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Image source, Sierra Leone's Ministry of Information and Civic Education/X

Sierra Leonean authorities have freed 352 prisoners, including popular rapper Alhaji Amadu Bah, popularly known as Boss LAJ, who was serving a nine-year sentence for robbery.

The move follows a new year's pardon on Monday by President Julius Maada Bio, the country's information ministry said.

Just over a month ago, more than 20 people were killed and around 2,000 prisoners escaped in an alleged coup attempt.

Boss LAJ, who was one of the escapees, later handed himself back to prison authorities in the capital, Freetown.

"Today, the president has released our brother King Boss La and 351 other inmates across the country," Information Minister Chernor Bah told the AFP news agency.

The minister said the rapper "demonstrated good civic citizenship" when he voluntarily returned back to prison.

Some of the inmates released, including 11 women, were serving time for "minor crimes", prison authorities said.

Boss LAJ gained prominence with song lyrics criticising President Bio's government.

More than 80 people, mainly military officers, were arrested over the alleged attempted coup.

Image source, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed/X

A memorandum of understanding granting Ethiopia access to one of the sea ports of the self-declared republic of Somaliland has drawn criticism in Somalia.

Prominent Somali political figures opposed to the deal signed on Monday say it threatens the stability of the Horn of Africa region and are urging Somalia's government to intervene.

“The agreement signed by Ethiopia with Somaliland today [Monday] is a serious concern for Somalia and the whole of Africa. Respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity is the anchor for regional stability and bilateral cooperation,” Somalia’s former President Abdullahi Mohamed Farmaajo shared on X.

“The Somali government must respond appropriately,” he added.

Somalia’s former Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Abdi Aynte has called on Somalia to “act proportionally and swiftly”, terming the deal "an extremely provocative step" by Ethiopia that "has inevitably thrown the entire Horn of Africa region into a political crisis of epic proportions".

Somaliland seceded from Somalia in 1991 but is not recognised internationally as an independent state, including by the UN and African Union.

Somalia, which considers Somaliland a part of its territory, is expected to give a response after an emergency cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

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Image source, AFP

Chad's transitional leader General Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno has appointed long-time opposition figure Succès Masra as the country's new prime minister.

Mr Masra, who was previously a critic of the military-led government, returned from exile in November last year and backed the recent constitutional referendum spearheaded by Gen Itno.

Mr Masra will serve through the transition to civilian rule, Mahamat Ahmad Alhabo, Chad’s new secretary-general of the presidency, said on Monday.

He had left the country along with other opposition leaders after demonstrations held last year to protest military rule were violently repressed.

Mr Masra, president of the Transformers party, signed a reconciliation agreement with Chad's military government in October last year and pledged to "continue dialogue... with a view to a peaceful political solution".

Several of Chad's other opposition politicians, many of whom remain in exile, denounced the deal, which allegedly included an amnesty for those responsible for killing demonstrators last year.

Our African proverb of the day:

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Social media has been flooded with talk and questions about the Democratic Republic of Congo. So, for those of you wondering what’s going on in the country... What’s the history behind the conflict? And why has it led to calls to boycott tech companies? This is the episode for you.

The Democratic Republic of Congo has been home to war and conflict for decades. This year there’s been an increase in violence in the east, with more than 100 armed groups fighting over territory and natural resources.

Anne Soy, the �鶹������ҳ��� senior Africa correspondent, kicks off the episode by dipping into the history of the long-running conflict. Anneke Van Woudenburg - from RAID, a human rights NGO - also fills us in on the country’s controversial mining industry. And De-Graft is joined by Junior Masandi - he was born in the DRC, but moved to the UK when he was ten-years-old.

Presenter: De-Graft Mensah Producer: Kamilah Mclnnis Researcher: Paige Neal-Holder Sound: Kamilah McInnis and Dave O’Neill Senior News Editor: Sam Bonham

Eric Ngalle is now a poet and academic in the Welsh capital of Cardiff, but it's his experiences as a people-trafficked teenager that inspire much of his work. When he was 17, he found himself broke and alone in Moscow, freezing cold and unable to speak a word of Russian. To survive, he relied on charity, girlfriends, and a brief stripping career. None of this was enough to buy him a ticket home to Cameroon, so he got involved in a high-risk scam, which targeted some very dangerous people.

If you’ve been affected by anything you heard in this interview, support is available through the �鶹������ҳ��� Action Line website or via Befrienders Worldwide.

Presenter: Asya Fouks Producer: Harry Graham

Get in touch: WhatsApp +44 330 678 2707

As Prince Charles prepares to meet Commonwealth heads, should he be blamed for his private comments?

The Prince of Wales will visit Jordan and Egypt on first royal tour since the start of the pandemic.

Episode three explores how Barack Obama set out to end George Bush's wars in the Middle East and reset relations with the rest of the world. In Cairo he speaks to the Arab world, calling democracy a human right. Two years later when protest erupts in Tahrir Square, the president is torn between secretary of state Hillary Clinton and defense secretary Robert Gates, who believe Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak provides regional stability, and his young advisors, who are in tune with the promise of the Arab Spring. Before long, a similar test arises in Libya, Hillary Clinton changes her position to back military intervention and Obama agrees to join allies in airstrikes against Colonel Gaddafi. In Syria, when shocking evidence shows the use of chemical weapons, Obama decides to bomb. But when the British Parliament votes against intervention, he decides he needs the backing of a reluctant Congress. Foreign secretary William Hague explains why the British parliament voted against intervention in 2013 and President Obama explains why he then decided to seek the backing of Congress.

This episode also explores how Obama scored a big win when he negotiated a secret deal to end the nuclear threat from Iran - behind the backs of his closest allies. Secretary of state John Kerry tells how he worked through the night, with President Obama on the phone, to secure the outlines of the deal.

It is possible that only one per cent of the wonders of ancient Egypt have been discovered, but now, thanks to a pioneering approach to archaeology, that is about to change.

Dr Sarah Parcak uses satellites to probe beneath the sands, where she has found cities, temples and pyramids. Now, with Dallas Campbell and Liz Bonnin, she heads to Egypt to discover if these magnificent buildings are really there.

First transmitted in 1958, Sir Mortimer Wheeler explores the stone ruins of Great Zimbabwe National Monument, a mysterious site once thought to be the source of King Solomon's gold.

Sir Mortimer joins Roger Summers, Chairman of the Southern Rhodesia Historical Monuments Commission, on an excavation of the site to find out more about the largest ruins in southern Africa.