Africa highlights: Guinea bans foreign fishing, SA anti-racism song 'too expensive'

We reported yesterday that gay men in Ivory Coast had been attacked after the US embassy in Abidjan shared photos of them signing a condolence book for the victims of the recent attack on a US night club in Orlando. 

The embassy has now removed the photos from its website and from social media, expressing "deep regret" that the six photographed men were abused and forced to flee their homes, the Reuters news agency reports.

The photo had been captioned: "LGBTI community signing the condolence book".

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

News that Nigeria's Lagos State has shut 70 churches and 20 mosques in an attempt to reduce high noise levels has had a mixed reaction on the BBC Africa Facebook page.

Quote Message: God bless Lagos state government... this is a major move... and other states should follow... and I believe they should pass a law that all religious organisations must pay their tax like every other organisation cause these churches are making a lot of money." from Maxwell Stephen

God bless Lagos state government... this is a major move... and other states should follow... and I believe they should pass a law that all religious organisations must pay their tax like every other organisation cause these churches are making a lot of money."

Quote Message: Have you ever been in a neighbourhood where churches had to keep you awake all night because of a vigil - and when you thought you'll get a little sleep, mosques just pop up them speakers 🔊 too for morning call to prayer? from Happiness Olumide Oluwadusi

Have you ever been in a neighbourhood where churches had to keep you awake all night because of a vigil - and when you thought you'll get a little sleep, mosques just pop up them speakers 🔊 too for morning call to prayer?

Quote Message: Noise-making is Nigeria's second national sport, that's after corruption." from Patrick Nwokolo

Noise-making is Nigeria's second national sport, that's after corruption."

Quote Message: Let the people sing and pray! this is nice side of life. you will be noise free when you die." from Melita Abena

Let the people sing and pray! this is nice side of life. you will be noise free when you die."

Quote Message: Noisy how? Are they not praying? Is people's noise more harmful than that of a generators, vehicles or industries? Nothing like that and I condemn it in a strongest term possible!! Barbaric act." from Ohitai J Mario Schweinsteiger

Noisy how? Are they not praying? Is people's noise more harmful than that of a generators, vehicles or industries? Nothing like that and I condemn it in a strongest term possible!! Barbaric act."

Quote Message: When will Nigerian government or Lagos state governor shut down our generators because they know we are living in darkness though to their inability to provide Nigerians with electricity." from Mark Mbakaogu

When will Nigerian government or Lagos state governor shut down our generators because they know we are living in darkness though to their inability to provide Nigerians with electricity."

And some Zambians said they would welcome such a move:

Quote Message: Even in Livingstone - too much noise from churches. Whoever brought noise in churches in the guise of praise. Eish! I wouldn't want to worship a God who entertains noise as a form of praise." from Mbindo Alex

Even in Livingstone - too much noise from churches. Whoever brought noise in churches in the guise of praise. Eish! I wouldn't want to worship a God who entertains noise as a form of praise."

Quote Message: I would be happy if that was done here in Zambia... It seems they cannot pray without sound systems..." from Festone Mambepa

I would be happy if that was done here in Zambia... It seems they cannot pray without sound systems..."

Guinea has banned all international fishing activities in its waters.

It comes a day after leading think-tank the Overseas Development Institute recommended such a ban, saying West African countries could create more than 300,000 jobs by awarding more fishing and exporting rights to national fleets.  

The rule will come into effect at midnight. 

Maritime Minister Andre Loua said that illegal fishing by foreign ships denied the nation of vital foreign exchange earnings and reduced fish stocks. 

However, corruption in the fishing industry here is also a big problem.

Fishermen I have spoken to fear only the big fishing establishments will benefit from the ban.

AFPCopyright: AFP

A Facebook page called JusticeforNagaad has been created days after a video of a Zambian woman being brutally assaulted emerged on social media – with men in particular posting photos holding the sign “#Stop Violence Against Women”.

Miyoba SumailiCopyright: Miyoba Sumaili

The video shows a woman being kicked, punched and then sexually assaulted as several men watch. The abuse continues when she passes out.

This morning, police confirmed that the woman who was filmed has been found.

Police deputy spokesperson Rae Hamoonga said that officers were also looking for the perpetrators.

BBCCopyright: BBC

BBC's Ferdinand Omondi has just been to a literature class at the University of Nairobi where students have been discussing the works of Nigerian author Elechi Amadi, who died yesterday at the age of 82.

Quote Message: As an author Elechi Amadi has helped to uplift African culture and expose it to the world." from Kenyan student Beatrice Ekesa

As an author Elechi Amadi has helped to uplift African culture and expose it to the world."

Our reporter says Amadi's first novel, The Concubine - which was published in 1966 - has often been on Kenya's curriculum, particularly in the 1970s and 1990s.

BBCCopyright: BBC

The UN peacekeeping mission in Liberia is preparing to hand back responsibility for security to the country's army and police tomorrow.

The mission was first deployed in 2003, after two civil wars in which hundreds of thousands of people were killed.

For more than a decade, the blue helmets have been a familiar sight in the capital, Monrovia, and elsewhere.

By and large, the UN troops have provided stability - at a time when few Liberians trusted their own security forces.

From now on, though, the Liberian military and police will be in charge.

Some in Liberia are nervous - the memories of those civil wars are still very fresh.

In the last few days the head of the armed forces has tried to reassure the people, saying his troops would defend Liberians, and insisting the army was peace-loving and law-abiding.

And although they are handing over responsibility for security, the UN peacekeepers will not disappear entirely.

A small force will stay on, at least in the short term - perhaps until after next year's elections, though this has not been decided yet.

One senior UN official described the remaining peacekeepers as an insurance policy.

AFPCopyright: AFP

Malawi's president has sparked anger by saying people should eat mice to cope with a nationwide food crisis - but one minister says he wasn't being serious. 

Peter Mutharika told a rally that the government was doing everything it could to solve the problem of food shortages, the UK-based Nyasa Times reports. 

He's then quoted as saying:

Quote Message: But why should Malawians die with hunger when we have different things to eat? You should be eating mice, grasshoppers as well as cassava

But why should Malawians die with hunger when we have different things to eat? You should be eating mice, grasshoppers as well as cassava

Human rights activist Billy Mayaya, who leads the Right to Food Network, described the remarks as "disgraceful", and other social media users accused the president of being out of touch. 

A spoof version of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party's logo has also gone viral, replacing the usual three maize cobs with a picture of a mouse and a grasshopper.

For more read: Malawi president under fire for mice-eating 'joke'

Mandera has banned people who are not resident in the north-eastern Kenyan county from using long-distance buses.

The ban will remain in place in the mainly Muslim area until after Ramadan, the county’s security committee has said.

Over the last two years, al-Shabab Islamist militants have ambushed several buses in Mandera travelling to and from the capital, Nairobi.

The insurgents tend to separate out non-Muslims and kill them.

The officials in Mandera, which borders Somalia where al-Shabab is based, say the directive is to safeguard such people as there are fears of increased attacks during the Muslim holy month.

But it is not clear how the ruling will be implemented.

AFPCopyright: AFP

Read: Kenya bus survivor: 'I played dead'

The Democratic Republic of Congo may be one of the richest countries in the world in terms of mineral wealth but eight out of 10 Congolese people live in extreme poverty.

Fighting over huge mineral deposits in the eastern region have led to ongoing conflict in the area, perpetrated by both Congolese and foreign militia.

The BBC's Maud Jullien went to the south-eastern province of Katanga, where artisanal miners are complaining of forced expulsions at the hands of the presidential guards. Watch her video report:

Elechi Amadi hails from the first generation of Nigerian writers, in the league of Chinua Achebe, JP Clark, Cyprian Ekwensi and Christopher Okigbo.

Many of them attended the prestigious College Umuahia or University of Ibadan, which shaped their literary prowess. 

Amadi is best known for his first novel The Concubine - which focuses on love in a southern village and how it came into conflict with traditional life.

He will best be remembered for the way he portrayed life in rural Nigeria and for the multiple narratives and convoluted plots. 

Amadi was an officer in the Nigerian military at a turbulent time, the 1967-1970 civil war, when the military put down an attempt to create an independent state in the east.

It spawned Amadi's only non-fiction work, Sunset at Biafra, which detailed his experiences during the war. Though many books have been written on the conflict, his work stands out for its accuracy, neutrality and conciseness.

HeinemannCopyright: Heinemann

His other works of fiction include, The Great Ponds and The Slave.

The writer also made headlines in 2009 when he was kidnapped by gunmen in his hometown in southern Nigeria, being rescued 23 hours later.

A Romanian doctor has been charged with manslaughter for making no attempt to resuscitate Cameroonian footballer Patrick Ekeng, who died of heart failure last month. 

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

Ekeng, 26, collapsed shortly after coming on as a substitute for Dinamo Bucharest in a league game and died after hospital staff were unable to resuscitate him.

The Bucharest prosecutor's office quoted forensic scientists as saying 95% of people with similar heart problems survive cardiac arrest if defibrillation is administered within 60 seconds. 

Quote Message: Even if among Patrick Ekeng's causes of death were the cardiac problems he suffered from, by her unjustified inaction Elena Duta removed any chance of survival." from Bucharest prosecutor

Even if among Patrick Ekeng's causes of death were the cardiac problems he suffered from, by her unjustified inaction Elena Duta removed any chance of survival."

Read the BBC Sport story for more. 

Kenya's mobile phone company Safaricom says it will compensate its subscribers for dropped calls, the private Daily Nation newspaper reports.

Callers whose conversations are cut off prematurely will get a text notification and thereafter receive airtime compensation worth one minute, though this will be limited to Safaricom-to-Safaricom calls.

The Communications Authority of Kenya, the body that regulates the mobile industry, says all three of the country's phone operators - Airtel, Safaricom and Telkom - have all fallen short of providing a quality service to their customers.

ReutersCopyright: Reuters

BBCCopyright: BBC

Ethiopia says it will push for Africa to have permanent seats with veto powers at the UN Security Council following its election to serve in the top UN organ from next year.

Foreign Minister Tedros Adhanom, who arrived back from New York this morning, says the council as currently constituted does not adequately address the concerns of the continent. 

Africa currently has only three non-permanent positions on the Security Council. 

The foreign minister said the priority would also be to tackle global terrorism and the migration crisis. 

Earlier this week, four African presidents, including Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, called for the implementation of a 2005 continental agreement that seeks to have an overhaul of the entire UN system with the continent getting two permanent seats on the UN Security Council.

Kenyan cartoonist Gathara has reacted to conflicting news about the fate of President Uhuru Kenyatta's communication team, which has reportedly been disbanded.          

Initial reports suggested that the team had been fired but there have been indications that the team would actually be integrated into other government operations. 

Some on social media have suggested the team would lead the president's re-election campaign next year. 

The Star newspaper in Kenya reports that the team was sent packing because the president was unhappy with their unilateral and conflicting statements on every matter touching on the government.

The latest incident was a verbose and badly written statement in reaction to a New York Times article that they thought had maligned President Kenyatta.

 The article was about the president's past case at the International Criminal Court. Read the article here:The Prosecutor and the President.

South Africa's national broadcaster has been in the news for all the wrong reasons lately.

Today three senior South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) employees have been suspended.

They follow hot on the heels of three employees who were sacked for questioning the decisions of SABC's chief operating officer Hlaudi Motsoeneng.

Those suspended today had sent a letter to Mr Motsoeneng expressing concern about recent editorial policy changes.

Mr Motsoeneng has been accused of  censorship after he banned the broadcast of footage showing violent protests and clamped down on negative coverage of President Jacob Zuma.

Mr Hlaudi insists the changes are in line with "nation-building".

Read: Is South Africa's public broadcaster using apartheid tactics?

Pictures of the aftermath of a bomb attack that killed 18 people in the outskirts of Somalia capital, Mogadishu (see earlier post) are coming in. 

AFPCopyright: AFP

Eyewitnesses say the bus was being escorted by a military vehicle, which escaped undamaged.

It is unclear whether the government car was the target of the blast.

AFPCopyright: AFP

AFPCopyright: AFP

So far no-one has said they were behind the attack.  

An Egyptian Coptic priest has been shot dead in the North Sinai city of  El-Arish, the AFP news agency reports.

Raphael Moussa, 46, was killed instantly when a man shot him in the head while he was standing next to his car, a church spokesman is quoted as saying.

Security officials said more than one gunman was involved in the shooting and they had followed the priest, who had attended a church service earlier, and opened fire when he emerged from his car, AFP reports.

It is not clear who carried out the attack.

Militants active in Egypt's Sinai peninsula have pledge allegiance to the so-called Islamic State group.  

South Africa’s Arts and Culture Department has released an anti-racism song called No Love, No Life to unite the country.

It is composed by Mzwakhe Mbuli, who has been dubbed “The People’s Poet” and known for his recitation of anti-apartheid poetry in the 1980s.

He says nobody is born a racist:

Quote Message: There is no DNA for racism, there are no genes, love has no colour and love transcends all boundaries.”

There is no DNA for racism, there are no genes, love has no colour and love transcends all boundaries.”

Other artists featured in the song include Mbongeni Ngema, and Thokozani Langa.

The late Miriam Makeba’s voice was also digitally used in backing vocals.

But some have taken to social media to condemn the project.

Most of the complaints have been directed at the cost of the project, which is reported to be about 800,000 rand ($54,200; £40,300).

Culture Minister Nathi Mthethwa has defended the expense:

Quote Message: We cannot physically see people who directly perpetuate racism, we should, through the arts, influence the abstract being."

We cannot physically see people who directly perpetuate racism, we should, through the arts, influence the abstract being."

There has been an increase in incidents of racism in the country recently.

Last year an estate agent took to Facebook calling black people “monkeys”.

More recently a guest house owner in Sodwana Bay said he would not accept black people as guests.

At least 10 people drowned and more than 100 others were rescued when an inflatable boat carrying migrants capsized 32km (20 miles) off Libya.

Those who died were all women, Italian reports said.

The latest migrant tragedy came as the Italian navy raised to the surface a boat that sank with the loss of more than 700 lives:

Italian navyCopyright: Italian navy

The April 2015 sinking was the worst loss of human life since the influx of migrants began in 2013.

More than 64,000 migrants and refugees have crossed the Mediterranean to Italy since the start of this year, according to UN figures, including more than 16,000 in June alone. Most of the arrivals have come from African countries.

Read the BBC News story for more