BBC World Service

Image source, AFP

Algeria's Supreme Court ordered that a former prime minister, Ahmed Ouyahia, be detained after he appeared before judges in connection with a corruption investigation on Wednesday.

The court also ordered the detention of an ex-Transport Minister Abdelghani Zaalane in a similar case.

The two men served under former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who was forced to resign in April after weeks of street protests.

Since then, senior officials and rich businessmen who prospered during Mr Bouteflika's 20 years in power have been targeted in a series of corruption inquiries.

Patricia Oyella
BBC Africa, Uganda

A second person has died of Ebola in Uganda, two days after the government confirmed its first case of the virus in Kasese, a district bordering the Democratic of Republic of Congo.

Health officials confirmed that the 50-year-old grandmother of the child who tested positive on Tuesday died on Wednesday night at the isolation unit where she she was being treated. She is expected to be buried today.

She and other members of the family reportedly got infected after coming into contact with someone who had Ebola and has since died.

A third patient with Ebola, remains in the isolation unit.

Seven other suspected cases are being monitored .They include the parents of the five-year-old who died.

Uganda has intensified its public campaigns about Ebola and has stepped up screening at all major border points.

It has also suspended all mass gatherings in Kasese district.

A mass immunisation of health workers in the district as well at least 50 people who may have had some contact with suspected Ebola cases or those infected is planned for tomorrow.

Image source, Reuters

Tanzania has become a much safer place for people living with albinism, according to the experiences of Khadija Maarufu.

Ms Maarufu, a 27-year-old student, told BBC Swahili:

"These days no-one calls me names. When I was in high school, people used to call me 'dili' but I don't hear that name anymore."

"Dili" is slang for "deal" implying that the person with albinism can be killed and their body parts can be exchanged for money. There is a superstitious belief that the body parts can bring good luck.

Politicians have been accused of being behind some of the murders in the run up to elections.

Some 75 people with albinism were killed between 2000 and 2016, the UN says.

Ms Maarufu said that about a decade ago, when the country was preparing for elections, many people with albinism were attacked.

Now, she said, the situation seems much calmer ahead of elections next year.

Speaking on International Albinism Awareness Day, Ms Maarufu praised NGOs and the government for helping ease the challenges that people with albinism face.

However, there are still issues. "I can't say that we are completely safe but there is a big difference," she said.

James Landale
Diplomatic correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

The Commonwealth Secretariat, the body that manages the international organisation in London, is in "urgent need" of reform, according to a leaked internal report obtained by the BBC.

It says there are "deep concerns" about the way it is governed.

Nineteen of the organisation's 53 countries are in Africa.

The BBC has also learned that Commonwealth Secretary General Lady Scotland has been told by the organisation's diplomats in London she will not automatically be reappointed for a second term.

So the 53 Commonwealth High Commissioners in London have agreed new measures to improve the accountability and transparency of the Secretariat.

The High Commissioners have also ordered an internal audit of recent procurement spending decisions by the Secretariat.

The new rules have yet to be signed off by Commonwealth foreign ministers and a Secretariat spokesman insisted Lady Scotland was making the organisation more "dynamic and integrated".

The text messaging service in Ethiopia has been shut down, the BBC's Kalkidan Yibeltal reports from the capital Addis Ababa.

The news comes as the country experiences its third day in a row with a break in online access.

The shutdowns on Tuesday and Wednesday both proved temporary.

The closure of the text messaging service coincides with nationwide exams. There has been speculation that the internet blackout is aimed at trying to stop people cheating, but this has not been confirmed by the authorities.

On Wednesday, the state broadcaster ETV reported that four students had been caught cheating after sending each other text messages.

Image source, Getty

Tanzanians "should not worry" about the spread of Ebola, Health Minister Ummy Mwalimu has said reacting to news that the disease had crossed from the Democratic Republic of Congo to Uganda.

Tanzania shares a long border with DR Congo, where an Ebola outbreak has killed nearly 1,400 people.

In a Twitter message, Ms Mwalimu said that Tanzania "is well prepared to combat [the] virus".

On Tuesday, Tanzania, along with Kenya, launched a programme to monitor people as they cross into the country.

The programme will help the authorities quickly share information if Ebola is detected, the health minister said.

In Uganda a five-year-old boy died from Ebola on Wednesday, the first case of the virus reported in the country.

The Ugandan government is now reporting seven other suspected cases of Ebola.

According to the World Health Organization South Africa has the highest obesity rate in sub-Saharan Africa.

But in the township of Tembisa, one lady is trying to inspire the community to get fit.

63-year-old Catherine Mathebe was unable walk without crutches due to her weight - but one day she heard a song on the radio and tried to dance, and the rest is history.

"Believe it or not, I used to weigh 150kg (24 stone)," she says.

Watch more in the BBC Africa One Minute Story by Christian Parkinson:

Internet blackouts appear to have become a daily occurrence in Ethiopia as the country experiences its third day in a row with no online access, the BBC's Kalkidan Yibeltal reports from Addis Ababa.

The shutdowns on Tuesday and Wednesday both proved temporary.

They coincided with nationwide school exams and there has been speculation that the authorities have restricted internet access to stop cheating.

But Ethio Telecom, the country's monopoly internet provider, has told BBC Amharic that it has "no mandate" to comment on this issue.

Piers Edwards
BBC Africa Sport

A joint investigation by BBC Sport Africa and Norway's Josimar magazine can reveal some of the background which led to one of world football's most senior men being questioned by French authorities last week.

Confederation of African Football President Ahmad, who goes by just the one name, was questioned in Paris by the Central Office for the Fight against Corruption and Financial and Fiscal Offences before being released without charge.

At the heart of this story is a once little-known French company with no apparent history in supplying football equipment.

After taking charge of African football in 2017, Mr Ahmad introduced the firm, Tactical Steel, as a supplier for the African confederation.

A close aide of his is an old friend of the company's owner.

Questions have been asked about Mr Ahmad's involvement with the deal, Tactical Steel’s lack of experience in providing such equipment and the prices paid under the deal.

Mr Ahmad, a vice-president of football's world governing body Fifa, has dismissed all allegations against him as false.

Read more from BBC Sport

The hashtag #ImagineANigeria is trending on Twitter in the country as people talk about alternative visions for their nation.

Insecurity, corruption and stubbornly high levels of unemployment are a frequent source of complaint in the country.

Some on Twitter wonder whether Nigeria is too concerned with religion rather than development suggesting the country should be producing more engineers rather than pastors:

Many are talking about the country's power shortages and the reliance on private generators:

While others want a country free from ethnic and religious prejudices:

And some are hoping for a country where everyone takes more responsibility for the problems:

Read more:

• Five things about Nigeria: The superpower with no power

Louise Dewast
BBC Africa

The number of people killed in an attack on a village in central Mali has been revised to 35, down from nearly 100, officials have said.

Monday's attack happened in Sobame Da, inhabited by the Dogon ethnic group, in the Mopti region.

Officials initially said 95 people had been found dead, many with their bodies burned.

Now the government says that initial figure corresponded to the combined number of dead and disappeared.

There have been numerous attacks in Mali in recent months, some by jihadist groups, others between Dogon hunters and semi-nomadic Fulani herders.

Among the 35 who died were 24 children, the government said. Six people have been taken in for questioning, officials said.

Following the attack the justice minister announced an investigation and the UN peacekeeping mission in the country deployed a special human rights fact-finding mission to assist authorities.

Read more:

• The hunting society accused of a massacre
• Mali country profile

Image source, Gett

Thursday's African proverb:

Click here and scroll to the bottom to send us your African proverbs.

Welcome to BBC Africa Live where we'll be keeping you up to date with news and developments on the continent.

BBC Africa Live
Clare Spencer, Esther Namuhisa, Damian Zane and Rosie Blunt

That's all from BBC Africa Live for now. Keep up-to-date with what's happening across the continent by listening to the Africa Today podcast or check BBCAfrica.com.

A reminder of our wise words:

And we leave you with this picture of the effects of the power cuts hitting Libya:

Image source, Reuters

Uganda has no plans to close the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo, the country's health minister has told BBC Focus on Africa radio.

Jane Ruth Aceng said that Uganda and DR Congo are "brothers and sisters".

She added that she was not ruling out the possibility of more people with Ebola coming in from DR Congo, and Uganda was prepared for this.

Her comments came after the first death from the latest Ebola outbreak was reported in Uganda when a five-year-old boy, who had entered from DR Congo, died on Wednesday night.

His younger brother and grandmother, who were with him, also have Ebola.

There have been more than 2,000 cases of Ebola in DR Congo in the last 10 months.

Ishaq Khalid
BBC Africa, Abuja

Image source, Getty Images

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari says the government has the capacity to lift 100 million people out of poverty in the next 10 years.

He made the comment in a speech in the capital, Abuja, to mark Nigeria's Democracy Day and the end of military rule 20 years ago.

Mr Buhari said there was a strong connection between corruption, economic inequality and insecurity in the country but with ''leadership and sense of purpose'' the challenges would be overcome.

Currently, Nigeria has the highest rate of extreme poverty in the world.

Read: How Nigeria and its president are being held to ransom

Image source, Getty Images

Three people have been killed in northern Mali when French forces shot at a vehicle after the driver refused to stop for an inspection, AFP news agency quotes the French military as saying.said.

The incident took place on Saturday, west of the historic city of Timbuktu, AFP adds.

BBC World Service

Image source, Getty Images

A former prime minister of Algeria, Ahmed Ouyahia has appeared in the country's Supreme Court as a series of investigations into high level corruption continues.

Mr Ouyahia led governments under ex-President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who was forced to resign in April after weeks of street protests.

Corruption investigators have since been targeting senior officials and businessmen who were close to Mr Bouteflika during his 20 years in power.

A brilliant goal by former Liverpool forward Asisat Oshoala helped earn Nigeria a first win at the 2019 Women's World Cup.

Nigeria went ahead when defender Kim Do-yeon scored an own goal:

Ex-Arsenal player Oshoala held off a defender before rounding the keeper to score Nigeria's second goal:

South Korea, who face Norway in their third and final group match on Monday, have yet to score or earn a point. This result means it's extremely unlikely South Korea will reach the last 16.

Read more on the BBC Sport website.

Gaius Kowene
BBC Africa, Kinshasa

Some 100,000 people have fled villages in the north-eastern Ituri province of the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to its governor, Jean Bamanisa.

It comes after 38 people were killed when armed men raided villages on Monday and Tuesday.

Mr Bamanisa says that people have headed to the provincial capital, Bunia.

The army says it has identified the perpetrators, a relatively new militia led by a man named Ngudjolo.

There is a history of conflict in the area between the pastoralist Hema ethnic group and the agriculturalist Lendu community, mostly over land.

However, it is unclear whether those tensions contributed to this fresh outbreak of violence.

Community leaders from both ethnic groups have called for calm.