Africa highlights: Ethiopia arrests '1,000', ANC rebukes leader over call to arms

In the little West African state of Benin, it is unusual for presidents to cross the border by road - they prefer to fly. 

So, when President Patrice Talon, a business tycoon who was elected earlier this year after promising sweeping changes in government, swapped his plane for a motorcade for a 150km (93 miles) trip to Togo's capital, Lome, he won the praise of Twitter users. 

@Doubangar posted: "I like this new President of Benin. He travelled the distance Cotonou/Lome by road for the #LomeSummit." 

@arielmedrid: "Hats off to #PatriceTalon for going to Lome by road."

@Africardv: Benin president Patrice Talon is the only one to get to the #LomeSummit by land.  

Thandiwe MuriuCopyright: Thandiwe Muriu

Christine Kamau may have one of the most popular surnames in her native Kenya, but she stands out as being the only female jazz trumpeter, writing her own material for herself and her band. 

Originally a classically trained pianist, she started playing the trumpet in her late teens for reasons other than love of the instrument.

Ms Kamau spoke to BBC's Outlook programme. Listen to her interview from 34’05”

Thandiwe MuriuCopyright: Thandiwe Muriu

A journalist has tweeted about the propaganda campaign waged by al-Qaeda-linked militant Isalmist group al-Shabab in Jilib town, its main base in Somalia:  

Jilib, about 110km (70 miles) from the port city of KIsmayo, has a population of more than 50,000. 

Al-Shabab has controlled the town, through which Jubba River runs, for about 10 years. 

Ethiopia's government has declared a six-month state of emergency in the face of an unprecedented wave of violent protests.

Activists in the country's Oromia region have been holding demonstrations since last November, and protesters from the Amhara region have also joined in.

The deaths of at least 55 people at an Oromo religious festival on 2 October triggered fresh unrest, including the targeting of some foreign-owned businesses.

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AFPCopyright: AFP

THe European Union (EU) has warned the Democratic Republic of Congo's government that it could face sanctions if it fails to hold early elections. 

President Joseph Kabila's second and last term is due to end in December, but election commission has called for a postponement of the poll until 2018 to give it more time to register voters. 

In a statement, EU foreign ministers also condemned violence which broke out last month between the security forces and opposition supporters calling for Mr Kabila to step down in December.  

The statement added:    

Quote Message: The EU will use all the means at its disposal, including individual restrictive measures against those responsible for serious human rights violations, those who promote violence and those who would try to obstruct a consensual and peaceful solution to the crisis."

The EU will use all the means at its disposal, including individual restrictive measures against those responsible for serious human rights violations, those who promote violence and those who would try to obstruct a consensual and peaceful solution to the crisis."

The EU's warning came days after the United Stations announced sanctions against two top Kabila aides, accusing them of facilitating the crack-down on opposition activists. 

AFPCopyright: AFP

Egypt has enacted a new law to make it easier to prosecute people smugglers. 

It imposes stiff prison sentences and fines on traffickers and anyone else helping illegal migrants on their journey, while giving migrants themselves greater humanitarian protection.

 About 200 migrants drowned when their boat capsized off Greece last month after setting off from Egypt. 

There has been a big upsurge of people smuggling along Egypt's Mediterranean coastline since Turkey reached a deal with the European Union to stem the flow into Europe.

 Read: Missing migarnts

Former South Africa captain Neil Tovey remains in a life threatening condition in a Durban hospital after he suffered a heart attack on Sunday but has been take off life-support equipment.

The 54-year-old South African Football Association technical director is the only white man to captain a Africa Cup of Nations-winning team.

He collapsed while training for a charity cycle race set for next month.

It is the second heart attack Tovey has suffered inside two years.

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AFPCopyright: AFP

South Africa's governing African National Congress (ANC) has ordered its controversial youth leader Collen Maine to withdraw remarks calling for arms to be taken up to defend the "revolution" led by President Jacob Zuma. 

In a statement, the ANC said that Maine's comments were "inflammatory" and there was no place in a democracy for  such "demagogic talk". 

Speaking at a 'Hands off Zuma' march in the president's stronghold of Durban on Saturday, Mr Maine said:    

Quote Message: Comrades from [the ANC's former military wing] Umkhonto weSizwe, bring your guns. Now is the time to defend the revolution. We must do it. Generations that came before did it. They sacrificed their lives.”

Comrades from [the ANC's former military wing] Umkhonto weSizwe, bring your guns. Now is the time to defend the revolution. We must do it. Generations that came before did it. They sacrificed their lives.”

The ANC said South Africa needed "reasoned, cogent and decisive leadership", and it had therefore instructed the leader of its youth wing to retract the comments.

Mr Zuma is currently under pressure over an investigation by an anti-corruption body into his relationship with the wealthy Gupta family. 

He and the family deny any wrongdoing.

Mr Zuma survived an impeachment vote in April, despite South Africa's highest court ruling that he breached the constitution by failing to repay government money used to upgrade his private home. 

Read: The colourful and controversial Zuma

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Pilots working for Kenya Airways have called off their strike which was to start tomorrow. The pilots had vowed to continue with their strike despite a court order blocking the move. 

We had reported earlier that the Kenya’s Ministry of Labour was mediating  today between the management of Kenya Airways and its Pilots’ Association in an attempt to avert a strike. 

The pilots' assocication says it has decided to to call off the strike to give the government time to implement changes.

The Kenya Airline Pilots Union says its members have lost confidence in the ability of the airline's management to end years of financial losses, and have called for the resignation of the CEO and chairman.  

Nigerian footballer Izu Joseph was apparently killed by a stray bullet at a market in his hometown of Okaki in oil-rich Bayelsa State, football site ESPN FC is reporting. 

Joseph, who played in defence for Nigerian Premier League club Shooting Stars, was killed during a battle between gunmen and the military's Joint Task force, it reports.

Club general manager Rasheed Balogu told ESPN FC: 

Quote Message: We are still getting confusing reports about what happened exactly but we have been told that the stray bullet came from the JTF."

We are still getting confusing reports about what happened exactly but we have been told that the stray bullet came from the JTF."

  The club has tweeted:    

See earlier post for more details

AFPCopyright: AFP

South Sudan's government is blaming rebels loyal to former Vice-President Riek Machar for clashes in the second city, Malakal, which left 56 rebels dead, the AFP news agency reports.

Four government soldiers were also killed in the fighting over the weekend,  it quotes army spokesman Brigadier General Lul Ruai Koang as saying.  

Forces loyal to President Salva Kiir invited journalists to the region on Sunday to show they were in control of the area, and an AFP photographer reported seeing up to 40 bodies in the places he could access. 

South Sudan, which gained independence in July 2011,  descended into war just two and a half years later when Kiir in December 2013 accused his former deputy and political rival Machar of plotting a coup. 

In June forces loyal to Mr Machar clashed with Mr Kiir's leaving hundreds dead and thousands displaced. 

Mr Kiir fled the capital Juba with some of his troops to the Democratic Republic of Congo, from where he flew to Sudan. He is currently in South Africa. 

See earlier post for more details

BBCCopyright: BBC

The crowded streets of Kenya's Kibera slum in the capital Nairobi are a far cry from the fashion boutiques of Paris, Milan, New York or London. But beneath a tiny roof, a group of women show that fashion can be a force for good.

An African fashion venture Wakuu, which means "bosses" in Swahili, makes stylish African clothes by employing women tailors from the slums and selling the products around the world. 

Twenty-nine-year-old Anastacia Kioko has been living in Kibera for 10 years. Life here is tough - most people live in extreme poverty earning less than a dollar a day and unemployment rates are high. 

BBCCopyright: BBC

But Anastacia says her tailoring job gives her hope for the future. She earns around $80 (£65) a month, working full-time. She hopes that one day this venture might see her out of the slum and into a better life. 

Nick Sierra is the co-founder of Wakuu African Apparel. He's plugged in to an African clothing market reportedly worth $31bn. He also believes that his project is bringing social development to Kibera.

BBCCopyright: BBC

BBCCopyright: BBC

More than 20 prisoners, among them dangerous offenders, have escaped from a jail in Guinea-Bissau, BBC Afrique is reporting. 

The prisoners forced their way out of a gate when a new convict was being brought into the jail in Bissau city, it reports

Police have been deployed around a market in Bissau to hunt down the fugitives, BBC Afrique adds. 

AFPCopyright: AFP

The United Nations, African Union, US and others say they are deeply concerned about aspects of a process to choose a new parliament and president in Somalia. 

They say individuals with a history of criminality, violence and terrorism are being included on lists of candidates for a new senate.

They describe this as a regressive step which will undermine the legitimacy of the new parliament. 

Somalia has had no effective central authority for a quarter of a century, and is currently holding a complex process to select a new administration. 

AFPCopyright: AFP

The main opposition party in Ivory Coast has called on voters to boycott a referendum called by government to push through a new constitution, the private Abidjan.net news site reports. 

Ivorian Popular Front leader Pascal Affi N'guessan told reporters in the main city, Abidjan that the 30 October referendum failed to address the the real concerns of Ivorians. 

Mr N'guessan was quoted as saying: 

Quote Message: We call on our fellow countrymen, our supporters who believe in our struggle, to show no interest in what will take place on 30 October. Attend to your business as usual because (the vote) is not about you."

We call on our fellow countrymen, our supporters who believe in our struggle, to show no interest in what will take place on 30 October. Attend to your business as usual because (the vote) is not about you."

Two other opposition parties, the Lider and the AFD, are also against the referendum. 

The proposed constitution scraps the age limit of 75 for presidential candidates and the requirement that both parents of candidates must be native-born Ivorians.

AFPCopyright: AFP

Equatorial Guinea has taken France to the United Nations' highest court to try to stop a corruption case against the vice-president. 

Equatorial Guinea argues that Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, who is the son of the country's president, is immune from prosecution. 

The hearing at the International Court of Justice opened a week before Mr Obiang was due to appear before a French court to answer charges of misspending millions of dollars of public money. 

He has already had assets seized in France and the US, including villas, luxury cars and memorabilia from the dead pop star Michael Jackson.

ReutersCopyright: Reuters

In Ethiopia, at least 1,000 suspects have been arrested over the violence in Sebeta town near the capital, Addis Ababa, the state-affiliated Fana Broadcasting Corporate has reported.

Only 40 to 50 suspects were natives of the town, while the majority were from other parts of Oromia region, the mayor, Ararsa Merdasa, is quoted as saying. 

Ethiopia has declared a state of emergency to curb unrest in Oromia and Amhara, two regions that have seen a wave of anti-government protests since last year.  

The mayor added that if there were any innocent people among the 1,000 suspects, they would be released once investigations were concluded.

Mr Ararsa said that residents had provided details of the rioters, including the crime they had committed, following public meetings. 

More arrests were expected, he added.

Businessmen, who experienced massive losses after their properties were destroyed during the protests, are attending a "peace conference" in  Sebata, and called for better security, FBC reports. 

See earlier post for more details

Read: Are protests a game changer?

Nigerian footballer Izu Joseph has been shot dead, apparently by soldiers battling militants in the oil-rich south, a BBC reporter has tweeted: 

Nigeria's military has not yet commented. 

Official Malawi Government OnlineCopyright: Official Malawi Government Online

Malawi's President Peter Mutharika, 76, arrived back in the country yesterday after weeks of speculation on social media about his whereabouts and the state of his health. 

In a post on its official Facebook page the government said that Mr Mutharika had been in the US and had held "several meetings with Malawi’s development partners and foreign investors on the sidelines of UN General Assembly".

Despite his public appearance on Sunday after he flew into the capital, Lilongwe, some on social media have noted that Mr Mutharika's right hand seemed to be immobile as he gestured and waved with his left hand.  

And political analyst Humphrey Mvula told the AFP news agency that it was a "big surprise to see the president using his left hand when we all know he is a right-handed person". 

He added that Mr Mutharika had "failed to calm down levels of speculation because everybody expected the president to speak to Malawians", but he had failed to do so.  

Here are some more the pictures shared on the government's Facebook page:

Official Malawi Government OnlineCopyright: Official Malawi Government Online

Official Malawi Government OnlineCopyright: Official Malawi Government Online