Death toll rises in Burkina Faso restaurant attack

Following a military coup a month ago, Burkina Faso's junta has approved a charter allowing a military-led transition. Under the plan, the West African nation is to hold elections in three years.

Forced marriage is illegal in Burkina Faso, but remains common and often involves girls under 18. A shelter in the city of Kaya offers an escape for girls keen to continue their education

Burkina Faso's former president Blaise Compaore was sentenced in absentia to life imprisonment for complicity in the 1987 murder of his predecessor Thomas Sankara in a coup, a military tribunal ruled on Wednesday, April 6.

More than 34 years after Thomas Sankara's assassination, a trial to establish the facts has taken place. For some, justice that has been delayed for deceades is finally being served.

Hope is all but lost that eight miners trapped in a flooded mine in Burkina Faso for a month may have survived. Also, suspects are arrested in Mali after authorities say they foiled a coup attempt earlier this month. And advocates calling for tax reform on the continent say that lawmakers should be on the sharp end of pushing for changes that will tackle an unequal system.

Ougadougou Rescue workers have found no survivors in a rescue chamber deep inside a flooded zinc mine in Burkina Faso, the government and the mine owner said on Tuesday, all but extinguishing hope that eight missing miners could still be alive after a month.

The victims were attacked while trying to escape a blockade set up by extremists, survivors said. The area of eastern Burkina Faso has seen a recent surge in attacks.

A violent insurgency has been ravaging Burkina Faso for almost seven years. The government of Burkina Faso revealed on Tuesday that soldiers had recovered the bodies of 79 victims killed in an attack in the northern province of Seno over the weekend.

Multiple violent attacks during the weekend attributed to Islamist militants have claimed over 30 lives in the West African country.

Blaise Compaoré had been in exile since 2014 when he was ousted from power by a military coup. He's set to attend a summit on Burkina Faso's future with a number of other former leaders. And also in this programme: legal experts in Tunisia assess the impact the new constitution would have if it is given the greenlight at polls later this month. Finally, Tanzania celebrates its linguistic heritage.

Northern Benin is at the center of a security crisis which has moved south from the Sahel. Poverty and climate change have provided fertile ground for criminals and extremists.

The explosion hit a convoy carrying supplies in the north of the country, an area where Islamist militants have escalated attacks in recent years.