Africa highlights: EU says 'clear anomaly' with Gabon vote, SA students clash with police

Before the ban imposed by the Somali government, more than 15 cargo flights full of khat arrivde in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, every day from Kenya. 

According to Somali anti-khat campaigner Abukar Awale, they brought in about 12,000 bags of khat a day, which had a total retail value of $400,000 (£298,000).

Mr Awale, a former khat addict, argues that the stimulant contributes to domestic violence and other abuse.

As we've reported, the normally bustling Beerta khat market in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, has been practically deserted because of the suspension.

One khat seller, Fartun Mohamed, told the BBC that her family's livelihood has been put in jeopardy because of the suspension as this was the only way she managed to feed her 10 children.

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In Sierra Leone, the Ebola outbreak may have ended nearly a year ago, but for the thousands of children orphaned by the virus, life will never be the same again.

The BBC's Umaru Fofana has been to meet a group of abandoned children in Makeni in the north of the country. 

Listen to his report:

Read more: Is Sierra Leone ready for the next epidemic?

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Quite a lot has changed since Uganda last graced Africa's most prestigious football tournament (see picture above).  

But after a 38-year drought for fans and players alike, the rains finally came for the Ugandan national football team on Sunday, as the team booked their place at the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) in Gabon.   

With one of the youngest populations in the world, with an average age of 15, most Ugandans had not even been born the last time their country appeared in the tournament finals.

Read more about Uganda's joy and the other African beating the odds

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The European Union mission that was observing Gabon's election says there was a "clear anomaly" in results from President Ali Bongo's home province, Reuters news agency reports.

Official results from Haut-Ogooue showed a turnout of 99.93%, with 95% of votes cast for the president.    

Opposition leader Jean Ping, who lost the election by less than 6,000 votes, has pointed to the results in the province as evidence of electoral fraud. 

There have been violent clashes and mass arrests since the election result was announced. 

Read Elizabeth Blunt's piece on how to spot signs of possible election rigging

South Africa's currency, which has been under pressure in recent weeks, gained in value against the US dollar today after a recovery in the country's GDP figures.

They showed that the economy grew in the second quarter if the year at an annualised rate of 3.3%.

By the middle of the afternoon the rand had gained 2.5% against the US dollar, making a dollar worth 14.02 rand, the Reuters news agency is reporting.

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Is it dangerous to eat pork? That’s what people here in Madagascar are wondering after a controversy over the presence of potentially harmful hormones in pork products.

Some farmers have been using the medication called Confiance, normally a hormone injection offered to women for contraception, to fatten their pigs. 

Last month, the government banned over-the counter-sales of the hormone, after an investigation revealed that 87% of pork on the market contained remnants of the product.  

Authorities in Madagascar have told me they are launching an investigation into the public health risks posed by the practice, which has been going on since 2010.

When used as a medical treatment, the hormone injection can cause side effects such as weight gain, low mood, fatigue and brittle bones, but it is not known whether eating food products contaminated with the contraceptive carries any of the same risks. 

Men and women returning from any area where the Zika virus is circulating should practice safe sex for at least six months to avoid the risk of spreading the disease, says the World Health Organization.

In Africa, it has been found in Cape Verde and Guinea Bissau.

The advice applies even if a person has no symptoms.

It comes a few weeks after doctors discovered the virus in the sperm of an Italian man six months after he first had Zika symptoms.

Zika is spread in bodily fluids.

The main risk of catching the disease is from infected mosquitoes via bites.

Previously, WHO had said people without symptoms only needed to use condoms or abstain from sex for eight weeks as a precaution against spreading Zika.

Read more from BBC News Online.

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The impact of the Somali government ban on flights carrying khat from Kenya to Somalia is already having an effect. 

The ban on the narcotic leaf was announced on Monday, but the government has not given a reason for it.

The BBC's Ibrahim Aden has been to the main khat market in the capital, Mogadishu, and found that the usually bustling place was very quiet.

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As calling cards go South African choreographer Rudi Smit has been especially creative.

He wanted to let the world know about what his country can do and so with 27 dancers from his dance company he created a video for a song by US artist Meghan Trainor.

"Please help us get this concept & idea to Meghan Trainor so that she can see what talent we have here in SA," Smit wrote on his Facebook page.

It's been viewed nearly 200,000 times on Facebook in a little over 36 hours.

In South Africa, the police used rubber bullets and teargas to disperse protesting students at a campus of the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

The protests, over the cost of university fees, have been bubbling under for some days but intensified this week when police and security were called in to disperse crowds of students.

Earlier, six cars were torched and a building was damaged by fire at the university's Westville campus. 

"Security and police fired at us in the quad. We weren't doing anything wrong," said a student quoted by News24.

#FeesMustFall protests at the end of last year at several universities in South Africa eventually led to the suspension of a planned hike in the cost of tuition.

#UKZN has been trending on Twitter as people share videos of what happened and comment on the events:

A court in South Africa has cleared the way for children who find themselves without a nationality because they were born in the country where their parents are foreign nationals, to acquire South African citizenship. 

It follows a two-year battle to highlight the plight of so called "stateless children", who are in legal limbo and are denied access to state-funded health, education and other welfare services. 

The test case, involving an eight-year-old girl born to Cuban parents who emigrated to South Africa, has confirmed that the child can become a citizen in the country of her birth. 

The Supreme Court of Appeal also ordered that the home affairs department puts in place measures to help other youngsters who find themselves stateless, acquire citizenship. 

The case potentially affects hundreds possibly thousands of children including those who have been put up for adoption.

Mozambique Airlines (LAM) has suspended the purchase of new aircraft and will not open any more routes because of the company’s difficult financial situation.

Back in 2014, then-chief executive Marlene Manave announced that LAM, a mostly state-owned company, would buy three new Boeing 737s, but now the deal has been stopped.

The current LAM boss Pinto de Abreu told journalists in Maputo that with no new aircraft, plans for the airline to fly to the capitals of all member states of the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) have also been put on ice.

Indeed, one of LAM’s existing regional routes - Angola's capital, Luanda - has already been shelved, as it was losing money.

Mr De Abreu said that six months ago LAM had debts of $160m (£120m). He said he had brought that figure down to $139m. 

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Long gone are the days when churches just use the pulpit to communicate with congregants.

Now they are harnessing the power of social media tools and other mobile phone applications to keep in touch with the worshippers.

The applications can help churches monitor and collect digital donations and tithes and send tailored content to individual members of the church.  

In Ghana, the chief executive Asoriba, which has developed phone software for churches, told the BBC the aim is to deal with inefficient attendance monitoring and financial tracking, poor communication and engagement with church members, and difficulties in promoting events. 

Read more about how technology is being used by African churches.

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The target set by world leaders for all children to have at least a primary education by 2030 is likely to be missed on current trends, warns a report from Unesco.

The UN agency says at the current rate of progress it will take until 2042.

Niger, South Sudan, Burkina Faso, Afghanistan, Mali and Chad are among the nations in which children are likely to spend the least time in education, according to the research.  

Separate figures published last week by Unicef saw African countries dominate the list of countries where the highest proportion of children missing out on primary education.

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Read the full BBC story

Two children from one of Nairobi's poorest communities are hoping to start a career in the music industry after some help from their father.

Instruments and lessons are expensive, but after seeing their talent, their father decided to teach them himself.  

Sierra Leone captain Umaru Bangura feels his side could have eliminated Ivory Coast from the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers and has questioned their chances of defending their title.

The Leone Stars drew 1-1 with Ivory Coast on Saturday and would have reached the Gabon finals with a win.

"We could have knocked them out in Bouake, they were so lucky to qualify," Bangura told BBC Sport.

The Elephants, who beat Ghana on penalties to win the trophy in 2015, finished top of Group I but only managed to take six points from four games, narrowly defeating Sudan 1-0 in their sole win along with three draws.  

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Read the full BBC Sport story 

South Africa’s Constitutional Court has ruled in favour of Robert McBride, the head of the Independent Police Investigative Directorate, saying his suspension in March last year by Police Minister Nathi Nhleko was “unconstitutional and unlawful”.

The police minister accused him of a cover up in the involvement of the police's elite unit, the Hawks, in the unlawful rendition of four Zimbabweans accused of murder.

Mr McBride argued that the minister could not suspend him without first going to parliament.

After the judgement, he said he felt vindicated but blamed political interference for his suspension. 

“It’s political gangsterism that’s taking place and it must be resisted at all costs,” he said.

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Niger has banned the export of donkeys as the government feared that the donkey population was being rapidly depleted (see previous entry).

The animal is a vital part of the rural economy used for transporting goods.

The demand for donkeys for export has meant that their price has increased three fold in recent months, the BBC's Baro Arzika reports from Niger.

One animal can now fetch up to $150 (£110).

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Three more charges have been added against estate agent Vicki Momberg for racist utterances she allegedly made against black police officers. 

Ms Momberg trended on social media in South Africa in recent months after a video emerged of her hurling insults at officers trying to assist her after a smash-and-grab robbery. 

In the video, she complains about the “calibre of blacks in Johannesburg compared to black people in Durban" – where she was based. 

Ms Momberg has denied that she is racist. 

On Tuesday, the Randburg Magistrates Court heard that prior to the face-to-face altercation with the police, she allegedly insulted three separate officers who answered her emergency phone call.

Her lawyer has told the court that she intends to negotiate a plea. 

The matter has been postponed to 18 October.

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