James Copnall
BBC Newsday, Limbe

Image source, @JamesCopnall

A senior official involved in Cameroon's hosting of the Africa Cup of Nations has assured the BBC that separatist rebels pose no threat to the tournament, which begins on Sunday.

Engamba Emmanuel Ledoux admitted that last week groups fighting for the independence of Anglophone Cameroon set off an explosion in the town of Limbe, which will host some of the games.

But he said the government had introduced security measures to stop the rebels from attacking the event or the nearby town of Buer, where some of the players are expected to stay.

"The threats have been going on. This is not the first time. You know, we organised the Chan [African Nations Championship] last year within the same environment," he said.

Can you name all the 14 teams to have lifted the Africa Cup of Nations trophy since the tournament began in 1957?

Image source, Getty Images

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has said severe lockdowns are no longer the best way to deal with coronavirus waves.

Governments are now being urged to use public health and social measures to reduce the number of virus infections.

There should also be an emphasis on vaccinations, the Africa CDC briefing said.

Several countries experienced new waves of infection towards the end of last year.

South Africa attributed the recent surge in cases to the new variant Omicron.

Lulu Sanga
BBC News, Dar es Salaam

Image source, AFP

Tanzania's parliamentary speaker Job Ndugai has resigned days after clashing with the president over foreign debts.

The speaker said his resignation was a personal and voluntary decision taken in the interests of the nation.

But it came after he said Tanzania was at risk of being auctioned off following President Samia Suluhu's announcement of a new loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Mr Ndugai issued a public apology to President Samia, which she rejected.

She accused him of playing politics and trying to sabotage her ahead of general elections in 2025.

BBC World Service

Image source, Getty Images

Three Eritrean's living in a refugee camp in Ethiopia's Tigray region were killed in an airstrike on Wednesday, the UN says.

Two of the dead were children.

Several other people were injured in the attack on the Mai Aini camp.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, said refugees should never be a target.

He called on Ethiopian government forces and Tigrayan rebels to respect civilians.

Conflict in the region broke out in November 2020.

Our proverb of the day:

Click here to send us your African proverbs.

A selection of the best photos from across the African continent this week:

Maria Rose Belding explains how she started a US database to distribute unwanted food to the hungry.

That's all for now from the BBC Africa Live team. We'll be back on Friday morning.

There will be an automated news feed until then. You can also listen to our podcast Africa Today.

Here's a reminder of our wise words of the day:

Click here to send us your African proverbs.

We leave you with a photo of women dancing in Ghana by photographer Nana Kofi Acquah:

Keisha Gitari
BBC News, Lagos

Image source, TWITTER/ PERRIE

The Lagos State government in Nigeria has ordered police to release the suspects held over the death of 12-year-old Sylvester Oromoni Junior.

The suspects included five students and five members of the school’s staff.

The state government cited inadequate evidence to substantiate the allegations of murder against the students and negligence against the staff members.

It said it was acting on the advice of the director of public prosecution (DPP).

In a statement Sylvester’s family accused the state government of conspiracy.

He died last November after efforts to save his life failed.

He was allegedly attacked by five of his senior classmates for refusing to join a cult.

In December the state government ordered the closure of the school.

The family’s lawyer, Femi Falana, has called the decision “escapist and hasty” given that the chief coroner of Lagos State has ordered an inquest into the circumstances surrounding Sylvester’s death.

The inquest, which began last month, has been adjourned until 15 January.

A manhunt has been launched for three Chinese nationals who were abducted earlier this week, police in central Nigeria said.

The victims were working at a hydro-power plant near the town of Zungeru, according to the Niger state police spokesperson Wasiu Abiodun.

Four Chinese workers were rescued, but two local staff were killed, he said.

He denied an eyewitness account that a criminal gang carried out the attack unchallenged.

When finished, the Zungeru power project is expected to be the second-largest of its kind in Nigeria.

Correspondents say kidnappings have been on the rise in the state.

Sudanese people have no option but to go out and demonstrate against the military, according to the spokesperson of the Sudanese Professionals Association.

"Our people decided to bring this coup down, and we will bring it down. We're still fighting for our freedom, peace and justice," Mohaned El-Nour told the BBC's Newsday programme.

See earlier post:Thousands protest

Nduka Orjinmo
BBC News, Abuja

Image source, AFP

The call for criminals ­- or bandits, as locals say - to be branded terrorists has been long and loud since they graduated from stealing cattle to downing a military jet.

The government has now officially designated them as "terrorists", after a high court in Abuja made a similar ruling about the gangs.

It is now left to be seen how much the new designation will affect the war against the criminals in Nigeria’s north-west and north-central states, but it changes how the military can fight them and what sort of weapons it can use. .

The Super Tucano jets received last year from the US could not previously be used against the bandits but now they can be.

The change in classification also makes it easier to prosecute the bandits for the myriad crimes they carry out - from the kidnapping of school children to the theft of cattle.

Suspects can simply be charged with terrorism, rather than different offences.

Communities and politicians that tacitly supported the bandits would now think twice of doing so, as they risked being linked to terror groups.

While most communities have been coerced into paying taxes to these criminals to ensure their survival, which in turn helped fund them, there is likely going to be less cooperation now.

It is also hoped that this designation would discourage people from getting into banditry in northern Nigeria.

Read more:

• Nigeria armed gangs declared terrorist groups

Peter Jegwa
Lilongwe, Malawi

Image source, TWITTER/ SKCHILIMA

The first Malawian woman to hold the position of First Lady, Anne Chidzira Muluzi, has been laid to rest.

Mrs Muluzi died of cancer at a hospital in Kenya on 28 December at the age of 69.

She was wife to Malawi’s second President, Bakili Muluzi, but was the first woman to hold the position of First Lady because Malawi’s first President, Hastings Banda was not married.

Banda lived with personal secretary Cecilia Kaedzamira for most of the 30 years he was Malawi’s president and gave her the title of Official Hostess.

The funeral ceremony was presided over by President Lazarus Chakwera, who granted the former First Lady a state funeral with full military honours at a primary school in her home village of Masula, just outside the capital, Lilongwe.

The late Anne Muluzi was very highly regarded for being a mother figure who preferred to take a back seat and not engage in partisan politics in a country where no less than three former First Ladies at some point served as parliamentarians.

Her funeral was a national event attended by leaders from different religious denominations and from across the political divide.

She is survived by a son, Atupele, who is president of the opposition United Democratic Front, a party his father led when he was Malawi's president between 1994 and 2004.

Ahmed Rouaba
BBC News

Image source, Getty Images

Former Cameroon football star Roger Milla has angered football fans in North Africa after he accused the Maghreb countries of "always causing troubles" in the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon).

Mr Milla suggested those countries should not compete in the African continent, in an interview with France's TV5 Monde.

"If you are not Africans then you should go and play in Europe, Asia or elsewhere," he said.

The former Indomitable Lion lashed out at the North African countries saying "we accepted them to play in the African continent".

There had been concerns about Cameroon's readiness to host the games, given they were due to stage the 2019 tournament but it had had to be moved to Egypt.

Egypt and Morocco have called for Afcon to be postponed.

Internet users in North Africa were shocked by the comments which some found "unnecessary" and "meaningless".

Egypt co-founded the African Football Confederation 1957 together with Sudan and Ethiopia.

Read more: Algeria and a question of identity: Who counts as African?

The hospital treating Surafeal in Ethiopia's Tigray region is also running out of food.

The body of a male hiker who is believed to have fallen at South Africa's Table Mountain has been recovered.

Fellow hikers reported the incident on Wednesday afternoon and the search for him started.

Authorities say the body was retrieved on Thursday morning with the help of a helicopter.

Police are investigating the incident.

BBC World Service

Image source, AFP

Thousands of people in Sudan have protested once more against military rule.

It follows the resignation of Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok on Sunday.

In the capital Khartoum, the security services fired teargas at demonstrators near the presidential palace.

One protester was shot dead in demonstrations in the capital's twin city, Omdurman, according to the Central Committee of Doctors in Sudan.

There were also marches in other places, including Port Sudan, Atbara and Wad Madani.

Some bridges between Khartoum and the adjoining cities of Omdurman and Bahri were closed ahead of the rally.

Earlier, internet and mobile services were disrupted.

Sudan's armed forces, led by Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, staged a coup in October, triggering a wave of protests and international condemnation.

Efforts to resolve the crisis have so far failed.

Read more:

• Sudan coup: Sudan forces fire tear gas at protesters

Captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang tests positive for Covid-19 just four days before Gabon's first game at the Africa Cup of Nations.

Kalkidan Yibeltal
BBC News

Image source, Getty Images

Ethiopia has dismissed accusations by a new Human Rights Watch report that said thousands of ethnic Tigrayans deported from Saudi Arabia were facing detention and forced disappearance upon arrival.

The accusations were described as "fabrications" by a government spokesperson.

The report is part of a concerted effort to put pressure on the government, Dina Mufti at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

“Human Rights Watch has several fictions about Ethiopia,” Mr Dina said. “This is one of those fictions.”

Rights groups have often accused authorities of profiling ethnic Tigrayans living in the capital Addis Ababa and other cities since war broke out 14 months ago in the northern part of the country.

Closures of businesses owned by Tigrayans and arbitrary detentions are some of the allegations raised against the government.

Read more: Mass arrests and ethnic profiling haunt Addis Ababa