BBC News Africa

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South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa is due to appear on Wednesday morning before the country's long running corruption inquiry.

It was set up to investigate allegations that his predecessor Jacob Zuma - during his term in office - allowed the wealthy Gupta family to plunder state resources and to influence policy and cabinet appointments.

Both Zuma and the Guptas deny any wrongdoing.

The corruption is estimated to have cost South Africa $81bn (£58bn) in public funds and lost opportunities.

Mr Ramaphosa was a deputy leader of the governing ANC party at the time.

He has been called to answer questions on what the party knew, if anything, about the alleged misconduct and if they did anything to try to stop it.

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At least 42 people are now known to have died as a result of more than 100 wildfires in Algeria.

The most intense have taken hold in forested mountains of the Kabylie region, where 25 soldiers have been killed fighting fires.

Algeria's President Abdelmajid Tebboune has sent his condolences to the victims' families, saying the troops had rescued more than 100 people from the flames.

The interior ministry suspects arsonists are behind many fires.

Wildfires in several Mediterranean countries may worsen as a forecast heatwave traps desert air over the region.

Tunisia's capital, Tunis, experienced a record high temperature of 48C on Tuesday.

Namibia's first woman Olympic medallist Christine Mboma has been given a hero’s welcome on her return home from Tokyo.

Water cannons showered the commercial jet that flew the 18-year-old and the rest of the Olympic team back to the capital, Windhoek, from Japan, the AFP news agency reports.

Outside the airport, dancers, bikers and sports fans joined in the frenzied celebrations, before a victory convoy paraded through the city, AFP reports.

A local radio station tweeted footage of the convoy, including fire trucks and hundreds of cars, making its way through the city to Katurura, Windhoek's largest township:

Mboma won a silver medal in the 200m at the Games, just weeks after she had been told she could not compete in her preferred 400m because of her high levels of testosterone.

EPACopyright: EPA

Tunisia has seen temperatures in the north of the country hit record highs, according to meteorological office.

The capital, Tunis, reached 49C and further north in Bizerte it hit 46C.

You know it's unbearably hot when you deliriously start questioning if oxygen has somehow been dried out of the air by the sun.

Breathing in slightly scorches the back of your throat.

Tuesday is a public holiday here, so many Tunisians have flocked to the country’s countless beaches for some respite.

But even there shallow shores have been too warm to cool anyone down, and the sand has felt like hot coal.

While such high temperatures are common in the south of Tunisia, along the Sahara, it is rare for its coastal cities to witness these stifling conditions.

The heatwave has hit both Tunisia and neighbouring Algeria.

There are concerns that these high temperatures might trigger wildfires like the deadly ones Algeria is battling - although it’s unclear how those fires started.

Tanzania's main opposition party has hit out at President Samia Suluhu Hassan for saying their leader fled the country for several months after last November’s election.

Chadema leader Freeman Mbowe is currently in detention after his arrest last month on terrorism-related charges.

Mrs Samia told the BBC that he should not have left Tanzania at a time he knew he was under investigation.

In response to the president’s comments, Chadema said that Mr Mbowe had been out of the country legally and accused President Samia of interfering in a case that was before the courts.

The president was either misguided or had deliberately chosen to misinform the public, John Mnyima, Chadema’s general secretary, said.

In the BBC interview Mrs Samia, who took over as president after the death in March of her predecessor John Magufuli, also defended her ban on political rallies, saying they created “political chaos”.

Chadema said this contravened the country’s constitution, which allows political parties to conduct their affairs freely - including the holding of political rallies.

Tunisian judges have hit out at the government for placing two of their colleagues under house arrest.

The interior ministry issued the order against Bachir Akermi and Tayeb Rached on Tuesday on suspicion of fraud.

An unspecified number of other judges have also been banned from travelling abroad - no reason was given for the move.

A statement, signed by 45 judges, said the measures were an assault on the power of the judiciary.

They argued that any judge should be investigated by the judiciary and not the executive.

Last month, President Kais Saied sacked his prime minister and suspended parliament.

He said that he was imposing these “exceptional measures” to put an end to “the chaos” of state affairs.

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Free surgery is being offered for the next week to men in Liberia with urinary or prostate-related complications.

A team of Spanish urologists from the non-for-profit group Surgery For All has started work at St Joseph’s Catholic Hospital in the capital, Monrovia.

The corridors of the hospital were busy for weeks before their arrival as patients poured in to register.

The organisation raised 50,000 euros ($59,000, £42,000) to fund the trip to Liberia.

But while the surgery itself is free, the hospital hosting the team has been charging patients around $350 in screening and lab fees - to cover its expenses for staff and equipment.

This has been the source of some controversy, though the hospital has sought to assure those whose screening has not resulted in surgery that their money will be refunded.

In an effort to further allay criticism, the hospital delivered a circular over the weekend, including to churches in the city, to assure people that no patient would be turned away if they could not afford to pay the fees.

The head of the Spanish mission, Dr José Rubio-Briones, told the BBC that during this week at least one surgeon from the hospital would be chosen to go to Spain for further training.

Two nurses from the same hospital have benefitted from a similar scheme organised by the group.

“We say it is better to teach fishing than to fish for people,” Dr Rubio-Briones said.

Liberia lacks specialists in almost all areas of healthcare and its hospitals often lack basic supplies and equipment.

Nigeria's government has purchased nearly 30 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson jab as part of efforts to ramp up vaccinations against coronavirus in Africa’s most populous nation.

So far only four million Nigerians - out of an estimated population of 200 million - have been vaccinated, using the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Dr Faisal Shuaib, from the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency, said the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccines would arrive in Nigeria in a couple of days.

Last week Nigeria received more than four million doses of the Moderna jab - a donation from the US.

These deliveries come ahead of the government’s second push to get more people to get the jab - due to kick off next Tuesday.

AFPCopyright: AFP

With two days to go before the elections, it is business as usual in Zambia’s capital, Lusaka.

No last-minute rallies have been planned for the day.

All that is visible are political party banners on most billboards in the city centre.

AFPCopyright: AFP

The electoral commission has said all systems are in place to ensure smooth and violence-free polls despite clashes between rival political parties in the lead up to the Thursday's vote.

This led to incumbent, President Edgar Lungu, announcing a military deployment to quell tensions

However very little evidence of this deployment is visible on the ground.

The country’s police department has released a statement saying it “stands ready to ensure that peace and order prevails before, during and after the elections”.

The election is expected to centre around the economy, with the youth vote thought to crucial in deciding the outcome.

Of the more than seven million registered voters, over 50% are below the age of 35.

ReutersCopyright: Reuters

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has urged all citizens nationwide to join the army to fight the rebels in the northern region of Tigray.

"Now is the right time for all capable Ethiopians who are of age to join the Defence Forces, Special Forces and militias and show your patriotism," a statement from his office said.

Fighting has escalated since June when the rebels, made up of the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) and its allies, recaptured much of Tigray in an offensive.

This came after the federal army had withdrawn and declared what he called a unilateral humanitarian ceasefire.

Last week, the rebels’ commander told the BBC that his fighters' incursion into the neighbouring regions was aimed at removing a federal blockade that has prevented aid from coming through.

But the prime minister’s statement accused the rebels of stopping aid and not allowing farmers to plant crops.

Mr Abiy - a Nobel Peace Prize winner - said the whole country had to get behind the battle to defeat the TPLF.

“The media, artists and social activists are expected to contribute towards strengthening the people’s support for the country,” the prime minister’s statement said.

“Every Ethiopia must work closely with the security forces in being the eyes and ears of the country in order to track down and expose spies and agents of the terrorist TPLF."

The TPLF has been designated a terrorist organisation by the government. But the group says it is the legitimate regional government of Tigray.