Leaders from the African Union (AU) and European Union (EU) are beginning a two-day summit in Brussels to strengthen relations.

Ahead of the meeting, the EU earmarked $170bn (£125bn) for investment in Africa for green and digital projects, along with health and education.

This sixth summit is an attempt to improve relations after disputes over coronavirus vaccines, illegal migration and the role of Russian mercenaries in Africa.

Image source, Tanzania Presidency

Tanzania's exiled opposition leader Tundu Lissu has urged his supporters to work with President Samia Suluhu after their historic meeting in Belgium.

Mr Lissu said the meeting with President Samia was fruitful and that he was grateful for the opportunity.

The presideny's spokesperson said the two spoke about "various issues of interest, and prosperity".

Mr Lissu said President Samia promised to look into the rights of the opposition, including the holding of political gatherings.

Mr Lissu said he also called for the dismissal of the terrorism case against leading opposition politician Freeman Mbowe, and for his own safety to be guaranteed if he returned to Tanzania.

The former presidential candidate also asked the president to guarantee his safety if he returns into the country and ensure all his rights including access to medical treatment are granted.

The opposition leader was shot in September 2017 in Dodoma as he was leaving parliament.

He was airlifted to Kenya for treatment before being flown to Belgium for special treatment.

He returned to Tanzania and participated in the heavily disputed 2020 general election that was won by then-President John Magufuli.

A few days later he returned to Belgium saying it was for security reasons.

Malawians are criticising their MPs after a legislator asked parliament to buy raincoats for them.

Lilongwe South MP Steven Kamsiyamo made the request on Wednesday saying they needed to shield themselves from the rain while walking to the chamber from the car park.

The house leader reportedly assured MPs that the matter would be taken to the parliamentary commission committee for consideration.

Mr Kamsiyamo - who is a member of President Lazarus Chakwera's party - is said to have withdrawn his request hours later:

Some Malawians have been angered by the move, saying the MPs were being selfish and insensitive at a time when floods have devastated many families across the country.

“We have flood victims in Salima and Lower Shire who need support. Why waste money on raincoats?” Bright Malenga asked on Twitter. , external

“This level of entitlement is beyond imagination,” another Twitter user said. , external

Flooding caused by recent tropical storm Ana killed dozens of people and destroyed farms, homes and roads.

Last week, the weather authorities issued flood warning in parts of central and northern Malawi.

Jonathan Paye-Layleh
BBC News, Monrovia

Image source, Getty Images

Liberia's former interim President Amos Sawyer has died at the age of 76.

He was one of the country's most acclaimed politicians who became interim president in the 1990s as part of efforts to stop the bloody war launched by now-jailed former President Charles Taylor.

Taylor and his NPFL rebels did not recognise the Sawyer leadership and prevented him from venturing outside the capital Monrovia throughout the four-year interim period.

In post-war Liberia, Sawyer, a university professor and lecturer of political science, served as chairman of the Governance Commission.

BBC World Service

Image source, AFP

France has just announced it is withdrawing its troops from Mali, where they have been fighting jihadists.

A joint statement issued ahead of an EU-Africa summit in Brussels says this would be a coordinated withdrawal together with European allies and Canada.

The statement also speaks of the desire to continue to engage in the fight against terrorism in the Sahel.

The allies say they want to extend the geographical scope of their support, including to the countries of the Gulf of Guinea.

BBC World Service

Image source, AFP

President Emmanuel Macron is due to hold a news conference shortly where he is expected to announce the withdrawal of French troops from Mali ahead of an EU-Africa summit in Brussels.

Mr Macron held a working dinner last night in Paris with the leaders of Niger, Chad, Mauritania and several European states.

Mali's junta leader was not invited to Paris.

Elysee officials say it's become impossible for France to continue its anti-insurgency deployment in Mali, because of growing hostility from the military authorities in Bamako.

Relations deteriorated after Mali's military rulers reneged on a deal to organise elections this month and also accepted the deployment of Russian private military contractors.

Image source, Getty Images

Swakop River in Namibia has spilled into the Atlantic Ocean for the first time in 11 years, following heavy rains.

Armed with smartphones and cameras, people gathered at the mouth of the river on Wednesday to witness the rare occurrence:

The Swakop River dries up in the Namib Desert except in extreme rainy seasons when it flows into the ocean. It last flowed into the Atlantic in April 2011.

Kenya’s deputy president has defended himself after provoking anger in the Democratic Republic of Congo over his earlier remarks that suggested that there were no cattle in that country.

William Ruto had during a political rally said that there was a big market for Kenyan dairy produce in the DR Congo because “these people who are just singers…they don’t own any cow”.

It did not go down well with many Congolese people, some of whom accused Mr Ruto of being disrespectful.

On Wednesday evening, Mr Ruto said he regretted “any misunderstanding that may have arisen on account of my speech”.

He said his speech was informal and not intended to be disrespectful but was underscoring "the magnitude of the opportunities” in DR Congo.

The Kenyan ambassador to DR Congo said the comments had triggered “negative reactions among the business community and the general populace”.

“The Kenyan Embassy wishes to reiterate that the government and the people share a deep and respectful; historical relationship with the government and the people of [DR Congo],” George Masafu said in a statement

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With 200 million speakers there is a renewed push to make Swahili a common language for Africa.

Burundi and Burkina Faso take big steps to securing a place at their first Women's Africa Cup of Nations.

That's all from the BBC Africa Live team for now. There will be an automated news feed here until we're back on Thursday morning Kenyan time.

In the meantime you can find the latest updates on the BBC News website, or listen to our Africa Today podcast.

A reminder of our wise words of the day:

Click here to send us your African proverbs.

And we leave you with this Instagram post from photojournalist Thoko Chikondi of some cyclists in Chikwawa in southern Malawi:

Ishaq Khalid
BBC News, Abuja

Gunmen have shot dead at least eight people and 51 cows at a new cattle market in the south-eastern Nigerian state of Abia.

Regional police spokesperson Geoffrey Ogbonna told the BBC that a number of people had also been wounded while shops and the market's fence had been destroyed.

The attack happened on Tuesday night in Omuma-Uzo community.

It is not yet clear who carried out the attack or the motive behind it, but there have been reports of tension in the area since livestock traders were relocated to the market by the authorities.

Nigeria is grappling with multiple security challenges - and for decades tensions between herders and farmers have led to clashes.

Jose Tembe
BBC News, Maputo

More than 120,000 people forced to flee their homes because of jihadist attacks in northern Mozambique are living with a disability, the UN says.

This accounts for 15% of those displaced in the violence that has ravaged Cabo Delgado province since 2017.

This assessment was made by the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) as 35 wheelchairs, 70 walking sticks and 35 white canes were given to some of those in need in the Cabo Delgado region in partnership with Humanity Inclusion.

“Many depend on the support of relatives, neighbours or strangers”, and without essential equipment such as walking sticks or crutches were finding it difficult to rebuild their lives, the UNHCR office in Cabo Delgado said.

Ameyu Etana
BBC Afaan Oromo

Image source, Ethiopia Sugar Corporation

Ethiopia’s biggest sugar factory, which is located in an area where Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) rebels are active, has been unable to operate for a week because of security concerns.

Ethiopian Sugar Corporation’s spokesman Reta Demeke told the BBC that insecurity in the area meant it was impossible to deliver fuel to the Finchaa factory.

The fuel is needed to run the harvesting machines and other equipment at the factory, which is located in western Ethiopia, about 300km (186 miles) from the capital, Addis Ababa.

Mr Reta said reports that the plant had stopped work because of an attack by rebels was not true.

Bekele Dechasa, the top government official in Horro Guduru zone - where the factory is located - recently told the media that rebels had set tractors and sugar cane on fire.

There has been no immediate comment from OLA, which is in a formal alliance with Tigrayan rebels in the north.

Previously residents have accused the group of carrying out killings and bank heists around the sugar plant - allegations the rebels deny.

Finchaa factory has an annual production capacity of 270,000 tonnes.

A Tanzanian journalist and medical doctor who has just launched the first science newspaper in Swahili has told the BBC the venture is a dream come true.

Syriacus Buguzi says communicating science in a language that most people understand is extremely important.

MwanaSayansi, launched on Monday, aims to bridge the gap between researchers and their audience.

"English globally is dominant in terms of research dissemination but then for Swahili speakers it's like denying them an opportunity if you are not communicating to them regularly about science [in Swahili] you are denying them information," he told BBC Focus on Africa radio presenter Paul Bakibinga.

Swahili is a lingua franca across East Africa and is spoken by about 200 million people, according to the UN.

Buguzi says the project has also had its challenges as some translations are tricky for scientific terms such as “artificial intelligence”, which in one translation sounds like “fake knowledge”.

He said it was an opportunity to engage with the council that deals with the Swahili language to find appropriate terminology and broaden understanding.

Listen to the full interview:

Image source, EPA

Burkina Faso’s coup leader Paul-Henri Damiba has promised to deal with the mounting insecurity after being inaugurated as the country’s new president.

His inauguration ceremony, broadcast on TV but with no foreign representatives present, was held in a small room at the offices of the Constitutional Council.

The 41-year-old lieutenant colonel opened his speech with a minute’s silence for those killed in the fight against Islamist militants over the last six years.

"To... gain the upper hand over the enemy, it will be necessary... to rise up and convince ourselves that as a nation we have more than what it takes to win this war," the Reuters news agency quotes him as saying.

The man who ousted elected head of state Roch Kaboré because of his handling of the jihadist insurgency promised to reorganise the security forces to strengthen links between intelligence and field operations and to fight corruption.

In a nod to Ecowas, the regional body that suspended the country following the coup three years ago, AFP quoted him as saying: "Burkina Faso reiterates its readiness to work in full sovereignty with all partners in mutual respect."

Patience Atuhaire
BBC News, Kampala

Image source, AFP

Uganda has suspended the mandatory Covid-19 testing of all passengers arriving at the country’s Entebbe international airport.

Since October last year, all passengers were required to test on arrival, whether they had a valid negative PCR test or not.

The health ministry said a decline in positive cases being identified at the airport and a reduction in the threat of variants of concern were behind the decision.

But passengers - whether leaving or coming into Uganda - will still be required to have valid negative PCR test paperwork.

Uganda is currently emerging from its third wave of cases driven by the Omicron variant.

An average of 50 positive cases have been recorded daily in recent weeks and more than 15 million vaccine doses have been used so far.

You may be interested in:

• The Ugandan whose children may never return to school

Aboubakar Famau
BBC News, Zanzibar

A new Covid-19 testing device has been launched at the main airport on the Tanzanian island of Zanzibar, a popular tourist destination.

Passengers arriving at the Abeid Amani Karume International Airport are now being tested using a scanner to detect the virus instead of having to provide nose or mouth swabs.

This technological advancement is a result of research, costing about $1bn (£737m), that was conducted by the government of Abu Dhabi - which is part of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Zanzibar and Abu Dhabi have enjoyed a long-standing relationship, and the Tanzanian archipelago has always had many visitors from the UAE.

The first batch of travellers to be tested using the new device jetted in on Fly Dubai on Wednesday morning.

“It’s very fast and efficient. I couldn’t believe that I had already been scanned within the shortest time and that my results are out,” said one traveller from Saudi Arabia.

Zanzibar’s health minister said the country had not registered any Covid-19 cases since January and that the authorities there were happy to embrace any technology that would ease pressure on tourists.

The semi-autonomous region, just like any other parts of Tanzania, has been greatly affected by the pandemic.

About a year ago, Zanzibar’s vice-president was among those who succumbed to the virus.

The frog is found at a Wirral school after surviving a trip of 5,000 miles from the Ivory Coast.