The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) says the authorities in Ethiopian have lifted a five-month-long suspension on its humanitarian work.

"We look forward to resume our many years of humanitarian operations for refugees in Ethiopia," the organisation said.

The authorities in Ethiopia had suspended NRC and other humanitarian organisations over what they termed as misinformation.

Chris Ewokor
BBC News, Abuja

At least two inmates were shot dead and two others are being treated after an attempted jailbreak in Kosere prison in Nigeria' s south-western Osun State.

A spokesperson for the prisons, now known as Nigeria correctional centre, told the BBC that some inmates had injured a warder and were about to force their way out of the facility when security men stopped them.

He said the four inmates were shot and the others who wanted to escape ran back.

The incident happened on Tuesday.

The prison warder who was injured is receiving treatment and is in a stable condition.

In the last two years, Nigeria has witnessed more than a dozen jail breaks with hundreds of inmates escaping.

Several security guards were also killed in some of the incidents.

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

Image source, Eritrean Government

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi arrived in Eritrea in Tuesday in the first stop on a three-nation Africa tour that will also take him to Kenya and Comoros.

Eritrean Minister of Information Yemane Meskel, in a post on Twitter, external, said that Mr Wang was received by Foreign Minister Osman Saleh and other senior officials at the Asmara International Airport.

Yemane said Wang will be in the country for two days, and will hold talks with the foreign minister and later with President Isaias Afwerki.

China has stepped up efforts to use Covid-19 vaccine donations to cement its influence in Africa, amid renewed warnings by the US to African partners about the so-called debt trap diplomacy.

Zambia are on standby to play at the Africa Cup of Nations should Zimbabwe be banned by Fifa ahead of Sunday's start of the competition.

Image source, Getty Images

A mother and her months-old baby were trampled to death by an elephant in south-eastern Zimbabwe.

The woman, who had been visiting relatives in rural Chipinge district on New Year’s Day, was on her way back home when an elephant charged at them.

Zimbabwe Parks Authority spokesman Tinashe Farawo said the elephant suddenly attacked and killed the two on the spot.

The elephant has since been killed.

Human-wildlife conflict is common in some rural parts of Zimbabwe.

Nine people have died and dozens are missing after a boat accident in Tanzania.

The boat was heading to Panza island from Pemba when the accident happened. The passengers had been due to attend a funeral at Panza.

Only six have been rescued alive and are receiving medical attention.

Pemba regional police commander Richard Thadei Mchomvu said the cause of the accident was unknown.

He said the boat had about 40 people but the exact number is unknown.

"The captain has not been found and the weather was not bad, so we do not know the exact cause because it seems the problem was not the wind," Mr Mchovu told the BBC.

Rescue efforts were halted on Tuesday evening and resumed on Wednesday morning.

Ugandan opposition leader and musician Bobi Wine has just released a song entitled Ogenda, a Luganda word that loosely translates as "You will fall".

The song is made directly for President Yoweri Museveni's ears because he has turned his back on his word to bring democracy to the country, he says.

Bobi Wine told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme that he had to expose the crimes committed under the president's regime hence the graphic images used in the video.

"The regime in Uganda has invested a whole lot of money to cover up the atrocities," he said.

Bobi Wine said the media in Uganda is gagged and the only way to expose the rot is through music.

"Justice can only happen when we expose the crimes, that is why we continue bringing it up, that is the only way we can fight back," he said.

Here is the full interview:

Eagan Salla
BBC News, Dar es Salaam

Image source, AFP

Tanzania's President Samia Suluhu Hassan has lashed out at some top officials who have been criticising her government for taking loans from international bodies.

In a televised address from state house, she said foreign aid was helping her government fulfil its social and development agenda.

The president was receiving progress reports from ministers on how the Covid-19 funds received from development partners had been utilised.

She said unlike other countries that had used such funds to buy protective gear like gloves and masks, Tanzania had used the funds prudently to build new health centres and medical facilities.

She said the money was also being used to put up new classrooms and learning facilities in many parts of the country.

She said she felt betrayed by those who had been criticising her government for taking the loans.

“It’s sad when a person you trust with so much government responsibility does that to you,” she said.

It came a day after parliamentary speaker Job Ndugai made a public apology following his earlier remarks thought to be criticising President Samia's government over the loans.

Last week, Tanzania signed a $1.9bn (£1.4bn) contract with a Turkish contractor to build a 368km (228 miles) third phase of a planned standard-gauge railway link.

Image source, Getty Images

The US special envoy for the Horn of Africa, Jeffrey Feltman, will travel to Ethiopia this week to told talks with the authorities about the ongoing civil war.

The US State Department said that Mr Feltman was "to engage with senior officials regarding the prospects for a broader peace".

The rebels have in recent times withdrawn to their stronghold Tigray region in the north of Ethiopia.

The Ethiopian government said its troops would not pursue the rebels into the region.

"We do believe this offers an opportunity for both sides to halt combat operations and come to the negotiating table," State Department spokesman Ned Price said.

The special envoy's visit comes after the US removed trade privileges for Ethiopia over rights abuse claims.

BBC World Service

Image source, Getty Images

The United States, Norway, Britain and the European Union have warned the Sudanese military against appointing their own prime minister, saying it would risk plunging the nation into conflict.

The countries said they would not support a prime minister or government appointed without the involvement of a broad range of civilian stakeholders.

The former prime minister, Abdalla Hamdok, resigned on Sunday amid a political deadlock and widespread protests resulting from October's military coup.

The Western countries again voiced alarm at the military's actions against protesters - more than 50 have been killed since the coup.

On Tuesday in several cities, security forces fired tear gas to disperse large crowds demonstrating against military rule.

A fridge designed for areas with no electricity is now helping dispense Covid vaccines in Kenya.

Sierra Leone coach John Keister says he received two death threats prior to naming his squad for the Africa Cup of Nations.

A man who allegedly set fire to the Cape Town building was caught with explosives, prosecutors say.

Security forces use tear gas to disperse crowds as demonstrators block roads with burning tyres.

Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

Image source, Pen Pinter Prize

A court in Uganda has ordered the police to release a prominent author, Kakwenza Rukirabashaija.

He was arrested last week after criticising President Yoweri Museveni and his son Lt-Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba on social media.

A lawyer for the writer said he had not yet been released but he expected the authorities to comply with the court ruling.

Mr Rukirabashaija, who won this year's Pen Pinter Prize's International Writer of Courage award, had been due in court to face the charge of offensive communication.

It was not clear why he had not been presented in court.

Police in Kenya have arrested at least five people after a deadly attack in the northern village of Widhu Majembeni in Lamu county on Monday which left six people dead, and homes burnt down.

The attacks meted out on the victims included shooting, burning and one beheading, according to the AFP news agency.

So far, authorities say the attack is linked to land disputes.

"All the suspects are locals and we are talking to them to establish more over the attack," the police told Kenya's The Star paper. , external

The government has increased security in the area, according to the same site.

Basant Khaled, 17, took her own life in Egypt after allegedly being blackmailed with faked images.

Didier Bikorimana
BBC Great Lakes Service

Niger has temporarily suspended an order to expel eight high-profile Rwandans relocated there from Tanzania, allowing them to remain in the country for 30 days, pending a resolution.

They were political and military officials during the 1994 Rwandan genocide, and had either been acquitted or released after serving their prison terms.

The move came hours after the seven-day deadline they had been given to leave Niger expired.

They relocated to Niger after the government there cut a deal with the United Nations in November to grant them permanent residence status, with Rwanda later saying it had been kept in the dark.

It urged Niger to ensure the individuals don’t become a threat to the security of the Great Lakes region.

Then in December, Niger decided to expel them, citing “diplomatic reasons”– prompting a move from an International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT) judge to temporarily halt this action.

Rwanda maintains the eight are welcome back home, but one of them, former intelligence officer Innocent Sagahutu, told BBC Great Lakes last week they do not want to return to Rwanda, fearing for their safety.

With the Africa Cup of Nations around the corner, we look at what players, teams and club politics you need to know.

Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

Image source, AFP

Sudanese security forces have fired tear gas in an effort to break up pro-democracy protests in the capital, Khartoum, and in Port Sudan.

People in several cities have been chanting slogans against the military and calling for the downfall of Sudan's ruling council.

It is headed by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan who led a military coup in October.

In Khartoum's neighbouring city, Omdurman, dozens of people set up barricades.

The protests come two days after the resignation of the civilian prime minister Abdalla Hamdok.

Fifty-six people have died during protests since the October coup, most were shot by security forces.

Read more:

• Sudan coup: Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok resigns after mass protests