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The Mozambican health authorities have declared that "there is no longer any space to admit patients with Covid-19 at the Maputo Central Hospital," the country’s largest facility.

Fárida Ursi, clinical director of the Maputo Central Hospital or HCM, said the infirmary had space for 40 patients, but there were currently 53 needing treatment.

The hospital was now trying to transfer people to different facilities "so that the patients have a decent hospitalisation, without having patients on the floor", Dr Usi said.

"We are doing everything so that they have a quality and humanised service," she added.

The Covid-19 situation in the country - in particular in the capital Maputo - is going from bad to worse, with more and more people needing hospital treatment.

However, Covid has also caused another problem: a shortage of blood.

"In this third wave, the number of volunteers who normally came to the hospital to donate blood dropped a lot and soon we will start having blood problems," warned the clinical director of the HCM.

He said the "shortage" means that "in a week we will have blood problems, which could cause some patients with acute and severe anaemia to lose their lives".

ReutersCopyright: Reuters

France is to start closing its bases in northern Mali before the end of 2021, President Emmanuel Macron has said.

The country, which has been fighting Islamist extremists in the Sahel for eight years, will initially move troops south, before reducing the numbers to around half - amounting to about 2,500 to 3,000 soldiers.

Macron said the decision had been taken "in line with the imperative of containing the spread of the threat to the south".

The French president was keen to point out they would continue to work in the region, even with reduced numbers.

"We will remain committed. But to remain committed is also to adapt," Macron told a news conference on Friday after meeting virtually with leaders from the region.

The move has been supported by Niger's President Mohamed Bazoum.

AFPCopyright: AFP

Malawi's President Lazarus Chakwera is receiving fierce criticism for appointing his daughter, Violet, to serve at Malawi’s embassy in Brussels as Third Secretary.

Mr Chakwera made ending nepotism - which he said was the hallmark of his predecessor Peter Mutharika’s government - a key pledge during his election campaign in 2020.

And now social media is awash with screenshots of speeches and newspaper cuttings depicting the president condemning his predecessor for being nepotistic.

A key social media influencer, Onjezani Kenani, who was also a fierce critic of the former regime, is among the more prominent voices condemning President Chakwera, suggesting he is proving to be worse than Mr Mutharika.

“The last time I checked, Peter Mutharika never appointed any son or daughter of his to any taxpayer funded position,” Mr Kenani, pointed out.

The former president did however appoint his niece, Duwa to serve as First Secretary at Malawi's embassy in South Africa.

State House has defended the president’s appointments, saying everyone who has been given a job was considered for positions based on their qualifications.

ReutersCopyright: Reuters

President Salva Kiir has called on South Sudan's people to work together to try to recover the country's "lost decade" on the 10th anniversary of its independence.

The anniversary is being marked without celebrations due to the Covid-19 pandemic, along with the country's dire economic situation.

But on paper, there is not much to celebrate. At the end of its first decade, aid groups say 60% of South Sudan's population is suffering severe food shortages, and tens of thousands of people are on the brink of famine. More than a quarter of the population has been displaced by a civil war which broke out two years after independence.

But Mr Kiir has vowed no more fighting.

"On my part, I assure you that I will not return you back to war again," he said in speech to mark the anniversary.

"Let us all work together to recover the lost decade and put our country back to the path of development in this new decade."

Egyptian writer Iman Mersal recently became the first African woman to win the prestigious Sheikh Zaid Book award.

The award, worth more than $275,000 (£200,000), was given to her for non-fiction novel In the Footsteps of Enayat al-Zayyat.

She first developed and interest in the writer Ms Al-Zayyat when she read her novel and couldn't find any archive about her, she told the BBC's Focus on Africa.

Ms Mersal felt that the writer, who explored the role of women in the 50s and 60s, had been forgotten and excluded from Arab literature.

She first started by interviewing Ms Al-Zayyat's close friends in the arts industry.

Ms Mersal says that there is need to explore more into the past and give voice to works that have been excluded.

She says the award will motivate her to keep writing.

"It is really significant for me as readership and attention are nice when you are a writer," she says.

Listen to her full interview:

ReutersCopyright: Reuters

South Africa has "vaccine security", a health department official said as the country announced the next stage of rollouts.

Dr Nicholas Crip, the deputy director-general in the health department, told TimesLive the country was in its "strongest position" yet, with 3.6m doses in stock - enough for 18 days - and more on the way.

The country, which is currently vaccinating the over-50s, is aiming to vaccinate 300,000 people a day by the end of August.

On Thursday, 191,000 jabs were done, with 5.6% of the population fully vaccinated.

Friday also saw the country announce it would open registration for those aged 35 to 49 on 15 July, beginning vaccinations in August.

The uptick in vaccinations comes as South Africa fights another deadly wave of coronavirus. Thursday saw almost 23,000 new cases recorded, and 460 deaths.

It was also announced on Friday that Johannesburg's mayor, Geoff Makhubo, had died after being diagnosed with Covid-19.

Rwanda has begun deploying 1,000 troops to Mozambique's Cabo Delgado province, where a militant insurgency has left thousands dead and millions displaced.

The troops consists of officers from the defence force and national police.

They will reinforce operations by the Mozambique forces and those from the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

The government in a statement said Mozambique had made the request and in honour of the good relations between the two countries, deployment begins on Friday.

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South Sudan, the youngest nation in the world, is turning 10.

“The decade of independence we’re celebrating is something every South Sudanese is proud of,” says reporter Nichola Mandil in the capital, Juba. “The pride of having a nation of our own.”

But it’s fair to say that, after a decade of independence, not everything has gone quite according to plan.

For a start, a civil war tore through the country and forced millions of people out of their homes.

Then there’s South Sudan’s sluggish economy (still over-reliant on oil exports). This in turn makes it hard for politicians to deal with systemic problems like extreme poverty or food insecurity.

So, do the people of South Sudan feel the occasion calls for a party?

“The general mood [in Juba] is that yes, we are 10 years old as a nation, but there’s been this excuse that we are a young nation,” says Mr Mandil.

“The country is young, but the challenge is to move the country another step forward.”

How far has South Sudan come in 10 years? Find out in Friday’s edition of Africa Daily.

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

ReutersCopyright: Reuters

South Africa’s high court has dismissed an attempt by the secretary general of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) to have to have his suspension set aside.

Ace Magashule also lost his bid for the court to allow his suspension of the ANC president, Cyril Ramaphosa - South Africa's current leader.

Mr Magashule was suspended from the party in May over corruption allegations, which he denies.

He said he would appeal the "unconstitutional suspension" and would stay in the job while his appeal was ongoing. He then wrote a letter asking President Ramaphosa to step aside, but the ANC called on him to "respect" the party decision.

The secretary general’s suspension was the result of the instruction requiring ANC members charged to vacate their posts within 30 days.

On Friday, the court found his suspension lawful and valid, saying the party was entitled to regulate itself and its members and officials.

EPACopyright: EPA

South Africa's former president Jacob Zuma has lost his latest bid to block his arrest - meaning he will remain in jail.

Zuma's legal team are hoping to overturn his 15-month sentence for contempt of court, which he began serving this week after handing himself in to police late Wednesday.

But speaking on Friday, the high court judge presiding over the attempt to stay his arrest said the application had been "dismissed with costs".

However, this is not the only attempt Zuma is making to overturn his sentence, handed to him by South Africa's constitutional court after he failed to attend an inquiry into corruption during his presidency. He denies any corruption, and has not co-operated with the legal process.

According to the BBC's Nomsa Maseko, the case is expected back in the constitutional court on Monday, when judges will consider whether to rescind or reduce the sentence.

Currently Zuma, who still has a large base of support in South Africa, will be eligible for parole in just under four months, officials have said.

• Read more about Zuma's fall from power here: From freedom fighter to president - to jail

The Liberian government has received a donation of teargas and other riot control equipment to enforce Covid restrictions.

The donation comes at a time when security forces are enforcing regulations against mass gatherings.

The consignment came from France and follows President George Weah's recent trip to Paris.

The security forces in Liberia are complementing the efforts of health authorities to combat the spread of coronavirus.

The public has ignored warnings to avoid mass gatherings and crowds are still seen in entertainment and market places.

Liberia has been recording increased virus cases and recently received thousands of testing kits from France to boost its testing capacity.

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South Sudan is marking the tenth anniversary of its independence with little fanfare, its population advised to celebrate at home because of coronavirus.

The only official event a 10km run in the capital, Juba.

President Salva Kiir has blamed international sanctions for his country's dire straits - its economy becalmed by five years of conflict, and more than a quarter of its population displaced by fighting.

South Sudan's most prominent peacemaker, Bishop Emeritus Paride Taban, told the BBC the legacy of the fight for independence was proving hard to overcome.

"The country [has] been built out of suffering from many wars and still people have such feeling in their hearts, so they need a lot of healing before coming back like other countries," he said.

Peter Biar Ajak, a youth activist living in exile in the United States, told the BBC that life for the people of South Sudan had been a "nightmare".

He cited the initial conflict with Sudan, the civil war, economic crisis and corruption in the country - and criticised the leadership of South Sudan for their role in the problems that has persisted since independence.

"There's no doubt about it they fought, but then again, when they fought what it is they were trying to create? I don't think they have ever really tried to imagine that and that has exactly been the problem for the people of South Sudan," he said.

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

Nigeria has announced its first confirmed case of the Delta variant of Covid-19.

The variant was detected in a traveller following a routine travel test required of all international visitors. An analysis in a lab in the capital Abuja confirmed the variant, the country's Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) said on Thursday evening.

The authorities have not mentioned which country the infected person was travelling from.

Nigeria has so far recorded nearly 170,000 cases of coronavirus with more than 2,000 deaths.

The the World Health Organization (WHO) has identified the Delta variant as a variant of concern.

It’s more transmissible and has so far spread to dozens of countries around the world, driving outbreaks in places like the UK.