A new economic agreement between eSwatini and Taiwan has just taken effect and will see the southern Africa nation exporting certain goods - including honey and avocados - to Taiwan duty free.

It was signed last June.

China blocks official ties with eSwaitini because of its relationship with Taiwan.

China does not allow countries to have official ties with both itself and Taiwan as it regards the island as a breakaway province.

ESwatini - formerly known as Swaziland - is the only African country that maintains diplomatic relations with Taiwan.

But it is sticking with Taiwan - and their ties are strong.

eSwatini's King Mswati III is Africa's last absolute monarch and has made 17 trips to Taiwan, including in June 2018 when he accepted an honorary degree in management at the same university from which his son graduated.

Read more on the BBC News website.

Image source, AFP

Image source, Getty Images

Violent fighting between Chadian rebels and rebels of Sudanese origin have been reported in Kouri Bougoudi, in the far north of Chad.

The Sudanese rebel movement JEM arrived in the region with a dozen vehicles from southern Libya where they clashed with the Chadian rebel group, according to news agency AFP.

An Chad army officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the news agency that the Chadian army was supporting the Sudanese rebels in the fighting. He said they were trying to cut off the Chadian rebels from their supply lines.

A spokesman for the minister of communication has denied the army was working with the Sudanese rebels.

Oumar Yaya Hissein said:

Image source, Al Ahly Media

Egyptian giants Al Ahly have announced the departure of their Mali international defender Salif Coulibaly after only six months at the club.

Coulibaly joined Al Ahly last July on a free transfer after his contract with DR Congo's TP Mazembe ended.

The 30-year-old, who played 22 matches for Al Ahly, scoring three goals, is joining Al-Shorta Sports Club of Iraq.

Read more on the BBC News website.

Ibrahim Aydid
BBC Monitoring

Image source, Getty Images

The Somali Lower House voted today to amend the constitution to allow foreign nationals to govern the Central Bank.

In the past, only a Somali national was allowed to be appointed as chief of the Central Bank.

Some 158 parliamentarians voted in favour of the change.

It has been widely speculated in Somali media that this paves the way for a British man named Nigel Roberts to become the first foreigner to head Somali Central Bank.

Some 17 lawmakers opposed the change and critics described the move as "treason".

The change needs to be approved by the president.

African migrants' journey through the Sahara desert to Europe comes at a terrible risk.

It's a journey fraught with danger and some estimate it costs more lives than crossing the Mediterranean Sea.

The BBC's Mike Thomson travelled to Northern Niger to see the traffickers' new routes:

Read more: African migration 'a trickle' thanks to trafficking ban across the Sahara

Kenyan singer and actress Nyambura Mwangi, aka Avril is the latest celebrity to speak out about the perils of so-called fake news.

She told the BBC how someone invented a fake news story about her having a daughter.

Watch her interview:

Image source, AFP

Senegal's Constitutional Court has blocked two prominent opposition figures from contesting presidential elections next month, reports AFP news agency.

They barred former Dakar mayor Khalifa Sall and ex-minister Karim Wade because of convictions for misuse of funds.

AFP adds that the court authorised five candidates, including outgoing head of state Macky Sall.

The four other candidates in the 24 February vote will be a rising opposition MP, Ousmane Sonko; former prime minister Idrissa Seck; Madicke Niang, an associate of former president Abdoulaye Wade; and El Hadji Sall, of the Unity and Assembly Party (PUR).

President Sall, who is not related to the two other men bearing that name, was elected in 2012.

Ferdinand Omondi
BBC Africa, Nairobi

Image source, Getty Images

A Kenyan court has ruled that there is enough evidence to charge three suspects in connection with the deadly attack on the Westgate shopping mall in the capital, Nairobi, in 2013 in which 67 people died.

Ahmed Abdi, Liban Omar and Hussein Mustafa are set to be charged with conspiracy to commit a terrorist attack.

Police believe the suspects sheltered the mall attackers in Eastleigh, a mainly Somali district of Nairobi. None of them are accused of carrying out the attack itself.

Magistrate Francis Andayi freed a fourth suspect, Adan Dheq, for lack of evidence.

The magistrate said he would give reasons for his ruling, which has taken more than four years to conclude, at a later date.

Al Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack that lasted four days, and claimed it was retribution for Kenya’s military presence in Somalia.

The mall partially reopened in 2015 and has since remained heavily guarded.

Descendants of African-Americans who developed a musical genre with roots in West Africa, have brought it home three centuries later.

The first lady of Sierra Leone,Fatima Maada Bio, invited the the Geechee Gullah Ring Shouters to perform in her country.

The so-called ring shout was developed on the plantations of the US and the term was coined by slave owners.

The lyrics were developed in the US - songs like Swing Low Sweet Chariot and Roll Jordan Roll.

But the beat - which consists of a polymorphic rhythm clapped out - derives from West Africa.

The leader of the Geechee Gullah Ring Shouters, Griffin Lotson, told Newsday that they performed in Sierra Leone this week:

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has said at a rally that ongoing protests will not lead to a change in government, reports AFP news agency.

"There's only one road to power and that is through the ballot box. The Sudanese people will decide in 2020 who will govern them," President Bashir is quoted as saying at the rally in Niyala, the capital of South Darfur state.

Deadly protests have shaken Sudan since December when people demonstrated against a government decision to raise the price of bread.

The authorities have cracked down on protesters, including firing teargas into a hospital - Dr Sara Abdel Galil told the BBC's Newsday programme:

A Rastafarian girl who was turned away from her new school in Nairobi because of her hair, has spoken of her disappointment to Kenyan media outlets.

Makeda Ndinda told the Standard newspaper that she was forced to choose between her "hair or books" by the deputy principal at Olympic High School after he noticed her hair, wrapped in a hair wrap.

Miss Ndinka was told that only Muslims were allowed to cover their hair at the school, according to the newspaper.

There are no standard constitutional laws regulating dress codes in schools in Kenya.

A Nairobi-based human rights organisation, Katiba Institute, has tweeted that it would like to assist Miss Ndinka:

Chris Ewokor
BBC Africa, Abuja

The planned arraignment and prosecution of Nigeria's chief justice could not go ahead because he did not show up for the court case against him.

The courtroom was full this morning, as people waited to see Justice Walter Onnoghen attend his code of conduct tribunal.

He is accused of failing to declare his assets before taking office in 2017.

Justice Onnoghen is quoted as saying that the problem arose from an administrative error.

Lawyers representing Justice Onnoghen are contesting the powers of the tribunal to process the case.

They say due process has not been followed in bringing charges against the judge.

Forty-five senior Lawyers and over 100 junior lawyers were in court to defend the chief justice.

Zimbabwe police appear to have deployed tear gas against people protesting over the fuel price hike.

The news service Zim Live has tweeted this video which they say is from the second city Bulawayo, which is also referred to as KoNtuthuziyathunqa:

Is’haq Khalid
BBC Africa, Bauchi

The current chief justice of Nigeria could face a trial, accused of failing to declare his assets before taking office in 2017.

Justice Walter Onnoghen is expected to appear before judges this morning at the Code of Conduct Tribunal - a court set up to try senior civil servants and government officials accused of misconduct.

The courtroom, in the capital Abuja, is already filling up:

This is unprecedented - if the case goes ahead he will be the first serving chief justice of Nigeria to be put on trial.

Justice Walter Onnoghen will be arraigned at the tribunal on six count charges - all relating to non-declaration of his assets.

Justice Onnoghen is quoted as saying that the problem arose from an administrative error.

Senior civil servants and government officials are required by law to declare their assets before taking office and after they leave as a way of preventing corruption.

The judiciary plays a key role in settling election disputes in Nigeria and the main opposition party is alleging that the trial of the top judge just a month before the country’s general election is a plot to destabilise the judiciary ahead of the polls.

Meanwhile, Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari is under increasing pressure to show results from his promise to tackle corruption. He has repeatedly accused the judiciary of frustrating his fight against corruption by unnecessarily delaying cases.

Commuters have been stranded in Zimbabwe's two main cities as angry protesters reacted to a more than doubling by blocking buses from carrying passengers, reports AFP news agency.

"Angry people are preventing commuter buses from carrying passengers. People are just stranded," Nhamo Tembo told AFP. He was trying to travel from Epworth, a poor suburb, east of the capital Harare.

Boulders blocked roads leading to Harare city centre this morning.

In Bulawayo, demonstrators attacked minibuses heading to the city centre and used burning tyres and stones to block the main routes into town while some schools were turning away pupils fearing for their safety.

"We want [President Emmerson] Mnangagwa to know our displeasure in his failure," protester Mthandazo Moyo told AFP.

"[Ex-President] Mugabe was evil but he listened," he added.

Image source, EPA

On Saturday, President Mnangagwa announced that the price of petrol would more than double.

It is intended to improve supplies as the country struggles with its worst fuel shortages in a decade.

Petrol prices rose from $1.24 a litre (£1.11) to $3.31 starting Sunday.

Image source, Reuters

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