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Radio MozambiqueCopyright: Radio Mozambique

At least 15 people in Mozambique have died across the country as a result of the tropical storm Ana, relief authorities say.

The weather phenomenon which started on Monday in the northern region has left a trail of destruction to public and private property, including homes, hospitals, schools, electricity pylons and bridges.

The western Tete province has been worst hit, where six people, including children, have died - most of them after being smashed by falling walls.

The city of Tete has been disconnected from Moatise district after the bridge on River Rovubwe, a tributary of the major Zambezi river, collapsed.

Four vehicles in an entourage that included the Tete governor, the city’s mayor and other staff accompanying them were swept away by the river – as they were returning from surveying the damage.

The governor, the mayor and most of the other passengers were rescued.

However, three people, including a journalist, are still missing.

Although the tropical storm has dissipated, meteorologists say heavy rains, strong winds and thunderstorms will continue in the central and northern regions.

Five people have been charged in court after a video was shared widely showing a South African councillor being dragged on the floor inside a building.

The female Eastern Cape councillor, Nanziwe Rulashe, reportedly disagreed with officials and she was dragged out of her offices while kicking and screaming.

Security men seen in the video have been charged with assault and the head of the security at the municipality offices suspended.

A video of the incident has been shared widely:

Ms Rulashe said the incident had traumatised her family and friends.

Some South Africans online have expressed anger at the manhandling of the councillor.

"Wow this is unbelievable. Her dignity has a human being taken just like that," Sanele Makhanya tweeted.

At least nine people, including a child, have died following floods and mudslides in Kisoro district in south-western Uganda.

Eight of the bodies had been retrieved by Tuesday afternoon, the Ugandan Red Cross said.

"The ninth is a child that was caught up by the mudslide while running. So no-one knows where exactly to dig," it said.

The heavy rains destroyed homes, roads and other infrastructure.

On Wednesday, the Red Cross said it was providing emergency relief for some 300 families affected by the disaster.

The organisation had earlier tweeted images showing some of the damage:

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The US State Department has approved the sale of 12 military transport planes to Egypt, in a deal worth more than $2bn (£1.4bn).

Air defence radar systems and other related equipment are also being sold for another $300m.

The arms sales come despite recent criticism from the US President Joe Biden's administration of Egypt's human rights record.

In September, Washington placed on hold $130m in military aid already budgeted for Egypt.

Officials cited Cairo's failure to improve the rights situation.

AFPCopyright: AFP

The Senegalese army says two of its soldiers have been killed and nine are missing after clashes in The Gambia, a country almost totally surrounded by Senegal.

The troops were part of the West African peacekeeping mission that has been deployed in The Gambia for the past five years.

Senegal's military says the men clashed with southern Senegalese separatists illegally smuggling timber.

It said the separatists were probably holding the nine hostage.

One of the insurgents also died.

Tropical Storm Ana is the first named tropical system this year in the south-western Indian Ocean. It made landfall early on Monday morning as a moderate strength tropical storm just south of the town of Angoche on the coast of Mozambique. At the time of landfall, sustained winds were 85km (52.82 miles) per hour with gusts up to 110km per hour.

Before being named as a tropical storm, this system had already brought heavy rain and strong winds across the northern half of Madagascar which resulted in flooding.

In Mozambique in the 24 hours up to 06:00 GMT on Tuesday, Furancungo recorded 273mm of rain and Songo picked up 156mm.

Milange reported 170mm in just six hours on Monday morning.

Ana has now weakened to an overland depression and is tracking westwards across the Mozambique-Zimbabwe border. Winds have dropped but further heavy rainfall is expected for parts of Mozambique, Malawi, Zimbabwe and Zambia in the coming days.

However, the most intense rains will become increasingly confined to Zambia from Thursday onwards. An additional 100-150mm is expected in these areas, possibly as much as 200mm locally bringing a risk of flooding.

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Prosecutors in Egypt are questioning a man alleged to have taken an exam in the place of Mostafa Mohamed - a footballer currently playing for the national team at the Africa Cup of Nations.

Local media say security services were alerted to a suspected case of fraud at a private educational institute in Giza.

A man was detained - he is reported to have said he was a friend of Mohamed and was trying to help him out.

There has been no comment from Mohamed so far.

The youngest person to die in a stampede at a football stadium in Cameroon's capital, Yaoundé, on Monday was an eight-year-old boy - not a six-year-old girl as previously reported.

That's what BBC Africa Sport's Piers Edwards has tweeted, quoting the director of Yaoundé’s Central Hospital.

He adds that two-year-old injured in the crush is on the mend, as are seven others who were said to be in a serious condition.

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Fifty elephant tusks have been seized by police in Mozambique from a house on the outskirts of the capital, Maputo, in Boane district.

The ivory might come from elephants killed in different conservation areas, National Criminal Investigation Service (Sernic) spokesperson Henrique Mendes said.

Sernic was working with Mozambique's national conservation authority to find out more about their origins, he said.

No arrests have yet been made in connection with the case.

Poaching has been a serious threat to wildlife in Mozambique.

The southern African nation lost 48% of its elephant population between 2011 and 2016, according to the country's National Administration of Conservation Areas.

AFPCopyright: AFP

• Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba has been at the forefront of the country’s fight against Islamist militants
• The 41-year-old wrote a book on the subject last year - West African Armies and Terrorism: Uncertain Responses?
• The lieutenant-colonel studied in France - at a military academy and a prestigious institution where he got a Master’s in criminal sciences
• He opposed a previous coup in 2015, which lasted seven days
• He started his career in the presidential guard (RPS) - the now-disbanded unit was seen as powerful during the presidency of Blaise Compaoré, who was overthrown in 2014 amid protests.

EPACopyright: EPA

A tropical storm has caused havoc in southern Africa, killing at least 34 people in Madagascar and three more in Mozambique and knocking out power in most parts of Malawi.

The authorities in Madagascar said 65,000 people have been made homeless.

Parts of the capital, Antananarivo, are being evacuated after flash floods destroyed hundreds of buildings.

The storm destroyed homes, schools and clinics in central and northern Mozambique. The United Nations says up to 500,000 people could be affected in the country.

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The Africa Cup of Nations quarter final match due to take place on Sunday at the Olembe Stadium in Cameroon's capital, Yaoundé, has been moved.

It comes after eight people died on Monday following a crush outside the stadium before a match between Cameroon and Comoros.

Two of those killed were children aged six and 14 and dozens were injured.

Confederation of African Football (Caf) President Patrice Motsepe said a number of changes were under way and Sunday's game would now take place at Yaoundé's Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium.