Image source, Getty Images

Former Johannesburg mayor Thapelo Amad has stirred controversy after he posted a photo of himself brandishing a rifle in support of Palestinian group Hamas.

"We stand with Hamas, Hamas stands with us, together we Palestin [sic] and Palestin [sic] will be free. With our souls, with our blood, we will conquer Al AQSA," Mr Amad captioned the photo shared on Tuesday, which he has since deleted from X, formerly Twitter.

Some X users say that the photo, along with the language used in the caption, promote hate and incite violence.

"The text of his tweet is particularly troubling given its militant tone and the implicit support for a group known for its violent tactics," X user Tim Flack said, adding that he had filed a complaint against Mr Amad with the South African Human Rights Commission.

Other users on the platform have defended Mr Amad's message, but said that the photo of the gun was unnecessary.

Kalkidan Yibeltal
BBC News, Addis Ababa

Image source, AFP

The Ethiopian government says the latest round of peace talks with the rebel group Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) has failed to end with an agreement.

One of the government's negotiators, Redwan Hussein, blamed the OLA, accusing it of an "obstructive approach" and making "unrealistic demands".

The government "regrets this unfortunate turn of events," Mr Redwan said on X (formerly Twitter).

In response, OLA said the Ethiopian government was only interested in co-opting it "rather than beginning to address the fundamental problems that underlie the county´s seemingly insurmountable security and political challenges".

"A historical opportunity to take a leap in the right direction has been lost because of Ethiopian government failed to course correct,” it said.

The OLA, which the federal government has designated a terrorist organisation has been fighting the government for the last four years, citing what it calls the oppression of the Oromo ethnic group.

The talks between the government and OLA, held in the Tanzanian city of Dar es Salaam, hoped to bring peace for Ethiopia’s largest Oromia region.

In the neighbouring Amhara region, a conflict has been escalating between the army and a militia which the government has been trying to disband.

Nine people were killed on Tuesday by gunmen who raided a weekly market in Bamenyam town in the west of Cameroon.

The attack on the town, which is located in the French-speaking area of Bamboutos, is suspected to have been carried out by separatist fighters, who want to establish an independent state in the neighbouring English-speaking region.

The separatist conflict has festered since 2017, with Cameroon's minority English-speaking community complaining that they have been marginalised by the government dominated by a French-speaking majority.

More than 6,000 people have died in the conflict and close to a million others displaced.

Daniel De Simone
BBC News, Johannesburg

Image source, Getty Images

South African members of parliament have voted to close the Israeli embassy in Pretoria and to suspend all diplomatic relations.

The governing African National Congress (ANC) - which dominates parliament - has long been critical of Israel and it supported the motion in parliament.

The motion called for the closure of the embassy and suspension of ties until Israel agrees to a ceasefire and commits to binding negotiations.

It was passed by 248 votes to 91. As it did so, some members shouted “free, free Palestine”.

Ahead of the vote in South Africa, Israel recalled its ambassador “for consultations” – a move it said followed the “the latest South African statements”.

President Cyril Ramaphosa recently referred Israel to the International Criminal Court for potential war crimes and recalled South Africa's diplomats from Israel.

He chaired a virtual summit of the Brics group of countries on Tuesday to discuss the situation in Gaza.

His language was blunt, accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza and also denouncing what he called the collective punishment of Palestinian civilians.

Israel has said its actions in Gaza are ones of self-defence and its aim is to eliminate Hamas.

• Israel recalls its ambassador from South Africa

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Landlocked Uganda has accused Kenyan middlemen of inflating petrol prices by up to 58%.

Ghana fall to a 1-0 defeat in Comoros while Cameroon and Senegal are forced to settle for away draws in 2026 World Cup qualifying.

At least three have died after a car hit people cheering Joseph Boakai's presidential election win.

At least 37 people have died in a crush during an army recruitment drive, Brazzaville officials say.

It comes a day after South Africa called for an ICC arrest warrant against Israel's prime minister.

A fan of the rapper is overwhelmed at her responding after asking Minaj to add Nigeria to her tour.

The number of displaced people by the rains in Somalia has gone up by 100,000 in just one week, bringing the number to close to 650,000 people.

How Rwanda has recovered from 1994 genocide to produce a cricket team which stands on the cusp of T20 World Cup qualification.

Michelle Obama, Amal Clooney and Melinda French Gates tell the BBC about the need to end child marriage.

That's it for now from the BBC Africa Live team. We'll be back on Wednesday.

Until then, there will be an automated feed here.

Or you can find the latest updates on the BBC News website, or listen to our Focus on Africa podcast.

A reminder of our wise words of the day:

Click here to send us your African proverbs.

And we leave you with this picture from Sunday's Great Ethiopian Run in the capital, Addis Ababa:

Image source, AFP

Azeezat Olaoluwa
BBC News

Image source, EPA

Opposition candidate Joseph Boakai has been formally declared the winner of Liberia's run-off presidential election.

Incumbent President George Weah had already conceded on Friday night when Mr Boakai had built an unassailable lead. But not all the votes had been counted.

On Monday afternoon, National Elections Commission chairperson Davidetta Browne-Lansanah announced that the president-elect won after securing 50.64% of the total votes cast while President Weah got 49.36%.

Mr Boakai has promised to, in his words, "rescue" the West African nation and make it a country Liberians could be proud of.

He served as vice-president in the government of Nobel peace laureate Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who handed over to President Weah in 2018.

The 2023 poll was the tightest presidential race since the end of the country's civil war two decades ago.

Read more about Joseph Boakai:

• Liberian leader George Weah hailed for his sportsmanship after accepting defeat

Richard Hamilton & Nkechi Ogbonna
BBC News

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has pledged nearly $4.5bn (£3.6bn) by the end of the decade, for what's known as the Africa-EU Green Energy Initiative.

He was speaking at the Compact with Africa summit in Berlin which brings together nations from the G20 and Africa.

The chancellor made a commitment to import green hydrogen from the continent.

German government officials say Africa can play a key role in helping Europe’s largest economy better diversify its supply chains, secure skilled labour, reduce illegal migration and achieve its transition to clean energy.

The Compact with Africa programme aims to generate further private investment in Africa.

Kennedy Gondwe
BBC News, Lusaka

Image source, FAZ

A Zambian family, who have become a social media sensation because of their enthusiastic pot-banging support of the national football team, have been rewarded with free tickets to all the World Cup qualifying home games.

Pictures of Lovemore Kabwata, his wife Christine and brother Heinz brandishing wooden cooking sticks and kitchen pots cheering the team on last Friday have been widely shared.

The squad, nicknamed the Chipolopolo, won the match against Congo-Brazzaville 4-2.

The Football Association of Zambia (Faz) on Monday invited the family - now known to Zambians as The Mpoto Family (meaning "the Pot Family") - to their offices where they announced the free tickets.

They were "rewarded for upholding family values, abhorring violence at stadia and for their passionate support to the Zambia men’s and women’s national team,” Faz said on Facebook.

The government has said that it would also reward them with tickets for an away game.

For Lovemore, he said football was "all about love" hence supporting the sport with his family.

“We want to see people embrace football, embrace each other regardless of politics, regardless of what people are saying,” he said.

"At the end of the day Zambia is for all of us and the Zambian national team represents all of us so when it loses everybody loses."

Image source, Reuters

The party of the jailed Senegalese opposition leader, Ousmane Sonko, has said it is putting forward an alternative candidate for the presidential election next year.

Court rulings have meant that Mr Sonko is unable to run in February.

His presidential ambitions suffered a major setback at the weekend after the Supreme Court annulled a lower court's decision ordering his reinstatement on the electoral roll.

He has faced a series of legal cases over the past two years for charges including libel and rape, which he denies. In July he was arrested for insurrection and he was struck off the electoral roll - ruling him out of a presidential election next February.

The African Party of Senegal for Work, Ethics and Fraternity (Pastef) is now proposing its Secretary-General, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, to be its flag-bearer.

“Sponsoring the candidate Bassirou Diomaye Faye in no way implies an abdication of the candidacy of President Ousmane Sonko,” the Associated Press quotes a Pastef statement as saying.

“Everyone knows him well enough to know that to his last breath, he will fight without compromise.”

Mr Sonko, 49, has accused President Macky Sall of seeking to exclude him from running in the presidential election.

He was jailed in July on charges including fomenting insurrection, criminal association in connection with a terrorist enterprise and undermining state security over incidents dating back to 2021.

Mr Faye is also facing criminal charges that this party says are politically motivated, AP reports.

Residents in Bamako, Mali, celebrated last week after the army seized the northern town of Kidal.