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  1. Video content

    Video caption: 15-year-old skateboarder Boipelo Awuah is the youngest African at Tokyo 2020.

    15-year-old skateboarder Boipelo Awuah is the youngest African at Tokyo 2020. She explains how she got into the sport and why it feels so good to be at the Olympics.

  2. Mali begins probe into interim president's attack

    Mali interim president Assimi Goita attending Eid prayers
    Image caption: Assimi Goita was attending Eid prayers at Grand Mosque in Bamako

    Mali has opened investigations into the attempted knife attack on interim leader Assimi Goita inside a mosque during Eid al-Adha festivities.

    Prosecutor Bourama Kariba Konate said an inquiry been opened "to shed light on this event".

    Colonel Goita had said he was doing "very well" and downplayed the significance of the assault.

    Police made arrests at the Grand Mosque where the leader was attending the Muslim ceremony when animals are slaughtered to celebrate Prophet Ibrahim's sacrifice.

    Colonel Goita has led two coups in less than a year - the first one being in August 2020, which ousted President Ibrahim Keita.

    The second coup was in May 2021 when the interim leader Bah Ndaw was ousted.

  3. Video content

    Video caption: Bus driver Doreen says getting NHS staff to work has given her purpose during the pandemic
  4. Zuma to attend brother's burial on Thursday

    Former South African president Jacob Zuma
    Image caption: Former president Zuma is serving a 15-month sentence for contempt

    Former South African president Jacob Zuma has been granted permission to attend the burial of his younger brother, Michael, who is set to be buried on Thursday afternoon.

    "As a short-term, low risk classified inmate, Mr Zuma’s application for compassionate leave was processed and approved," Correctional Services department spokesperson, Singabakho Nxumalo, said on Thursday.

    Mr Zuma does not have to wear prison uniform while on the “compassionate leave”, with Mr Nxumalo noting that inmates need not be in uniform when out of jail.

    The former president is currently serving a 15-month sentence in prison for contempt of court.

    His jailing sparked unrest in his home province KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng - where more than 200 people died and hundreds of shopping centres and businesses were ransacked.

  5. Many flee ongoing fighting in Ethiopia’s Afar region

    Vivienne Nunis

    BBC Africa correspondent

    Youngsters walk next to an abandoned tank belonging to Tigrayan forces south of the town of Mehoni, Ethiopia, on December 11, 2020.
    Image caption: The Ethiopia conflict in Tigray recently spread to Afar

    Heavy fighting in Ethiopia's Afar region has continued for the last four days causing thousands of people to flee their homes, reports say.

    More than eight months of conflict between pro government forces and fighters loyal to the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) recently spread to Afar.

    Residents there have told the BBC of many civilian casualties.

    A TPLF spokesperson has denied targeting civilians in Afar.

    The Ethiopian military says it has been successful against the rebels there.

    It's impossible to independently verify these reports.

    On Sunday a UN humanitarian convoy was attacked in the same region - further undermining efforts to reach hundreds of thousands of people at risk of famine in Tigray.

  6. South Africa riots death toll rises to 276

    A shop with a window broken during looting in Durban, South Africa
    Image caption: The estimated cost to the economy in KwaZulu-Natal province alone has been put at more than $1bn

    The death toll in South Africa from the violence that followed the jailing of former President Jacob Zuma has risen to 276.

    Thousands of businesses were looted in the riots that mainly affected the provinces of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.

    It was a level of violence unprecedented in post-apartheid South Africa.

    Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, a minister in the president's office, said 234 people had died in KwaZulu-Natal and another 42 in Gauteng.

    The unrest has now largely subsided following the deployment of 25,000 soldiers.

    Police were carrying out "mopping-up operations to ensure opportunistic and copycat activities do not find traction", the AFP news agency quotes Ms Ntshavheni as saying.

    A former DJ appeared in court on Wednesday on charges of inciting the violence - he is one of about a dozen people prosecutors believe instigated the unrest.

    Several thousand others have been arrested for looting.

  7. Contraceptives for schoolgirls urged in Zimbabwe

    With teenage pregnancies on the rise in Zimbabwe, rights groups are pushing for schoolgirls to be able to obtain contraceptives without parental consent.

    Florence Mutake, from the Shamiri Yemwanasiana, told the BBC's Newsday programme that the government's vice-president had rejected the proposal put forward by some MPs on "cultural and moral" grounds.

    But she said it was an issue that needed to be addressed as more than 5,000 girls had become pregnant during the coronavirus pandemic - 2,000 of them aged below 16.

    Schools closed for many months to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

    "Girls are experimenting with sexual activities exposing them to unwanted pregnancies," Ms Mutake said.

    "We are seeing more and more girls spending time at home with nothing to do."

    Zimbabwean girls are allowed to get married aged 18 and 16 is the age of sexual consent.

  8. Pfizer-BioNTech's SA deal 'not enough' - Oxfam

    The recent deal to make Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccines in South Africa is welcome but not enough to help the huge shortfall of jabs in poorer countries, the charity Oxfam says.

    "To date, Pfizer have sold over 90% of their vaccines to rich nations only, while doctors and nurses are dying daily all over the developing world,” said Oxfam’s Robbie Silverman, who is also spokesperson for the People’s Vaccine Alliance.

    Under the agreement announced on Wednesday, Biovac, which is based in Cape Town, is scheduled to start supplying vaccines to the market by the end of the year. It aims to produce 100 million doses annually.

    “Africa is facing a shortfall of hundreds of millions of vaccines now, “Mr Silverman said.

    “This also proves that the argument pharmaceutical companies have consistently made about developing countries not having the capacity or skills to be able to make vaccines is a myth.“Charity and largely symbolic measures by corporations will not deliver vaccines for everyone, everywhere.

    "Only by sharing the technology and dramatically increasing manufacturing around the world, will we be able to finally gain the upper hand on the pandemic.”

  9. Former DJ in court for inciting South Africa unrest

    Will Ross

    Africa editor, BBC World Service

    Ngizwe Mchunu
    Image caption: Ngizwe Mchunu, a former Ukhozi FM presenter, was denied bail on the grounds of being a flight risk

    A well-known former radio DJ in South Africa has been denied bail after appearing in court on charges of inciting violence that followed the jailing of ex-President Jacob Zuma.

    In a video on social media, Ngizwe Mchunu - a staunch supporter of Mr Zuma - called for the former president to be released.

    Mr Mchunu has denied intending to create unrest.

    Prosecutors say he is one of about a dozen key instigators of the violence that left more than 200 people dead and thousands of businesses looted.

    Mr Zuma is serving 15 months in prison for contempt of court.

    Meanwhile South Africa's transport minister has denied the looting was a result of failures by the government to address economic problems.

    In an interview with BBC HardTalk, Fikile Mbalula described the disturbances as a well-orchestrated attempted coup.

  10. Tunisian military to take control of Covid crisis

    A man in a face mask at a military hospital in Tunisia - August 2020
    Image caption: Infection rates are soaring in Tunisia where less than 8% of the population is fully vaccinated

    Tunisia's president has said that the military health department will take over management of the coronavirus crisis.

    The country's intensive care wards are filling up and doctors are struggling to cope with a surge in cases and deaths.

    President Kais Saied's announcement comes amid tensions in government over the handling of the pandemic.

    On Tuesday, Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi sacked Health Minister Faouzi Mehdi, who is an ally of the president.

    "There's an extraordinary level of dysfunction at the head of the health ministry," Mr Mechichi said.

    He accused Mr Mehdi of making "criminal" decisions that led to chaotic and violent scenes at vaccination centres when he opened them up over the Muslim holiday of Eid to those aged 18 and over.

    But President Saied said that problems at the centres were orchestrated by people within the political system.

  11. Passengers drown after Mozambican aid boat capsizes

    Jose Tembe

    BBC News, Maputo

    People loading boasts with bags of rice in Pemba, Mozambique
    Image caption: Food aid is often transported by boat from Pemba further north up the coast

    An overloaded boat carrying food aid off northern Mozambique has capsized killing at least 12 people.

    It was travelling between the costal city of Pemba and the island of Ibo off Cabo Delgado province, where an Islamist militant insurgency over the last four years has left thousands dead.

    More than 30,000 people are estimated to have fled the mainland for refuge on the small Indian Ocean island.

    Local marine official Tauacale Avelino told reporters the boat had been carrying 26 people and four tonnes of aid from the UN World Food Programme when it sank on Tuesday.

    He urged boat owners to comply with safety regulations.

    Read more: 'We fled to an island after Mozambique attack'

  12. SA government has not failed over unrest - minister

    Shingai Nyoka

    BBC News, Johannesburg

    Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula addresses the media during the launch of the Gauteng Leg of the Joint Community Security Project on March 15, 2021
    Image caption: Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula acknowledged that the security forces were slow to quell the violence

    South Africa's transport minister has denied that the recent week-long unrest was a result of failures of the government to address economic challenges.

    Speaking to the BBC’s Hardtalk, Fikile Mbalula instead blamed an attempted insurrection.

    More than 200 people died and thousands have been arrested for theft and public violence after hundreds of shopping centres and businesses were ransacked.

    The protests followed the jailing of former President Jacob Zuma on contempt charges.

    It is South Africa’s deepest political crisis since apartheid.

    While Mr Mbalula acknowledged that the security forces were slow to quell the violence, he said that the unrest was a well-orchestrated attempted coup. He blamed - without evidence - former liberation war comrades.

    Analysts say the protests were a result of the ever-widening gap between rich and the poor, and pent up frustration at high unemployment and policy failures.

    Mr Mbalula denied that the government has failed, adding that the governing African National Congress (ANC) had had just 27 years to erase the effects of 300 years of colonial oppression.

    Watch Mr Mbalula on Hardtalk:

    Video content

    Video caption: Delayed response gave plotters a "field day"
  13. Video content

    Video caption: Tanzania: Erick Kabendera on Samia Suluhu Hassan, being imprisoned and freedom

    Freed Tanzanian journalist Erick Kabendera says the country needs to tackle injustices which took place during John Magufuli's presidency.

  14. Algeria faces acute oxygen shortage as Covid surges

    Ahmed Rouaba

    BBC News

    Stock image of a person on a ventilator
    Image caption: Patients with Covid-19 often have difficulty breathing

    Algeria has set up an emergency committee to deal with the country’s chronic oxygen shortage.

    The North African nation is not able to produce enough to meet the growing demand from hospitals dealing with a spike in coronavirus infections.

    Health Minister Abderahmane Benbouzid said the crisis committee would oversee supplies to hospitals and health facilities nationwide.

    He also gave instructions for hotels in larger cities to be used for patients needing oxygen treatment.

    In the last 24 hours, 1,298 new cases and 23 deaths from coronavirus have been registered.

    Algeria has started its vaccine rollout - about 3% of the population of 45 million have had one so far, either the Chinese Sinopharm or Russia’s Sputnik vaccine.

    There are plans to start producing these two vaccines locally by September.

  15. Pfizer-BioNTech to start making jabs in South Africa

    Will Ross

    Africa editor, BBC World Service

    A needle and a vial of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine
    Image caption: Biovac is to make doses that will be distributed across Africa

    The makers of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine say they have found a South African partner to manufacture their jab locally.

    Under the agreement, Biovac, which is based in Cape Town, will be supplied with the ingredients from facilities in Europe.

    It will complete the last step in the manufacturing process, known as "fill and finish".

    Aspen Pharmacare - also in South Africa - has struck a similar arrangement with Johnson & Johnson to produce its single-shot vaccine.

    Biovac is scheduled to start supplying vaccines to the market by the end of the year. It aims to produce 100 million doses annually.

    This agreement is good news but on its own won’t solve the continent's supply crisis.

    Only 2% of people in Africa have been vaccinated and infections are soaring.

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  16. Video content

    Video caption: SA: Delayed response gave plotters a ‘field day’ - minister

    The riots sparked by the jailing of former South African President Jacob Zuma were part of a planned insurrection, a minister says.

  17. Copper Queens captain scores Olympic hat-trick

    iek Nouwen of the Netherlands and Barbra Banda of Zambia during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Football Tournament match between Zambia and Netherlands at Miyagi Stadium on July 21, 2021 in Rifu, Japan
    Image caption: Barbra Banda made Olympic history scoring her team's first ever Olympic goals

    Zambia’s Copper Queens have lost 10-3 in their Olympic debut, to European champions the Netherlands.

    But 104th-ranked Zambia did put up a fight at the Miyagi Stadium - with captain Barbra Banda scoring an impressive hat-trick

    For the Netherlands, Arsenal striker Vivianne Miedema scored four goals, while ex-Gunners team-mate Danielle van de Donk picked up three assists.

  18. Why is 'Africa’s Che Guevara' still so popular?

    Alan Kasujja

    BBC Africa Daily podcast

    Captain Thomas Sankara attends the eighth Summit of Non-Aligned Countries in 1983.
    Image caption: Sankara was killed in the presidential palace in Ouagadougou in 1987

    What is it about Thomas Sankara - dubbed “Africa’s Che Guevara” - that makes him so influential on the continent more than three decades after his death?

    Known for both his charisma and revolutionary politics, he became president of Burkina Faso in 1983 and had an auspicious vision for his country.

    “He was a pan-Africanist who spoke out against neo-colonialism and powerful Western leaders,” says the BBC’s James Copnall. “He had no fear.”

    In 1987, Sankara was killed in the presidential palace in the capital, Ouagadougou.

    For years, his supporters have accused his successor, Blaise Compaoré, of being involved in the murder - an allegation that Mr Compaoré denies.

    And yet, Sankara’s message lived on and after all these years, many young Africans still look up to him.

    “To eliminate corruption, you have to start with yourself,” says Burkinabe rapper Smockey. “Sankara died and he had nothing, only a little house. He had a bike, a guitar, and that’s it.”

    I’ve been looking at Sankara’s enduring appeal for Wednesday’s episode of the Africa Daily podcast.

    Subscribe to the show on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts.