Our correspondents take you to the Central African Republic, where a territorial gain by government forces means a vital lifeline for the country with neighbouring Cameroon could soon reopen. We also take you inside the lab that discovered the South African variant of the SARS-CoV2 coronavirus. We end in DR Congo, where a local cheese has become a national staple.

A rebel insurgency interrupted the first round of voting, but officials are confident stepped-up security measures will prevent further violence.

The medical charity Doctors Without Borders says it witnessed Ethiopian soldiers executing at least four men in the country's Tigray region. The troops reportedly killed the men after forcing them off civilian buses.

The Central African Republic's dry season is coming to an end and recent heavy rains over the capital Bangui led to power and water shortages for 10 days. But for hundreds of thousands of the city's residents, this was nothing new. The company that supplies running water to Bangui was created in 1970, when it served some 100,000 people. The city's population has since grown to 1.5 million people, very few of whom have daily access to running water. Our correspondent Clément Di Roma reports.

Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors without Borders) has lost a battle to keep up operations in Cameroon's northwest. Communities in the English-speaking region have been caught in devastating fighting between security forces and Anglophone separatists for four years. The violence has killed more than 3,000 people and forced one million from their homes. Despite the crisis, Cameroon’s government suspended MSF's work in the region at the end of last year and talks to reverse the decision have hit an impasse.

The UK national is accused of spying for the Russians since November 2020 in return for undisclosed amounts of cash. It follows a joint German and British police investigation.

In this edition, hundreds of Gabonese peacekeepers are being withdrawn from CAR following the latest sex abuse allegations. Gabon says that the most recent accusation is exceptionally serious. Also, dozens of civic groups in Uganda have been suspended. Many human rights workers say it is part of a pattern of repression. And, South Africa’s largest rhino breeder is pushing to sell horns he trims legally off his animals to keep poachers at bay.

The accused — Mahamat Said Abdel Kani — faces a slew of charges, including persecution, enforced disappearance and other inhumane acts. The alleged militia leader rose to prominence amid a coup in Bangui in 2013.

Maxime Jeoffroy Eli Mokom Gawaka is suspected of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Mokom is alleged to have committed the crimes in 2013 and 2014 in his role as an anti-Balaka militia leader.

The inaugural trial of a court established to prosecute war crimes in Central African Republic's drawn-out conflict was postponed on its first day on Tuesday when lawyers for defendants boycotted proceedings

Doctor’s Without Borders said one of its staff members was shot dead by a government soldier, and has called on the country’s armed forces to explain.

Mahamat Nouradine Adam is suspected of war crimes and crimes against humanity and is still leading a rebellion.