BBC World Service

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An Egyptian court has reportedly sentenced 32 defendants to life in prison for plotting to assassinate both President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and the former Saudi Crown Prince, Nayef bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud.

The accused allegedly planned to carry out the killings while Mr Sisi was on a pilgrimage to Mecca five years ago.

The group was also found guilty of killing two judges, four policemen and a civilian.

British charity Comic Relief is to send fewer celebrities abroad after criticism that stars like Stacey Dooley were going to Africa as "white saviours".

The charity's co-founder, screenwriter Richard Curtis, told MPs in London that TV appeals "will be heading in the direction of not using" celebrities abroad.

He said they would be "very careful to give voices to people" who live in Africa.

Opposition Labour MP David Lammy praised the plan to move away from "tired, harmful stereotypes".

Earlier this year, Comic Relief and Dooley - a documentary-maker and a winner of a popular television dance contest, Strictly Come Dancing - were criticised after she travelled to Uganda to make an appeal film about the charity's work in the country.

Read more on the BBC News website.

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Hollywood star George Clooney has urged the US treasury department to take action to block illicit money flows coming out of Sudan, in a joint op ed in Politico written with human rights activist John Prendergast, external.

Sudan is in the midst of a political crisis after security forces opened fire on pro-democracy protesters in the capital, Khartoum, last week.

The US actor wants the treasury to issue an anti-money laundering advisory to thousands of banks around the world to be on the lookout for illicit funds coming out of Sudan.

He hopes that this would make it easier foreign diplomats to negotiate with the military council:

Clooney is a co-founder of an initiative founded to track dirty money. He has been interested in Sudan since 2003, when he spoke out about violence in Darfur, reports Newsweek, external.

Rwanda says it is "intensifying the surveillance at ports of entry" in the wake of news that Ebola has spread from the Democratic Republic of Congo to Uganda. Rwanda shares borders with both countries.

In a statement, the health ministry said that Rwanda "is taking the Ebola outbreak in the neighbouring countries seriously", BBC Great Lakes reports.

The country has called for people to be more alert, improve hygiene and avoid travelling to areas affected by Ebola

The latest news from Uganda is that a five-year-old boy has died from Ebola.

The death is the first in Uganda, amid a deadly outbreak in DR Congo. Officials said that his grandmother and younger brother also have the disease.

Stanley Kwenda
BBC Africa

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The second round of matches at the Women’s World Cup which is currently under way in France, will kick off on Wednesday with a match between Nigeria and South Korea at the Stade des Alpes in Grenoble.

Nigeria's Super Falcons need a win to stand a chance of progressing to the second round following their 3-0 loss to Norway in their first match.

Their preparations for the crunch match have however been dealt a heavy blow following a knee injury to defender Faith Michael as she has had to withdraw from the tournament.

With 53 caps to her name, Michael is one of Nigeria’s most experienced defenders.

Chidinma Okeke, one the youngest members of this Nigeria team, is now set to replace her.

Wednesday's match will be the first time South Korea plays African opposition at a World Cup.

Kenya's interior minister has criticised some foreigners who work as hawkers and petty traders in the country, the privately owned Star newspaper reports, external.

Fred Matiang’i is quoted as saying that "it is illegal for foreigners to engage in local trading in Kenya".

He was reacting to recent reports that small-scale Chinese businessmen, external are now competing with local businesses selling second-hand clothes in the capital's well-known Gikomba market.

Mr Matiang’i appeared to threaten those workers who are in the country illegally with deportation.

"We will escort them to the airport, bid them bye and ensure they have their dinner at their countries by tomorrow evening,” the Star quotes the minister as saying.

But he did not say if there has been a specific directive to carry this out.

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Paramilitary forces in Sudan have killed 11 people in an attack in the Darfur region, an association of doctors linked to the protest movement said on their Facebook page.

The Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors (CCSD) said they were mainly shot or beaten by Rapid Support Forces (RSF), who originate from the Janjaweed militia and are now a dominant presence in Khartoum.

Last week, the RSF accused "infiltrators" of impersonating the military group's members and committing violent acts to worsen the RSF's reputation.

Videos on social media, which have not been verified, show a burning village with houses on fire.

Oluwashina Okeleji
BBC Sport

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Nigeria have suffered an injury blow with veteran defender Faith Michael ruled out of the rest of the 2019 Women's World Cup in France.

The 32-year-old, who plays for Swedish giants Pitea IF, was carried off on a stretcher after being caught by team-mate Oluehi during their 3-0 opening defeat to Norway.

With the Super Falcons now facing a battle to stay in the tournament, they will have to play the must-win game against South Korea on Wednesday without Michael.

Read more here.

Patricia Oyella
BBC News

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The World Health Organization (WHO) and Uganda’s Ministry of Health have confirmed two more cases of Ebola in Uganda after the virus claimed the life of a five-year-old boy.

The two patients whose blood samples tested positive for Ebola are relatives of the boy.

The confirmation now brings the number of those who have been infected with the haemorrhagic fever to three, less than 24 hours after the government announced the child as the first case in the country.

Three others remain in isolation while eight people who were in close contact with the infected are being monitored.

Health officials from Uganda and neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo - along with representatives from the WHO and the Centre for Disease Control - are meeting in Kasese, the border district in Uganda where Ebola has been reported, to discuss a joint a response to the threat.

A five-year-old boy has died of Ebola in Uganda, the World Health Organization (WHO) has said in a tweet, quoting the health minister.

This is the first confirmed case of Ebola in the country, as we reported earlier.

The boy is said to have travelled over the border from the Democratic Republic of Congo on Sunday, where there have been more than 2,000 cases of the disease in the last 10 months - most of them fatal.

Jihadists linked to Boko Haram have killed at least 17 soldiers and nine civilians in Cameroon, although some media sources such as Xinhua say the death toll has now risen to 37. , external

A regional security official told AFP news agency that the Boko Haram attack sparked fierce fighting with Cameroonian troops in Darak, an island on Lake Chad.

He said 40 of the jihadists were captured but seven were still missing.

The insurgents managed to hoist their flag over Darak before being dispelled, AFP reports.

Boko Haram's uprising, which has now killed more than 27,000, has spilled over from north-east Nigeria into Niger, Chad and Cameroon.

Tanzania's government has confirmed it blocked the opposition leader Zitto Kabwe from leaving the country on Tuesday.

Mr Kabwe was stopped from getting on board a plane bound for Kenya at the airport in Zanzibar.

"We were given orders from the government to not allow him to travel outside Tanzania," Zanzibar immigration department spokesperson Sharif Bakar Sharif told privately owned newspaper Mwananchi.

While he was being held by immigration officers, Mr Kabwe tweeted that he was being accused of threatening public safety because of comments he made in the media.

He was released on Tuesday evening.

Mr Kabwe's ACT Wazalendo party is Tanzania's second-largest opposition party, which has been gaining popularity in recent years.

He has been arrested several times for allegedly holding unlicensed rallies, among other things.

The government has not commented on why he was stopped from leaving the country.

Ferdinand Omondi
BBC Africa, Nairobi

Kenyan environmental activists took to the streets of the centre of the capital, Nairobi, to protest against the construction of a coal-fired power station in the coastal region of Lamu.

At least two thirds of Kenya's electricity is currently generated by renewable resources and it has pledged to reduce its small carbon footprint by nearly a third over the next decade.

Activists fear that the coal plant may damage that commitment.

The protesters carried yellow placards and banners, singing and chanting about the need for clean energy.

They also had two black coffins marked with the words "coal kills", which they left at the entrance to the energy ministry offices

In a statement circulated at the protest, the Pan-African Climate Justice Alliance called the Lamu plant both "economically and ecologically disastrous".

The government is not commenting on the issue before the result of a court case is announced challenging the operation of the plant.

Read more:

• Row over Chinese coal plant near Kenya World Heritage site of Lamu

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

Four Ethiopian secondary school students were caught "red-handed" while trying to cheat in a national examination using mobile phones, state-owned Ethiopian TV reported

Ethiopia is currently holding nationwide examinations for secondary school students. Over a million students take the tests.

The Addis Ababa Police Commission said: “Although the examinations in 77 centres were held in a peaceful atmosphere, four students were caught red-handed in two exam centres while trying to exchange answers using mobile phones”.

Access to the internet has been interrupted twice in recent days in Ethiopia, and some have linked that to the exams.

In the past, Ethiopia has blocked the internet service countrywide during the exam period to prevent cheating.

Opposition forces in Sudan have suspended a general strike that halted businesses, transport and services for three days.

The Forces for the Declaration of Freedom and Change (FDFC) said on their Facebook page that the strike was a success after it "inflicted the military council with huge political losses".

The FDFC has agreed to engage in talks with the ruling Transitional Military Council (TMC) on restoring civilian administration after Ethiopian mediators intervened.

The opposition group has reportedly agreed on nominees for the position of prime minister and eight members of a 15-member council that would rule the country for three years before an election.

Ethiopia's special envoy to Sudan, Mohamoud Dirir, said the TMC had agreed to release political prisoners.

The state-owed Sudan news agency (Suna) has said protesters will be removing barricades from the streets of the capital, Khartoum. Over the past three days, the protest leaders had been asking people to put up barricades in the city.

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Favour Nunoo
BBC Pidgin, Ghana

Security officials in Ghana have rescued two Canadian women who were kidnapped in Ghana's second largest city, Kumasi, last week.

The two were found on Wednesday morning, according to a statement signed by Information Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah.

The rescue follows combined efforts by Ghanaian and Canadian authorities after the two students, aged 19 and 20, were kidnapped at gunpoint.

They were seized a week ago outside their apartment in the Ahodwo district and bundled into a car.

Kidnappings have been a rare occurrence in Ghana until recent times where abductions of locals and foreigners have dominated the news.

Catherine Byaruhanga
BBC Africa, Kampala

The Ugandan authorities announced on Tuesday evening that a five-year-old boy has been diagnosed with Ebola. He is said to have travelled across the border with his family from the Democratic Republic of Congo on Sunday.

Uganda has been aware of the possibility of Ebola crossing the border for some time and the country is well prepared.

The government has done a lot of work over the years to set up systems and expertise to combat Ebola with the help of the US Centres for Disease Control and the World Health Organization.

It has also successfully dealt with outbreaks in the country before and Ugandan doctors, considered experienced in the field, have been deployed to help fight outbreaks in West Africa and DR Congo.

Furthermore, the ministry of health has already vaccinated thousands of health workers against Ebola meaning they are ready to work on a possible outbreak without fear of infection.

When it comes to testing and confirming cases, all testing is done in Uganda at government laboratories.

What has helped Uganda keep on top of outbreaks is its clear authority and knowledge about Ebola, which means the public trusts its messages.

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Google has honoured the late Kenyan author Margaret Atieno Ogola with a doodle on what would have been her 60th birthday.

Ogala, who died in 2011, was a renowned writer, as well as a paediatrician and medical director of Cottolengo Hospice, a hospice for HIV and Aids orphans.

Her debut novel and most popular book, The River and the Source, won the Jomo Kenyatta Prize for Literature in 1995 and the Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Best First Book in the same year.

It became a set text for Kenyan secondary school students.

The novel was inspired by her mother, Ogola was quoted as saying on Kenyan news site SDE., external

“[She] handed down to me the wisdom and lives of her own mother and grandmother. This strength and support that is found in the African family is the most important part of our culture, and should be preserved and nurtured at all costs.”

The River and the Source is a story that follows several generations of women in the same family. She wrote two other novels.

The Google doodle has inspired fans to quote some of their favourite lines - and one person has been moved to write a poem in her memory:

It's a case of off-again, on-again when it comes to the internet in Ethiopia.

After being down through the night and into the early morning, correspondents are now saying that the internet is back on.

It was the second day in a row when the internet was shut down.

There has been no explanation for the blackouts.

For a second day in a row the internet has been shut down in Ethiopia, the BBC's Kalkidan Yibeltel reports from the capital, Addis Ababa.

It went off at around 10:30 local time (07:30 GMT) on Tuesday but service resumed in the late afternoon.

This time, it appears the blackout has taken place earlier. NetBlocks, an organisation which monitors internet activity, in fact suggests that the internet went down late on Tuesday night local time.

Image source, NetBlcoks

It is the third day of nationwide secondary school exams and some have linked the outage to the tests. The authorities have blocked the internet to prevent cheating in the past.

On Tuesday, state-run Ethio Telecom, the country's monopoly internet service provider told BBC Amharic that it "did not have a mandate" to speak about the closure.