Africa highlights: Ethiopia mourns rubbish dump dead, SA police arrest airport heist suspects

South Africa's police have arrested four people suspected of being involved in a daring robbery last week at the OR Tambo International airport in Johannesburg. 

Armed thieves masquerading as police made away with containers of cash.

The four suspects are facing charges of "armed robbery, " police chief Khomotso Phahlanetold a media briefing in Pretoria.

Only two suspects appeared in court today, the other two - one of whom is a police officer - are still being questioned.

Mr Phahlane said investigations point to "an inside job" and praised the intelligence network for helping to apprehend the suspects: 

Quote Message: We are not solely reliant on tip offs. We must congratulate crime intelligence for helping to apprehend those involved".

We are not solely reliant on tip offs. We must congratulate crime intelligence for helping to apprehend those involved".

He said that the money that was stolen has not yet been recovered.   

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

South Africans have been enjoying this video of a traffic police woman dancing while directing the traffic in the country's largest city, Johannesburg:

EWN reports that the policewoman, Dora Mofokeng, "says she enjoys her job and hopes to lift the misery of those sitting in traffic with her dancing". 

In case you're inspired, she says she was dancing to DJ Tira:

Outgoing African Union Commission chairperson Nkosozana Dlamini Zuma has issued a flurry of tweets as she says goodbye to those who she's worked with.

And she wished her Chadian successor all the best:

But there are at least two big issues already on the new chairperson's agenda:

Her Twitter bio has changed:

Dlamini ZumaCopyright: Dlamini Zuma

The African Union has posted Mr Mahamat's statement (in French) when he took over this afternoon:

Hijackers who seized an oil tanker and its eight-man crew off the coast of Somalia are demanding compensation for a rise in illegal fishing in Somali waters, VOA reports , quoting one of the hijackers. 

The ship is anchored off Alula town in Somalia's Puntland region. 

One of the hijackers spoke to VOA saying that they are fishermen and not pirates: 

Quote Message: We have decided, as local fishermen, to resist illegal fishing. We have taken arms to defend ourselves, and we will continue”.

We have decided, as local fishermen, to resist illegal fishing. We have taken arms to defend ourselves, and we will continue”.

The men did not say how much they want to be paid but said that the ship's crew are healthy and being looked after:

Quote Message: It’s not our principle to kill them. They are healthy. We looked after them. We are after the people who sent them, to make sure they never return”.

It’s not our principle to kill them. They are healthy. We looked after them. We are after the people who sent them, to make sure they never return”.

Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram has published a video online which it says shows the killing of three men it described as being Nigerian military spies. 

It is the first such video to be posted by the group in two years. 

Masked men surround the three kneeling victims, one of whom is decapitated, the other two are shot. 

The masked men criticise President Muhammadu Buhari and Nigeria's military campaign against the group. 

The video commentary uses a mixture of Arabic and the Hausa language.       

AFPCopyright: AFP

Kenya's doctors may have ended their strike but there are still a lot pending issues. 

The agreement they have just signed with the national and county governments is called a Return To Work Formula (RTWF).

According to the deal, the doctors will receive an additional $560 (£460) - $700 a month in allowances. 

However there's another deal called the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) which is still to be discussed.

The CBA could take weeks to conclude as the organisations that actually employ the majority of the doctors - the County Boards of Health - were not involved in drafting the document and they need to study it before the county governors can sign. 

BBCCopyright: BBC

A Kenyan man has appeared in court in connection with the murder of a British farmer earlier this month. 

Samson Lokayi was remanded in custody over the death of Tristan Voorspuy, who had gone to inspect damage on his ranch when he was shot dead. 

Thousands of herders, armed with spears and assault rifles, have invaded private ranches and wildlife parks with their cattle, slaughtering animals and destroying property in the central county of Laikipia. 

Eight people have been killed. 

The judge had to postpone the suspect's first hearing because he only speaks the local Pokot dialect, and no translator was available.

BBCCopyright: BBC

Malawian Airlines is planning a flight later this week with an all-women crew and support staff,which will be a first for the company, the  Malawi Times reports .

The flight on Thursday will take passengers from Blantyre to Dar-es-Salaam in Tanzania.

The newspaper quotes a statement from the company saying that it wants to create a "more gender inclusive world".

It adds that the aircraft will be under the command of Captain Yolanda Kaunda and assisted by Lusekelo Mwenifumbo.

Malawi TimesCopyright: Malawi Times

The International Red Cross is appealing for assistance for tens of thousands of people displaced by a cyclone in Madagascar. 

It says dozens died, 200 were injured and more than 80,000 people were made homeless by Cyclone Enawo, which battered the island last week. 

The Red Cross adds that storm damage, landslides and widespread flooding have hampered humanitarian access to some of the worst-hit areas. 

It says people are in need of food, shelter, medical care, clean water and other essential services.

APCopyright: AP

The leader of Kenya's doctor's union Dr Ouma Oluga has called off the 100-day-long doctors strike terming it the most painful struggle in the history of the country. 

Dr Oluga said that a deal had been reached with the national and county governments but said that the dispute that led to the strike has not been resolved and will need follow up. 

He said that there cannot be a separation between patients' rights and doctors' rights in an apparent reaction to calls that were made for the medics to call off the strike for the sake of their patients.

Several attempts to end the strike failed as doctors and the government refused to compromise on their positions. 

Even the jailing of the union leaders for refusing to honour a court order to call off the strike did not dampen the doctors' resolve. 

The doctors have been pushing for a 2013 deal that was to improve their pay and working conditions.

Peter Munya, the chairman of the council of governors, representing the country's 47 counties, called the strike a "painful experience". 

The self-styled Libyan National Army, commanded by east Libya's military strongman Khalifa Haftar, says it has started a ground offensive to re-take the country's oil crescent.  

They lost control over the area earlier this month, following an attack by the Benghazi Defence Brigades, which is a mix of militias that includes Islamists. 

There is a lot of uncertainty today as confrontations and the rhetoric of war between rival forces escalate.  

And just 10 days since the oil-crescent exchanged hands, the UN has accused both armed parties of human rights violations, including executions, arbitrary arrests and beatings. 

If nothing else, one thing appears increasingly certain, this is a conflict that is likely to get more violent, destructive, and deadlier by the day.  

The country often lacks both local and international mediators capable of brokering a cessation of violence when it escalates to this point. 

AFPCopyright: AFP

Kenya's NTV is reporting that the doctors have agreed to return to work ending their 100-day strike. 

Doctors' union leaders and government officials are currently at the signing in ceremony taking place in the capital, Nairobi. 

The event is being streamed live on  Facebook  and YouTube.

Eight South Sudanese aid workers who had been kidnapped have now been released, according to a statement from the charity they worked for, Samaritan's Purse.

There were some reports that the kidnappers were allied to rebel leader Riek Machar and we reported earlier that they were demanding aid money in return for the release of the detainees.

But in a statement Samaritan's Purse have said "there was no ransom request". Rebels have also distanced themselves from the kidnapping.

Samaritan's Purse adds that the eight staff members "are on their way to a safe location" with the help of the World Food Programme.

The charity also says that:

Quote Message: This situation highlights the severe famine situation in parts of South Sudan with over 4 million people at risk of starvation. Samaritan's Purse calls on all parties to stop hostilities and allow immediate full access to distribute emergency food supplies."

This situation highlights the severe famine situation in parts of South Sudan with over 4 million people at risk of starvation. Samaritan's Purse calls on all parties to stop hostilities and allow immediate full access to distribute emergency food supplies."

APCopyright: AP

Last month, a famine was declared in part of the country.

An announcement to end Kenya's long-running doctors' strike is expected anytime now. 

Doctors have been pushing for a pay deal agreed in 2013 that the government has refused to honour. A last ditch effort to end the strike seems to have worked. 

BBC's Abdinoor Aden in the capital, Nairobi, has snapped pictures of officials gathering to address the press. 

Among those those present are the Minister of Health Cleopa Mailu (centre) and the chairman of the Council of Governors Peter Munya (right).

BBCCopyright: BBC

There is still no word from the doctors, who have been on strike for 100 days now.

An Ethiopian English-language magazine is tweeting pictures of the mourning after the funerals of some of those who died in the collapse of the rubbish dump in the capital, Addis Ababa, at the weekend.

The official death toll now stands at 72 but people are saying others are still missing.

The country's parliament has declared three days of national mourning.

Twenty-one rhino horns worth an estimated $5m have been seized in Thailand after being found in luggage sent from Ethiopia in the biggest such haul in years.

The seizure comes days after 300kg of elephant ivory was also impounded in the country.

Thailand is seen as a transit point for the illegal trafficking of wildlife.

AFPCopyright: AFP

Several species of rhino are at critical risk of extinction, conservationists say.

The horns arrived at Bangkok's international airport where two Thai women who had travelled from Vietnam and Cambodia came to collect them.

According to Thai police, they ran off when the luggage was subjected to a random check.

Officials describe the incident as an elaborate smuggling effort which involved several other people inside Thailand and abroad.

Reade more:  Rhino horns worth $5m seized in Thailand off flight from Ethiopia

The Gambia's new President  Adama Barrow is on his first state visit to Europe. 

Accompanied by a delegation of ministers and business people, he is visiting the French capital, Paris, for talks with President Francois Hollande and will also be at headquarters of the European Union in Brussels.

In February, the EU had promised to resume its aid to the country and offered an $80m (£65m) aid package. 

It had suspended the programme objecting to the autocratic rule of previous head of state Yahya Jammeh.

The EU hopes to help tackle unemployment and poverty with the aim of reducing the high number of young Gambians who attempt the risky Mediterranean crossing to Europe.

ReutersCopyright: Reuters

A picture of a Kenyan politician cutting the ribbon to launch the use of a wooden bridge is being shared on Twitter. 

Ephraim Maina arrived in a chopper to commission the semi-permanent bridge which cost $75 (£60), Nairobi News reports.

Mr Miana reportedly contributed some funds to help put up the bridge that now connects two villages. 

The politician was received in song and dance as he landed in Kabaru location in central Kenya. 

South Sudanese rebels are holding eight employees of a US charity Samaritan's Purse seized from a village about 680 km (422 miles) northeast of the capital, Juba. 

Fighters allied to former Vice-President Riek Machar seized one American and seven locals on Sunday and are now demanding aid deliveries as ransom.

Army spokesperson Brig-Gen Lul Koang confirmed the incident to the independent newspaper Dawn:  

Quote Message: The rebels who kidnapped the aid workers are demanding the deliveries of humanitarian aid assistance to areas under their control as a ransom."

The rebels who kidnapped the aid workers are demanding the deliveries of humanitarian aid assistance to areas under their control as a ransom."

This comes almost a fortnight after two Indian engineers were kidnaped in the same area by rebels. Their fate is unknown.  

The surge in abductions of aid workers may force out relief workers providing humanitarian assistance to millions of the brink of starvation in a famine-hit region.