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Tunisian President Kais Saeid has dismissed the head of the national television station, Mohamed Lassaad Dahech, and appointed a provisional replacement.

Earlier Mr Saeid sacked a large number of senior government officials.

He assumed executive and judicial powers at the weekend after suspending parliament and removing the prime minister.

The president's opponents have accused him of staging a coup.

But he insists that he acted within his powers at a time of crisis.

Tunisia is beset by a crippled economy and surging Covid infections, causing growing international concern.

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Civilians have born the brunt of unlawful killings, kidnappings and the widespread destruction of houses during the four-year separatist conflict in Cameroon, Amnesty International says.

The rights group collected witness accounts and analysed satellite images to study the impact of the violence.

In a series of attacks in February this year more than 4,000 people were forced from their homes in Nwa in the north-west.

They were targeted by Fulani vigilantes who are accused of siding with Cameroonian government forces.

Amnesty also found evidence of reprisals throughout the conflict by English speaking separatists against Mbororo Fulani communities which had left more than 160 civilians dead.

The report concluded that all parties to the conflict had committed human rights violations and abuses whilst civilians had been caught in the middle.

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Intense fighting is being reported in Ethiopia's Amhara region - the latest sign that the war in Tigray is spreading to neighbouring regions.

Officials in Amhara said federal soldiers as well as Amhara regional troops had been involved in the fighting against rebels of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).

It comes as regions continue to mobilise forces to fight against the TPLF.

Despite this, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's spokesperson said a unilateral ceasefire declared last month had not been suspended.

Both the government and the TPLF have accused each other of escalating the conflict.

In a separate development the authorities in the western Benishangul-Gumuz region say security forces have killed more than 100 fighters from an armed group that's been behind numerous ethnic-based attacks.

This comes in the aftermath of deadly violence in the eastern part of the country in which a large number of civilians were killed in areas bordering Afar and Somali regions.

South Africa's government has said it is "appalled" by last week's decision to grant Israel observatory status at the African Union (AU).

Its foreign office accused the body of making a "unilateral" decision without consulting its 55 member countries.

"The decision... is more shocking in a year in which oppressed people of Palestine were hounded by destructive bombardments and illegal settlements of the land," the Department of International Relations and Cooperation said.

"The unjust actions committed by Israel offend the letter and spirit of the Charter of the African Union," it added.

The statement also said South Africa would ask AU Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat to give a briefing to member states.

The move has also outraged South African opposition party the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF).

It has called on Mr Faki to resign, saying his decision was "shameful" and "an assault on Palestinian human rights".

Israel had held observer status at the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was disbanded and replaced by the AU in 2002.

Its efforts to re-join had been thwarted by some AU member countries.

The authorities in Morocco have confirmed the arrest of Uyghur activist Yidiresi Aishan (also known as Idris Hasan).

He was detained on his arrival in the North Africa nation from the Turkish city of Istanbul last week.

The Moroccan security services said that the Chinese national was detained at Casablanca airport because of a “red notice” from Interpol.

China was seeking his extradition for belonging to a terrorist organisation, Moroccan officials said.

His wife first broke the news about his arrest, posting a call on Twitter for help:

Uyghur activists say he has been arrested for denouncing the Chinese government’s oppression of the mostly Muslim Uyghur minority group - as part of a wider campaign to hunt down suspected dissidents abroad.

They have been calling on social media for the deportation to be stopped as they say his life will be in danger.

The 33-year-old computer engineer is a father of three and has been living in Turkey since 2012.

He also works for an online Uyghur newspaper.

• Who are the Uyghurs and why is China being accused of genocide?

South Africa's parliament has been told that President Cyril Ramaphosa has approved the deployment of 1,500 troops to Mozambique to help battle jihadist militants.

The three-month mission for South Africa's force is part of a deal agreed last month by the southern African regional body Sadc.

Several hundred soldiers recently arrived from Botswana.

Rwanda has also sent troops and they are reported to have helped the Mozambican army retake a base from the Islamist militants earlier this week.

The conflict, which began in 2017, has left hundreds of thousands of Mozambicans displaced and has caused the shut- down of a multi- billion dollar gas project.

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A high court in the northern Nigeria has acquitted the leader of a banned Shia Muslim group and his wife who had both been charged with inciting violence and unlawful assembly.

Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky, 68, leads the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) and was detained in 2015 along with his wife Zeenah.

Their arrests followed deadly violence between IMN followers and the security forces in the city of Zaria in Kaduna state.

The couple were released after the court dismissed the charges brought by the Kaduna state government.

During the unrest in 2015, rights groups say more than 300 of Sheikh Zakzaky’s followers were killed during a military crackdown.

The army alleges it was forced to retaliate after IMN members - who were attending a religious ceremony in Zaria - attacked the convoy of the military chief of staff.

IMN was banned while Sheikh Zakzaky was in custody following weeks of protests by his supporters in 2019 who were demanding his release.

Shias make up a small minority in predominantly Sunni Muslim northern Nigeria.

• Meeting Sheikh Zakzaky

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The number of Nigerians experiencing hunger has doubled because of the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, Human Rights Watch (HRW) says.

Its report - Between Hunger and the Virus - suggests that government cash transfers to the less privileged have not had the desired impact of cushioning the effects of various lockdowns on people’s livelihoods

It is based on a year’s research done with Justice and Empowerment Initiatives, a local non-governmental organisation.

It focuses mainly on the commercial hub of Lagos, where researchers spoke with more than 60 people from 13 communities in the state.

Those interviewed said the coronavirus pandemic had devastated their already fragile access to food and to making a living.

Only a small fraction of Nigerians had received government cash transfers and food handouts, according to the survey.

This underscored the need for an effective social security system, HRW said.

“Increased investment in social security should be one of the key changes brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic,” HRW’s Anietie Ewang said.

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Thousands of girls in rural Kenya who have dropped out of school are getting a second chance at education through "catch-up" centres.

These are basic literacy classrooms where out-of-school girls aged between 10 and 19 years can enrol and graduate after six to nine months.

The centres are the brainchild of several non-government organisations and have been implemented in five out of Kenya’s 47 counties and total 26 countrywide. They target mostly girls especially in regions where cases of teenage pregnancy and child marriage are persistent, according to the programme's project officer, Karanja Mburu.

The literacy lessons run for half a day and allow students, the majority of whom are mothers, to come to school with their babies.

“Being a mother would not allow me to think about going back to school. The creche and the childminders [at the centre] are what have allowed me to study,” one 17-year-old said.

Girls can be reintegrated back into formal education, take apprenticeships or do some certified courses once they graduate. They can also write business proposals "and we provide starter kits for them”, says Mr Mburu.

A 19-year-old apprentice tailor says it has been an empowering experience: “It is because of this education I can now make phone calls and read text messages."

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The UK and Kenya have signed a new defence agreement to help reduce the threat posed by the Somali jihadist group al-Shabab.

Following a meeting between defence ministers in London, the UK announced it was stepping up its counter-terrorism and military support.

This is to include efforts to prevent extremism in coastal areas which are vital for Kenya’s tourism industry.

Kenya has been a target for al-Shabab since October 2011, when it sent its army into neighbouring Somalia to fight the jihadist group.

Thousands of British troops train each year in Kenya in preparation for deployment to arid conflict zones.

Meanwhile, a court in Kenya is due to rule whether the British army could face legal action over a large fire in a conservation area where British troops had been training earlier this year.

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The top appeals court in France has upheld the conviction handed to Equatorial Guinea's vice-president for using public money to fund his lavish lifestyle.

Teodorin Obiang, who is also the son of the president of Equatorial Guinea, was given a three-year suspended sentence and a 30m euro ($35m; £26m) fine.

One of his seized Paris properties is worth more than $120m. His luxury cars included three Bugattis, a Rolls-Royce and two Maseratis.

Under a new French law passed this month, the proceeds of his wealth are to be redistributed to the people of Equatorial Guinea.

Last week, the UK imposed sanctions on Mr Obiang for corruption.

Equatorial Guinea said the measures were based on lies, and warned it would close its embassy in London.

A lion has been captured in a town just south of Kenya's capital, Nairobi.

Residents of Ongata Rongai had spotted the big cat hiding in a narrow alley.

It had strayed in from nearby Nairobi National Park.

The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) was called in and the animal was "darted and immobilised" so it could be moved.

The lion has been taken to a "veterinary facility for observation and collaring before being released back to the park", KWS says.

In a tweet, it thanked the public for their co-operation and urged people to call wildlife officials should other lions were found in urban areas.

Nairobi National Park is a major tourist attraction and is home to lions, leopards, buffaloes and rhinos among other wild animals.

It is not the first time lions have wandered into residential areas causing alarm.

The authorities in Ethiopia's Somali region have said that a vital road linking the capital, Addis Ababa, to the sea port of Djibouti was blocked by protesters.

Photos on social media also show rocks and signs of vandalism on the railway line along the same vital route.

The disruption appears to be a response to recent clashes over land disputes on the border between the Somali and Afar regions.

The blocking of the route is of great concern as the majority of landlocked Ethiopia’s imports come from Djibouti via that corridor.

The violence does not appear to be directly linked to the nine month Tigray war.

But with the focus mainly on the worsening conflict between Tigrayan rebels and pro-government forces, there is a real danger of more violence in other parts of Ethiopia where tensions already exist.

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Ugandan police have released a weightlifter who was deported from Japan last week after going missing.

Moments after being released after six days in detention, Julius Ssekitoleko, told of his relief at facing no charges at present as he is on police bond pending further investigation.

He had travelled to Japan to participate in the Olympics, but was subsequently told he had not qualified for his event and should return home.

Instead he left a note in his room saying he wanted to stay and work in Japan, and had disappeared.

His lawyer Phillip Munabi says the police are looking into how he had travelled to the 2020 Olympics without having qualified for the Games.

Uganda Foreign Affairs MinistryCopyright: Uganda Foreign Affairs Ministry

His arrest on his arrival home and subsequent detention has caused public outrage.

Ugandans on social media in support of Ssekitoleko say unemployment and limited opportunities at home may push athletes to disappear in developed countries.

He is the not the first Ugandan or African athlete to disappear from an international event.

Last month, rugby player James Odong disappeared in Monaco, where the national team had travelled for an Olympics qualifier event.

At the 2018 Commonwealth games in Australia, several sports people and officials from African countries, including six Ugandans, went missing.