Image source, AFP

Amnesty International has condemned Israel's plans to deport tens of thousands of African migrants who entered the country illegally as "a cruel and misguided abandonment of responsibility".

Today is the deadline for Israel's government to provide more information on the plan.

It follows a supreme court ruling earlier this month suspending the controversial plan, meaning the government cannot deport African migrants until the court receives additional information.

Israeli authorities say there are currently more than 40,000 African migrants in Israel, describing them as "infiltrators".

In January, the migrants - mostly from Eritrea and Sudan - were offered $3,500 (£2,510) and a plane ticket to leave Israel voluntarily by the end of March.

Otherwise, they faced detention and subsequent expulsion.

The UN refugee agency criticised the plan, external, and mass protests have been organised against the policy in recent weeks.

In a statement today, Amnesty International spokesman Philip Luther said:

Dickens Olewe
BBC Africa

Kenyan journalists have gathered at the country's main airport in the capital, Nairobi, to cover the expected return of opposition supporter Miguna Miguna, who was deported on 6 February.

A reporter for KTN TV station says that it is unclear when Mr Miguna would be arriving:

Kenya's government had stripped Mr Miguna of his citizenship and deported him to Canada, where he is also a citizen, after he was arrested for taking part in the swearing-in of opposition leader Raila Odinga as

A Kenya court subsequently ordered the government to return Mr Miguna's travel document and facilitate his return but they haven't done so, as he told me, last week., external

The BBC's Ferdinand Omondi who is at the Jomo Kenyatta international airport has sent us these pictures of some of Mr Miguna supporters:

A South African news site is reporting that the controversial Gupta brothers have been ordered before Indian revenue authorities today.

It reports that the summons is in relation to money-laundering allegations in the north of India where they own properties.

eNCA's India correspondent, Rebecca Bundhun, reports that the brothers have asked tax authorities to extend the deadline.

"We've been trying to reach the authorities. We haven’t been able to get comment whether they’ll be given another extension. [It] remains to be seen," Bundhun says.

She says that one of the brothers, Ajay, was spotted in India last month around the time South Africa's President Jacob Zuma’s resigned.

The Gupta's are alleged to have had undue influence over Mr Zuma's presidency, a claim that both parties deny.

They controversial brothers are wanted in South Africa in relation to several alleged corruption scandals.

• Read: South Africa and the fable of the missing Guptas

Ahmed Mohamed Abdi
BBC Monitoring

Sudan has announced that Qatar will finance the redevelopment of its Red Sea port of Suakin to the tune of $4bn (£2.8bn), state-owned Sudanese News Agency (SUNA) reports.

The two countries are expected to officially sign the agreement today.

Sudan’s strategic location has drawn regional powers with competing interests to its vast agricultural lands and Red Sea ports.

"The transport minister, Makkawi [Mohammed al-Awad], said two docks have been rehabilitated to receive fifth generation ships with a capacity of 100,000 tonnes. He pointed out that the project will be implemented in three stages, beginning with $500m and ending with $4bn," SUNA reports.

"The project will be completed by 2020", the website of Dubai-based Sudanese TV, Ashrooq, quoted the minister as saying.

Reports say that Sudan will receive 51% of the project's shares and Qatar will get the remainder.

Sudan has reportedly leased Suakin to Turkey. However, Ankara has denied that it plans to build a naval base on the island.

Egypt and Saudi Arabia fear that Turkey is planning to establish a military base on the island in a bid to control shipping lanes in the Red Sea.

The Nation newspaper reports, external that a number of police officers in Kenya have lied about their academic qualifications in order to access higher paid roles.

Citing an audit by the National Police Service Commission, the news site says some officers used forged documents.

The Nation also lists examples of dubious degrees officers say they obtained, such as "Divinity Studies" from "universities located in low end residential Nairobi estates".

It also says some officers who presented degree certificates had in fact scored grade D in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education examination, despite Kenya universities demanding a minimum grade of C+ grade at admission.

Image source, EPA

Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi has cast his ballot at a polling station in the capital, Cairo.

The polls will be open for three days.

• See our earlier post: Egyptian voters to elect new president

Kenya's opposition leader Raila Odinga, the self-declared "peoples president", made another public appearance with his long-time political nemesis turned "brother and friend", President Uhuru Kenyatta.

The two leaders who have decided to work together to "reconcile the nation" after a bitter and often violent political campaign period attended a golf tournament together on Sunday.

Mr Odinga, an ardent football fan, tweeted that he would have preferred to watch local soccer giants Gor Mahia than golf.

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

Security forces in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa have re-arrested two prominent journalists and an opposition figure who were recently released from jail, sources have told the BBC.

In total 12 people were arrested.

Journalist Eskinder Nega, former opposition figure Andualem Arage and journalist Temesgen Desalegn are the most prominent of the group.

Eskinder was pardoned last month after spending six years in jail on terror charges.

Also detained is Zone 9 blogger Befekadu Hailu and Zelalem Worku, who have been detained before.

Ethiopia's government imposed a state of emergency last month, the second one since 2016, after Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn unexpectedly resigned after five years in power.

The country has experienced months of anti-government protests in the Oromia and Amhara regions which the government has used force to quell.

• Read: Why has Ethiopia imposed a state of emergency?

Umaru Fofana
BBC Africa, Freetown

Image source, Getty Images

The courts in Sierra Leone are due to decide shortly whether Tuesday's presidential run-off can go ahead.

This after a governing party member took legal action in a bid to get a forensic audit of the first-round results.

On Saturday a judge temporarily halted the run-off election until the High Court and the Supreme Court concludes the case.

For now Sierra Leoneans are unsure if the election will be postponed or they will still be heading to the polling stations on Tuesday to choose between the opposition candidate Julius Maada Bio and Samura Kamara of the governing All Peoples Congress.

Jose Tembe
BBC Africa, Maputo

Twenty-three people have been killed in the Mozambican capital Maputo, after a car crashed into a crowd attending a carnival.

Officials say the driver, who they believe was drunk, lost control of the vehicle as he attempted to speed through a traffic police checkpoint.

More than 30 people were injured. One eyewitness said the car hit a road barrier at high speed, overturned, and then ploughed into people gathered by the roadside.

Police say the driver and a passenger are among the dead.

President Filipe Nyusi expressed his condolences to the bereaved families.

BBC World Service

Egyptians are voting in presidential elections which the incumbent, Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, is widely expected to win by a landslide.

Mr Sisi has only one challenger - Moussa Mustafa Moussa - a relatively unknown party leader who supported the president until his last-minute declaration.

Several candidates have dropped out of the three-day race, saying they were intimidated, while another challenger was arrested for running illegally.

News agencies have been filing photos from inside and outside polling stations in the capital Cairo:

Image source, AFP

Image source, AFP

Image source, AFP

• Read more on the BBC News site

Image source, Getty Images

The spokesperson for Tanzanian President John Magufuli says the government has nothing to say in response to strong criticism of Mr Magufuli's leadership by the country's bishops.

A tweet (in Kiswahili) said that the only thing they will say is to wish all Christians a Happy Easter:

The church leaders had warned that Tanzania's unity and peace are under threat.

A statement from the influential Conference of Lutheran Bishops criticised the government - condemning recent kidnappings, attacks on political leaders and the use of violence to break up opposition protests.

The government has closed down critical media outlets in recent months. The bishops warned that freedom of expression was under threat.

In December, the government said it would take action against religious organisations that interfered in politics.

Mr Magufuli took office in 2015 with a tough anti-corruption stance, but his detractors say his authoritarian leadership style amounts to a clampdown on opposition and freedom of expression.

Image source, Getty Images

Virgil Abloh, the founder of streetwear brand Off-White and Kanye West's creative director, has been named the new menswear designer for French fashion label Louis Vuitton.

"I feel elated," the 37-year-old told The New York Times, external, saying the opportunity was "always a goal in my wildest dreams".

The news site says Abloh is one of the few black designers at the helm of a major French fashion house.

Others include Olivier Rousteing - the creative director at Balmain, and British designer Ozwald Boateng who led Givenchy men’s wear from 2003 to 2007.

Abloh will present his first menswear collection for Louis Vuitton in June at Paris Fashion Week.

Louis Vuitton chief executive Michael Burke praised the designer's "sensibility towards luxury and savoir-faire" adding he would be "instrumental in taking Louis Vuitton’s menswear into the future".

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