US Secretary of State Antony Blinken talks of partnerships and avoids condescending lectures of the past.

Ahmed Rouaba
BBC News

Image source, EPA

Tunisia's Culture Minister Hayat Ketata is under fire after books critical of the government were removed from the country’s international book fair.

A book about Rached el-Ghanouchi, leader of Ennahdha party and a fierce critic of President Kais Saied, has been banned from exhibition.

The organisers of the book fair also removed a book by Rabah Kheraifi about corruption in Tunisia. His book was described as "offensive" to the state.

One opposition figure, Najib Chebbi, described the move as "shocking and dangerous", calling on the culture minister to go.

He urged intellectuals to stand against this "regression".

In July, President Saied suspended parliament in a move described by the opposition as coup and a violation of the constitution.

He insisted he had acted within the constitution and vowed to "clean up" the country from corruption.

Some politicians, lawyers, journalists and MPs critical of the president have since been arrested and jailed.

Ishaq Khalid
BBC News, Abuja

A boat has capsized in Jigawa state, northern Nigeria, killing at least seven girls.

Five others survived the accident.

It was carrying 12 people returning to the village of Gafasa from Gasanya, where they had attended an Islamic religious event.

Reports indicate the boat capsized just after departure.

One of the parents of the deceased, Mikail Jibril, told the BBC the victims were aged between 11 and 12 years.

Gafsa village head Alhaji Adamu Abdullahi told the BBC that the victims had been buried on Friday morning.

The traditional ruler said the entire community was now in a state of mourning and shock.

It’s not yet clear what caused the boat to capsize. But such accidents are relatively common in Nigeria and are often blamed on overloading and poor boat maintenance.

In May, more than 100 people died when their boat overturned in Kebbi state, also in northern Nigeria.

Chris Ewokor
BBC News, Abuja

Image source, Reuters

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said growing extremism, increasing authoritarianism and corruption in Africa pose serious dangers to democracy and the future of the continent.

Speaking in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, he was outlining the Biden administration’s Africa policy.

He said that governments are becoming less transparent with leaders ignoring term limits and trying to rig elections.

Mr Blinken was also concerned about the arrest of opposition figures in some countries, as well as crackdowns on the media and the brutal enforcement of Coronavirus restrictions.

On his first trip to sub-Saharan Africa, the secretary of state appeared to be seeking to show a US commitment to encouraging African-led solutions to problems.

While meeting Nigerian leaders and officials in Kenya during the week, the top US diplomat said that his country was looking to them for results, including setting examples for their Ethiopian and Sudanese counterparts.

Ghana defender Andy Yiadom looks back at their win over South Africa and the controversial penalty that saw the Black Stars qualify for the African World Cup play-offs.

Peter Jegwa
Lilongwe, Malawi

Malawian police have used tear gas to disperse a crowd of over 2,000 anti-government protestors in its biggest city, Blantyre.

The demonstrators were protesting against the rising cost of living, which they attribute to what they say is “bad and incompetent” leadership of President Lazarus Chakwera.

Images and video clips of protest organiser Bon Kalindo, a well-known comedian and politician, who now calls himself the "voice of the voiceless" are in wide circulation on social media, showing him fleeing the protest scene.

Police say they had secured an agreement with Mr Kalindo to call off the protest after it emerged that there were rival groups fighting among themselves and also perpetrating violence against onlookers.

But Mr Kalindo said no such agreement was reached, and that is why he proceeded to lead the protests.

Huge clouds of tear gas were fired in and around the Blantyre business district, where there are banks, hotels, shops and offices bringing business to a stand still.

News organisations and journalists have been sharing videos from Blantyre:

There has been a sharp rise in the price of basic commodities in Malawi recently, but government spokesperson Gospel Kazako has defended President Chakwera, saying the rising cost of living was a consequence of global trends after world economies took a hit due to disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Nichola Mandil
BBC News, Juba

Image source, Kalisto Lado Faustino

Some residents of South Sudan’s capital, Juba, have taken to social media to express their anger at the dismissal of the city's mayor, Kalisto Lado Faustino.

Others are however celebrating the sacking saying the demolition of illegal structures during a recent restructuring project led by the mayor was unfair.

Mr Lado was sacked by Central Equatoria state Governor Emmanuel Adil Anthony on Thursday evening.

He had been the mayor since March and no reason was given for his dismissal.

Those who are opposed to the dismissal say he was hardworking and changed the face of Juba city.

During his tenure, feeder roads into the capital were expanded easing traffic and improving overall security.

His restructuring project however led to clashes with some senior government officials.

Some traders were also angry with Mr Lado saying they had ot pay higher taxes when he was in charge.

Image source, Reuters

All employees of Kenya's power distributing firm will have to undergo an audit.

This is after corruption allegations were level against some staff members.

Employees are required to submit bank and mobile money account statements by Monday.

All assets owned by the employees and their spouses will also be declared in the new move.

The company has launched a crackdown after online fraudsters were reported to be colluding with staff to sell power units to customers.

Kenya Power is in the process of undertaking reforms aimed at improving service delivery and reducing the cost of electricity in the country.

Mary Harper
Africa editor, BBC World Service

The UN says more than two million people in Somalia are facing severe food and water shortages because of a rapidly worsening drought.

Water sources are drying up in what is the fourth consecutive season of poor rainfall.

About 100,000 people have fled their homes in search of food, water and pasture for their livestock.

The UN said it expected nearly eight million people to be without enough food next year.

There have been more than 30 years of continuous conflict in Somalia, which is also regularly hit by droughts, floods and locust swarms.

South Africa's latest crime statistics are "as alarming as the previous quarter's figures", Police Minister Bheki Cele has said when presenting the numbers.

According to the government's Twitter account, he said that the data for the period between July and September this year shows that South Africa is "a very violent country".

For example, he revealed that murders had increased by almost 21% when compared to the same period last year.

When it came to sexual violence, he said that 9,500 people were raped in the three months - amounting to four rapes an hour. That is a 7% rise from last year.

He described this as a “deeply disturbing disgrace”.

"More can, must and will be done to ensure that South Africans are safe and feel safe," Mr Cele said.

But he added that while the figures were still bad there were signs that things were improving.

Ishaq Khalid
BBC News, Abuja

Rights group Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called on the Nigerian authorities to take measures to ensure the protection of civilians against abuses by security forces.

It follows the submissionto the Lagos state government of a report into how the police and army handled anti-police brutality protests at Lagos' Lekki tollgate last year.

The report, which was leaked on Monday, concluded that the military and the police opened fire on peaceful protesters, killing at least 11 and wounding around 30 while four went missing.

It described the incident as a "massacre".

Nigeria's army has denied shooting live rounds at protesters.

HRW says the authorities should now focus on what it calls “correcting their wrongs” instead of “denying the truth”.

The report into what happened at the Lekki tollgate is yet to be officially made public.

The Lagos state government has said it will release a white paper on the findings in the coming weeks.

Former South Africa captain AB de Villiers announces his retirement from cricket.

Andrew Harding
BBC News, Johannesburg

Image source, Reuters

South Africa's state-owned electricity provider, Eskom, says it's found clear evidence of sabotage at one of its power plants.

It says one of its high capacity pylons was brought down when all eight of its support rods were cut.

Claims of sabotage at Eskom's fleet of ageing coal-fired plants aren't new, but the company says it's the first time it's had proof.

The debt-ridden energy giant regularly implements power cuts which are usually blamed on mismanagement.

But the government is now trying to clean up the company.

It’s not clear who’s behind the sabotage, but fingers are likely to be pointed at politicians with an interest in seeing Eskom, and the government, fail.

Image source, AFP

Special envoys from the African Union and the US have returned to Ethiopia in a bid to revive talks for a ceasefire and find ways to end the year-long conflict.

Both the US' Jeffrey Feltman and Olusegun Obasanjo, the AU’s special representative, arrived in the country on Thursday,

Mr Feltman met Foreign Minister Demeke Mekonnen, who said the government had allowed aid trucks into Tigray and humanitarian flights into towns in neighbouring Amhara region.

During the meeting, Mr Demeke said humanitarian aid flights were allowed in to Kombolcha and Lalibela, adding that 369 aid trucks were allowed to enter Tigray, according to a tweet by the government’s communications service, external.

Ethiopia's government spokesman, Dina Mufti, told journalists that Mr Obasanjo "was shuttling between the various forces", the AFP news agency reported.

"The same thing holds true for Mr Feltman," Mr Dina was quoted as saying.

Since last November, the government and rebel Tigray forces have been engaged in a war that started in Tigray and spread into neighbouring Amhara and Afar regions.

The conflict has killed thousands of people, forced millions from their homes and hundreds of thousands others are facing famine.

Last month's military coup in Sudan has sparked a political crisis, with further protests this week. Doctors say at least fifteen people were killed by the security forces during the latest mass demonstrations.

The coup has been broadly condemned internationally. But international efforts to mediate have so far not persuaded General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the coup leader, to step back.

For many years now, Norway has been one of the key countries shaping the international response to Sudan. Therese Gheziel is the Norwegian Ambassador to the African nation, and she spoke to Newsday about the role her country is playing to bring about a peaceful resolution. "There have been ups and downs, we can admit that", she said about talks with the coup leaders.

(Picture: protesters in Khartoum; Credit: EPA)

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

Burundi's President Évariste Ndayishimiye has dismissed Commerce Minister Capitoline Niyonizigiye.

She has been accused of "undermining government's aspirations and orientations...and for tarnishing the image of Burundi".

Iwacu news website tweeted a photo of the former minister:

Ms Niyonizigiye is the second minister of commerce to be sacked in less than a year.

Her predecessor, Immaculée Ndabaneze, was sacked in May after being accused of actions that could compromise the economy and also tarnishing Burundi's image.

Image source, AFP

The UN says six of its staff have been released in Ethiopia, leaving five in detention.

UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said one dependant was also being detained.

The UN employees were among 16 arrested earlier this month.

On Thursday, the ministry of foreign affairs said, external that "reports of the detention of UN personnel do not have anything to do with the organisation that they are working for.

"If the police do not have evidence for their arrest, these people will be released from detention."

There have been widespread arrests in the country following the declaration of a state of emergency.

Authorities have recently denied targeting any specific people during arrests, saying those arrested had contravened emergency laws.

The conflict in the north of the country is ongoing as federal government forces clash with rebels.

There has been international calls for the government and the rebels to end the conflict that has worsened the humanitarian crisis in the region.

Read:

How Ethiopia's once mighty army has been outflanked

Why the Ethiopia conflict matters to the world

Ishaq Khalid
BBC News, Abuja

Image source, Nigerian Presidency

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari in the presidential palace in Abuja on Thursday.

He is visiting Nigeria as part of his tour of Africa which began in Kenya earlier in the week.

Mr Blinken and the Nigerian president discussed issues including human rights, democracy and security as well as climate change.

Mr Buhari expressed his appreciation for the recent removal of Nigeria from a US watchlist of countries that violate religious freedoms - as "no-one is discriminated against on the basis of his or her religion".

The US secretary of state said the decision to drop Nigeria from the list was "based on facts".

He said the two countries had diverse challenges with security as a common issue and hoped for a better partnership between them to tackle insecurity.

The US secretary of state is expected to elaborate on US-Africa policy under the administration of President Joe Biden on Friday.

He will then move to Senegal for the final leg of his first official tour of Africa.

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

Image source, AFP

Sudanese authorities have restored the internet nearly a month since it was suspended after the military deposed the joint military-civilian transitional government.

All telecommunications companies had their internet services restored on Thursday.

A court had ordered the country's three main telecom companies to restore the internet on 9 November, but the outage persisted.

Internet monitor, Netblocks, has also confirmed the restoration of services.

"Confirmed: Internet partially restored in #Sudan on the 25th day of post-coup blackout; real-time metrics show significant rise in cellular connectivity from 4:30 pm local time; it is unclear if service will be retained, or for how long," it said on its Twitter account.

Deadly anti-coup protests have been taking place in the capital Khartoum and other parts of Sudan since Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan seized power on 25 October. More than 30 people have reportedly been killed in the demonstrations.

Activists and opposition groups have managed to draw attention to the protests on social media despite the restrictions.

The official Facebook account of the Ministry of Information, external, which is aligned to deposed Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, has also been vocal against the military rulers.

Image source, AFP

The US has ended sanctions imposed against Burundi six years ago, citing reforms in the country.

A US statement , external noted that President Joe Biden had revoked an executive order that authorised the sanctions.

It acknowledged last year’s elections that brought in President Évariste Ndayishimiye and the reforms he has pursued “across many sectors”.

“We recognise the progress made by President Ndayishimiye on addressing trafficking in persons, economic reforms, and combating corruption and encourage continued progress,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.

The US Treasury’s deputy secretary, Wally Adeyemo, said in a separate statement, external that the US would continue to press Burundi “to improve the human rights situation in the country and hold accountable those responsible for violations and abuses”.

The US and the UN imposed sanctions against Burundi in 2015 - including visa restrictions and freezing of assets of key officials in government.

It came after the country descended into chaos after President Pierre Nkurunziza launched a bid for a third term in office – despite concerns over the legality of the move.

More than 1,000 people were killed and hundreds of thousands of others fled the country in the ensuing violence.

Nkurunziza died last year weeks after the election of President Ndayishimiye, his preferred successor.