Africa 54 - October 7, 2021 You are watching Africa 54, your daily news and feature magazine-style program, from the Voice of America. Host Esther Githui-Ewart and a team of correspondents zero in on the big stories making news on the continent and around the world with context and analysis. Top News: In Burkina Faso, at least 400 people have been awaiting trial on terrorism charges for years, including several minors under the age of 16. The Takuba task force is an elite group of European soldiers tasked with turning the tide in decade-long insurgency that has killed thousands in the Sahel region. But there are challenges. The humanitarian agencies operating in Somalia and Somali officials say they deeply regret the arrests and forced displacement of thousands of people who have been expelled from the town of Las Anod by authorities in the self-declared republic of Somaliland. The forced displacement has been taking place since Saturday as police in Somaliland citing security concerns rounded up the people from their businesses, homes and streets, officials and witnesses said. Female circumcision, known as female genital mutilation (FGM), is illegal in Kenya but is still being forced on young girls in some areas. Cases increased after schools closed due to the pandemic, but one survivor is fighting the practice in an ethnic Somali community. The pandemic is changing how many of us access health care. In the United States and elsewhere, studies show that virtual medical appointments are effective, help patients manage their care and keep people out of hospitals. Victims of sexual abuse by priests in France are calling for historic reform of the Catholic church after an independent commission found that hundreds of thousands of children had suffered systematic abuse over the past seven decades. Democratic Republic of Congo and Republic of Congo are campaigning to protect Congolese rumba - a music steeped in historic anti-colonial significance