Africa highlights: Cameroon 'fake' news crackdown, Mauritius' ex-PM mocked as 'babysitter'

Two military helicopters in the Democratic Republic of Congo have crashed in the eastern region of Rutshuru, near the Ugandan and Rwandan borders, military sources say. 

UN-sponsored Radio Okapi says two DR Congo soldiers and three Russian crew members were rescued with injuries. 

The five survivors have now been rushed to a hospital in the main regional city, Goma. 

Search efforts to locate the second helicopter are ongoing. 

It is not clear what may have caused the crashes. Unconfirmed reports suggest the two choppers were shot down by ex-M23 rebels. 

When it comes to ceramic art in South Africa, the name Ardmore is widely mentioned. Their colourful hand-painted ceramics are collectors' items for many local and foreign tourists who visit their studio in the KwaZulu-Natal midlands.

Now fashionistas can wear an Ardmore-designed silk scarf produced in partnership with the French luxury brand, Hermes.

Fee Halsted, the founder of Ardmore Ceramic Art, spoke to the BBC about her unique style and how the collaboration with Hermes came about:

Heavily armed militant Islamists entered schools in northern Burkina Faso this week, ordering teachers to stop instructing in French and to focus only on teaching Islam, the Security Minister Simon Compaore has said, AFP news agency reports. 

Soldiers have been deployed to the Baraboule commune, where the incidents occurred, and surrounding areas near the border with Mali, the minister is quoted as saying. 

Last month, militants killed 12 soldiers in an attack on an army barracks in northern Nassoumbou town, some 260km (160 miles) from Burkina Faso's capital Ouagadougou. 

AFPCopyright: AFP

A young-Kenyan couple whose story of a cheap wedding melted hearts on the internet will now get an all-expenses paid honeymoon. 

Wilson Mutura, 26, and Ann Wambui, 24, reportedly spent 100 Kenyan shillings ( $1) to buy rings for each other and wore t-shirts for the ceremony. They did not have a celebration afterwards. 

“We went home, cooked ugali and sukuma wiki [ Kenya's staple food] , ate and slept. There was nothing special that we did on our honeymoon,” said Mr Mutura, eDaily news reports.   

The clergy who married the couple shared their story on Facebook before it was picked up by local media.   

A representative of the tour and travel company Bonfire Adventures met the couple:

  The BBC's Peter Okwoche goes rally driving for the first time to find out why the sport is so popular in Uganda.  

AFPCopyright: AFP

Zimbabwe's ruling Zanu-PF party has accused South Africa's firebrand opposition politician Julius Malema of being "hired to talk on behalf of Western powers pushing for regime change"  in the southern African nation, the state-run Herald newspaper reports. 

The attack on Mr Malema - once a staunch ally of Zanu-PF - came after he called President Robert Mugabe, 92, a "grandpa" who should retire.

The newspaper quoted Zanu-PF national secretary for adminstration Ignatius Chombo as saying:  

Quote Message: The statement he made exposed the degree of stupidity in him.

The statement he made exposed the degree of stupidity in him.

Quote Message: The statement by Malema was very unfortunate - unfortunate in that he was trying to talk negatuive about a man whose superlatives are too many to mention.

The statement by Malema was very unfortunate - unfortunate in that he was trying to talk negatuive about a man whose superlatives are too many to mention.

Quote Message: He is now being hired to talk on behalf of the Western powers pushing for regime change agenda."

He is now being hired to talk on behalf of the Western powers pushing for regime change agenda."

AFPCopyright: AFP

Mr Mugabe, who will celebrate his 93rd birthday next month, is due to run for office again.

Mr Malema has campaigned strongly for land reform in South Africa, and has previously praised Mr Mugabe's for seizing white-owened farms.   

Private solar power entrepreneurs are offering alternative electricity solutions to Nigerian citizens who are off the electricity grid. 

The BBC's Africa Business Report has a video about a pay-as-you-go solar energy business that is changing the lives of residents of Bishop Koji, an island off the coast of Nigeria's largest city Lagos. 

AFPCopyright: AFP

The World Food Programme is warning that around 1.8 million people are at risk of starvation in north-eastern Nigeria. 

It said that the insurgency by the jihadist group Boko Haram was undermining efforts to deliver aid. 

The WFP's executive director, Ertharin Cousin, said there were areas in the group's heartland in Borno state that were still inaccessible and where it was impossible to assess the food security situation. 

She said she hoped the WFP would still receive the funding it needed, despite reports that President Trump's administration was considering cutting payments to UN bodies. 

More than 15,000 people have died since the Boko Haram insurgency began in 2009.

AFPCopyright: AFP

A Kenyan lawmaker has sponsored a bill in parliament to force beer companies to withhold a percentage of their profit to insure drinkers who might suffer from the "consequences" of being drunk.

MP Gideon Mwiti wants beer manufacturers to give between 5% and 10% of the revenue they generate to insurance companies so that they can compensate individuals who might fall ill or get hurt in an accident because of being drunk, the Daily Nation reports.   

The bill also proposes that should a person die from effects of consuming alcohol then the beer firms should compensate their families.  

Mr Mwiti also accused beer companies of not doing enough to promote “healthy drinking”, the report said. 

PACopyright: PA

Tourists from the UK are once more going to The Gambia, following an end to the crisis over long-serving ruler Yahya Jammeh's refusal to hand power, as this tweet by a travel firm shows: 

Last week, British and Dutch holidaymakers were evacuated from the West African amid fears that troops loyal to Mr Jammeh would resist attempts by regional forces to help opposition leader Adama Barrow take power follow in his victory in elections.

In the end, Mr Jammeh left peacefully for an unknown destination, saying he did not want bloodshed.

The Gambia's beaches are popular with tourists. 

ReCopyright: Re

Read: Can Barrow stem flow of young Gambians heading for Europe?

The election of Donald Trump as US president, a proponent of protectionism, and the decision of the UK to leave the European Union has forced African countries to consider how they will respond to the new era.

BBC Africa Business Report host Lerato Mbele spoke to Nicky Newton-King, the CEO of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, about the impact of the changes. 

BBCCopyright: BBC

Two main opposition parties in Mauritius have held a massive rally in the capital, Port Louis, to protest against Prime Minister Anerood Jugnauth decision to hand power to his son, Pravind.  

The Mauritian Social Democrat Party (PMSD) and the Labour Party demanded elections to choose a new leader as their supporters, clad in black, chanted “No father-son deal”, “Democracy in Mourning” and “No to Monarchy”.

Addressing the crowd, PMSD leader Xavier-Luc Duval said: 

Quote Message: Anerood Jugnauth's failure to resign as a member of parliament showed he would act as a babysitter for his son.”

Anerood Jugnauth's failure to resign as a member of parliament showed he would act as a babysitter for his son.”

 In his address, Labour Party leader and  former Prime Minster Dr Navinchandra Ramgoolam said:    

Quote Message: “This was a black day for Mauritius. The Jugnauth family is turning the Island into a banana republic."

“This was a black day for Mauritius. The Jugnauth family is turning the Island into a banana republic."

Mr Jugnauth cited the "Westminster tradition", referring to the transfer of power from David Cameron to Theresa May in the UK without elections, to justify handing power to his son. 

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New Celtic midfielder Eboue Kouassi is "not getting worried" about the competition he faces for a place in Brendan Rodgers' team.

The 19-year-old defensive midfielder has joined the Premiership leaders on a four-year deal after a £2.8m fee was agreed with Russian club Krasnodar.

"All I'm interested in at the moment is really progressing," Kouassi said.

"I really feel this is the best place for me at the moment to progress, to become better."

Read full story

AFPCopyright: AFP

Recession-hit Nigeria's central bank has vowed to protect low-income earners by sticking with its foreign exchange policy, AFP news agency reports. 

It quotes bank spokesman Isaac Okorafor as saying: 

Quote Message: "Intelligence reports at the disposal of the bank reveal the involvement of some unpatriotic elements funding the push to have the CBN [Centra Bank of Nigeria] and the federal government reverse its forex policy."

"Intelligence reports at the disposal of the bank reveal the involvement of some unpatriotic elements funding the push to have the CBN [Centra Bank of Nigeria] and the federal government reverse its forex policy."

Nigeria's government has been heavily criticised for propping up the naira at 305-315 to the dollar and introducing tight capital controls in response to the country's worst economic crisis in decades, AFP reports. 

 The policies have led to a foreign exchange shortage, with many local businesses being forced to buy dollars on the black market, where the rate is scraping 490 to the dollar, it adds.

However, Mr Okorafor said that a weak naira would only hurt the poor and the bank was committed to ensuring that "the masses of our country's low income earners are protected from the vagaries of high naira depreciation".  

Issouf SanogoCopyright: Issouf Sanogo

Uganda coach Milutin 'Micho' Sredojevic has told the country's FA to fulfil its contractual obligations or he we will quit and take legal action.

The Serb, who took Uganda to Gabon for their first Africa Cup of Nations in 39 years, says he is owed wages.

Read the full BBC story here

West African nations plan to reduce the number of troops deployed to The Gambia to help President Adama Barrow take power after ex-ruler Yahya Jammeh refused to accept defeat in the 1 December election, the force commander has said, AFP news agency reports.  

The security situation was "positive", promoting the decision to cut the number of ground troops, said Senegalese General Francois Ndiaye in a statement. 

There would be also be a reduction in air and naval forces, but to a lesser degree, AFP quoted the statement as saying.

Gen Ndiaye declined to say how many troops were in The Gambia, but the chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas), Marcel Alain de Souza, had previously indicated that some 4,000 troops had been deployed out of a planned maximum of 7,000 drawn from five nations - including Senegal, Nigeria and Ghana. 

AFPCopyright: AFP

Mr Jammeh went into into exile on Saturday following diplomatic pressure and the threat by the Ecowas force to capture him.

Read more: Life still far from normal 

Nigeria’s central bank has described those opposing its foreign exchange policy as unpatriotic, after it came under heavy criticism for pegging the embattled naira at an artificially strong rate to the dollar. 

The naira is fixed at 305 to the US dollar, but the black market has soared to around 500 in recent weeks.

People turn to the black market, as there is a shortage of US dollars needed by traders importing goods.

Nigeria's economy has been affected by the fall in oil prices and slipped into recession last year.

The mayor of Kulbiyow in southern Somalia has been killed in the assault by militant Islamist group al-Shabab on a Kenyan military base in the town, a journalist with Voice of America has tweeted: 

There has been no independent confirmation of the tweet.  

A man who hung onto the landing skids of a helicopter carrying Kenya's opposition leader Raila Odinga after a campaign event in Meru has appealed to the politician to give him a job.

Speaking to journalists (in Swahili) after being questioned by local police for his antics, he said that he was willing to take up any job that was offered:

The man reportedly jumped off the helicopter and suffered minor injuries. 

Local TV station Citizen shared this video of the incident: