Africa Live this week: 25-31 July 2022

At least 10 people are dead and dozens missing following flash floods around the Ugandan city of Mbale, rescue workers say.

Several rivers burst their banks in the eastern Bugisu and Sebei regions following hours of torrential rain.

Homes have been washed away and crops destroyed.

The Uganda Red Cross said rescue efforts were impossible in some areas as roads had been cut off - some by mudslides.

The Uganda National Roads Authority posted photos on Twitter of some of the mudslides:

Parts of eastern Uganda have suffered from numerous incidents of flooding and landslides.

Deforestation to build homes and make way for farming as well as population growth are contributing to the problem.

Two people have been killed and several injured after UN peacekeepers returning from leave in Uganda opened fire to force their way through a border into eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

Bintou Keita, the head of the UN peacekeeping mission, has described the troops' actions as unspeakable and irresponsible.

She said arrests had been made and an investigation opened.

A video shared on social media shows troops in a UN convoy trying to cross the border from Uganda into eastern DR Congo - and an argument can be heard.

Then suddenly there are loud bursts of gunfire from the convoy and people scatter in all directions. The UN troops drive into DR Congo still shooting.

Over the last week there have been violent protests in DR Congo against the UN's Monusco mission, which many feel has failed to protect people from armed attacks in which 20 people died.

This incident is likely to fuel anger towards the UN mission.

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Morocco's King Mohammed has said he wants to repair relations with neighbouring Algeria.

Speaking on the anniversary of his accession he described the two countries as “brotherly peoples, united by history, human ties and shared destiny".

The North African countries, which have had no diplomatic relations for many months, have blamed each other for multiple regional and domestic issues.

Algiers accused Morocco of supporting separatists and Islamist opposition movements within Algeria, while Rabat resents Algiers' support for separatists in the Western Sahara which is claimed by Morocco.

You may also be interested in:

• Lamenting the Algeria-Morocco border closure

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South Africa teenage swimming sensation Lara van Niekerk has won her country’s first gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in the UK city of Birmingham.

The 19-year-old also set a new Commonwealth Games record with a time of 29.73 seconds in the women’s 50m breaststroke final.

"After breaking the record in the heats, I was like, let me try break it every single time," she said.

"So that was the goal just trying to shave off a little bit more each look each time and get faster."

Van Niekerk added that racing in front of a crowd had been exhilarating and had spurred her on.

"It's amazing. I haven't been in a crowd this big in my life - at the World Championships it wasn't as big. So it was amazing. And it's so loud out there."

AFPCopyright: AFP

Voting is under way in Senegal where the opposition is hoping that the current anger over economic hardship will help it wrestle seats away from the governing coalition which currently has more than three-quarters of the seats in parliament.

Ahead of these legislative polls there were protests after the opposition coalition's primary list of candidates was disqualified on technical grounds.

These parliamentary elections in Senegal could well determine how much longer President Macky Sall stays in office.

He has not ruled out running for a third term in two years’ time - a move which would be hugely controversial given that the constitution has a two term limit.

Opposition coalitions have joined forces to try to weaken Mr Sall.

His critics have long accused him of stopping his political rivals from challenging him.

Ousmane Sonko and many other opposition candidates were prevented from standing in these polls - adding to political tension and anger for many Senegalese who are also struggling to cope with the rising cost of living.

AFPCopyright: AFP

The United States has ordered non-essential staff and their families to leave Mali because of a heightened risk of terror attacks.

In the updated travel advisory, the US State Department urged Americans to be vigilant especially in areas frequented by Westerners.

“Terrorist and armed groups continue plotting kidnappings and attacks in Mali. They may attack with little or no warning, targeting night clubs, hotels, restaurants, places of worship, international diplomatic missions, and other locations frequented by Westerners. Attacks may target Malian government offices, infrastructure, or locations frequented by Westerners,” it said.

The warning comes a week after an attack on an army base near the capital, Bamako.

For more than a decade, Islamist militants have been carrying out frequent attacks in Mali - but it is extremely rare for the jihadists to hit targets so close to the capital.

A Mali junta took power in August 2020, citing the government’s failure to defeat the insurgents.

That's all for now from the BBC Africa Live team, but we'll be back on Monday morning, Nairobi time.

Until then you can find the latest updates on the BBC News website, or listen to our podcast Africa Today.

A reminder of our wise words of the day:

Quote Message: It’s not that the waterleaf doesn’t want to grow as tall as a tree, it is the farmer who won’t let it." from Sent by “Mega Boy” Sunday to BBC News Pidgin.

It’s not that the waterleaf doesn’t want to grow as tall as a tree, it is the farmer who won’t let it."

Click here to send us your African proverbs.

We leave you with this photo of Ugandan climate activist Patience Nabukalu at a global conference in Italy, it's from our selection of the week's best photos from across the continent and beyond:

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images