Africa Live this week: 1-7 May 2023

For the latest updates, go to bbc.com/africalive

The Coronation of King Charles in the UK capital was a sumptuous affair - and among the guests were African royalty and leaders as well as other well-known figures from the continent.

Various royal couples from around the world paraded into London's Westminster Abbey on Saturday, but Ghana’s King of the Ashanti Otumfuo Osei Tutu II and his wife Lady Julia Osei Tutu were among the most arresting:

King Mswati III of Eswatini - Africa’s last absolute monarch - was accompanied by one of his wives Queen LaMbikiza:

They had to contend with the British weather - and umbrellas were out for them as they approached the abbey:

Lesotho’s King Lestie III and Queen Masenate was also pictured walking towards the gathering of more than 2,000 guests.

They walked up the aisle to their seats with other royal families:

Commonwealth leaders showed up in force - having met King Charles the day before.

Gabon’s President Ali Bongo Ondimba (R), and his wife Sylvia Bongo Ondimba, progressed in slowly to their seats as the 64-year-old leader now walks with a stick having suffered a stroke several years ago:

Gabon joined the Commonwealth last year, one of the few nations with no historic ties to the UK to be part of the 54-member club. Below the Gabonese leader can be spotted seated with other Commonwealth leaders, including those from Malawi and Nigeria.

In the seating for other world leaders, Senegal’s President Macky Sall was in attendance with his Foreign Minister Aïssata Tall Sall, in emerald green, by his side.

South African opera star Pretty Yende wowed the guests with her voice and outfit when she sang Sacred Fire, a new piece written by composer Sarah Class for the occasion:

Later she could be seen looking down at King Charles and his attendants as they made their way down the aisle at the start of the ceremony:

Another eye-catching design was worn by Eva Omaghom, a British-Nigerian who is a cultural anthropologist and works as director of community engagement for King Charles and Queen Camilla:

Dame Elizabeth Anionwu (L), a pioneering British sickle cell nurse whose father was from Nigeria, wore a stylish Nigerian "gele" headscarf as she carried in the Sovereign's Orb into the abbey:

Uganda-born Dr John Sentamu, the former Archbishop of York, also took part in proceedings - and was one of the Anglican Church clerics to walk up the aisle:

Style guru Edward Enninful, the Ghanaian-born editor of British Vogue and a global ambassador for the Prince's Trust, enjoyed a selfie before the pageantry began:

And the event was also watched by people at various special sites set up in Africa, like at the British high commissioner's residence in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi:

That's all from the BBC Africa Live team - we'll be back on Monday morning Nairobi time at bbc.com/africalive.

In the meantime, there will be an automated news feed plus you can get the latest news from the continent at BBCAfrica.com and on the BBC's Africa Today podcast.

Here's a reminder of Friday's wise words:

Quote Message: A good name is better than silver and gold." from A Yoruba proverb sent by Abdussemiu Aliu Lambe in Sokoto, Nigeria

A good name is better than silver and gold."

Click here to send us your African proverbs.

We leave you with a photo of a guard getting ready to lock up Egypt's 3,200-year-old Abu Simbel temple - it is one of our top picks of the week:

Courtesy of the artistCopyright: Courtesy of the artist

Blanche Bailly is also known as Queen Mimba - it comes from the title of her first hit Mimbayeur:

Quote Message: A 'mimbayeur' is something like a proud person, 'mimba' is slang for proud, but for me when I say Queen Mimba it’s more like the queen of confidence."

A 'mimbayeur' is something like a proud person, 'mimba' is slang for proud, but for me when I say Queen Mimba it’s more like the queen of confidence."

She may be one of Cameroon’s most successful female artists of the moment, with a strong-girl image and a much-admired curvy figure, but it has not always been like this. Blanche Bailly moved from Cameroon to France as a child and had a very tough time at school:

Quote Message: I was facing racism and body challenges. I remember anorexia was at its peak, and I remember we could count the amount of black people in that school. I was the only girl with the biggest ass as long as I went to school.

I was facing racism and body challenges. I remember anorexia was at its peak, and I remember we could count the amount of black people in that school. I was the only girl with the biggest ass as long as I went to school.

Quote Message: You know, like, you’re very young and you have this very grown physique - and you’re in the midst of people that probably do not understand the physique. So there was already some kind of body-shaming going on for me."

You know, like, you’re very young and you have this very grown physique - and you’re in the midst of people that probably do not understand the physique. So there was already some kind of body-shaming going on for me."

Blanche Bailly also experienced what she calls language-shaming, people calling her a "villager" because she did not speak the right kind of French:

Quote Message: I was a very shy person, I didn’t like myself, so it took me a lot of time to grow into my person before I started my career. So when I started my career I think I was ready mentally that I was going to be body-shamed or criticised for so many things, so it really didn’t bother me."

I was a very shy person, I didn’t like myself, so it took me a lot of time to grow into my person before I started my career. So when I started my career I think I was ready mentally that I was going to be body-shamed or criticised for so many things, so it really didn’t bother me."

Blanche Bailly moved from France to England, where she recorded her first two songs, but it was when she decided to relocate to Cameroon that things really took off.

She reconnected with her culture and languages and began to write songs that really resonated with the public - like Ton Pied Mon Pied. It is about finding at last a lover who appreciates her not despite her flaws but because of them:

Quote Message: It’s just a song to tell people that you don’t have to be perfect to find someone. Because nobody is perfect.

It’s just a song to tell people that you don’t have to be perfect to find someone. Because nobody is perfect.

Quote Message: If you don’t like something about yourself and you cannot change it, you have to accept it. Because the love you have for yourself is even going to motivate and inspire people to love you. How you cherish and carry yourself is the way people are going to receive you, and value you."

If you don’t like something about yourself and you cannot change it, you have to accept it. Because the love you have for yourself is even going to motivate and inspire people to love you. How you cherish and carry yourself is the way people are going to receive you, and value you."

You can hear Blanche Bailly on This is Africa this Saturday, on BBC World Service radio - available online - and partner stations across Africa.

The authorities in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo say the number of people known to have died in severe flooding and mudslides has risen to 176.

The governor of South Kivu province said more people were still missing, feared buried under the mud.

At least two villages by Lake Kivu - Bushushu and Nyamukubi - were submerged when rivers in eastern DR Congo burst their banks.

There were also severe mudslides that destroyed homes made of wooden planks with corrugated iron roofs.

Rescue teams say there are piles of bodies in muddy clothing. Local media is reporting that in one of the villages, more than three-quarters of all homes had been swept away along with health centres and schools.

Across the other side of Lake Kivu in neighbouring Rwanda, at least 130 people have died as a result of floods and mudslides.

AFPCopyright: AFP

Kenya's president has appointed a commission of inquiry into the deaths of more than 100 people who were members of a cult.

They are thought to have starved themselves to death on the advice of the head of the Good News International Church, Paul Nthenge Mackenzie.

He is expected to face terrorism charges but has not yet entered a plea.

Earlier this the cult leader was arrested in connection with the deaths of two children but was released on bail.

A government official said the commission of inquiry will examine whether administrative or intelligence lapses contributed to the deaths.

The president has also appointed a task force to review regulations governing religious organisations.

More on this topic:

• My wife and six children followed Pastor Mackenzie'
• What did the starvation cult leader preach?

ReutersCopyright: Reuters

Somali authorities say sustained military operations against the al-Shabab terror group have succeeded in reducing militant attacks across the country by 70%.

Efforts to ensure the stability of the capital, Mogadishu, have also been successful - allowing members of the public to peacefully observe the holy month of Ramadan, the Somali cabinet said on Thursday during its weekly meeting that was chaired by Prime Minister Hamsa Abdi Barre.

The cabinet said the army had seized back at least 80 villages and towns since it launched the campaign in south-central Somalia last year.

Government forces, supported by clan militias, have been conducting an offensive against al-Shabab since August 2022.

Before the operation, the militants stepped up attacks, specifically in Mogadishu and army bases, killing dozens of government officials, civilians as well as members of the armed forces.

Content moderators from countries across Africa are staging a sit-in protest at Facebook's main moderation hub for East Africa in Kenya's capital, Nairobi.

The group of 184 moderators is involved in a redundancy case against Facebook's parent company Meta, and Sama and Majorel, companies sub-contracted by Meta.

They are backed by legal campaign group Foxglove.

The protest is at Sama offices over what they say is the firm's violation of a court order, which includes withholding some salaries and demanding that some moderators leave the country before they receive their dues.

A court order has been issued to protect the moderators' status as legal migrants while the case is determined.

Meta, Sama and Majorel have yet to comment on the latest allegations.

Police have given the green light for the protest to proceed.

Employment and Labour Relations Court principal judge Byrum Ongaya is set to hear the case, including new contempt charges, on 11 May.

The court has blocked the sacking of all Sama moderators and the hiring of new moderators by Majorel Kenya on behalf of Meta.

Some of the moderators claim they have been exposed to graphic content such as child abuse, suicide bombings and sexual abuse as they screen posts to protect users.

In March, Sama laid off 260 moderators as it focused on work annotating videos to help train artificial intelligence computer vision systems.

More on this topic:

• Facebook work filtering posts 'cost me my humanity'
• Son sues Meta over father's killing in Ethiopia

At least 70 bodies have been recovered following severe flooding in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

There are reports that homes have been flattened by flood water and mud slides in two villages - Bushushu and Nyamukubi - in South Kivu province.

The governor there described it as a catastrophe.

In Ituri province, flooding has also destroyed more than 1,000 shelters that had been built for people displaced by war.

In neighbouring Rwanda, at least 130 people have died in floods and landslides in the north and west.

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

Police in Egypt have arrested a blogger on charges of child exploitation after she claimed on social media that her son and daughter were involved in "indecent sexual acts" with each other.

Local media reported that the mother is suspected of making the claim to draw more viewers to her blogs.

In a statement, the public prosecutor’s office said it had ordered her arrest pending investigations over allegations that she had "defamed" her children and exposed them to danger.

The video had triggered a backlash from social media users who'd demanded the blogger’s arrest.