people to broadcast hateful and subversive messages that threaten the country’s stability”.

Senegal's Communications Minister Moussa Bocar Thiam on Thursday said that TikTok will only be reinstated if the company signs an agreement to allow the removal of accounts that promote what he described as inflammatory content.

"For the time being, the restriction is being maintained pending the conclusion of a comprehensive written agreement," Mr Thiam said, following discussions with representatives of the company.

The TikTok ban followed the arrest of opposition leader Ousmane Sonko.

Authorities claimed that the app was being used to spread "hateful and subversive messages" that threatened the country’s stability as violent protests broke out in the wake of Mr Sonko's arrest.

The government has also demanded TikTok to agree to provide fair compensation to its Senegalese content creators in order to be reinstated.

Image source, AFP

Algerian authorities have tightened health measures at its borders to limit the spread of bedbugs, which have swept across France.

The health ministry in the North African country said it was introducing "health monitoring and disinfecting of aircraft, ships, and vehicles at entry points".

It comes amid concern that the blood-sucking insects could come into Algeria due to the high number of people who travel from France.

The ministry, however, said no bedbug infestations had been reported in the country while urging vigilance.

Neighbouring Morocco has already announced measures to limit the risk of bedbugs spreading into its territory.

The bedbug infestation in Paris and other cities in France has been raising concerns, with questions about health and safety during next year's Olympic Games.

Read more on bed bugs:

• Bedbug panic sweeps Paris as infestations soar before 2024 Olympics

Image source, Reuters

Kenya has deployed a contingent of specialised police units to contain the escalating communal clashes in western town of Sondu, along the border of Kericho and Kisumu counties.

Seven people have died and several others displaced in the fresh clashes that started on Wednesday.

Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki said that local security chiefs from both Kisumu and Kericho would be transferred following the clashes.

"Lives have been lost, property destroyed and civil order grossly undermined during the past two days," Mr Kindiki said.

Local leaders have called for the urgent resolution of a border dispute between the warring communities.

Three people were killed in similar attacks in July.

Sondu town has a history of deadly ethnic violence during election cycles.

Image source, AFP

Zimbabwe’s government has introduced restrictions to control a cholera outbreak that is suspected to have killed more than 100 people.

The measures include suspending some social gatherings and restricting the number of people allowed to attend funerals in areas affected by the outbreak, which include many districts across the country and parts of the capital, Harare. Shaking hands and the serving of food at the funerals have also been banned.

The health ministry had on Wednesday announced 100 suspected cholera deaths, 30 of which had been confirmed through laboratory tests.

The ministry also confirmed 905 cholera cases out of more than 4,600 suspected cases.

Zimbabwe is prone to frequent cholera outbreaks.

One of its worst outbreaks between 2008 and 2009 killed more than 4,200 people and infected nearly 100,000 others.

In August, the UN children’s agency Unicef attributed the outbreaks to poor sanitation infrastructure, unstable water supply, regular sewer bursts and poor waste management, amid a rapid growth in the country’s urban population.

Rory Gallimore
BBC World Service News

Image source, Getty Images

A study in South Africa has found that human voices cause considerably more fear in wild mammals than the sound of lions.

Scientists played recordings of people speaking normally through speakers hidden at water holes in the Kruger national park.

About 95% of animals including antelopes, warthogs, giraffes and leopards were extremely frightened and rapidly ran away.

Recordings of snarling and growling lions caused considerably less alarm; some elephants responded by trying to threaten the source of the big cat calls.

It's thought the animals have learnt that contact with humans is extremely dangerous, due to hunting, gun use and using dogs to catch them.

Find out how two Green Sport Award winners are using the power of football to create positive change for people and the planet.

Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

Image source, AFP

Armed separatists in Cameroon say they have publicly "executed" at close range two kidnapped civilians they accused of spying for the army.

A local administrator in Guzang village in the north-west said investigations were under way.

This follows the release of a video which showed two men sitting on a road and then being shot dead at close range.

Separatists have been fighting in the two English speaking regions of Cameroon since 2017.

More than 800,000 people have been displaced.

Rights groups have condemned government troops and separatists for killings, rapes, torture and burning homes and schools.

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The country's economic crisis has sparked protests and led to calls for the bank's boss to resign.

That's all for now from the BBC Africa Live team - we'll be back on Friday morning at bbc.com/africalive.

Until then you can find the latest updates at BBCAfrica.com and listen to the Focus on Africa podcast for stories behind the news.

A reminder of Thursday's wise words:

Click here to send us your African proverbs.

And we leave you with this picture of a parade of elephants in Kenya's Masaai Mara, one of Africa's largest wildlife reserves.

Image source, Getty Images

Mayeni Jones
BBC News, Lagos

France says it will begin withdrawing its troops from Niger as early as this week.

There was a diplomatic fallout between the two countries following a coup in the West African country two months ago.

France refused to acknowledge the new military government in its former colony, leading to protests in the capital Niamey.

After refusing to leave for months, France now seems keen to send the message that it wants to get out of Niger as swiftly as possible.

More than 400 soldiers stationed near the border with Mali will be the first to leave, possibly starting Thursday.

Another 1,000 troops are in a military base in Niamey, where protesters have been camped out for weeks demanding their departure, saying they’ve failed to stop attacks by Islamist insurgents.

There was a decline in deaths from terror attacks in Niger last year, but it’s not clear what part the French played in this while supporting Nigerien armed forces against groups linked to Islamic State and al-Qaeda.

It’s too early to say whether their departure will worsen security.

The US still has a drone base there and Nigerien forces are some of the best trained in the region.

But there have been a number of insurgent attacks since the coup and the departure of foreign forces in neighbouring Mali has led to a dramatic increase in violence.

Western powers have invested millions in security aid to Niger, their last ally in the region.

More on on Niger:

• 'France takes us for idiots' - Inside coup-hit Niger

Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

Image source, Reuters

Police in Uganda have fired tear gas to prevent supporters of the main opposition candidate Bobi Wine from reaching his home on the outskirts of the capital Kampala.

Earlier he was picked up by security officers at Entebbe Airport after returning from a trip abroad.

Bobi Wine stood against President Yoweri Museveni in the last election and has frequently been arrested.

Plain-clothes security operatives grabbed Bobi Wine as he got off the plane at Entebbe airport.

Against his will, he was driven to his home in the capital Kampala.

This move appears to have been aimed at ensuring there was no chance for opposition supporters to hold a welcome rally.

Elections are more than two years away.

But Bobi Wine has already begun campaigning and wants another go at unseating Yoweri Museveni.

The 79-year-old leader's own son says he also wants to run for president.

For more than two decades the military has been used to make life extremely difficult for the opposition.

BBC Focus on Africa

Image source, AFP

Seychelles opposition leader Patrick Herminie has asserted that he is being targeted in a politically motivated smear campaign after he was charged with witchcraft.

A medical doctor by profession and former speaker of Seychelles' parliament, Mr Herminie is currently out on bail.

The charges stem from the discovery of two exhumed bodies at a cemetery on the island of Mahé.

In an interview with the BBC's Focus on Africa Podcast, Mr Herminie said: "This is politically motivated. It's a political witch hunt. We've never been charged or even accused by the police of anything associated with the two bodies. The two bodies have not come up at all during the investigation."

The prosecution alleges that Mr Herminie's name appeared in a WhatsApp conversation between a Seychellois national and a Tanzanian suspect, who was apprehended on 2 September at the main international airport.

Mr Herminie also recounted a recent incident in which his office was raided.

He told the BBC's Richard Kagoe that 40 to 50 police officers stormed his office on Friday armed with pistols and AK-47s.

"They came with a warrant from the court requesting that my office be searched for satanic and demonic artefacts," he said.

Witchcraft holds a significant position in the culture of Seychelles, serving not only as a means of healing but also as a way of life.

According to Deqa Barrow from BBC Monitoring, "it's deeply interwoven with their social, political, and economic cultures".

The Seychelles government has enacted measures to address witchcraft, including an anti-witchcraft law that criminalises promoting, practicing, or consulting with witch doctors.

A hearing is scheduled for 3 November.

More on this story here:

• Seychelles opposition leader Patrick Herminie charged with witchcraft