US Treasury Secretary Yellen visits Senegal as Washington eyes Russian influence in Africa, Ivory Coast increases its minimum wage and a Rwandan journalist who was critical of the government is killed in a road crash.

Is it a turning point? After weeks of warning of a counter-offensive in the south, Ukraine has caught the Kremlin off guard with the reclaiming of vast swathes of the north, pushing the front away from the country's second city of Kharkiv. We ask what just happened, if there's more to come or if Kyiv is going to struggle to consolidate its gains.

Officials in Kyiv have said a "significant portion" of the Russian army is starting a long-anticipated offensive in eastern Ukraine. Russia said it carried out dozens of airstrikes overnight.

Uganda has deployed soldiers into the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo, as part of a joint operation with the Congolese military. The troop movement followed bombardments against posts held by the Islamist ADF.

The Taliban continues to take over districts across Afghanistan as the US and its NATO allies continue a military pullout. The UN has warned that provincial capital cities could soon fall into the hands of militants.