Peter Mwai
BBC Reality Check

Image source, AFP

Poorer nations are being offered vaccines with too short a shelf life for them to be distributed before their expiry date, according to the UN's children's fund Unicef.

In December alone, more 100 million vaccines were rejected by countries unable to distribute them, Unicef's head of supply, Etleva Kadilli told members of the European Parliament on Thursday.

She said the problem was compounded by many countries' insufficient storage facilities.

Many of the world’s poorest countries, most of them in Africa, have been relying on the UN-backed Covax scheme for their vaccines.

The programme faced challenges in accessing doses early last year, but the situation significantly improved towards the end of 2021 with wealthier countries releasing doses they were holding.

However, many of the doses offered have been close to their expiry date, and have been rejected by the recipient nations.

Some countries such as Nigeria struggled with administering the vaccines forcing them to destroy expired jabs.

Only about 10% of the population on the continent has been fully vaccinated.

More on this topic:

• African nations miss WHO target for coronavirus vaccines

Brian Otieno
Data Journalist, BBC News

Deliberate internet blockages across sub-Saharan Africa resulted in $1.9bn (£1.4bn) in losses last year - eight times more than in 2020, according to a tech website.

Top10VPN says Nigeria was by far the worst-hit African country losing nearly $1.5bn, second globally to politically troubled Myanmar, which lost about $2.8bn.

Top10VPN's report came as Nigeria lifted a ban on Twitter that had lasted for seven months, though many people circumvented it by using VPNs.

Ethiopia was the second-most affected country in Africa having lost around $164m, followed by Sudan on almost $152m and Uganda at more than $109m, according to the report.

More than half of the 21 countries that experienced major shutdowns were in sub-Saharan Africa.

Following a seven-month ban, the micro-blogging site will register in Nigeria and pay tax locally.

Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

The authorities in Sudan say a senior police officer has been killed as thousands of protesters took to the streets of the capital Khartoum to call for an end to military rule.

Last month police officials said dozens of officers were injured during demonstrations, but this is the first reported fatality in the security forces since October's coup.

Doctors say more than 60 other people have been killed during the many pro-democracy demonstrations - most were shot or hit by tear gas cannisters. Female protesters have also been sexually assaulted.

In several other cities across Sudan people are also out on the streets in protest.

Kalkidan Yibeltal
BBC News

Image source, Getty Images

The Norwegian Nobel Committee has joined international voices calling on Ethiopia's prime minister to end the country's 14-month-long civil war.

In a statement it said Abiy Ahmed - who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019 - had a special responsibility to see an end to the bloodshed.

Just a year after getting the prize for ending a long war with Eritrea, Mr Abiy sent troops to fight rebels in the northern Tigray region.

The war has forced millions from their homes. The government has been accused of blocking aid and there have been multiple allegations of atrocities being committed by all sides.

Mr Abiy’s spokesperson Billene Seyoum had previously said that the Nobel Peace Prize was not "a shackle for inaction when the country is threatened".

The calls from the Committee are expected to increase the pressure to find a peaceful resolution for the war.

Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

The European Union (EU) says it will impose sanctions on Mali after the military leaders who carried out last year's coup went back on a pledge to hold elections next month.

This follows a similar move by the Ecowas group of West African countries which on Sunday announced a trade embargo and border closures.

Announcing the decision to impose sanctions, the EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said despite all the warnings to the Malian authorities there'd been no sign of progress.

He said the sanctions were also in response to the arrival of Russian private military contractors.

West African countries and the EU hope the measures will push the military leaders to give up their plans to rule the country for several more years and instead hold elections.

What's not clear is how all this will affect the international fight against jihadists. The EU says despite the sanctions it plans to keep soldiers in Mali.

The country's military rulers have urged people to take to the streets on Friday to condemn Ecowas's decision to impose a trade embargo.

Kenyans spent several hours with electricity this week, what are the underlying causes?

In Kenya, around 200 children are currently held in confinement with their mothers who are serving prison sentences.

Shingai Nyoka
BBC News, Harare

Image source, Getty Images

Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa has said China will donate 10 million Covid vaccine doses to the country this year.

It is a share of a one-billion vaccine donation Beijing has pledged to Africa, a continent with one of the lowest vaccination rates.

Vaccines procured from China have formed the backbone of Zimbabwe’s fight against coronavirus.

President Mnangagwa says Beijing has now pledged four million doses of Sinopharm and six million of Sinovac, in addition to the two million doses received last year.

About 20% of Zimbabweans have been jabbed, a third of the government’s target - and daily vaccination rates are dropping.

Some suggest the hesitancy is linked to the perceived mildness of the Omicron variant.

Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

Image source, AFP

Sudanese security forces have fired tear gas at thousands of pro-democracy protesters who were heading towards the presidential palace in the capital, Khartoum.

Marches are also taking place in several other cities across the country as people continue to demand the end of military rule.

Since October's coup there have been frequent protests as people call for General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan to step down and for the military to quit the political scene.

More than 60 people have been killed during pro-democracy demonstrations. Members of the security forces have also sexually assaulted women and girls.

The UN has been trying to start negotiations to end the country's political crisis.

Nkechi Ogbonna
West Africa Business Journalist, BBC News

Image source, Getty Images

Flights to and from Ghana, Guinea, Angola, Ivory Coast and Uganda are now available on Emirates Airlines - reversing a ban the company had brought in last month.

A statement from the airline says travellers to Dubai must follow new coronavirus guidance:

• Passengers entering from Guinea, Uganda or Ghana must show a 48‑hour negative PCR test, a negative 6‑hour Rapid PCR test and a negative PCR test on arrival.
• Travellers from Angola or Ivory Coast must show a negative 72-hour PCR test, and another negative PCR test on arrival.

In December, the carrier banned flights from 10 African countries including Ghana, a move believed to be over Covid-19 concerns. Although outbound operations from Dubai to the 10 countries continued, passengers in transit or with Dubai as final destination were not allowed to travel.

Emirates had already suspended flights to Nigeria following a recently imposed directive limiting them to one flight per week there. A rift between the airline and the Nigerian government continued into the new year with no signs of resolution in sight.

Similarly the Kenyan government suspended all inbound and transit passenger flights from the United Arabs Emirates (UAE), for seven days, effective from 10 January.

The authorities say they took that decision to reciprocate a ban on Kenyan passenger flights to the UAE last December following claims of Kenyan passengers testing positive for Covid on arrival in Dubai, despite possessing negative PCR tests from Kenya.

Image source, AFP

South Africa's Limpopo health minister is under fire for her sex education message to girls during a school visit.

Phophi Ramathuba told girls to "open your books and close your legs" - in a rather blunt way of encouraging abstinence to prevent HIV/Aids infections.

She said the girls were being lured by older men using luxuries like expensive wigs and smartphones.

Her message has however been called out for putting the burden of sexual responsibility on girls only, as many people online said it was also the responsibility of boys and men to stop preying on them., external

The minister defended her message, saying it was taken out of context and that she also advised the boys not to engage in sexual activities, Times Live newspaper reports, external.

Data across South Africa's provinces last year showed there had been a significant rise in the number of teen pregnancies during the pandemic.

The implementation of sex education programmes in some schools was halted after resistance from parents.

South Africa's sexual offences act exists to crack down on perpetrators and a registry of offenders is available to institutions, but many victims fear reporting these crimes.

Kenyan police are investigating major power outages in recent days that some people have blamed on vandalism.

It comes amid suspicion of a deliberate sabotage - and the directorate of criminal investigations says it's not ruling out any such possibilities pending the probe.

Kenya suffered a major nationwide electricity outage on Tuesday.

State electricity company Kenya Power blamed a collapse of towers supporting a key high-voltage power transmission line.

It shared pictures of some of the fallen pylons in Embakasi, in the capital Nairobi:

On Wednesday the utility firm was still working to restore further disruption of power in some parts of the country.

The energy minister on Thursday said the ministry was working to ensure that the "experience of the last two days does not recur".

Read more: Kenya Power in the spotlight after nationwide blackout

Ivory Coast's Max Gradel dedicates his match-winner against Equatorial Guinea to his late father, who died last week.

Emmanuel Igunza
BBC News, Nairobi

Image source, World Youth Forum

Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi has broken his silence over the military coup in neighbouring Sudan and the ongoing protests calling for civilian rule.

Egypt has faced accusations of siding with Sudan's head of military, Abdel Fattah al Burhan but President Sisi dismissed the claims.

"Just because we have not issued any public statements does not mean that we are aligned to this side or the other side," he told reporters on the sidelines of the World Youth Forum being held in Sharm el-Sheikh.

He called on both the military rulers and the protesters to embrace dialogue to end the political crisis.

Separately, he said he was disappointed by the breakdown of talks between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan over the construction of a dam on the River Nile, which has been a source of a decade-long row between the countries.

He said Egypt had always been ready to co-operate on a binding agreement before the dam becomes fully operational.

He said the country had gone to UN Security Council because a solution hadn't been found yet.

The professor is sentenced to two years in prison after being convicted of indecent behaviour.

A South African woman whose wedding dress was stolen has turned to social media in the hopes that "someone, somewhere might have seen it".

Shelly Lukan says the dress, which she wore when she got married in 2019, was one of the items taken when her home was burgled in December.

"They took quite a bit of stuff, but the most valuable item is my wedding dress. It was made by my best friend. I was keeping it for my daughter, who is six months old, and I really wanted to keep it in the family," News24 quotes her as saying, external.

She adds that the police haven't had any success with their efforts to track it down.

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

Image source, AFP

Sudanese activists have called for protests on Thursday to continue to demand the end of military rule.

Protest organisers had planned action for Wednesday but decided to delay it by a day at the last minute.

A poster shared on social media, external by the Sudanese Professionals’ Association - the group that mobilised protests against the former president, Omar al-Bashir - urged Sudanese to take part in the "million-march" demonstrations.

A doctors' union says more than 60 people have been killed in weeks of demonstrations demanding for civilian rule.

Abdalla Hamdok, who had served as prime minister before he was arrested by the military in October and later reinstated as premier a month, later resigned on 2 January - throwing the country into a major crisis.

The army now remains fully in charge as talks continue on the appointment of civilian leaders.

Mike Thomson
BBC News

Egyptian prosecutors have again extended the pre-trial detention of three Al Jazeera journalists for 45 days - despite reports that one is suffering from serious health problems.

Hisham Abdelaziz has been detained for two-and-a-half years - far longer than legally permitted.

His wife says he needs urgent surgery for failing eyesight.

He was arrested in June 2019 and accused of joining a terrorist group.

Rabee Al-Shaykh, a producer at the Qatar-based network, is accused of “spreading false news”.

Bahaa Al-Deen Ibrahim, also a producer, was detained in February 2020.

Al Jazeera’s operations in Egypt were shut down by the government in 2013 and the network only resumed broadcasting from there last year.

Image source, NDLEA

A popular Nigerian skit maker was arrested during a raid by the drug law enforcement agency.

Sunday Joshua popularly known as De General was found with Tramadol - a restricted drug used to treat pain - and cannabis.

He had gone live on his Instagram account - that has more than 700,000 followers - during the raid.

De General has not commented about the arrest but a statement from the agency said he admitted to owning the drugs found in his house., external

His friends have however told local media that he was set up.