Africa highlights: Child with albinism 'killed with hoe', foetus 'dumped in bin'

1. Two children with albinism killed in Mozambique
2. Paramedics 'find foetus in bin' South Africa's capital
3. A vagina ring to prevent HIV will be tested in Africa
4. Zambia student arrested for 'insulting' president
5. Tanzanian charged with abusing president
6. Malian activist 'survives assassination attempt'
7. Race row hits South African school
8. Nigeria has 'highest' number of children out of school
9. Mining giant to co-operate with UK corruption inquiry

Scroll down for Tuesday's stories

That's all from BBC Africa Live today. Keep up-to-date with what's happening across the continent by listening to the Africa Today podcast or check the BBC News website.

A reminder of today's wise words:

You will not know how important your buttock is until you develop a boil on it.

An Iteso proverb sent by Godfrey Omoyo in Angorom, Uganda

Click here and scroll to the bottom to send us your African proverbs.

And we leave you with this picture of the sun setting in Angola's capital city, Luanda:

Foetus found in bin in South Africa

Pumza Fihlani

BBC News

Emergency workers in South Africa say a foetus has been found in a skip bin in a business area of the capital, Pretoria.

Netcare 911 says its paramedics were called to the scene by some people working in the area. They found “the female foetus” wrapped in a number of plastic bags.

"We suspect that the foetus was not full term. She had no chance of life," local media quoted Netcare 911 spokesman Nick Dollman as saying.

"Upon assessment, paramedics found that the female foetus was still attached to her placenta. Tragically, there was nothing that paramedics could do to help the lifeless victim," he added.

The foetus was handed over to the police who are expected to carry out an investigation.

Previous cases involving the dumping of newborn babies in garbage bins have led to charges of murder or manslaughter, referred to as culpable homicide in South Africa.

The dumping of a foetus is a trickier case and there are not enough details at this point to know what will happen next.

Ethiopian officials 'arrested for corruption'

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Officials from the road authorities are among the accused

The Ethiopian authorities have arrested 34 senior officials, businesspeople and "middlemen" on suspicion of corruption, government-affiliated Fana Broadcasting Corporate reports.

It adds that the suspects came from the ministry of finance, the Ethiopian Sugar Corporation and the road authorities, among others.

Turkish news agency Anadolu adds that investors and brokers were among those arrested for alleged embezzlement of public funds.

It quotes Negeri Lencho, Ethiopia's communication minister, as saying more arrests could be made in the next few days.

Deadly attacks in Burkina Faso

Suspected militant Islamists have killed five people in three attacks in northern Burkina Faso, local officials and security sources have said, AFP news agency reports.

Gunmen carried out the attacks in Soum province, which is along Burkina's northern border with Mali, a local official told AFP.

Nigerian poet: We need to choose books over money

Prolific Nigerian poet Niyi Osundare says Nigerians are too busy "chasing money" and should spend time reading instead.

He made the comments when he came into the BBC Focus on Africa studio earlier today.

He also suggested that Nigerian politicians do not read enough:

When last our senators read any book? When last did the president read any book? When last did the governor read any book?"

He gave a stark warning:

Money without knowledge is dangerous. Ignorance kills a country. It is almost killing our continent and we have to do something about this."

Watch the full interview on Facebook:

'Pregnant migrants' die at sea

BBC World Service

A Spanish rescue group, Proactiva Open Arms, says it has found 11 bodies on board a dinghy carrying more than 160 people. Pregnant women are said to have been among the dead.

The vessel was found drifting off the coast of Libya - the embarkation point for many migrants trying to reach Europe.

More than 2,000 people have died this year trying to make the crossing through the central Mediterranean.

Read: Portraits of a migrant

AFP

Two children with albinism killed in Mozambique

Jose Tembe

BBC Africa, Maputo

Getty Images

People with albinism face enormous prejudice in parts of Africa

Two children with albinism were killed in separate attacks in Mozambique at the weekend, police have said.

Unidentified men used a hoe to beat a six-year-old boy to death in central Mozambique's Mulumbo district, said police commander Miguel Caetano.

He added that the child's brother-in-law, who is currently on the run, is wanted in connection with the killing.

In a second incident, a 13-year-old girl was brutally killed with "blunt instruments" in the Manhewe area in northern Mozambique.

A police spokesperson said the "unidentified criminals killed the child, threatened to kill the child's father, attacked his wife and abducted a three-year-old brother of the dead girl".

Police have not yet found the boy.

People with albinism are hunted down in parts of Africa because of the belief that potions made from their body parts can bring good luck and wealth.

Anti-apartheid activist 'would not have killed himself'

Milton Nkosi

BBC Africa, Johannesburg

A close friend of South African anti-apartheid activist Ahmed Timol has disputed the former regime's claim that he took his life by jumping from the 10th floor of the police headquarters in 1971.

“I would have no doubt in my mind that he would never have discussed the matter of suicide, having known Timol for as long as I did," said Essop Pahad.

He was testifying at the re-opened inquest into the death of Mr Timol, a school teacher whose death in detention, at the age of 30, caused global outrage.

AFP

The former regime alleged that Mr Timol jumped from the 10th floor of this building

This is the first time since the racist system of apartheid ended in 1994 that an inquest into the death of an activist has re-opened.

Mr Timol's relatives put intense pressure on the democratic state to re-open the inquest after the Truth and Reconciliation Commission - formed after apartheid ended - failed to investigate his death.

The family is pushing for the findings of the original inquest to be overturned, saying it was a cover-up.

It ruled that the police officers who had interrogated Mr Timol - who was a member of the outlawed South African Communist Party (SACP) - were not responsible for his death, and he had taken his own life.

His family strongly disputes this. It wants the new inquest to rule that Mr Timol was brutally tortured, and was flung out of the window by the police.

Mr Timol was based in the UK before he returned to South Africa in 1970.

Mr Pahad - a former senior member of the SACP and the governing African National Congress (ANC) - told the inquest that had shared a flat with Mr Timol in London.

Judge Billy Mothle asked him whether before 1971 he had heard of any SACP member taking his own life.

“No, I’m not aware of anybody,” replied Mr Pahad, who served in South Africa's government after the end of minority rule.

A policeman, who was the last person to see Mr Timol, has been subpoenaed to testify at the inquest.

On Monday, apartheid-era policeman Paul Erasmus told the inquest that detainees were tortured.

“I witnessed the first ever torture on the 10th floor; a man’s testicles were being crushed,” he said, the City Press newspaper reported.

The former regime had alleged that the SACP instructed its members to kill themselves, rather than disclose details of their activities to the police.

AFP

Mr Timol's nephew, Imtiaz Cajee, holds a portrait of his uncle

Zambian arrested for 'insulting president on Facebook'

Kennedy Gondwe

BBC World Service, Lusaka

Reuters

Mr Lungu has been president since 2015

Police in Zambia have arrested a student for allegedly insulting President Edgar Lungu and some of his government officials on Facebook.

Edward Makayi, a 35-year-old who is studying engineering at a privately-owned university, is accused of creating a Facebook account under fake names and defaming Mr Lungu, according to police spokesperson Esther Mwata Katongo.

She added that he is also accused of defaming some government ministers, members of the governing party, Mr Lungu’s press aide and the head of the Zambian police.

The defendant is in custody. He is scheduled to appear in court on Thursday.

He and his lawyers have not yet commented on the allegation.

Macron brings Libyan rivals together

BBC World Service

EPA

The Republican Guard took position before the meeting west of Paris

The French President Emmanuel Macron is hosting face-to-face talks between two rival Libyan leaders in the latest bid to try to bring stability to the country.

Fayez al-Sarraj, the head of the UN-backed government, and Khalifa Haftar, who leads the so-called Libyan National Army in eastern Libya, are yet to reach a compromise on sharing power.

French officials are hoping they will agree to a ceasefire and to hold elections as soon as possible.

The huge problems posed by the refugee flow through Libya and across the Mediterranean has made bringing peace in the country an urgent priority for Europe.

SA authorities reject protest against black school principal

Pumza Fihlani

BBC News

Earlier we reported that parents at a school in South Africa blocked the entrance in protest to a black principal being appointed, insisting that they have a "coloured" (mixed race) principal.

The school has reopened after yesterday’s protests and it is operating normally again.

The Department of Education spoke to protesters and said the majority were community members who caught wind of the appointment rather than parents.

Oupa Bodipe, the department of education spokesperson, said that the calls for the black principals to be removed are based on community members wanting to see someone who looks like them working in these institutions.

But Mr Bodipe said that, although Klipspruit is a historically "coloured" area, the majority of the school is comprised of black African students and it’s very much a racially mixed school.

He said that the department has explained that the appointment of the principal was lawful, and that there are no grounds to reverse it.

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A similar incident happened at Johannesburg’s Roodepoort Primary School in 2016

Malian activist 'survives assassination attempt'

A prominent Malian activist has been shot and wounded in the capital, Bamako, in a suspected assassination attempt, his family has told the AFP news agency.

A gunman opened fire on Madou Kante, popularly known as Marshall Madou, as he was driving in Bamako at around 1 am local time on Tuesday, AFP reported.

"The bullets hit him mostly in the chest. He is in hospital," an unnamed family member was quoted as saying.

Mr Kantou has become a cult figure in Mali because of his strong criticism of politicians and religious leader in videos posted on You Tube, AFP reports.

He also took part in recent protests against a planned referendum on constitutional reform, seen by many Malians as an attempt by President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita to consolidate his power.

Buhari: I am making good progress

afp

First lady Aisha Buhari, pictured with her husband in 2015, has warned rivals not to plot against him

Nigeria's ailing President Muhammadu Buhari has written to his Guinean counterpart Alpha Conde to thank him for the nationwide prayers he had organised for his recovery, his spokesman Femi Adesina has said

Mr Buhari, 74, has been in the UK for almost 80 days, receiving treatment for an unspecified illness.

In his letter, Mr Buhari assured Mr Conde - the current chairman of the African Union - that he was making "good progress", and would return to Nigeria to resume his presidential duties as soon as his doctors gave him the go-ahead, Mr Adesina said.

In an earlier letter, Mr Buhari had also accepted his nomination as leader of the "2018 AU Theme on the Fight Against Corruption", Mr Adesina added.

"I wish to express my readiness to accept this new important role and to reiterate my commitment to contribute towards our collective efforts to strengthen good governance and development on the continent," Mr Buhari said in the letter.

He was nominated for the role at the summit of AU leaders in Ethiopia on 4 July.

Mr Buhari's long absence has caused some anxiety in Nigeria, and has led to speculation that his rivals were plotting to succeed him.

Stravinsky: The composer who defied apartheid

When celebrated Russian-born composer Igor Stravinsky visited South Africa in 1962, he defied racist laws to conduct a concert to a black audience.

One of the audience members, now in his nineties, remembers that night and how it changed the course of his life.

Stravinsky in South Africa: The composer who defied apartheid

You can hear The Documentary: Stravinsky in South Africa on BBC World Service radio on Tuesday 25 July, in which a rediscovered recording of the concert will be broadcast for the first time.

Video journalist: Chris Parkinson

Vaginal ring preventing HIV will be tested in Africa

BBC World Service

Getty Images

Researchers in the United States say a trial in which American teenagers used a vaginal ring to prevent HIV infection has proved successful.

A further such study will now be run with teenagers in Africa.

The girls used a flexible plastic ring, embedded with anti-retroviral drugs, which was changed every month over a six-month period.

It's part of a drive to develop a device which women can use to protect themselves from HIV infection, so they don't have to rely on men to wear condoms.

Reporting the development at a conference about HIV science in Paris, the researchers said they were encouraged that the girls used the ring and said they liked it.

Women and girls aged 15-24 account for a fifth of all new HIV infections globally.

Nearly 1,000 are infected every day in sub-Saharan Africa.

Read more on the BBC News website.

Nigerians demand lower presidential age limit

Protesters are marching on the streets of Nigeria's capital, Abuja, to urge MPs to vote to reduce the age limit to run for president from 40 to 35.

BBC

BBC

BBC

Nigeria's National Assembly is expected to debate a bill to lower the age requirement for running for public office today.

The hashtag #NotTooYoungToRun", following the march, is trending on Twitter in Nigeria:

Knife attack at Morocco-Spain border

A knife-wielding man shouting "Allahu Akbar" (God is greatest) has attacked and wounded a policeman on the border between Morocco and the Spanish enclave of Melilla, Spanish officials say.

"A man entered the border post and once inside, pulled out a large knife and confronted [police] shouting Allahu Akbar', slightly injuring a policeman," Irene Flores, a spokeswoman for the central government's office in Melilla, told AFP news agency.

The man, believed to be Moroccan, has been arrested, Reuters news agency reports.

South African protest against black school principal

Parents at a school in South Africa barred children from entering class on the first day of term yesterday in protest against the appointment of a black principal, reports IOL News.

"We want a coloured principal because this is a coloured area,” school Governing Body member Henry Charles is quoted as saying.

In South Africa, people of mixed race are referred to as coloured. They are the biggest race group after black people and white people.

The protesters at Klipspruit Secondary School near the main city Johannesburg, locked the school gates, IOL adds.

The newspaper says the parents complained that "there is a lack of representation of coloured people in school leadership positions".

News 24 adds that education department officials said the protest was racist and contrary to the county's "non-racial principles".

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AFP

The racist system of apartheid ended in South Africa in 1994

South African schoolgirls 'barred from wearing braids'

A Facebook post from a South African alleging that her niece has been kicked out of school for wearing braids has been widely shared:

Siyabonga Ngwenya says her niece, at a schol in the economic heartland of Gauteng, was told "no girl will come back with that hair".

Ms Ngwenya said she was "at a loss" that "black girls' hair is still being policed in schools".

The school has not yet commented.

South African news site W24 reminds us that a similar row about girls' hair broke out last year.

Last year, black female students at the Pretoria Girls High said they were often told to straighten their hair.

Read: Mini-skirts and morals in Uganda

Car bomb 'kills seven civilians' in Egypt's North Sinai

Seven civilians have been killed by a car bomb that exploded at a security checkpoint in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula on Monday, Egypt's army spokesman have told Reuters news agency.

The military told Reuters that they had stopped the vehicle at a checkpoint and tried to contain an expected blast by running over the car with a tank.

However, the bomb exploded after the tank had driven away and seven civilians were caught in the blast, including two children.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Four gunmen were inside the vehicle, the army said.

An insurgency in Egypt's Sinai region has gained pace since the army toppled President Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood in mid-2013.