Ivory Coast coach Patrice Beaumelle says Fifa is "killing African football" by only allowing five places for the continent at the World Cup.

Jose Tembe
BBC News, Maputo

Image source, Opais

Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi has appointed a recently sacked interior minister as the high commissioner to Rwanda.

Amade Miquidade was dismissed from office last week and was replaced by the country’s first woman interior minister, Arsenia Massingue, two days later.

Before his dismissal, he was one of the top defence and security figures dealing with insecurity in the northern region, which has been hit by jihadist attacks for the last three years.

He will now be representing Mozambique in a country whose troops are helping deal with the insecurity in the Cabo Delgado province.

Rwanda sent some 1,000 troops to Mozambique in July to assist the government fight the militants.

Fans of the defunct popular Nigerian music band P-Square are expressing their excitement over news that the two brothers who started it nearly two decades ago and then fell out may have reconciled.

The duo - comprising twin brothers Peter and Paul Okoye – fell out over family feuds, and went their separate ways in 2017.

The two, who turned 40 on Thursday, had dominated the Nigerian music scene for years with their music being a sensation in the country and beyond.

They were recently seen embracing each other in a video shared widely on social media.

One social media user said, external on Instagram: "Please let this love and reconciliation last for ever. Amen."

"I’m feeling emotional. As a twin I can’t imagine not being on good terms with my twin sis for long," another said.

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

Thousands of Nigerian railway workers have begun a three-day strike to push the government to improve their welfare.

The strike is likely to disrupt services in some of the busy stations, including the railway line that links the northern Kaduna state to the capital, Abuja.

The sector is expected to lose about 90m Naira ($200,000; £148,000) during the strike, the Punch newspaper has reported.

Much as trains are used by many Nigerians, the road transport remains the most common mode of transport.

Emmanuel Igunza
BBC News, Nairobi

Image source, Getty Images

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta has signed into law a new refugee bill that allows asylum seekers easier access to education, and opportunities to integrate and earn a living.

It comes just six months before a planned shutdown by the authorities of two camps housing more than half a million refugees.

The authorities say the camps have been used as breeding grounds for terrorists blamed for some of the worst attacks on Kenyan soil.

Kenya has been in a protracted struggle with the UN refugee agency over plans to shut down the Kakuma and Daadab refugee camps that for decades, have been home to half a million refugees mainly from Somalia and South Sudan.

In September, the president rejected an earlier bill that sought to compel the state to provide housing and social amenities to refugees at special transit centres.

Lalla Sy
BBC News

Image source, AFP

Burkina Faso's President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré has admitted to problems that “must be corrected in the fight against terrorism” after an attack that killed 53 people.

The suspected jihadist attack on Sunday, in which 49 soldiers and four civilians died, targeted a military police detachment in Inata in the north.

“The situation distresses everyone, and the dysfunctions must be corrected,” President Kaboré said.

He spoke following public anger amid the high death toll in one of the deadliest attacks on defence and security forces since Burkina Faso started facing jihadist threats six years ago.

Two commanders have been sacked after hundreds of young people in several cities held demonstrations on Tuesday over the rising insecurity.

The protesters called on President Kaboré to resign for failing to rein in the insecurity.

But the president has called on people to stand together with the security forces to defend the country.

A national mourning period has been declared in Burkina Faso from Tuesday until Thursday in the wake of the latest attacks.

A bike-share scheme has been setup in Kigali to help lower emissions in Rwanda's capital.

Kenyans online have welcomed the signing of a new law that prevents secret lovers from inheriting wealth in the event of their partner's death.

The bill, sponsored by MP Peter Kaluma, only allows children sired by the deceased to get a share of the wealth but locks out partners who are not legally married.

Mr Kaluma welcomed the signing of the bill into law, saying that girlfriends who had been waiting to benefit from family property now "stand barred".

Some Kenyans online celebrated the signing of the law with this tweeter saying there would be no more traps:

Akinyi Abong'o tweeted that there would be no joyriders in wealth acquisition:

Ishaq Khalid
BBC News, Abuja

Image source, AFP

Gunmen in the north-western Nigerian state of Sokoto have killed at least 21 people in fresh attacks on several villages in Sabon Birni area.

Residents told the BBC that the attackers on motorbikes also looted food items and other essentials in the villages.

The raids were carried out on Tuesday night, with the village of Sangerawa being the worst hit.

The state's police spokesperson, Sanusi Abubakar, confirmed the killings but said they were still gathering details.

The attacks came as the state governor, Aminu Tambuwal, announced a rise in the death toll to 43 from a Monday attack in Illela town near the Niger border.

The authorities initially said 13 people had been shot dead there - and two others in Goronyo town.

North-western Nigeria has been grappling with armed criminal gangs carrying out killings and kidnappings for ransom.

The authorities are being criticised for failing to tackle the violence despite the deployment of thousands of security forces and the shutting down of internet and mobile phone services in most of the region.

Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

Image source, Getty Images

Doctors in Sudan say 14 people have been shot dead by security forces as thousands took to the streets to protest against the recent military takeover.

Activists had called for mass demonstrations to mark the day when a civilian was supposed to assume the leadership of the governing Sovereign Council.

The man who led last month's coup, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, dismissed the government, arrested dozens of politicians and named himself the head of a new Sovereign Council.

There is growing evidence of just how brutal the Sudanese security forces have been.

Doctors in the capital Khartoum say tear gas has been fired inside hospital buildings and soldiers have prevented some of the wounded from being treated.

Many arrests have taken place in neighbourhoods where the electricity had been switched off.

General Burhan and his colleagues who seized power are determined to stop anti military protests from gaining any momentum.

They are also undoing much of the progress that had been achieved after Omar al-Bashir was toppled.

His allies are taking back some power and returning the country to the kind of dictatorship that the vast majority of Sudanese hoped had been dismantled forever.

Chris Ewokor
BBC News, Abuja

Image source, Getty Images

The US has removed Nigeria from the list of religious violators, ahead of the visit by the Secretary of State Antony Blinken to the country.

The US government last year placed Nigeria on its special watch list of states that had engaged in or tolerated the severe violation of religious freedom

Nigeria is not in the 2021 list which has Myanmar, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.

Algeria, Comoros, Cuba, and Nicaragua are also on the special list of governments that have violated religious freedom, according to the US state department. , external

However, the jihadist groups Boko Haram and Iswap operating in north-east Nigeria, are still designated as entities of particular concern.

Mr Blinken is visiting Nigeria on Thursday on the second leg of his three-nation trip that includes Kenya and Senegal.

He is expected to meet Nigerian President Muhamadu Buhari to discuss how both countries can further co-operate on global health, security, expanding energy access and economic growth.

Nigeria is battling a range of security threats, including the long-running Boko Haram insurgency, inter-communal clashes and more recently, a wave of mass abductions at schools by armed gangs.

Our African proverb of the day:

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Dundee United sign Ghana under-20 midfielder Mathew Cudjoe subject to international clearance.

Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

Doctors in Sudan say 10 people have been shot dead as security forces tried to break up a series of protests against the recent military takeover.

Tear gas was fired at one group of people in the capital Khartoum.

Activists across Sudan called for people to take to the streets to mark the day when a civilian was supposed to take over the leadership of the governing Sovereign Council.

Despite measures by the security forces to stop them, men, women and children took to the streets of Khartoum.

At several rallies people waved Sudanese flags and denounced the military. Their cause has plenty of international support.

US secretary of state Antony Blinken said the much-needed financial help would be resumed if the military backed down.

Those in charge of the Sudanese security forces have repeatedly turned to violence to get their way. For now the brave protestors are not giving up. That's why Sudan is so tense.

The South African Football Association claims there was a spike in betting during its World Cup qualifier against Ghana.

That's all for Wednesday from the BBC Africa Live team, but we'll be back on Thursday morning Nairobi time.

Until then you can find the latest updates on the BBC News website, or listen to our podcasts Africa Today and The Comb.

A reminder of our African proverb of the day:

And we leave you with this picture of two students at Uganda's Makerere University using a phone to attend a nighttime Zoom class from a basketball court where the free WiFi connection is apparently stronger than elsewhere on the campus.

Daniel Semeniworima
BBC Pidgin, Lagos

Image source, The Cute Abiola

Popular Nigerian comedian Cute Abiola is not missing but in custody, the Navy has said.

The reason for his detention is unknown, his lawyer told BBC Pidgin.

Family members and friends last saw Cute Abiola - whose real name is Abdulgafar Ahmed - on Monday.

Social media users are speculating that a skit the comedian shared on Instagram wearing a navy uniform, carrying an AK-47 riffle and a bottle of alcohol, to depict trigger-happy military personnel could have landed him in trouble.

Image source, Cute Abiola

In a statement the Nigerian Navy said the comedian, who is a navy officer, is being held for “breaching the Armed Forces Social Media Policy and refusal to obey particular orders”.

The policy is in place to protect their personal safety and security, as well as the information integrity of the activities of the Armed Forces in Nigeria, the statement said.

The one-year-old son of South African rugby star Jannie du Plessis died in a drowning accident in a swimming pool on Tuesday, his club has announced, News24 reports.

"I can confirm that this tragedy took place. We are all devastated," Lions chief Rudolf Straeuli said.

The circumstances surrounding the child's death are unclear.

Du Plessis, a world cup winner with the Springboks in 2017, joined the Lions in 2019 to help mentor young players.

The club has asked to people to respect the family's privacy.

Du Plessis turned 39 yesterday.

Lalla Sy
BBC News, Abidjan

Image source, Getty Images

West African military chiefs on Wednesday began a three-day summit in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, to discuss the escalating jihadist insurgency in the Sahel region.

The senior officers from the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) will discuss the ongoing withdrawal of the French Barkhane troops carrying out counter-terrorism efforts in the Sahel, and the Africa Union’s proposal to deploy 3,000 troops to the region, the Ivorian newspaper Fraternite Matin reported.

Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso have been batting an Islamist militants' insurgency for years. On 10 November, Togo confirmed the first militant attack on its territory.

The three-day summit will assess current operations and reflect on the prospects for improving security in the Ecowas zone.

The Chiefs of Staff Committee is a support body for Ecowas that brings together all the chiefs of the armed forces and is responsible for conflict prevention and management in the region.

They will visit the Jacqueville International Academy for Combating Terrorism.