Image source, Getty Images

Egypt's President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi has confirmed he will stand for a third term in elections scheduled for December.

The former army chief has been in power since he helped oust Mohammed Morsi, the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood and the country's first democratically elected president, in 2013 amid mass protests against his rule.

Activists say his term in office has been marked by the brutal suppression of all opposition and the collapse of the Egyptian economy.

The constitution was changed four years ago to prolong his time in office and attempts by opponents to organise a credible bid for the presidency are reported to have been hampered by Egyptian bureaucracy.

Image source, High Commission of India in Seychelles

A court in Seychelles has charged the leader of the main opposition party and seven other individuals on allegations of witchcraft.

Patrick Herminie plans to run in the 2025 presidential election under the banner of the United Seychelles Party (USP), the country's main opposition party.

He has denied the charges.

He told local media that his arrest and prosecution were a political effort to taint his image and that of his party.

Police say the case is related to the discovery of two bodies that had been exhumed from a cemetery on the island of Mahe.

According to local media reports, Mr Herminie and his co-accused face several charges, including possession of items intended for use in witchcraft and conspiracy to perform witchcraft.

Police say that they found Mr Herminie in possession of documents suspected to have been stolen from vandalised places, including Catholic churches.

They also allege that Mr Herminie’s name appeared in a WhatsApp communication between a Seychellois and a Tanzanian who was arrested in September in possession of items related to witchcraft.

The court released Mr Herminie and the other Seychellois defendants on bail of 30,000 Seychelles rupees ($2,100; £1,745), but the Tanzanian suspect will stay in custody until the hearing in November.

Nkechi Ogbonna
West Africa business journalist, BBC News

Image source, AFP

Nigeria’s two largest labour unions have suspended an indefinite strike that was due to start on Tuesday to demand higher wages to help offset the cost of living crisis.

It followed hours of deliberations between the unions and the federal government on Monday night in Abuja, the capital.

The unions say a deal was signed with the government that it would meet the demands of workers within 30 days.

The unions have demanded a monthly minimum wage of about $260 (£215), saying that recent government policies, including the removal of fuel subsidies, have worsened the cost of living crisis.

On Sunday, President Bola Tinubu announced a temporary wage increase of about $32 a month for the next six months for lower-paid workers, bringing a monthly minimum salary to $70.

He also pledged to lower transport costs.

He scrapped fuel subsidies on his first day in office in May, causing shock among Nigerians as they saw sharp prices rise.

Image source, Reuters

Kenya says a multinational security force will be deployed in Haiti "within a short time" after the UN voted to back the East African nation's offer to lead the mission.

"This mandate is not only about peace and security, but also about the rebuilding of Haiti," Kenya's Foreign Affairs Minister Alfred Mutua said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

He called on international partners to help Kenya put together an effective multinational support mission "that within a short time, will be in Haiti changing lives".

Late on Monday, the UN Security Council overwhelmingly approved the deployment of the Kenyan-led international force to help combat widespread gang violence in Haiti.

The resolution was approved with 13 votes in favour and two abstentions from China and Russia.

Haitian Foreign Minister Jean Victor Généus applauded Monday’s vote, terming it "an expression of solidarity with a population in distress".

It is still not clear how big the force will be but Kenya has proposed sending 1,000 police officers to the Caribbean nation. The Bahamas, Jamaica and Antigua and Barbuda have said they will take part in the mission.

Mr Mutua told the BBC that he expected the force to be in place by the beginning of next year, “if not before then”.

Read more here:

• Haiti crisis: Can Kenyan police officers defeat the gangs?

Tom Bayly
BBC News

Image source, AFP

Niger's defence ministry says 29 soldiers have been killed in an assault by suspected jihadists in the west of the country.

It is the deadliest such attack since the army seized power in a coup at the end of July.

In a televised statement officials said the troops had been targeted by more than a 100 militants, using weapons including improvised explosive devices.

Three days of national mourning has been declared.

Jihadist attacks on the army have risen since the military seized power and stated that it had staged the coup to be better able to fight militants.

Our proverb of the day:

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The UN approves the offer to send 1,000 police officers but many question their suitability.

That's all for now from the BBC Africa Live team - we'll be back on Tuesday 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 Monday's wise words:

Click here to send us your African proverbs.

And we leave you with this picture taken in the Democratic Republic of Congo - where Nobel Peace Prize laureate Denis Mukwege has announced he is running for president:

Image source, AFP

Safety fears in Burkina Faso mean one in four schools are closed and more than one million children are not in education, says the UN's children's agency Unicef.

Burkina Faso is one of the world's most-neglected crises, humanitarians say. The military junta has promised but failed to tackle Islamist militants, who still control large swathes of the country. More than two million people have been forced from their homes by the violence.

Unicef says it is working with the government to support children in areas that are worst affected by Burkina Faso's security crisis - including the Nord, Centre-Nord, Boucle du Mouhoun, Est, Centre-Est and Sahel regions.

But Unicef says only 13% of the funds it needs have been allocated, and it needs a further $227m (£187m).

Reports say a presidential candidate and the head of an opposition party are among several people injured, after security officers fired tear gas on people at a rally in Madagascar's capital Antananarivo.

However, neither of them have been named.

Two bodyguards protecting ex-President Marc Ravalomanana - who's running for re-election - were arrested.

"We did not succeed today," said Jean Jacques Ratsietison, another candidate, telling the broadcaster RFI that "we will come back tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, until we reach an agreement between all parties".

Eleven of the 13 presidential candidates are asking their supporters to protest against what they described as an "institutional" coup in favour of the incumbent, President Andry Rajoelina.

They say they fear next month's election will not be free and fair and have accused the electoral commission of favouring Mr Rajoelina.

The electoral commission has not commented on the allegation.

Celebrated doctor Denis Mukwege won over the world - now his sights are set on leadership back home.

Deals are in place to make 100 million doses of the vaccine each year to fight the complex disease.

Richard Hamilton
BBC World Service Newsroom

Niger has accepted an offer from Algeria to mediate in its political crisis.

Algeria's foreign ministry said the mediation would be led by President Abdelmadjid Tebboune.

Algiers has repeatedly warned against any military response to the crisis in neighbouring Niger, where the army seized power in July.

The West African regional bloc, Ecowas, initially threatened to intervene militarily but has been pursuing diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis.

In August the military junta in Niger proposed a six-month transition plan to return to civilian government.

Richard Hamilton
BBC World Service Newsroom

The Malian army has begun redeploying troops to the northern town of Kidal, amid a resumption of hostilities there.

Reports say a convoy of more than 100 vehicles left the city of Gao, about 300km (186 miles) from Kidal, early on Monday.

The north of Mali has seen an increase in attacks by ethnic Tuareg separatists and jihadists against the Malian military since the end of August.

The escalation in violence coincides with the ongoing withdrawal of the UN force - Minusma - which has been pushed out by the ruling junta.

Read more: Fierce fighting erupts after Tuareg rebels kill 'more than 80 soldiers'

BBC World Service

Image source, AFP

A former Nigerian oil minister has appeared in court in London after being charged with receiving bribes in exchange for multi-million-dollar oil and gas contracts.

Diezani Alison-Madueke was Nigeria's minister for petroleum resources between 2010 and 2015, during the tenure of former President Goodluck Jonathan.

She was also the first female president of the oil bloc, Opec.

Britain's National Crime Agency said she had received various forms of rewards - including cash, luxury goods and holidays.

The NCA said it had frozen assets worth millions of dollars related to the charges.

Mrs Alison-Madueke has denied the allegations and has been on bail since her arrest eight years ago.

She is facing similar charges in Nigeria and the United States.

Read more: Diezani Alison-Madueke charged with bribery in the UK

Favour Nunoo
BBC News, Accra

Image source, Getty Images

Theresa Kufuor, the former first lady of Ghana, has died at the age of 87.

"Her warmth, kindness and grace were exceptional," said the country's current president in an announcement on Monday.

Mrs Kufuor served as first lady from January 2001 to January 2009 and is remembered for her dedicated work in advancing maternal and child healthcare in Ghana.

Her advocacy efforts were pivotal in the introduction of a policy providing free childbirth care, which significantly reduced maternal and child mortality rates in the country.

In 2007, she championed policy reform for the implementation of Unesco's Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education (FCUBE) programme for nursery-age children.

Born Theresa Mensah on 25 October 1935 in Kumasi, she went on to have fulfilling career as a midwife and earned the admiration of Ghanaians for maintaining a modest profile throughout her eight years in public life as first lady.

She married former President John Agyekum Kufuor in 1962 after they met at a Republic Day anniversary dance in London the year before.

Mrs Kufuor is survived by her husband and their five children.

All privately owned orphanages and children's homes will be abolished, the social protection minister says.

The Kenyan government has announced it will close all privately owned children's homes within eight years, saying that will partly help to end child trafficking.

“In the next eight years private homes will not exist. We need to prepare in order to absorb those children that will come from private homes," said Labour and Social Protection Minister Florence Bore at an event on Sunday.

Ms Bore had posted on X (formerly Twitter) earlier on Saturday that the government was already in the process of closing down children’s homes and orphanages.

She said the children in these institutions would be placed in family and community care, which she said offer better environments for the children to thrive.

Insiders say there are more than 40,000 children in about 800 care homes in Kenya, external. Most of these are thought to be privately run.

Kenya has been seeking to phase out private children’s homes and orphanages since the passing of the 2022 Children’s Act, which calls for a transition to guardianship, foster care placement and adoption.

Richard Hamilton
BBC World Service Newsroom

Image source, AFP

Security forces in Madagascar have fired tear gas against opposition candidates who were leading a protest in the capital, Antananarivo.

It comes amid rising tensions ahead of presidential elections next month.

Eleven of the 13 presidential candidates had urged their supporters to march towards the city's central square, to protest against what they described as an institutional coup in favour of the incumbent Andry Rajoelina.

But reporters from the AFP news agency said the security forces dispersed the crowd before it reached its destination.

Twenty four people have been treated for smoke inhalation, along with two being treated for burns.