The high-voltage overhead cable reportedly fell into a drainage ditch at a market near Kinshasa.

Kaleb Moges
BBC Amharic

Image source, Getty Images

The youngest footballer to represent Ethiopia at the Africa Cup of Nations has been signed by a top South African club.

Abubakar Nasir, 21, will join the Mamelodi Sundowns at the end of the local premier league.

Abubakar impressed Ethiopians in their league and has played in all three of the country Nations Cup games in Cameroon.

In the Ethiopian league he plays for Buna club, whose top officials have confirmed his transfer.

Mamelodi Sundowns have not spoken about the new signing yet.

A Tanzanian cockroach farmer has told BBC Swahili how he has made a fortune from his business.

"People thought I was mad when I started farming cockroaches and now it earns me a good living," said Lusius Kawogo.

And cockroaches seem to be taking the East African nation by storm.

Last month, a story about popular Tanzanian singer and model Saumu Hamisi's passion for nutritious cockroaches went viral.

Also known by her stage name Ummy Doll, she told BBC Swahili that the insects tasted like fish or white meat - and that she added coconut oil to roast, kebab or fry them.

Mr Kawogo says he now gets enquiries from customers outside Tanzania seeking to buy the cockroaches.

But he said this type of farming was yet to be embraced by most Tanzanians.

"I wish we had several people interested in farming cockroaches as we would be able to supply in large quantities."

An expert at Dar es Salaam's Muhimbili National Hospital says cockroaches have a lot of nutritional value when farmed in the right way.

"Cockroaches are high in proteins, fat, vitamin B12 and zinc, which help with building immunity," nutritionist Scolastica Mlinga told BBC Swahili.

Piers Edwards
BBC Africa Sport

Image source, AFP

There is some good news from Cameroon ahead of Wednesday's semi-final match which sees Burkina Faso take on Senegal at the Africa Cup of Nations.

All seven spectators described as "seriously injured" following last week’s stadium tragedy in Cameroon's capital, Yaoundé, have now left hospital.

“The injured patients from Olembé Stadium have been discharged in good health status,” Dr Pierre Joseph Fouda, director of Yaoundé's Central Hospital, told BBC Sport Africa.

Their hospital costs were paid for by the Cameroonian government.

Eight Cameroonian football fans - including two boys, aged eight and 14 - were crushed to death at an entry gate to the Olembé Stadium before a game on Monday 24 January.

The stadium will host its first match since the tragedy when Cameroon play Egypt in Thursday’s semi-final, with Olembé also hosting the final itself on Sunday.

Image source, AFP

Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has questioned whether her country's military mission in Mali should continue.

On Tuesday, France said it was reviewing its military presence in the West African nation following the expulsion of the French ambassador by Mali's junta.

"Given the most recent steps by the Malian government, we must honestly ask ourselves whether the conditions for the success of our shared commitment are still there," Ms Baerbock told German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung, external.

A European force known as Takuba was set up in 2020 to operate in close partnership with the Malian army in its fight against jihadist groups.

The junta is under pressure for failing to organise elections scheduled for this month - delaying them by four years.

Tensions have also been heightened by allegations that the coup leaders have engaged the help of Russian mercenaries.

Image source, af

About 60 people living in a camp for the homeless have been killed in a brutal overnight attack in the north-east of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

At around 02:00 local time, men armed with guns and machetes raided Plaine Savo, set up for those forced to flee their homes in the province of Ituri because of inter-ethnic conflict.

The local chief said most of the victims were women and children. Many of them had their throats slit.

"I first heard cries when I was still in bed. Then several minutes of gunshots. I fled and I saw torches and people crying for help,” a camp resident told the Reuters news agency.

Another 40 people have been injured, according to the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), which provides aid to the camp.

The Codeco militia has been blamed for the massacre.

Its fighters are mainly drawn from the Lendu farming community, which has been at loggerheads with the province’s Hema cattle herders.

The NRC says there has been a steep escalation of deliberate and targeted attacks by armed groups against displaced people in Ituri.

Since November, nearly 70 people have been killed in raids on five other camps, it says.

“These attacks have triggered new waves of mass displacement and plunged already vulnerable populations into a climate of terror,” the NRC said.

An estimated 1.7 million people have been forced to flee their homes in Ituri since violence began to escalate several years ago.

He helped deliver the baby in a maize field because there wasn't time to get to hospital.

Egypt coach Carlos Queiroz appeals to Samuel Eto'o to retract comments comparing their Africa Cup of Nations semi-final against Cameroon to a "war".

BBC World Service

Image source, AFP

Mali's finance ministry says the country has defaulted on bond repayments because of restrictions imposed by its neighbours.

The ministry said it had sufficient reserves to repay the debt of more than $4.5m (£3.3m) due on 28 January but could not because of sanctions imposed on Mali by the regional bloc, Ecowas, and the West African central bank.

The ministry said Mali would pay its debts as soon as the restrictions were lifted.

Ecowas announced the measures last month after the military government announced a four-year delay to elections originally planned for February following coups in August 2020 and May 2021.

They include the freezing of Malian state assets in member countries' commercial banks and the suspension of non-essential financial transactions.

Ghanaian skeleton racer Akwasi Frimpong feels "powerless" after rule changes cost him a place at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.

Kalkidan Yibeltal
BBC News

Image source, Getty Images

The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has accused government security forces in Oromia, the country’s largest region, of killing 14 civilians in December, including local elders.

Earlier, the authorities had said an armed rebel group, the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), was behind the attacks.

The report from the commission - hailed for its independence despite being a state-linked institution - is a slap in the face for Oromia's authorities.

Dubbed the “Karayu massacre” - named after the location of the attack - the report says the victims were taken from their homes to a nearby forest by the security forces and shot.

Relatives were forbidden from taking the dead for burial and some were eaten by wild animals, the commission added.

The killings followed an attack by rebel groups on members of the police force, the report said.

The regional government has not yet responded to the accusations.

Reports of extrajudicial killings have increased in Ethiopia particularly following the outbreak of war 15 months ago in the country’s north.

Yasine Mohabuth
BBC News, Port Louis

Image source, Catherine Leclezio

Mauritius has issued a class four warning - the highest weather alert - because a cyclone is approaching the Indian Ocean island.

Batsirai has also been upgraded to an intense tropical cyclone to reflect its strength.

The weather is expected to deteriorate further with rainfall over the whole island.

The cyclone should pass at its closest point at 16:00 local time (GMT 12:00) at around 120km (75 miles) from Grand Bay, a tourist resort in the north.

Waves of up to 10m (32ft) are expected along the coastal roads in the south-west.

The strongest gust recorded so far has been 151km/h at Champs de Mars in the capital, Port Louis.

The electrical network is suffering in the strong winds and 14,000 homes are currently without electricity - the most impacted are in the capital.

Many people have evacuated their homes looking for refuge in government centres, including some children.

Police armoured vehicles are being used to assist patients who need to get to hospital.

Some roads are partially flooded with a lot of debris on them, including rocks, sand and trees.

The last time Mauritius experienced these conditions was back in 2007 when tropical cyclone Gamede battered the island with gusts of 158km/h.

Kennedy Gondwe
BBC News, Lusaka

Image source, Zambian Reports

A Zambian soldier has earned himself a promotion for helping a pregnant woman deliver a baby in a maize field.

Humphrey Mangisani has been promoted from a lance corporal to a full corporal for his bravery.

The story of the birth, which - according to Zambian Reports - took place last week in the eastern Petauke district, captured the nation.

Cpl Mangisani said he was called to help the woman who had gone into labour.

He organised for a motorbike taxi to take her to hospital and followed behind in another taxi.

But her labour progressed so quickly that they had to abandon the bikes and he helped her deliver the baby in a field by the side of the road.

“I quickly found a razor blade and helped her to cut the umbilical code. It was raining when she gave birth. I quickly took the baby to the hospital and the mother followed behind," he said.

The soldier risked a reprimand as he ended up being absent without leave from his camp.

However, the grateful mother gave him the opportunity to name her newborn son - and he chose Raymond as the name for the little baby.

At the promotion ceremony, eastern province commander Brigadier General Kelvin Kanguma said: "You’re not a qualified medical doctor but you went out and helped that lady successfully."

The army commander said the action changed the public's perception of soldiers.

"You have shown that a soldier is someone who can help."

Zambia's health ministry recently revealed that more than 100 newborns die every week because of delays in getting to hospitals and clinics, which are often far away.

President Embaló says he and his cabinet survived five hours under fire from heavy weaponry.

Jose Tembe
BBC News, Maputo

Image source, Noticias

Recycled bottles are being used to build houses for people who lost their homes in flooding in central Mozambique.

The project, funded by Tearfund, will last for three years.

The homes will be some of the first ecological houses in that part of the country. Two have already been completed in the district of Gondola in Manica province.

Francisco Charles, an Anglican priest in Gondola, explained that after initial help with food and clothing following floods, poor housing conditions remain unresolved.

“The church cannot live on the gospel alone. We saw that we could do something to give a smile to those people who are suffering and we decided to do a campaign and seek support for the construction of houses,” he said.

Virgílio Jambo, a health and sanitation official in Gondola municipality, said the project would help clean up the village in addition to solving the housing problem.

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• Nigeria's plastic bottle house

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A Kenyan student is being treated in a hospital in the coastal city of Mombasa after he was flogged for eating five chapatis instead of one allocated by the school.

Teachers have been accused of beating up the boy with a hose-pipe but the school administration has blamed his fellow students.

The 13-year-old boy has black marks on his body, according to local media reports and widely shared videos.

His parents say the school did not inform them about the incident until a week later when the boy became seriously ill.

Doctors at the hospital say the boy has an acute kidney injury and his genitals were also injured.

Local education officials have closed the school after an inspection that followed the incident.

The matter has sparked anger among some Kenyans online:

“Did humanity really depart us? Why would a teacher do this, just because of a chapati? Teaching is not a career, it's a passion, God given duty. It's not a torture place for our younger siblings. This broke my heart,” one person tweeted.

Another said: “Teachers should not cane children at any given moment. It's against the constitution."

Jonathan Paye-Layleh
BBC News, Monrovia

Image source, Reuters

Liberia’s central bank has burned old and mutilated banknotes totalling 600m Liberian dollars ($4m; £3m) - to make way for freshly printed notes.

The disposal follows concerns that old currency notes remain in circulation despite the government printing new ones in recent years.

It also comes after the apparent disappearance of state funds in 2018 - with allegations that more than $100m worth of newly printed Liberian banknotes had gone missing.

The central bank denied it and stated that the money was stored in bank vaults.

President George Weah’s government is yet to account for $25m withdrawn from the country’s reserve accounts the same year to replace older Liberian dollars and strengthen the local currency.

Pressure groups have asked for an explanation and accountability into how the exercise was carried out.

The Liberian economy has been struggling in recent years but in his recent annual address to parliament, President Weah said the economy was stable and growing.

Image source, Getty Images

The South African presidency has received the second of a three-part report on investigations into corruption during former President Jacob Zuma's tenure.

The second part was received behind closed doors unlike the first one which was presented on live TV.

The latest volume details corruption in public logistics company Transnet and the state arms firm Denel.

The first report dealt with corruption at the national carrier South African Airways, the country's tax collector and public procurement.

The third and final part of the report is due to be presented to the presidency by the end of this month.

Read about the first report:

• Zondo commission report: Scandal, bullying and fear

The Newsroom
BBC World Service

Image source, AFP

Brazilian police have arrested three men in connection with the brutal killing of a Congolese migrant in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro.

The killing was captured on video and caused public outrage.

Relatives said Moise Kabagambe was attacked after asking his boss to pay wages owed for two days work at a beach kiosk.

The footage showed him being repeatedly hit by three men with clubs and a baseball bat.

The mayor of Rio, Eduardo Paes, called the killing "unacceptable and revolting".

Mr Kabagambe's mother said the family had managed to flee brutal violence in their native Democratic Republic of Congo - but her son had ended up being equally treated in Brazil.

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