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The founder of Russia's private military company Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has told Afrique Media TV that his mercenaries will continue working in African countries where they are present.

"We continue to work in all the countries where we started or are now doing this work of co-operation and development," he said in an interview published on the pro-Kremlin TV’s Facebook page.

"If the assistance of the Wagner Group is needed anywhere to combat gangs and terrorists and to protect the interests of the people of these countries, we are ready to begin immediately to fulfil this task after agreeing on the conditions."

He added that “there was no, and there will be no reduction in our programmes in Africa".

His remarks followed rumours about the possible withdrawal of Wagner mercenaries from Mali and the Central African Republic. The rumours began circulating after Mr Prigozhin staged a short-lived mutiny in Russia on 24 June.

Rights groups have accused Wagner mercenaries of committing human rights abuses in Mali and CAR.

An MP in Ghana is calling for the legislative body to investigate the activities of the US-based charity International Justice Mission (IJM), following a BBC Africa Eye expose of an anti-human trafficking scheme where children are wrongfully identified as victims.

The MP, Betty Krosbi, on Wednesday told her colleagues in parliament to reconsider the country’s anti-human trafficking laws which she says are often exploited by NGOs.

“International NGOs are taking advantage of our human trafficking law," to benefit their own organisations, she added.

"I would urge this house to reconsider the act on human trafficking and the children’s act once again to consider our cultural values and way of life as well to put proper systems in place to monitor and evaluate the activities of such organisations in Ghana," she said.

While condemning IJM's activities exposed by the BBC investigation, the lawmaker expressed concern about publications that suggest there is pervasive child trafficking in communities along Lake Volta.

BBC Africa Eye, in its latest investigative documentary, exposed how IJM was falsely identifying and separating children from their families, sometimes through violent means, while aiding local authorities to prosecute and jail their breadwinners.

The IJM told the BBC that it seeks to "provide the most effective support to authorities to stop child trafficking."

The group added that its "approach always has the welfare of the child at its core".

Read the investigation here.

AFPCopyright: AFP

In the middle of Tunisia's heatwave, I step out into the scorching heat.

Just a few minutes after venturing outside, my phone showed a warning of overheating before it shut down.

With an unprecedented 116.4F (46.9C) being recorded in the south-western city of Tozeur, doctors are advising people to stay hydrated and remain indoors in air conditioning.

As the North African country is experiencing a fifth consecutive year of drought, disturbances over water have been recorded in many areas, including the outskirts of the capital, Tunis.

In some other cities, power outages are making things even harder.

The heatwave is affecting all of North Africa.

In Morocco, the National Agency for Water and Forests has warned of a high risk of wildfires across the kingdom, while Algeria has recorded some of the hottest temperatures in the world, with 47.4C reported in the coastal region of Chlef.

During the last week of April, temperatures across the region were up to 15C higher than normal for the time of year.

The current heatwave is expected to persist until at least 28 July. Tunisia’s National Meteorological Institute suggests the peak has not yet been reached.

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

Sign language has become South Africa's 12th official language.

President Cyril Ramaphosa formally approved the Sign Language Bill into law during a ceremony in Pretoria.

Some of the country's other languages are Afrikaans, English, Xhosa and Zulu.

South Africa is the fourth country on the continent to recognise signing as an official language after Kenya, Zimbabwe and Uganda.

The South African National Deaf Association said the law was "long overdue". It's estimated that there are 600,000 deaf people in South Africa and 1.4 million with hearing loss.

AFPCopyright: AFP

A camel and several gazelles have been stolen and killed for food from the Sudan Animal Rescue sanctuary, the founder has told the BBC, blaming fighters from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The RSF is one side of a civil war that is currently raging in Sudan.

Four gazelles were shot on two separate occasions as well as one camel on a third occasion, the rescue centre said.

The RSF fighters are also threatening to return to steal more animals, the sanctuary added.

The BBC has not been able to independently verify these incidents.

Speaking to the BBC Africa live page team, the founder and director of the centre condemned the acts as "savage".

"These acts of violence are putting our animals and our staff in danger. We have been working tirelessly for years protecting these wild animals and during this difficult time of war," Osman Salih said.

Mr Salih added that warring sides should not bomb the sanctuary because the wild animals pose a potential "risk" to the public if they break out.

The sanctuary also houses lions.

Ghana has launched an HIV Self-Testing programme as part of efforts to curb the spread of the virus in the country.

The kit will make it possible for Ghanaians to check their status with more privacy.

One of the available options, the oral HIV self-test (HIVST), involves swabbing the upper and lower gums with an oral swab.

The stick is subsequently dipped in a test tube solution for 20 minutes. A negative result will show one line on the stick, while a reactive result will show two lines.

Authorities however say a reactive result must be confirmed at a health facility.

Ghana's Aids Commission reports that there are more than 350,000 people living with HIV in the country, however only 71% know their status.

The introduction of HIVST has been welcomed by experts who describe it as a potential game-changer in scaling up HIV testing services in Ghana.

AFPCopyright: AFP

Several people in Kenya have been shot and injured as police battled opposition protesters in several parts of the county demonstrating against the rising cost of living and tax hikes.

Local media reported that five people were injured in Nakuru town in the Rift Valley region – with four sustaining gunshot wounds. Two others were shot and injured in Makueni in the east.

Earlier three people were reported to have been taken to hospital in in Migori in the west after they were injured during the protests.

Opposition leader Raila Odinga reportedly urged his supporters to end the protests at 17:00 local time and resume on Thursday.

Mr Odinga told the local Daily Nation newspaper website that the first day of a series of cost-of-living protests had been a success.

In Nairobi’s city centre and in other key towns, businesses remained shut and people stayed away for fear of getting caught in the protests.

Meanwhile, a number of people were shot and injured in different towns during the anti-government protests.

The opposition Azimio coalition says some of their leaders and close allies including some MPs and local area representatives had been arrested, with deputy leader Martha Karua condemning their “arrest without lawful justification”.

President William Ruto meanwhile said he was ready for talks but denounced the chaos and hooliganism during the protests, and urged the opposition to find amicable ways to address their concerns.

Ghana’s Supreme Court has dismissed an application to stop parliament from considering a controversial anti-LGBT bill.

In a unanimous decision on Wednesday, the court said that the applicant, an academic researcher called Dr Amanda Odoi, failed to convince the court to stop parliament from continuing with a bill that was already being debated by MPs.

Dr Odoi wanted debates on the bill to be put on hold until the court heard her case which challenges the legality of the bill on the grounds that parliamentary leaders failed to do an economic impact analysis of its impact - if it were to be passed.

The Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, 2021 would see LGBT people jailed for a maximum of three years and promoters of it imprisoned for up to 10 years.

It has been widely criticised as a violation of the rights of sexual minorities in the country.

Read more: Will Kenya be the latest African country to pass anti-gay law?