Africa highlights: AU fails to elect new leader, '11 Ethiopian police shot dead' in protests

South African rally driver Gugu Zulu died today whilst attempting to summit Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.

He and his wife were part of an expedition team raising funds for a Nelson Mandela-linked charity.

Rally organiser and close friend Willie du Plessis has paid tribute to Zulu and said "his love for his family was unequalled".

Somalis are being encouraged to get behind their police service.

In a new song, paid for by the AU mission in Somalia, a singer tells people that "the police are strong".

She adds that: "God saves us all. But the police are there to help us."

The video shows police officers on manoeuvres, directing traffic and helping people:

A day after they were launched, more African Union passports have been handed out at the AU summit which has just ended in the Rwandan capital, Kigali.

The BBC's Ahmed Adan photographed Somalia's Foreign Minister Abdisalam Omer showing his new travel document:

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The idea behind the passport is for all African citizens to be able to travel through the continent without visas in an effort to improve trade between countries.

Initially they will go to heads of state and diplomats but the proposal is the by the end of 2018 all African citizens can get one. 

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A curfew has been imposed on the Sierra Leonean island of Bonthe after two people were shot dead by the military. 

Nobody is allowed to go out after 1pm local time (13:00 GMT).

Police say the trouble began when a woman hissed at a member of a secret society. 

Such behaviour is forbidden by the society. 

Dozens of its members went in search of the woman who had taken refuge in a naval base. 

They attacked the base, and gunfire ensued. Secret societies have a powerful social and political role in Sierra Leone. 

The 2016 United Nations World Aids conference is under way in Durban, South Africa with nearly 18,000 delegates taking part.

Michel Sidibe of UNAids, has asked for more resources, saying that the United Nations' target of ending the Aids pandemic by 2030 could slip away, the AFP news agency reports.

"I'm scared because I am seeing for the first time the decline in the financing from donor countries," he said.

Quote Message: I cannot be dishonest with you, I need to say, we will have a resistance, we will lose our investment, we will have to pay more later. If we stop now, we will certainly regret [it] because we will see a resurgence in this epidemic."

I cannot be dishonest with you, I need to say, we will have a resistance, we will lose our investment, we will have to pay more later. If we stop now, we will certainly regret [it] because we will see a resurgence in this epidemic."

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Some of Nigeria's major banks have taken to the newspapers today to try and get some of the people who owe them money to pay it back.

In adverts published in national newspapers it describes them as "delinquent debtors" and threatens to publish their names if the money is not forthcoming:

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The Central Bank of Nigeria reckons that the commercial banks are owed around $2bn, and in the past the government has had to take over some banks because of the extent of the bad loans.

A court in Kenya's capital, Nairobi, has turned down an appeal from Italian athletics agent Federico Rosa to have his passport returned to him. 

Rosa was charged with six counts of doping athletes including Rita Jeptoo, who was banned for two years in 2014 after testing positive for blood-boosting drug EPO.

He asked for his passport to be returned so he could travel to help his athletes prepare for the Rio Olympics in August.

The court ruled that Rosa did not produce official documentation from bodies such as Athletics Kenya or the National Olympic Committee as evidence that he manages the athletes competing.

The judge did say however that the decision would be reconsidered if Rosa produces sufficient paperwork.

Read more background on this story:

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South African photographer is continuing his series Through Positive Eyes which focuses on people living with HIV.

The latest shots - some of which are on display at the Global Aids summit in Durban - are images taken by HIV-positive people themselves.

Mendel as posted some of the photographs on his Instagram feed:

 Mendel says in this photo Thulile used  "banana leaves to present herself as an angel... She was born HIV positive and after experiencing so much stigma while growing up she has become a strong advocate for positive children.

Mendel says this photo "was taken by Yvonne... It shows her daughter in the tin shack she shares with her children".

Evaristo Carvalho has defeated the incumbent Manuel Pinto da Costa in Sao Tome and Principe's presidential election taking 50.1% of the vote.

Mr da Costa, who won the last election in 2011 as an independent, was the country's first president after independence from Portugal in 1975. His first period in office ended in 1991.

The new president belongs to the same party - the ADI - as Prime Minister Patrice Trovoada.

Mr Trovoada said the election of a new president "should initiate a period of stability for Sao Tome and Principe", the Portuguese news agency is reporting.

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Africa's champion speller has just been named at the first continent-wide Spelling Bee, held in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Twenty-seven children had to spell words such as perestroika and kedgeree for the title:

The BBC's Emmanuel Igunza, who's been in Rwanda for the African Union summit, found this book that had been left for journalists in the media room:

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It says it's produced by the Guerrilla Graphics Group, but there are no other details about who they are.

It presents a clear anti-International Criminal Court perspective at a time when leaders at the AU summit discussed the ICC again.

Some have recommended a mass walkout from the organisation.

One of the big complaints is that only Africans have so far been targeted by the court.

Among the pages of text are some striking images:

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The ICC says it is pursuing cases recommended either by African countries themselves or the UN Security Council.

Ghana's Electoral Commission has started the process of updating the electoral roll.

It's crucial as it makes sure that everyone who is eligible to vote will be able to.

During the next week people can check whether their biometric details are recorded and see if they're on the voters' list:

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This is taking place ahead of the general election in November. 

The Electoral Commission says 20,000 biometric verification devices will be used countrywide.

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People in South Africa have been volunteering today for Mandela Day, which marks the former South African president's birthday.

The BBC's Milton Nkosi joined former students from Soweto Phefeni Senior Secondary who were sprucing up their old high school.

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They cleaned and swept up the outside and collected bags of rubbish which were then driven away.

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They also painted some of the school buildings, donated lockers and repaired ageing taps.

Milton (in blue overalls) also tried his hand at sweeping - though we weren't too sure about his sweeping technique.

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Former Premier League striker Demba Ba suffered a potentially career-ending broken leg while playing in the Chinese Super League.

The Senegal forward collapsed during a challenge with another player with his left leg giving way beneath the knee as he fell down.

The incident happened while playing for Shanghai Shenhua in the derby against Shanghai SIPG on Sunday.  

Fans took to social media to wish the former Chelsea and Newcastle player a speedy recovery:

Read more on this story:

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South Africans have been tweeting messages of remembrance for rally driver Gugu Zulu who has died at the age of 38 while climbing Mount Kilimanjaro for charity.

The government has tweeted: 

And others are also reflecting on the man who had become a TV star in South Africa:

Inflation in Nigeria has hit its highest level in almost a decade, surging to 16.5% in June. It highlights a deepening crisis for Africa's biggest economy.

The cost of electricity, transport and food has surged in the country because the naira currency plunged in value against the US dollar, making imported goods more expensive. 

Nigeria's economy is heavily reliant on the energy industry and it has struggled to cope with the big fall in oil prices. 

Surging inflation could force the central bank to increase interest rates, above its benchmark 12%, in August, but it may hold fire because higher costs for businesses would affect growth. 

The Central Bank of Nigeria will announce its next interest rate decision on 26 July. 

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Some more details are emerging as to why the African Union failed to elect a new commission chairperson to replace South Africa's Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.

The three candidates were:

• Uganda's former Vice-President Specioza Wandira Kazibwe
• Botswana former Foreign Minister Pelonomi Venson-Moitoi
• Equatorial Guinea former Foreign Minister Agapito Mba Mokuy

But the BBC's Emmanuel Igunza, who's at the conference venue in Rwanda, says that Ms Kazibwe dropped out after the first round of voting but then neither of the other two candidates could secure the two-thirds majority needed. 

He understands that some countries abstained as there was a feeling that the candidates did not have the required experience.

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We posted earlier about Ethiopia saying that 11 security officers were shot dead during the recent unrest in the north-western town of Gondar. 

Ethiopia blamed neighbouring Eritrea for the unrest, but other reports say members of the Amhara ethnic group have been protesting in the town. 

A group known as the Welkait Committee has been resisting efforts by the authorities to put their land, under the administration of the state of Tigray. 

It currently lies on the border between the states of Tigray and Amhara, they say they identify themselves as Amharas, not Tigrayans. 

Gugulethu Zulu, who died today during a charity climb of Mount Kilimanjaro, was a racing car champion and had presented a motoring show Car Torque on South African TV. 

He also became well known in South Africa in 2008 after appearing on the TV dance competition programme Strictly Come Dancing.    

In racing circles he was affectionately known as “the fastest brother in Africa".  

Zulu began his racing career in 1999 following his graduation from the Isondo Racing Academy.

He won many racing titles including the Vodacom Isondo Sports 2000 national championship, and many sporting awards.

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