Africa highlights: Rihanna 'not welcome' in Senegal, Uganda 'Facebook cop' arrested

Muslim women around the world have been marking World Hijab Day.

The yearly event, which is celebrated on 1 February, was launched in 2013 to recognise women "who choose to wear the hijab and live a life of modesty", according to the founder's website.

The organisers also invite all women, regardless their backgrounds and religious affiliations, to wear a hijab for a day, to show solidarity and sisterhood with Muslim women who face prejudice in many parts of the world.

Those taking part have been using the hashtag #WorldHijabDay.

Here's a selection of some of the pictures:

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

An opposition party in Zimbabwe says its leader and several other party members were attacked today.

The National People's Party leader says Joice Mujuru and others were assaulted with rocks as they tried to hold a political rally.

Joice Mujuru, a former vice-president for governing Zanu-PF, is challenging her former party for the presidency.

The country is expected to hold elections in June, and President Emmerson Mnangangwa has promised to deliver a poll that is free and without violence.

He is facing the biggest test on his commitment to democracy.

Today, The National People's Party say they came under a surprise attack while out campaigning in a south western suburb in Harare.

Rocks and bricks were thrown at them, and they said they believe their attackers are members of the ruling Zanu-PF party.

A party spokesman told the BBC that at least eight people including Mrs Mujuru were injured, although her injuries were not serious.

Neither the police nor the ruling party were available to comment.

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

Tanzanian authorities are preparing to extradite a former Democratic Republic of Congo ( DR Congo) army colonel who threatened an upsrising against President Joseph Kabila, news agency AFP reports.

John Tshibangu, who deserted to rebel against Mr Kabila in 2012, said in a video posted on social media on two weeks ago that he would "remove" the president within 45 days unless he apologised for a "massacre" of demonstrators on 31 December last year.

Mr Tshibangu was arrested on Monday at Dar es Salaam airport, according to the Paris-based International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH).

The organisation's Director Florent Geel said his family sought FIDH's help, adding:

"We do not endorse this man's armed struggle, but there's a risk of physical harm if he is extradited to DR Congo."

Tanzania and DR Congo officials have declined to comment, AFP reports.

President Kabila has been under pressure to resign after he refused to step down when his mandate ended in 2016.

He has reneged on two deals that would see him leave office, and opposition supporters - who have intensified their protests against Mr Kabila - suspect that he will not honour another deal for him to leave office by December.

Meanwhile, the UN mission in DR Congo said last week that "state agents" - mainly the armed forces - carried out 1,176 extra-judicial killings last year, killing at least 89 women and 213 children.

Raila Odinga/ TwitterCopyright: Raila Odinga/ Twitter

Raila Odinga, the leader of Kenya's opposing NASA Coalition, had declared himself the country's president on his Twitter account on Tuesday.

But today his Twitter bio has reverted to: "This is the official account of His Excellency Raila Amolo Odinga."

Mr Odinga had been sworn in as "the people's president" in Nairobi on Tuesday, but the stunt has been blasted by members of Kenya's governing party.

It was labelled "treasonous" by President Uhuru Kenyatta, a "serious breach of security" by the interior minister, and dismissed as "comedy show by" Deputy President William Ruto.

Mr Odinga's self-appointed title as "the people's president" is a reference to his belief that he was the rightful winner of last year's presidential election.

Three of Kenya's biggest private television stations are still off air despite a High Court ruling that a government shutdown should be lifted.

Transmission of KTN, NTV and Citizen TV was cut on Tuesday as they tried to broadcast the opposition politician Raila Odinga swearing himself in as president.

The government called the ceremony an act of treason.

In a video, Mr Odinga said the shutdown showed the government had gone mad.

Kenya's information minister said a decision to allow the stations to broadcast was a security matter and would be made by the Interior Ministry.

Ethiopian AirlinesCopyright: Ethiopian Airlines

Ethiopian Airlines is to start operating domestic flights in Mozambique after securing bidding rights floated last year.

The carrier’s CEO Tewolde GebreMariam told the BBC that they were already working on when to launch the flights, adding:

Quote Message: It’s excellent news and we expect to be taking off in the next few months."

It’s excellent news and we expect to be taking off in the next few months."

Mozambique’s government tendered bids for foreign airlines to start operating local routes in early 2017.

Ethiopian Airlines and Air Malawi are among the carriers to have won bids and will now offer stiff competition to the country’s flag carrier Mozambique Airlines.

Last October, African budget carrier FastJet became the first foreign airline to operate domestic routes in Mozambique.

Ethiopian Airlines has been making serious inroads on the continent and earlier this month announced it had bought a 45% to relaunch Zambia Airways.

“Its part of our growth strategy but the message here is that countries have to pull resources together and form a multinational carrier for the continent”, Tewolde GebreMariam told the BBC.

Kenya's Deputy President William Ruto has called the swearing-in of opposition leader Raila Odinga as "people's president" a "comedy show", a local media has tweeted:

Mr Ruto's comments are in stark contrast to yesterday's strongly worded statement by Interior Minister, Fred Matiang'i, who said the event was a "serious breach of security" which had led to the shutdown of three main TV stations who refused to obey a state order not to broadcast the event live.

The TV stations remain switched off despite a court ordering the state to lift the ban.

Also, an opposition MP has also been charged with taking part in the administering of Mr Odinga's oath, which state prosecutors say is illegal and a capital offence.

BBCCopyright: BBC

Human Rights Watch says thousands of internally displaced people from Libya's eastern city of Benghazi are being prevented from returning to their homes there.

The campaign body says armed groups, some of whom are loyal to East Libya’s military forces, have been using violence against 3,700 forcibly displaced families to stop them from going back to the city.

Some of those interviewed by Human Rights Watch said they disagreed with the divisive politics of the conflict, or had family members fight against the LNA - many fled the bombardment in their areas.

Several families said their properties were seized or deliberately destroyed, and others said relatives were arrested and tortured by military brigades, or their affiliates, when they tried to return.

Those armed groups accuse them of being "supporters of terrorism".

In December, that conflict was officially declared over by the self-styled army there, known as the LNA.

In January, a statement from the commander of Eastern Libya’s self-styled army, Khalifa Hefter, warned against preventing the displaced from returning home, in the absence of what he called “lawful justifications”.

That statement also said that any violation against private properties or homes would be considered “a criminal act” and the perpetrators would be prosecuted.

At the height of the war in Benghazi, an estimated 13,000 thousand families fled the city for safer grounds.

ReutersCopyright: Reuters

Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane has welcomed Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's move to the English Premier League.

The 28-year-old Gabonese stiker completed his high profile move to Arsenal from Germany Bundesliga side Borrussia Dortmund yesterday for a club record £56m ($80m).

Aubameyang, winner of the 2015 African Footballer of the Year award, was the German top flight's most prolific scorer last season, with 31 goals.

Kane told the BBC:

Quote Message: It's great to have top players in the Premier League, that's always the case. It'll be good for Arsenal, let's see how he gets on."

It's great to have top players in the Premier League, that's always the case. It'll be good for Arsenal, let's see how he gets on."

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

English Premier League club West Ham has suspended its director of player recruitment Tony Henry over claims he said the club would not sign any more African players.

The UK's Daily Mail newspaper reported that Mr Henry said African players "cause mayhem" when they are not in the team.

In a statement, West Ham said they will not tolerate any type of discrimination and have "therefore, acted swiftly due to the serious nature of these claims".

The Football Association says it will formally investigate the matter.

West Ham said Mr Henry has been suspended pending "a full and thorough investigation".

A statement continued: "The West Ham United family is an inclusive one where, regardless of gender, age, ability, race, religion or sexual orientation, everybody feels welcome and included."

Read the full story on the BBC Sport website.

The lawyer for Cameroonian separatist leader Julius Sisuku Ayuk Tabe says he hasn't been able to communicate with his client since he went missing in Nigeria on 5 January.

Abdul Oroh is representing Mr Tabe, who the Cameroonian government say they have extradited back to the country along with 46 others.

Speaking to BBC Focuson Africa radio's Audrey Brown, Mr Oroh questions the legality of the events:

Hundreds of miners are believed to be trapped underground at a mine in South Africa's Free State province, eNCA reports.

It says 950 miners were trapped underground on Wednesday night after a storm interfered with electricity supply, adding that 64 have been rescued so far.

News agency Reuters reports that more than 1,000 miners are trapped and that a storm had interrupted the power supply to the mine, but adds that they are not in danger.

The mine is owned by Sibanye-Stillwater mining compnay.

Its spokesman James Wellsted said the miners were safe and receiving food and water.

He added that power was being restored to the mine but there was not yet enough to bring the miners to the surface.

We will be monitoring developments so stay with us for more details.

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

South Africa’s prosecuting authority says that its boss will announce whether to go ahead with 18 charges of corruption against President Jacob Zuma before the end of the month.

The charges stem from an arms deal in the late 1990s, and include allegations of corruption, fraud, racketeering, and money laundering.

The charges were dropped in 2009 but last October the Supreme Court ruled that decision had been irrational, and the charges should be reinstated.

President Jacob Zuma met yesterday’s deadline to file papers explaining why he should not be criminally charged. His legal team submitted the representation last night with hours to go.

Mr Zuma is under increasing pressure to step down, or for his party the governing African National Congress (ANC) to remove him from the position of president of the country.

As well as these possible charges, he faces other allegations of corruption.

In particular there are growing allegations around what is known here in South Africa as “state capture”.

That is the claim that a wealthy Indian family have gained lucrative government contracts, and bought undue power and influence at the heart of government because of an improper relationship with Jacob Zuma.

Both President Zuma and the Guptas have consistently denied the allegations.

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

Residents of Johannesburg and surrounding areas have been warned against sending bottles of water to drought-striken Cape Town.

South Africa's water department told people in Gauteng province that doing so would risk creating a water crisis in their region too. A spokesman told Eyewitness News:

“There’s a reversal of the strain into the integrated Vaal River system and it might end up with worse situation if we carry on with this practice.”

However, when contacted by the BBC, the spokesman wouldn't confirm or deny that the department had issued a warning.

It is the latest precaution being taken to address the chronic shortage.

Last week, local authorities enforced a water consumption limit of 50 litres per person per day in an effort to delay what has become known as Day Zero, which has been set for 12 April, when the water supply will be shut.

Our Cape Town reporter Mohammed Allie says it isn't easy to reduce to just 50 litres a day per person - his wife has even given up showering.

South Africa's WaterWise notes a typical shower uses 15 litres per minute, while a standard toilet consumes 15 litres per flush.

CHEICK SANOUCopyright: CHEICK SANOU

Cheick Ahmed al-Hassan Sanou was always overweight, but he didn't know how strong he was until he threw one of his tormentors across a room.

His is a remarkable story of a bullied teenager becoming a serious contender for the title of World's Strongest Man.

If you are 16, weigh 19 stone (122kg; 268 lbs), measure 6'2" (190cm) and boast a 48-inch chest, the chances are that you will stand out - and Cheick Ahmed al-Hassan Sanou certainly did.

Born in Burkina Faso in 1992, Biby as he is fondly called, noticed aged just five that he was different to his siblings due to his weight, and that it was a bit of an issue.

"My mum said I was big from birth - weighing almost 5kg and breathing heavily - not like a baby," he laughed as he reminisced about his childhood.

"I wanted to be a sprinter - I had a bit of speed even though I was big," he told me.

"But whenever I ran, and my body would wobble, the kids at school would laugh so much and point at me calling me 'Fat Boy'. It was as if I was entertainment to them, so I gave up on that - but I never stopped wanting to be an athlete."

Read the full story here.

CHEICK SANOUCopyright: CHEICK SANOU

A judge in Kenya has given orders suspending the government shutdown of the three major private TV channels.

The court has also ordered the state not to interfere with the operation of KTN, NTV, and Citizen TV pending a full hearing.

The stations' signals were switched off Tuesday because they aired a rival "swearing-in" ceremony of opposition leader Raila Odinga as the "people’s president."

The petitioner, human rights activist Okiya Omtata, wants the shutdown declared unconstitutional, and the media houses compensated.

The three stations command nearly two-thirds of Kenya's TV audience.

Kenyans have been fuming at their inability to watch news and their favorite programmes for the past three days.

The affected media companies have suffered losses estimated to be in the millions of dollars.

The TV stations depend on advertising, so they could not make money for the period they were off air.

Mr Omtata asked the government to pay for the financial losses Citizen TV, KTN and NTV have suffered.

The growing importance of social media was already hurting their traditional advertising revenues streams, forcing the three companies to lay off hundreds of workers in the past year to balance their books.

The Kenya government wanted the stations to remain shut indefinitely as police investigate politicians and journalists for their role in Tuesday's ceremony.

AFPCopyright: AFP

At least five people have been killed and more than 40 others injured in a suicide bomb attack at a camp for internally displaced people (IDP) in northern Nigeria.

Suspected Boko Haram suicide bombers on Wednesday night detonated explosives inside the Dalori IDP camp - the largest refugee settlement near the city of Maiduguri, in Nigeria's northeast state of Borno.

Eyewitnesses and rescue workers say a female suicide bomber entered the camp and detonated an explosive, killing herself and five other people, and injuring dozens more.

People close to scene say the death toll is likely to rise given the number of serious casualties.

A second suicide bomber detonated his device at the entrance of Dalori residential quarters.

It follows an announcement from Nigeria's army that it is constructing a road into the Sambisa forest, the Boko Haram militants' stronghold.

The military's repeated claims that it has defeated the group are being questioned after a spate of attacks by the insurgents, targeting mainly civilians and using young female and male suicide bombers.

Dalori camp has been targeted several times in the past, the worst was in January 2016, when at least 86 people were killed.

Yesterday, six villagers were killed and 13 injured when a suicide bomber struck in the Konduga area of Borno state.

A former police chief in Uganda has been arrested after a dramatic stand-off at his house in Wakiso in the central region.

Police cut through a metal door to arrest Muhammad Kirumira who had been locked in by his wife to prevent his arrest, the privately owned Daily Monitor reports.

Mr Kirumira was the head of police for Buyende district, in the eastern part of the country, before he resigned last week.

He spoke to journalists before police gained entry to his house, saying that he was being harassed and explaining that he was wearing the police uniform because he was due to attend a court hearing:

Mr Kirumira was called before a police tribunal last week on charges of alleged torture, extortion, corruption, bribery, unlawful arrests and excessive use of authority.

He denied the charges and quit his job but the police refused to accept his resignation.

He protested his arrest, saying: "You said you don't want me and I have decided to quit police. What do you want from me?"

Mr Kirumira is known to be popular with the public, earning the nickname "the spirit of the nation".

He is known to use Facebook to criticise his colleagues saying they are to blame for some of the criminal activities in the country.