BBC Sport

Image source, AFP

The Egypt Football Association (EFA) president Hany Abo Rida says that fasting ahead of the World Cup affected the Pharaoh's campaign in Russia.

The squad chose to fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan that ended the day before Egypt's opening game.

Egypt lost all of its group games to Uruguay, hosts Russia and Saudi Arabia.

"It affected us badly, I talked with them before the World Cup but they refused (to break their fasting)," Abo Rida said.

"We ended Ramadan one day before Uruguay but the fasting affected them."

"I can assure, many Arabian countries made their players break their fasting," Abo Rida added.

Read the full BBC story here

Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

Image source, Family

An inquest in Kenya has found that police were liable for the murder of a British aristocrat who died in the coastal resort of Diani in 2012.

The inquest magistrate in Mombasa concluded that four officers should be charged with the murder of Alexander Monson, 28, who died in police custody after being arrested for allegedly smoking cannabis.

A magistrate said the police officers had contradicted each other during the inquest and, according to pathologists, Monson had died as a result of an injury to the head caused by a blunt object.

A fire has destroyed many shops near the main mosque in Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa, a privately owned news site has tweeted:

With their vibrant colours, energetic music and passion, Senegalese fans have brought the party to the World Cup in Russia.

Image source, AFP

Senegal will "have the whole continent behind them" when they look to become the only team from Africa to reach the World Cup knockout stage in Russia, says defender Kalidou Koulibaly.

Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria and Tunisia have all fallen at the group stage.

Senegal will set up a last-16 date with either England or Belgium if they avoid defeat to Colombia. The match starts at 14:00 GMT.

"It's up to us to make them proud, to fly the flag for Senegal and Africa at this World Cup," said Koulibaly, 27.

Read the full BBC story here

Image source, AFP

A US court has sentenced a Libyan militant to 22 years in jail for his role in an attack that killed an American ambassador.

Prosecutors argued that Ahmed Abu Khattala was the ringleader of the assault on a compound in Benghazi in 2012.

But the jury wasn't convinced he was personally directly responsible for the deaths, and it convicted him on lesser charges.

The killing of Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other people became the focus of a politically charged investigation into the then-Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, who was accused of failing to protect US diplomats.

At least 15 people have been killed in a fire in a market in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.

A local radio station has tweeted a photo of the scene:

Other reports say more than 50 people were injured in the blaze, which broke out in the middle of the night destroying many properties.

Gikomba is one of the largest open-air markets in the city and fires there are frequent, leading to speculation about possible arson attacks, The Standard newspaper says.

However, the cause of the current fire is not known.

Read the full BBC story here

Thomas Naadi
BBC Africa, Accra

Image source, AFP

Ghana will ban the importation of all tilapia fish to prevent the outbreak of a virus which posed a huge risk to the global tilapia industry, the Ministry of Fisheries has said.

The Tilapia Lake Virus (TilV) had no cure, and had been found in tilapia farms across Africa, Asia and South America, it added.

The ministry said the six-month ban - which comes into effect on Sunday - would affect both live and dead tilapia fish.

Ghana’s fish stock has been depleting because of illegal over-fishing.

There are a few tilapia farms in Ghana, but the farming is done on a small scale.

Tilapia is a popular dish in Ghana, and is often served with a fermented corn and cassava dough called banku.

Our proverb of the day:

Click here to send us your African proverbs

Welcome to BBC Africa Live, where we will bring you the latest news and views from around the continent.

BBC Africa Live
Dickens Olewe

That's all from BBC Africa Live today. Keep up-to-date with what's happening across the continent by listening to the Africa Today podcast or check the BBC News website.

A reminder of Wednesday's wise words:

And we leave you with a photo of a neighbourhood in South Africa's coastal city of Cape Town:

Image source, AFP

Supporters of popular Moroccan activist Nasser Zefzafi have reacted angrily to his 20-year prison sentence for threatening state security

He was arrested in May last year after organising months of protests against unemployment and corruption.

A court in Casablanca convicted him and several others protesters on Tuesday.

The Moroccan Association of Human Rights described the conviction as a “mockery of justice”, the AFP news agency reports.

Zefzafi’s father, Ahmed, told the Reuters news agency he had seen his son following the verdict.

“His morale is high. He told me he is ready to make sacrifices for this country and saluted all those who expressed solidarity with him," he said.

The mass protests were triggered in October 2016 by the death in the town of al-Hoceima of fishmonger Mouhcine Fikri, who was crushed to death by a rubbish truck as he tried to rescue his stock that had been confiscated by the police.

Footage of Mr Fikri's death was widely shared on social media, triggering the rise of Zefzafi's Popular Mobilisation movement - which champions the demands of people from the northern Rif area.

The fishmonger’s death drew parallels to that of a Tunisian fruit seller in 2010, which helped spark the Arab Spring uprisings.

Image source, AFP

Ashagre Hailu
BBC Amharic editor

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has said the country will start extracting crude oil from the eastern region on Thursday, local media has reported.

Mr Abiy said exploration, which has been going on for a long time in the Ethiopia's Somali region, has produced positive results.

Chinese company Poly-GCL has been undertaking the project.

The company will start producing 450 barrels of crude oil per day, but this is expected to increase.

Mr Abiy said work to construct a pipeline that would move the oil to Djibouti port will start soon.

Jessica Nwankwo
BBC Igbo, Lagos

Nigerian actor and comedian Benjamin Nwachukwu, known to his fans as Shuga Shaa, has drawn a mixed reaction in the commercial capital, Lagos, for saying he has a relationship with a sex doll named Tonto Shaa.

The pampered doll sports a wig, polished finger nails and wears jewellery and expensive perfumes - and now has her own car.

Shuga Shaa has been spotted going to the cinema and driving around with her on some occasions.

Some fans expressed disappointment and disgust, even describing him as a "mad man" and a "psychopath".

Others put it all down to humour and played along with him.

Shuga Shaa has hit out at critics, saying, "Tonto was produced by a human like you and I. There is no spirit in her."

He told BBC Igbo that his mother is aware of his relationship with Tonto Shaa and doesn't mind at all.

He said he planned to marry the doll.

"Tonto Shaa is a lady and should be treated as such," Shuga Shaa said.

"She gives me peace of mind, zero drama, there is no chance of suffering a heartbreak from her."

Read more stories on the BBC Igbo website

Namibia's Livey van Wyk, Kenya's Nice Leng'ete and Bolivia's Brisa de Angulo have been named BBC Outlook Inspirations 2018 winners at an award ceremony in London.

At the age of eight, Leng'ete was destined to undergo female genital mutilation so she launched a campaign to end FGM.

Listen to her story: I Took on My Village Elders to End FGM.

Van Wyk was initially shunned by her community for being HIV positive but she was elected mayor. Listen to her story: From Outcast to the Youngest Mayor of Namibia.

De Angulo was raped by one of her extended family members, and she went on to set up a charity which provides services to young rape survivors. Listen to her story: My School for Sexual Abuse Survivors.

Image source, THE BALLITO PRO

Organisers of a junior surf competition in South Africa have been accused of sexism after discrepancies in the prize money awarded to the male and female winners.

Rio Waida and Zoe Steyn claimed first place in the boys' and girls' 2018 Billabong Junior Series Ballito Pro event on Sunday.

A photograph of the pair posing with their winners' cheques has drawn waves of criticism online, as Rio is shown to have won double Zoe's prize.

The photograph, which was posted to the competition's Facebook page, has been shared widely - and sparked discussion about gender equality.

Read the full story on the BBC website

Image source, Getty Images

Rwanda unveiled its first locally built car at Volkswagen’s new factory in the capital, Kigali, on Wednesday.

The Polo is the first model being made at the site and the German automaker plans to reach annual production of 5,000 cars in the first phase, by also building its Passat, Tiguan, Amarok and Teramont models.

Volkswagen, which is Europe’s biggest car maker, has made a $20m (£15m) investment in Rwanda, and is expected to create up to 1,000 jobs.

The company plans to both sell vehicles and use them in an Uber-like car-sharing system that will allow people to book rides using their smartphones.

Car ownership is low in Rwanda. There are just over 200,000 private cars registered in a county of 12 million people, according to the country’s tax collection body.

The German company is expanding in Sub-Saharan Africa, and opened a plant in Kenya in 2016.

Guinean footballer Naby Keita will become the first player to wear Liverpool's number eight shirt since the club's legend Steven Gerrard left the English Premier League club in 2014.

The 23-year-old midfielder was presented with the shirt by the former Reds captain.

The $63m (£48m) deal to take him from RB Leipzig to Liverpool was initially agreed last August.

He will finalise the transfer on Sunday. Liverpool say Keita has signed a "long-term contract".

"It was an incredible day for me. He [Gerrard] gave me the number eight jersey. When it happened, it was a surprise and I didn't expect it," Keita told the club website., external

Liverpool tweeted a picture of him:

Supporters of opposition politician Moise Katumbi have been protesting outside the law courts building in the Democratic Republic of Congo's capital, Kinshasa, against the start of his trial.

As we reported earlier Mr Katumbi and six others, including an American national, face charges of attempting to destabilise the country.

The BBC's Poly Muzalia in the capital reports that his supporters accuse the government of targeting him in an attempt to weaken the opposition.

One of the banners said: "We want a peaceful Congo. We say no to using the justice system to condemn the opposition. We say no to anarchy and we want the constitution to be respected. Moise Katumbi is innocent".

Mr Katumbi, who is in self-imposed exile, told the BBC on Tuesday that he plans to return to DR Congo to contest the presidential election in December.

Our reporter snapped these photos:

DJ Rita Ray
Africa: A Journey into Music

Image source, Rita Ray

Kanyi Mavi, one of South Africa's sharpest new hip-hop artists, speaks beautiful English but she raps strictly in her mother tongue Xhosa.

A social commentator with a keen eye, her lyrical flow allows her to deliver astute observations - like on her track Ngqangqa about the lavish lifestyles of the drug barons and the resulting impact on inner city youth.

Xhosa, one of South Africa’s 11 official languages, is typified by the distinctive click sound - made famous by the late Miriam Makeba in her interpretation of Click Song, external, which is traditionally sung at Xhosa weddings.

Mavi says English is just not as expressive as Xhosa:

The singer spoke to me for my documentary series Africa: A Journey into Music, which explores the musical traditions of African countries and their influence on popular music.

Find out more about her and other South African musicians in the second programme, available on the iPlayer in the UK.