in the programme today:

- More than 90-000 people are expected to attend the official memorial service of former President Nelson Mandela

- The South African government puts strict security measures in place, ahead of the arrival of international visitors and royalty for President Nelson Mandela's funeral

- France deploys 1600 troops to the Central African Republic after the U.N. Security Council's authorisation to use force to help African peacekeepers struggling to restore order.

In the programme today:

- More than 200 French troops arrive in the Central African Republic
- The United Nations to fly surveillance drones over eastern DRC for intelligence-gathering purposes
- Health disparities between rich and poor nations could be banished in a generation Global health experts

In the programme today:

- Scores of insurgents killed by Air strikes on Boko Haram camps in north-east Nigeria

- Yemen admits being in violation of the International Mine Ban Treaty

- UNICEF says mother-to-child transmission of HIV has been dramatically reduced over the last seven years

In the programme today:
- Clashes erupt in Benghazi between the Libyan army and Islamists wounding several people
- Supreme Court of Appeals to rule in Zimbabwe torture case
- The United Nations Refugee agency reiterates its support for the voluntary repatriation of Somali refugees

In the programme today:

- Mozambique's National Election Commission is to withhold election results from Nampula in the north of the country.

- Nigerian legislators have approved a six-month extension for the state of emergency that is governing the country's northeastern states.

- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has persuaded the Palestinian peace negotiations team to return to the job.

In the show today:

- Mozambicans cast their ballots in local elections today, amid concerns that an upsurge in political violence will marr the voting

- Plans are at an advanced stage for the roll-out of a cervical cancer vaccine in South Africa to thousands of school girls next year

- The United Nations has called on the international community to help break taboos around toilets

In today's programme:

- Gambia cuts diplomatic ties with Taiwan with immediate effect
- UN Security Council expected to make a decision on the AU's request for the trial of Kenyan President
- Nigeria's Anambra state goes to the polls this weekend to elect a new governor

In the programme today:
- A humanitarian flash appeal in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines is only 13 percent funded.
- Hundreds of people are feared dead after a rare tropical cyclone hit northern Somalia
- U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says the conflict in Syria is having a serious impact on neighboring Lebanon

Top stories today:

- No clarity from UN Security Council regarding ICC trial of Kenya's President
- President Jacob Zuma denounces the decision by Mozambique's opposition leader not to have peace talks with the country's President
- UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki Moon praises Burkina Faso's efforts to achieve the anti-poverty goals

Top Stories today:

- UN troops will help reinforce the DRC's borders to stop rebels and arms crossing into Rwanda after the defeat of M23
- International Criminal Court Chief Prosecutor claims she has evidence of individuals who tried to bribe witnesses in the Uhuru Kenyatta case
- At least eight Syrian security personnel have been killed in a car bomb attack on a military intelligence headquarters in the south