Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

Image source, Reuters

Initial results from the presidential run-off election in Liberia point to an extremely tight race.

With almost a quarter of the results in, opposition candidate Joseph Boakai is just ahead of President George Weah.

Mr Boakai so far has 50.7% of the vote, while Weah has 49.3%, the election commission has said.

In the first round, both men were also neck and neck, with the third-placed candidate securing just 2% of the votes.

Faye Mooney, 29, was caught in the crossfire between police and gunmen in Nigeria, an inquest hears.

The prime minister says a new government treaty will prove Rwanda is a safe country to send migrants to.

Image source, Nema

At least two children have died after a fire swept through an informal camp for displaced people in north-eastern Nigeria's Borno state, AFP news agency reports, quoting an official from the emergency services.

National Emergency Management Agency (Nema) official Mannir Gidado said the cause of the fire was still under investigation, but was suspected to have been caused by people cooking in their tents, near their clothes and their beds, AFP reports.

Nema confirmed two deaths on its Twitter account, but did not say whether they were children.

The fire also destroyed more than 1,000 tents at the Muna Alamdari camp near the state capital Maiduguri, Mr Gidado told AFP.

Thousands of people have been living in the camp after being forced to flee their homes because of the almost 15-year-long insurgency being waged by Islamist fighters.

The UK's highest court says the plan leaves people at risk of being sent back to unsafe countries.

Kennedy Gondwe
BBC News, Lusaka

Image source, Getty Images

Four opposition politicians in Zambia - including a former justice minister - have been arrested by police over the last 24 hours for various offences, fuelling concerns that democracy is under threat.

Emmanuel Mwamba of the main opposition Patriotic Front (PF) was detained following a Facebook post in which he called for anti-government demonstrations.

A police statement said he was inciting hatred and violence.

Former Justice Minister Given Lubinda - also of the PF - is accused of refusing to surrender a diplomatic passport.

A third PF member, Raphael Nakachinda, has been charged with espionage, along with Socialist Party leader Fred M’membe, after they featured in a documentary broadcast by Zimbabwe's state broadcaster following that country's election in August.

All four deny the charges.

Civil society groups, the Catholic church and Zambia's Law Association have alleged that the democratic space is shrinking in Zambia.

The government denies the allegation.

Tributes are being paid to the young rapper who was due to release his new album on Thursday.

A year after being gripped by drought, the country is experiencing exceptional flooding.

Image source, Getty Images

An overnight curfew has been imposed in Madagascar's capital, Antananarivo, ahead of Thursday's presidential election which most opposition candidates have described as a fraud and are boycotting.

The country has been extremely tense with numerous opposition protests being dispersed by the police.

Antananarivo's police chief said the curfew was necessary after what he called acts of sabotage including the burning of a polling station.

President Andry Rajoelina is running for re-election, but 10 of the 12 opposition candidates have urged supporters not to vote, raising concerns about the credibility of the poll.

Burglars break into South Africa's Rugby Union headquarters but do not steal any trophies.

Burglars break into South Africa's Rugby Union's headquarters and steal items but not the World Cup trophy.

Popular Nigerian rapper Oladipupo Oladimeji, known as Oladips, has died at the age of 28.

"We are still in shock as we speak," his management said in an Instagram post, external.

It did not give the cause of his death, but said that the rapper had for more than two years "kept his battles within himself".

The statement urged the public to respect his family's privacy, and said that funeral details would be announced later.

The PM says he will revisit the “domestic legal framework” if needed, in order to fulfil his vow to stop the boats.

Image source, Getty Images

Ethiopian Airlines has announced plans to buy 11 Airbus planes, a day after it purchased 31 Boeing aircraft, AFP news agency reports.

It is regarded as Africa's most successful airline, and the move to boost its fleet is the latest sign that it sees itself growing in the years ahead.

"We are keen to expand our fleet size, acquiring the latest technology aircraft," CEO Mesfin Tasew

The airline announced the plan to buy 11 Airbus A350-900s at the Dubai Airshow.

The aircraft can serve routes ranging from short-haul to ultra-long-haul.

On Tuesday, the carrier ordered 11 Boeing 787 Dreamliners and 20 737 MAX planes.

This came more than four years after an Ethiopian Airlines 737 MAX crashed after take-off from Ethiopia's capital Addis Adaba, killing all 157 passengers and crew.

Helen Williams had to lay the wig out on a highway in Nigeria so it could be measured.

Watch the decision on the government’s appeal over its plan to send some asylum seekers to Rwanda.

Image source, Getty Images

A young woman, whose leg was allegedly crushed by an armoured police vehicle at the victory parade of the South African rugby team in the city of East London, has died in hospital, local media report.

Minentle Noqhamka, 21, had her leg amputated after the vehicle hit her as the team was escorted away from the East London city hall on 5 November amid pushing and shoving by crowds of people, the News24 website reports.

At the time, police were quoted as saying that a case of reckless and negligent driving had been opened against the driver of the vehicle.

Noqhamka's father Sithembiso confirmed her death, South Africa's TimesLive newspaper reports.

“She was knocked by a police Nyala [armoured vehicle] on her legs. Her left leg was amputated at the hospital," he is quoted as saying.

“It's very sad for us as a family. We are still trying to come to terms with this.”

South Africa won the Rugby World Cup on 28 October after beating New Zealand in Paris and becoming the first nation to win the tournament four times.

Image source, AFP

Zimbabwe authorities are investigating the deaths of 16 buffaloes near the country’s Hwange National Park.

Tinashe Farawo, the spokesman of the national parks agency Zimparks, said on X that samples had been taken for testing after the animals were found dead in the Matetsi wildlife sanctuary on Tuesday.

The sanctuary is located in the north-west between Hwange National Park and Victoria Falls.

Conservation website ConserveZim cited a ZimParks official as saying that anthrax was highly suspected to be responsible for the deaths.

In 2020, at least 30 elephants died around the same region from what was suspected to be a bacterial disease.

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

Image source, AFP

South Sudan's President Salva Kiir has fired the police chief as part of a move against security officials following reports of an attempted coup.

Leading security figures downplayed the coup rumours that emerged over the weekend when Mr Kiir was on an official visit to Riyadh for a summit.

A day later local media reported that 27 military and intelligence officials had been arrested.

Next year South Sudan is due to hold its first election since it gained independence in 2011.

A five year civil war ended in a peace deal in 2018 but the agreement is yet to be fully implemented and the country remains fragile.

Image source, AFP

The United Nations has said it will resume delivering humanitarian supplies and evacuating staff in Niger after the country's ruling junta lifted domestic flight restrictions.

“The national aviation authorities in Niger have informed the UN Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) that flight restrictions are now lifted for domestic operations, and that services can resume as of tomorrow,” the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairsv(OCHA) said on Tuesday.

It said that the resumption of domestic flight operations will facilitate the monthly delivery of nearly 2.4 metric tonnes of medical supplies and other aid as well as “critical medical and security evacuations for humanitarian staff”.

The UN agency, however, said it expects challenges fuelling its aircraft.

The UN in August said it would continue delivering aid in the West African country, after its leader, President Mohamed Bazoum was overthrown in a coup in August.

However, western powers, including France, the United States and the European Union have cut off aid to the country due to the July coup.

According to the UN, roughly 4.3 million Nigeriens depend on humanitarian aid.