Africa at a glance

1. Liberia protest coalition issues demands

A protest coalition in Liberia has issued a string of demands with a four week deadline to Liberian President George Weah.

The demands included improvements in areas such as human rights and corruption.

They also want Finance Minister Samuel Tweah and Central Bank Governor Nathaniel Patray prosecuted for mismanaging Central Bank of Liberia leading to price hikes.

The coalition also called for Weah, 52, and all of his officials to declare their assets and the government to stop financing the office of the First Lady.

2. Sudan civil disobedience paralyses cities

A civil disobedience campaign in Sudan has paralysed public transport and shutdown cities like Omdurman, al-Obeid and Port Sudan. However, several shops and fuel stations opened and buses ran Monday in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum where heavy security deployment left four dead on Sunday. The campaign is trying to force the country’s military leaders to transfer power to a civilian authority.

3. Gabon's Ali Bongo calls for new cabinet in comeback speech

Gabonese President Ali Bongo delivered his first speech since returning to the West African country following a long absence after a stroke he suffered in October.

In the recorded speech televised on Saturday - more than two months after his return to the country following a five-month recovery in Morocco - Bongo asked prime minister to form a new government.

Last month Bongo, 60, sacked his vice president and forestry minister last month over a scandal involving the smuggling of precious timber.

4. Rwanda reopens part of border with Uganda

Rwandan authorities have temporarily reopened the Gatuna border crossing with Uganda to allow heavy goods vehicles to cross.

A diplomatic feud between the two countries saw cross-border movements halted for the last three months disrupting business and daily life for families in both countries.

In February Rwanda attributed the closure to "quick renovation works" even as the two countries traded accusations of hosting of dissidents, espionage and mistreatment of citizens.

5. Ghana 'beats South Africa as top gold producer'

Ghana has leapfrogged over South Africa to become the continent's top gold producer.

According to Bloomberg news agency high production costs and troubled labour relations have stymied the industry in South Africa.

Ghana with lower costs produced 4.8 million ounces of gold in 2018, a 12 per cent jump, against South Africa's 4.2 million ounces, according to data from the two countries industry trackers.

6. The last of the 'Gorillas in the Mist' is presumed dead

The last of the "Gorillas in the Mist" -- made famous by renowned American primatologist Dian Fossey -- is believed to have died.

A gorilla known as Poppy, who would have turned 43 on April 1, has not been seen by trackers since August last year, according to Fossey's namesake non-profit organisation.

Poppy was born nine years after Fossey established a camp within Rwanda's Volcanoes National Park in 1967 as part of an effort to study the area's vanishing mountain gorilla population.