Egypt and Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah is praised for the tone of his statement on the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

Seventeen Zambian opposition MPs have been suspended from parliament for 30 days, following a disruption of a parliamentary session last week.

The lawmakers defied orders to leave the plenary after they accused the Speaker of denying them an opportunity to speak.

While suspending them on Tuesday, Speaker Nelly Mutti described their behaviour as unparliamentary and a breach of parliament's decorum and integrity.

Ms Mutti said that lawlessness should not be confused with freedom of expression and defying the Speaker amounted to an assault on Zambia’s constitutional democracy.

MP Brian Mundubile, the leader of the opposition in parliament, was among those suspended.

The MPs say the ruling party wants to push for some constitutional changes in their absence.

A section of opposition MPs have reportedly submitted a petition for the removal of the Speaker for alleged mismanagement of parliamentary affairs.

Image source, Getty Images

The British High Commission in Uganda has warned of “a growing terror threat in Uganda, including targeting of foreigners”, hours after the US embassy issued a similar alert.

Both diplomatic missions on Tuesday warned their citizens against attending large gatherings, including worship activities.

They also cautioned against participation in music and cultural festivals, ahead of the popular Nyege Nyege festival on Thursday.

The UK government has also advised its citizens against visits to the Semuliki National Park and Queen Elizabeth National Park, where a British and South African couple and their Ugandan guide were killed by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) militant group last month.

The UK then warned its citizens against visiting the popular park.

Uganda has experienced heightened insecurity in recent months.

Authorities said they had foiled two separate attacks on churches by ADF in September and October.

In June, ADF militants killed 42 people at a school in western Uganda, one of the deadliest ADF attacks in the country.

Kalkidan Yibeltal
BBC News, Addis Ababa

Image source, AFP

Residents in the restive north-western Ethiopian region of Amhara have accused government forces of drone strikes and indiscriminate shelling as widespread fighting between the army and local militias continues.

An ongoing internet shutdown imposed by the authorities since August has made it difficult to independently confirm the allegations or get details of the violence.

Locals in East and West Gojjam, North Shoa and Central Gondar areas of the region have told the BBC’s Amharic service that they have witnessed days-long “intense” fighting.

The clashes, according to the residents, include the use of heavy weapons and drones, creating concern for the safety of civilians.

In one district, witnesses have said five people attending a funeral were injured when an artillery shell hit a place nearby.

In another district, residents have said airstrikes hit a school.

In the historic city of Lalibela, priests and a prominent opposition figure told Reuters news agency that “careless” firing of heavy weapons could endanger local churches, which are recognised by Unesco as world heritage site.

Violence broke out in August after months of fermenting tension over a government directive to disband a regional paramilitary group.

Local militias, known as Fano, overran major cities in the region and briefly controlled an airport at the onset of the clashes but have since been pushed back by government forces.

The militias, however, continued to operate in smaller towns and rural areas. The BBC’s attempts to reach Amhara officials have not been successful and there have not been official remarks about the reignited fighting.

Last week, Western countries, including the US and UK, said they were alarmed by the ongoing violence and called for dialogue.

Image source, Government of the Czech Republic

Nigeria has cancelled a planned visit by Czech Republic Prime Minister Petr Fiala, several Czech media outlets say.

"Nigeria has informed us that it is unable to provide an adequate reception and programme, so we have agreed to cancel the visit," Czech Republic government spokesman Václav Smolka told the Czech daily paper Blesk.

Nigeria is yet to comment on the matter.

Czech media, citing diplomatic sources, report that Nigeria’s decision is linked to the Czech Republic’s support of Israel in the ongoing conflict with Hamas.

The Czech Republic was one of the countries that voted against the UN resolution for a ceasefire between in the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Nigeria, which has a large Muslim population, voted for a ceasefire, and some residents have held protests in support of Palestinians.

Prime Minister Fiala began a visit to sub-Saharan Africa last week to seek business opportunities for Czech companies.

He has toured Ethiopia and Kenya, where he held talks with the heads of those countries.

He is expected to meet Ghana's President Nana Akufo-Addo in Accra on Thursday, before concluding his trip in the Ivory Coast on Saturday.

Image source, Getty Images

South Africa's Police Minister Bheki Cele says criminals have declared war on citizens, following a surge in crime levels in the country.

This is after the country's transport minister was robbed at gun-point in a daring attack on Monday.

Sindisiwe Chikunga was travelling from KwaZulu-Natal to Gauteng when the incident happened.

"We nearly lost a minister that would have been shot and killed,” Mr Cele said.

A manhunt has since been launched for the robbers, who stole some laptops, a phone and her bodyguards' weapons.

“People say we are calling for a war, we are not calling for a war, we found the war in the way. These criminals, they are taking us on, so it’s no use of taking a step back,” Mr Cele added.

The minister said the government would address police shortages in the country, in an attempt to curb the escalating crime rates.

The Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru) wants tougher action to be taken against criminals following an increase in police killings in the country.

At least 67 police officers have been killed in criminal attacks since January, Popcru says.

Image source, EPA

The death toll from the ongoing flash floods in Somalia has risen to 29, the national disaster management agency says.

The flooding has left many people injured and affected an estimated 850,000 others, the agency's head, Mahamuud Moallim, said on Tuesday.

Fourteen people had been confirmed killed in the floods on Saturday by the United Nations humanitarian affairs agency (Ocha).

Earlier this week, Somalia declared an emergency in the most-affected states - Jubbaland, Hirshabelle South West and Galmudug.

The flooding began last month after heavy rains raised water levels and caused the overflowing of the Juba and Shabelle rivers.

Flash floods have also killed dozens of others in neighbouring Kenya and Ethiopia.

Ocha said in September that East Africa was likely to encounter heavier than normal rains over the October-December period because of the El Niño phenomenon.

Image source, Reuters

There has been a significant increase in the number of people fleeing fresh violence in the Sudanese region of Darfur, a medical charity says.

Witnesses have accused the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied militias of carrying out ethnic killings against non-Arabs in West Darfur.

The RSF did not immediately comment on the allegations but it had earlier said it was not involved in what it described as a "tribal conflict".

Seven thousand people have crossed over the Sudanese border into Chad in three days, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) says.

Among them are dozens of wounded people. MSF says the refugees are mainly women and children who are fleeing the violence with nothing.

Reuters news agency reports a trail of men crossing from Darfur into Chad at Adré, about 27km (17 miles) west of state capital, El Geneina.

Some have told journalists about atrocities carried out in areas of West Darfur that have just been captured by the RSF.

The UN refugee agency says "an unimaginable" humanitarian crisis is unfolding in Sudan.

Nearly six million people have been displaced since the war between the Sudanese army and RSF started in mid-April.

More than 500,000 people have crossed into Chad, mostly from West Darfur, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) says.

The rival forces have made no progress towards a ceasefire in their latest talks, instead they agreed to facilitating aid deliveries, host Saudi Arabia said on Tuesday.

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Abiy Ahmed says that access to a port is an existential question for his landlocked country.

John and Susan Cooper fell ill and died after a room in their hotel was fumigated, an inquest hears.

Irish chef Alan Fisher cooked for more than five days to clinch the cooking marathon world record from Hilda Baci.

Appeal judges at Scotland's highest civil court halt a compensation case by Kenyan tea pickers.

Even for a country where crime levels are high, an armed attack on a cabinet member is rare.

South Africa's Bongi Mbonambi accuses England of being "unprofessional" after alleging he directed a racial slur at Tom Curry.

The government's staunch support for the Palestinians is criticised by leaders of the Jewish community.

An investigation is under way but officials say it happened as a diesel generator was being serviced.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz has pledged to "examine" whether asylum applications could be processed abroad.

The row threatens to disrupt the fragile peace following the end of the civil war a year ago.

Relatives say John Okafor, known as Mr Ibu, has endured seven operations to save his life.