Protesters have been demonstrating in two cities in Sudan over a suspected plan by the government to lift subsidies on fuel and bread.

Videos posted on Twitter show crowds on the streets of northern Atbara city and the city of Port Sudan, where President Omar al-Bashir was visiting.

Reports say the mobile network in Atbara has been severely downgraded making it difficult to use phones.

Sudan's Prime Minister Motazz Moussa told a press conference on Wednesday that the subsidies would not be entirely lifted.

The Reuters news agency quotes him as saying:

The government subsidises fuel by up to 90%, the minister said.

Here's a sample of some of the videos from the protests shared on Twitter:

In one video the crowd chant "the army is with us" at soldiers in a military vehicle:

According to journalists on the ground, a curfew has now been declared in Atbara and the electricity grid has been shut down.

Sudan has been grappling with a shrinking economy since South Sudan seceded in 2011 taking much of the oil wealth.

Prisoners in Kenya are to help plant nearly 50 million trees as part of a campaign to tackle deforestation.

Environment Minister Keriako Tobiko said inmates at 27 prisons would be first be preparing seedlings.

The Greening Kenya Campaign is a joint effort by the Ministry of Environment, the Prisons Service and the National Youth Service.

Forest covers about 7% of the East Africa nation - less than the UN's recommended standard of 10%.

Kenya has been planting millions of trees in recent years in an effort to reverse the effects of decades of deforestation and climate change.

Much of this has been influenced by Kenyan Nobel Prize winner Wangari Maathai, who died in 2011.

Through her Green Belt Movement, external, which she founded in 1977, millions of trees have been planted in Africa.

A report published by a government task force earlier this year blamed some of the loss of the country's forest cover on corruption, according to the Reuters news agency.

• You may be interested in: Death of a visionary

Poly Muzalia
BBC Africa, Kinshasa

Image source, AFP

The spokesman of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s electoral commission, Jean-Pierre Kalamba, has told the BBC that he cannot rule out a postponement of elections scheduled for Sunday.

He said that if the electoral material was not ready it would be better to delay the vote for a few days rather than rush the process.

Last week, a fire gutted one of the main electoral commission warehouses, destroying more than two-thirds of the voting machines allocated for the capital, Kinshasa.

The country is around the size of western Europe – and delivering material to the 75,000 polling stations is already a challenge.

See our earlier post: Rallies banned in Kinshasa

Mansur Abubakar
BBC Pidgin, Kano

The Islamic police force in Nigeria’s northern city of Kano has told the BBC it is going to charge two women with planning an illegal wedding.

The Hisbah said the planned gathering by the suspected lesbian couple was considered immoral.

The women are in custody and were arrested on Monday along with 10 of their guests and the owner of the venue.

The ceremony was to take place in the Sabon Gari suburb, an area set aside for non-Muslim residents of the bustling commercial centre.

Sharia, or Islamic law, was introduced in Kano in 2000 and only applies to Muslims living in Kano.

The Hisbah say they are charging the couple and guests under the state’s Sharia immoral act law.

Under federal law, homosexual acts are punishable by up to 14 years in jail, while gay marriage and displays of same-sex affection are also banned.

• You may also be interested in: Secret drinking dens in Kano

Jose Tembe
BBC Africa, Maputo

Image source, AFP

The Mozambican Federation of Contractors has expressed concern that the government awards most of its building contracts to Chinese companies.

It chairperson, Manuel Pereira, said the government also failed to pay on time for those contracts awarded to local building firms.

Some had been waiting a decade for payment, he added.

He said that if the problems continued, 90% of local building companies – about 700 businesses – could close next year.

The state is the main supplier of construction work in Mozambique.

Mr Pereira said:

BBC Afaan Oromo

A bomb explosion in the west of Ethiopia has killed at least 10 people travelling in a minibus.

The bomb was detonated in the village of Toga close to the border between the regional states of Oromia and Benishangul Gumuz.

Benishangul Gumuz's police commissioner has blamed the attack on rebels of the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) - a group which recently signed a peace agreement with the Ethiopian government.

In recent months dozens of people in that area have been killed in clashes over long-running land disputes.

In September, four officials were shot dead as they returned from a peace conference aimed at ending the conflict.

The OLF has denied involvement in other recent attacks in the area.

Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

Army and police reinforcements have been sent to a remote area in the west of the Democratic Republic of Congo where at least 45 people have been killed.

The violence in Yumbi between the Banunu and Batende ethnic groups took place over the weekend and was triggered by a dispute over where to bury a traditional chief.

There has been tension between the two communities for some years.

This outbreak of violence is not thought to be linked to Sunday's presidential election.

Amira Fathalla
BBC Monitoring

Image source, Getty Images

Key militias in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, have announced that they are uniting to form a joint force.

The new grouping, dubbed the Tripoli Protection Force, will bring together some of the city’s most influential militias which are aligned with the UN-backed government, including:

• The Tripoli Revolutionaries
• Nawasi Battalion
• The Abu Salim Joint Deterrence and Intervention Force
• The Bab Tajoura armed group.

This is according to a document signed by the groups and released on Tuesday.

The merger comes as the government continues its efforts to implement new security arrangements in the city after deadly militia clashes killed at least 120 people in August and September.

A Bloomberg journalist in Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, has tweeted a picture showing opposition supporters gathered ahead of a planned rally by presidential candidate Martin Fayulu.

The city's governor, who is a member of the ruling party, has banned rallies in the city ahead on Sunday's election citing security reasons - see our earlier story.

Image source, AFP

Polls are closing across Madagascar in a run-off election between two former presidents - Marc Ravalomanana and Andry Rajoelina.

Both men were barred from standing for election five years ago as part of an agreement to end a political crisis in the Indian Ocean island nation.

They received a similar number of votes in the first round and analysts warn that a disputed outcome in what is expected to be a close contest could lead to instability.

Image source, Reuters

Mr Ravalomanana was elected in 2002 but was ousted seven years later after protests led by Mr Rajoelina, who then became president himself.

As they voted both men said they were confident of victory.

Mr Rajoelina, 44, said he would accept the results of the election:

His opponent Mr Ravalomanana, 69, called for change:

Ghana imports some 30,000 tonnes of electronic waste, also known as e-waste, mostly from Europe and America.

For years, some Ghanaians have been burning old electronics in the open air to extract precious materials like copper to sell as scrap.

E-waste burning has become so widespread in parts of the country that recent studies have suggested that breast milk could be contaminated by the pollution.

Sala Muntala is a drink seller at the Agbogbloshie e-waste dump in the outskirts of Accra, she says working at the site makes her worry for the safety of her unborn child.

Video journalist: Sulley Lansah

A 10-year-old girl has died after undergoing female genital mutilation (FGM) in Sierra Leone, the Reuters news agency reports.

The girl was cut during an initiation at a secret women's society in northern Sierra Leone, it says.

A woman in charge of initiations was arrested and investigations continue, police told the agency.

The case has sparked renewed calls for the practice to be banned in the West African country.

An activist told Reuters that 67 other girls were reported to have been circumcised during the initiation and were awaiting medical examination.

FGM typically involves the partial or total removal of the female genitalia and can cause serious health problems.

Nine in 10 women have been circumcised in Sierra Leone, according to UN data.

Sierra Leone is one of only a handful of African countries which has not outlawed FGM.

Watch: The village that eradicated FGM

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

Image source, Reuters

A candidate supported by Somalia's UN-backed government has been elected the president of the South West regional state amid a controversial campaign.

Former Energy Minister Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed, known as "Lafta Garen", was elected by the regional MPs in the regional capital, Baidoa.

He defeated four candidates - although the favourite to win, former al-Shabab spokesman Mukhtar Robow, was disqualified from running last week.

In a live broadcast by the Somali National Television, an official said Mr Mohamed had won with 101 votes out of a total of 147.

Mr Robow, who defected from the jihadist group last year, was arrested on 13 December as the authorities considered him a security threat.

He remains in detention in the capital, Mogadishu.

The arrest triggered deadly street protests in Baidoa, which hosts an African Union force base.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Cuf party

Tanzania's six main political parties have agreed to work together to fight rising "authoritarianism" in the country.

After a two-day meeting on the island of Zanzibar, leaders and top officials of the parties issued a joint statement criticising President John Magufuli for overseeing what they said was a repressive government that branded critics as "unpatriotic traitors".

Mr Magufuli, nicknamed "The Bulldozer", came to power in 2015 and was initially praised for his anti-corruption stance, but critics have since accused him of growing intolerance.

His government has banned some media organisations for what it deems as their anti-government coverage and harassed opposition leaders and activists.

The opposition statement, issued on Tuesday, said:

It also highlighted the banning of parliament proceedings coverage and the curbing of opposition activities:

The opposition leaders said two of their colleagues, one in jail and another in hospital after an assassination attempt, supported their statement.

Next year would be a time to reclaim "our democracy and taking back our powers and rights as enshrined in the constitution", the statement added.

To do this the leaders said they planned to hold public rallies across Tanzania and said the government should take them to court if it thought their activities were unlawful.

Milton Nkosi
BBC Africa, Johannesburg

Image source, AFP

A little more than a year ago, Grace Mugabe was a powerful first lady who was preparing to succeed her husband as president of Zimbabwe.

Her political ambitions were thwarted by her rival Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Now, she is a wanted person - over an alleged assault of a model in Johannesburg in 2017.

South Africa's decision to issue an arrest warrant for her is not surprising.

Law enforcement agencies in South Africa have regained their confidence to investigate high-profile figures since scandal-hit President Jacob Zuma was forced to resign in February.

But do not expect Mrs Mugabe to be in the dock anytime soon.

She is bound to be careful about her travel plans, and any attempt to extradite her will be a long and complicated process.

Read the BBC News story for more

Louise Dewast
Kinshasa, DR Congo

Image source, EPA

All campaign rallies have been banned in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, for security reasons ahead of Sunday's presidential election.

The city's governor, Andre Kimbuta - who is a member of the party in power - said he had received information that what he called "extremists" from the camps of all the presidential candidates were planning a confrontation in the streets.

One of the opposition candidates, Martin Fayulu, has already hit out at the move.

His team say authorities are trying to stop him from campaigning.

With President Joseph Kabila due to step down, this election is the first time the country is changing its leadership via a vote since independence - previous transitions of power have all been violent.

Mr Kabila's favoured successor is Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary, his former interior minister.

His strongest rivals are Mr Fayulu and Felix Tshisekedi.

• You may also like: Why football stars have Congo on their minds

Image source, AFP

Jessica Nwankwo
BBC Igbo, Lagos

Image source, Olanrewaju Ashimi

A huge fire caused by a suspected vandalised fuel pipeline has swept through a heavily populated area of Nigeria’s Lagos state, destroying buildings and vehicles.

Shops were also gutted in the blaze:

Image source, Olanrewaju Ashimi

Eyewitnesses in Abule-Egba told the BBC the fire began in the early hours of the morning.

It is suspected that fuel was leaking from a pipeline that had been damaged by vandals. Bunkering – the stealing of oil products – is fairly common in Nigeria.

So far there have been no report of casualties.

At the moment the Lagos State Fire Service is battling to prevent it from spreading to a nearby petrol station.

Omega Rakotomalala
BBC Monitoring

Some voters in south-eastern Madagascar are staying away from polling stations to farm after a rare shower of rain, state-owned TV is reporting.

A reporter for Television Nationale Malagasy (TVM) said after a visit to polling stations in drought-prone Ampanihy:

“We observed that citizens are somewhat reluctant to vote. The reason is simple. Ahead of the election, there were some rainfall in the district of West Ampanihy and voters are taking advantage of that to take the animals to graze and till the land.”

Voters are choosing between two former presidents - Marc Ravalomanana and Andry Rajoelina - in Wednesday's run-off vote.

See earlier entry from the BBC's Raissa Ioussouf

Image source, Getty Images

A court in Egypt has ordered the release of the women's rights activist Amal Fathy, who has been detained since she criticised the authorities for failing to tackle sexual harassment.

Ms Fathy was charged with "spreading fake news" in May after posting a video in which she recounted her experiences.

She was given a two-year suspended prison sentence in September, but she was not freed because of another case.

On Tuesday, a judge said Ms Fathy should be freed on bail pending trial.

Amnesty International called on the authorities to comply immediately.

Image source, Reuters

South Africa's police spokesman has confirmed that an arrest warrant has been issued for Zimbabwe's former first lady Grace Mugabe for alleged assault, Reuters news agency reports.

Mr Naidoo said the police was seeking Interpol's help to enforce the warrant, Reuters reports.

The moves comes after a court annulled Mrs Mugabe's diplomatic immunity in July.

South Africa's government caused outrage for letting Mrs Mugabe leave the country after the alleged assault of a model in a hotel room where her two sons lived in Johannesburg.

It is unclear whether South Africa will push for Mrs Mugabe's extradition.

The alleged assault took place about three months before Robert Mugabe was ousted from power.

The former president's family owns properties in South Africa.

Read earlier entry