Image source, GWR

A Nigerian woman has set a new Guinness World Record for the longest handmade wig.

Helen Williams, from Lagos city, set the record after making the wig stretching more than 350m (1,150ft), the Guinness World Records (GWR) said in a statement.

A professional wig maker for eight years, Ms Williams spent 11 days and $2,493 (£2,031) making the wig.

She said despite the experience, it was not an easy task, including finding the materials - saying that she "felt exhausted” at some point, GWR quoted her as saying.

“However, friends and family encouraged me. I did not want to let them down, so I maintained my focus. The outcome is the longest handmade wig in the world,” she said.

She noted that the biggest challenge was getting space to have the wig laid out in a straight line and measured accurately.

She eventually did on an expressway – the road connecting the cities of Lagos and Abeokuta.

It comes after Nigerian chef Hilda Baci was last week dethroned as the world record holder for non-stop cooking.

Ms Baci won the title earlier this year, causing a sensation in Nigeria.

Uganda's parliament on Tuesday passed a bill allowing the state-owned oil company Uganda National Oil Company (Unoc) to source and supply oil to the domestic market.

If approved by President Yoweri Museveni, the bill will end the country’s decades-long practice of relying on Kenyan companies for oil imports.

MPs who supported the bill said it would reduce fuel costs by cutting out middlemen and “fuel cartels that arbitrarily influence fuel pricing”.

Uganda’s Energy Minister Ruth Nankabirwa recently said that the country needed to stop importing oil through Kenyan companies as it “exposed Uganda to occasional supply vulnerabilities where Ugandan oil marketing companies were considered secondary whenever there were supply disruptions”.

Uganda, a landlocked country, imports more than 90% of its fuel through Kenya's Mombasa port and the remainder through Tanzania's Dar es Salaam port, according to Ms Nankabirwa.

The country is also seeking to shift more of its oil transportation via Tanzania.

A social media influencer and fixer to football stars hopes he can help Ethiopia reach the Fifa World Cup for the first time.

Image source, EPA

Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo has urged African and Caribbean leaders to unite in demanding reparations for historical injustices committed during slavery and colonialism, terming the action “a valid demand for justice”.

He said that Africa was owed reparations by countries that participated in slavery as the practice had stifled Africa’s progress.

"No amount of money can restore the damage caused by the transatlantic slave trade and its consequences. But surely, this is a matter that the world must confront and can no longer ignore," Mr Akufo-Addo said on Tuesday at an ongoing reparations conference in Ghana’s capital, Accra, and attended by leaders from African and Caribbean nations.

The conference seeks to build a united front and formulate a plan to guide African countries and the diaspora in pursuing reparations.

Mr Akufo-Addo has been vocal in pushing for apologies and reparations from countries that participated in slavery and colonialism.

In September, he told the United Nations General Assembly that “no amount of money would ever make up for the horrors, but it would make the point that evil was perpetrated”.

Image source, Getty Images

The offices of the South African Rugby Union were broken into by burglars but the William Webb Ellis trophy that the country recently won in France is safe, local media report.

The burglary happened at an office complex in Cape Town’s northern suburbs, where the rugby union is one of the tenants.

The national rugby team, Springboks, toured the country with the shiny gold trophy two weeks ago after returning to South Africa following their win.

Local reports indicated that the burglars stole five signed jerseys and eight laptops from the office, while taking 60 other laptops from another office in the building.

The TimesLive website reports that the burglars spotted the replica trophy kept by the Springboks but decided to leave it behind as they continued to search for other loot.

Every winning team of the Rugby World Cup is usually given a replica cup to keep.

The News24 website quoted the SA Rugby Union as saying that the trophies were safe - South Africa has other trophies won in previous years.

The burglary, which happened on Monday evening, was captured on security cameras and the footage has been shared on social media.

Police in Western Cape have asked the public to report any information on the whereabouts of the suspects.

Rory Gallimore
BBC World Service News

Image source, Getty Images

The United States says it will resume deliveries of food aid across Ethiopia in December, six months after they were suspended over corruption allegations.

The US international development agency (USAid) said significant reforms would ensure that the food supplies reached those who needed them most.

The aid resumption will be on a one-year trial basis, it said.

Millions of Ethiopians face food shortages because of the effects of conflict and severe weather.

The US halted aid in June, complaining of the widespread and co-ordinated diversion of supplies.

A limited resumption took place last month for refugees in camps.

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Tough proposals will have far-reaching consequences for foreign nationals seeking refuge.

As the price of basics soars, African governments are intervening to support local currencies.

The president, ex-footballer George Weah, faced Joseph Boakai in a second round of voting.

Kidal has been a bastion for the Tuaregs, one of the groups behind the political and security crises.

That's it for now from the BBC Africa Live team, but we'll be back on Wednesday morning.

Until then, you can get the latest African news on the BBC website, external or listen to our Focus on Africa podcast for stories behind the news.

A reminder of our wise words of the day:

Click here to send us your African proverbs.

And we leave you with this photo of opposition candidates out in the streets of Madagascar - where many are calling for a boycott:

Image source, AFP

Image source, AFP

Ethiopian Airlines has ordered more Boeing 737-8 MAX planes, almost five years after a fatal crash near Addis Ababa involving the same model which was then grounded.

"We believe we have checked and confirmed that the design defect of that aircraft has been fully corrected by Boeing," Ethiopian Airlines CEO Mesfin Tasew said on Tuesday.

"We have renewed our confidence in that aircraft," he added.

In total, the airline has ordered more than 67 Boeing planes. The order includes a mix of models.

Aviation website Simple Flying reports that Ethiopian Airlines' order was announced at the Dubai Airshow 2023, external - "where Boeing has so far dominated its rival, Airbus".

Ameyu Etana
BBC News Afaan Oromoo

Thousands of farmers from the Bure area in Ethiopia's Amhara region have crossed into the neighbouring region of Oromia after fresh attacks have claimed dozens of lives, according to residents.

They said two villages - Bakko Tabo and Sontoma - were mainly targeted.

A farmer who fled the area told the BBC: "Fanno members asked us to join them but we said no. Then they attacked us." Residents have said it's ethnically motivated.

They have blamed members of Fanno militias, a group fighting government troops in the volatile north-western Amhara, Ethiopia's second-most populous region.

But it's not clear how many have been killed from the attacks that lasted for days.

"We were unable to bury dead bodies. I don't know the fate of elders who we left behind."

A local official in the Amuru area said so far 3,000 displaced people have taken shelter in schools but that numbers are increasing.

Ethiopia's Human Rights Commission says it is going to investigate the attack.

Earlier today, Ethiopia's prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, called for armed groups to lay down their arms as his administration continue to battle armed insurgency in different parts of the country.

The targeting of Tapfumaneyi Masaya is part of a series of kidnappings of activists.

Nigerian afrobeats star Mr Eazi has told a local radio station that, contrary to popular opinion, he didn't keep his wedding a secret.

"Who told you it was a secret wedding? Go and watch the video of my song Legalise you will get the answer to your question. We shot the video in Venice," he told Naija FM in Lagos.

Mr Eazi is married to Temi Otedola, the daughter of billionaire businessman Femi Otedola.

The couple had a high-profile romance for some years before reportedly getting engaged in 2022, and marrying months later.

Image source, Getty Images

Paul Njie
BBC News, Yaoundé

Image source, AFP

Some in Gabon have welcomed the junta’s announcement of a provisional two-year transitional period which should result in elections in 2025.

Louis Gaston Mayila, leader of Gabon’s opposition UPNR party, told the BBC that “the transition has truly been given its dimension”, adding that “I and many others are reassured by its progress”.

It followed worries and speculation about how long the military might seek to stay in power after overthrowing former President Ali Bongo in a coup.

Although members of the interim government cannot stand in the upcoming elections, the transitional charter does not bar Gen Oligui Nguema from doing so.

This remains an issue of concern. But some say he stands a chance of wooing the Gabonese people, if he addresses the key issues affecting their daily lives before the election period.

“If we have water in our homes, if roads are accessible at all seasons in Gabon, I don’t see the inconvenience in saying ‘since the military has shown what it’s capable of doing, let’s give them a chance at democracy’,” said Alima Minsa, a civil society activist.

An ex-gynaecologist from Rwanda goes on trial accused of genocide and crimes against humanity.

Yusuf Akinpelu
BBC News, Lagos

Image source, AFP

Workers have shut all of Lagos state's ports on the first day of nationwide strikes in Nigeria.

The call from the country's two biggest unions - the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) - is not yet being observed everywhere but disruptions are expected at hospitals, railway stations and schools.

Union members are demanding that salary arrears be paid, ghost workers be removed from the government payroll and for an inquiry into the recent assault of NLC President Joe Ajaero.

As of Monday afternoon, union members' actions have caused:

• Blackouts in parts of Nigeria as electricity union workers shut the grid - although the state power company denies this

• Train passengers to be stranded in oil-rich Delta state and the economic hub Lagos

• Pupils and teachers to be sent home from state primary and secondary schools - but some secondary schools in Ogun state have stayed open.

Some other unions are expected to join from Tuesday.

The government has described the strike action as illegal and “not in national interest”.

There is expected to be a meeting between the union and government representatives.

Moses Kollie Garzeawu
Journalist, Monrovia

Voting is proving fast paced in Liberia's presidential run-off, meaning the queues at polling stations are not long here in the capital, Monrovia.

Voters are choosing between George Weah, who is trying to secure a second term in office, and former Vice-President Joseph Boakai.

Earlier in the morning there were long lines, but now people can walk in easily to cast their ballots.

A electoral official told the BBC that more than 50% of expected voters at his polling station had voted within the first three hours of the polls opening.

Isaac Doe, a senior party official of the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC), told the BBC: "These elections have elevated our democratic credentials with Liberians smoothly exercising their democratic franchise.”

Jonathan Wehyee, a single-legged amputee who blamed overcrowding and disorder for not being unable to vote in the first round, said he was delighted to cast his ballot.

“Today was so good and peaceful. Today I was able to vote but the last time I was unable to because there was no space for most of the disabled people," he told the BBC.

Around 2.4 million Liberians are voting in what is expected to be a tight contest.

The two candidates were separated by barely 7,000 votes in the first round last month.