Image source, Reuters

Pharmaceutical company Pfizer is set to supply Africa's top health body with its coronavirus pill.

The drug - Paxlovid - is intended for use soon after symptoms develop in people at high risk of severe disease.

Paperwork for the deal between the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Pfizer is now in the hands of the African Union's legal office - after which a formal announcement will be made, says Africa CDC director John Nkengasong.

He is urging health ministries to adopt robust measures spanning vaccines and testing plus the treatments by Pfizer as well as Merck, whose molnupiravir coronavirus pill he said the Africa CDC was also seeking.

Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

Image source, Getty Images

Aid agencies are expressing concern that the crisis in Ukraine is causing donors to cut funding for other emergencies - including conflicts in West Africa and droughts in the east of the continent.

In Burkina Faso, where a jihadist conflict is spreading, aid organisations including the Norwegian Refugee Council and Oxfam say donors are cutting funds by 70% to support their operations in Ukraine.

They say this will have devastating consequences for the more than 1.7 million people who have fled their homes because of the jihadist violence.

In Somalia, the UN is warning that the Ukraine crisis means more funding problems for a drought affecting nearly a third of the population.

Global poverty levels have shot up because of the coronavirus pandemic, meanwhile the impact of climate change continues to cause havoc and food prices have been soaring.

Another war will make things even worse.

A number of passengers have had no choice but to disembark from the train they were travelling on after it ran out of fuel, Nigerian media report.

Punch news has shared this video of people waiting on the tracks next to the Lagos-to-Ibadan train:

It's not known why or how the locomotive ran out of fuel.

A short while ago, the Cable news site quoted a spokesman for the Nigerian Railway Corporation as saying, external he wasn't aware of the situation.

Nichola Mandil
BBC News, Juba

Civilians have been killed and wounded in recent attacks in an oil-rich area of South Sudan that is contested by Sudan, the UN says.

Local media outlets put the number of those killed in Abyei at 27, but the UN has not given any numbers.

The killings are suspected to have been carried out by Arab Misseriya militias from Sudan.

The UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha) says it believes more than 50,000 could have been displaced since the fighting began in February, with more than 24,000 people registered in Twic County further south in Warrap State.

As a result of the violence, humanitarian operations in affected areas were suspended and aid workers relocated for their safety.

The US embassies in both Juba and Khartoum have expressed concern at the escalation violence in Abyei and also in Agok, calling on both nations to return to dialogue and give political backing to UN peacekeepers to deescalate the attacks.

More on this topic:

• Why Abyei is crucial to South Sudan and Sudan
• A quick guide to South Sudan

Jose Tembe
BBC News, Maputo

Tropical Cyclone Gombe is expected to hit northern Mozambique on Thursday evening or Friday morning, with gusts of wind in excess of 100mph (160km/h) and very heavy rainfalls.

It has been upgraded from a tropical storm to a tropical cyclone because of its wind speeds.

The authorities say it could be the most severe weather system to hit the country this season.

The provinces of Cabo Delgado, Zambézia, Sofala and Nampula are on alert - the last of which is already suffering torrential rains and strong winds in the area of Ilha de Moçambique.

Eighteen boats and seven mobile bridges deployed during January's Tropical Storm Ana are ready for use, says Mozambique's disaster relief body INGD.

INGD spokeswoman Luísa Meque adds that food and non-food items have also been pre-positioned in strategic locations.

Image source, Modis/Nasa

Bekele Atoma Boru
BBC Horn of Africa

The embassies of Russia and Germany in Ethiopia have squared off on their social media accounts over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The Russian embassy posted on Facebook a note of appreciation to Ethiopians who were supporting them in "fighting Nazism", external - repeating the Kremlin's narrative that Russian forces are liberating Ukraine.

The German embassy responded by saying that invading Ukraine "under the pretext of 'fighting Nazism' was the sad epitome of cynicism and disinformation", external.

"This war is not about fighting Nazism (something we sadly are quite familiar with). It is about fighting [for] democracy, freedom of press and the voice of the people," the German embassy added.

Pro-government Ethiopians, who feel indebted to Russia over its support at the UN Security Council on the Tigray crisis, reacted positively to the post by the Russian embassy.

Ethiopia did not vote on the UN General Assembly’s resolution condemning Russia's invasion of Ukraine that called for the immediate withdrawal of its forces.

Nigeria international Asisat Oshoala extends her deal with La Liga and Women's Champions League holders Barcelona until 2024.

A Nigerian woman who is facing trial for the suspected murder of a businessman has been crowned Miss Cell 2022, at Kirikiri prison in Lagos.

Chidinma Ojukwu, whose story has been widely reported, pleaded not guilty to eight counts including murder.

Super TV boss Usifo Ataga was stabbed to death last June and his case has been followed widely in Nigeria.

Ms Ojukwu was seen wearing a crown in photos taken at Wednesday's pageant in the prison, which the correctional services boss said was part of International Women's Day celebrations.

Nigeria's Punch Newspaper has shared more photos of the event:

Rose-Marie Bouboutou
BBC Africa Health correspondent

Image source, AFP

Gabon is lifting its curfew and all other coronavirus restrictions, the president has announced during a state-of-the-nation address that was broadcast live on Facebook.

The Central African nation's unpopular anti-Covid measures were among the longest-running in Africa, sparking several protests in the two years since measures were first introduced.

It is hoped Thursday's decree will see life return to some sense of normality.

According to official World Health Organization data, external, about 13% of people in Gabon have received at least one dose of the vaccine.

But Gabon's President Ali Bongo says as many as 25% are vaccinated against the virus, and that transmission has steadily dropped with fewer than 10 new infections on average reported each day.

Vaccinated people had previously been allowed to travel during curfew hours and to attend public gatherings, and this will now be extended to the rest of the population.

Thomas Naadi
BBC News, Accra

Image source, Getty Images

A Ghanaian businessman is reportedly seeking to become the first African owner of an English Premier League club, with his bid to buy Chelsea for $3.1bn (£2.4m).

Bernard Antwi Bosiako - popularly known as Chairman Wuntumi - is a gold-mine owner and politician whose reported offer comes as a surprise to many in Ghana given he is relatively unknown in the sporting world.

He makes his money through gold mining and also owns some radio, and TV channels. He has not disclosed how much he is worth.

He is the chairman of the Ashanti regional branch of the ruling New Patriotic Party.

Chelsea's Russian owner Roman Abramovich has been hit by UK sanctions following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but his plans to sell the club have been put on hold for now because of government-imposed asset freezes.

In an earlier statement, Mr Bosiako had indicated that his lawyers and transaction advisers were in London to commence negotiations with Chelsea's owners.

Top football stars like Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo and Paris Saint-Germain's Lionel Messi are among those he said he hoped to sign if he is successful with his bid.

Image source, BATUK

A Kenyan court has ordered the UK and Kenyan governments to resolve a dispute, in which British soldiers are accused of starting a wildfire during a training exercise that damaged a wildlife conservancy.

The fire in March 2021 destroyed about 12,000 acres of land at the privately owned Lolldaiga conservancy in central Kenya.

It prompted an environmental lawsuit brought by a lobby group and almost 1,000 local residents who accused the UK army of violating their right to a clean and healthy environment.

On Thursday, the court said it had jurisdiction on the case after the British army claimed sovereign immunity.

But Justice Antonina Kossy Bor directed that the matter be handled by an inter-governmental liaison committee, according to the terms of a Defence Cooperation Agreement signed by the two countries in 2015.

The committee must investigate the claims against the British soldiers and oversee resolution of the dispute, the judge said.

She added that the UK government will pay compensation to residents if British troops are found liable for the claims against them.

The British and Kenyan authorities will also be obliged to restore the damaged environment if the soldiers are found to have been negligent.

Read the background:

• Kenyans sue the British army over fire at wildlife sanctuary

A Nigerian woman and her daughter have published a colouring book featuring prominent Nigerian women.

Notable and Notorious Nigerian Women is the brainchild of Nkei Oruche, a multi-disciplinary creative and head of the Afro Urban Society, external based in San Francisco, her nine-year-old daughter Ziora, and a Nigeria-based illustrator Amina Gimba.

The book profiles a series of women from various walks of life, including the first Nigerian woman to fly an airplane and the female doctor who treated the first Ebola patient.

"A colouring book was a way to make it more accessible to so many different people," Ms Oruche told the BBC's Focus on Africa.

Listen to the full interview from BBC Focus on Africa:

Nomsa Maseko
BBC News

Image source, AFP

Google has partnered with Mali’s traditional leaders to digitise tens of thousands of ancient manuscripts from the city of Timbuktu.

The manuscripts have been endangered by political unrest in the country's north, which in 2013 saw Islamist rebels set fire to two libraries in Timbuktu.

The digitisation project will be unveiled on Thursday and will showcase work done over the last seven years to preserve the documents.

The manuscripts contain centuries of scholarly works on topics ranging from mathematics, medicine, astronomy and science.

Up to 40,000 pages of the documents will be available online.

The collection, known as Mali Magic, external, also contains online interactive tours of some of the country's most significant historic sites using Google street view.

The internet giant is not the first to attempt to digitise Mali's vast archives - the Tombouctou Manuscripts Project, external began doing so in the 2000s.

Read more on this topic:

• How Timbuktu's manuscripts were smuggled to safety
• Timbuktu's art of saving its manuscripts

Image source, AFP

Kenya has released the first group of mountain bongos into a sanctuary to save the rare forest antelopes from extinction in the wild.

The group of five mountain bongos, including two males, have been released to a sanctuary located near Mount Kenya.

Kenya is the last place where the species are still found in their native habitat. Fewer than 100 are thought to be in existence.

"Every subsequent year, an additional 10 mountain bongos will be trans-located into the sanctuary in groups of five every six months," Tourism Minister Najib Balala said.

Image source, AFP

Those to be taken to the sanctuary will be selected from breeding herds and allowed to roam and mate randomly in the sanctuary.

Preparing the captive bongos for the wild has taken nearly 20 years.

It is estimated that by 2025 the sanctuary will have 50 to 70 fully rewilded mountain bongos, Mr Balala said.

Kenya hopes the population of the rare antelopes in the country will increase to 750 by the year 2050.

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

Image source, AFP

An inquiry committee set up by the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (Nebe) has confirmed that the chairman of the opposition Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), Dawud Ibsa, has been under house arrest since May 2021.

Mr Dawud's residence is guarded by plain-clothes security agents who prevent visits to the chairman, local media report.

Nebe described Mr Dawud's arrest as "unacceptable" and has demanded his immediate release.

The board has also written a letter to the federal police and the National Intelligence and Security Service to ensure his right to movement is respected.

Mr Dawud and his OLF rebels returned home from their base in neighbouring Eritrea after signing a peace agreement with the Ethiopian government in August 2018.

However, a rift soon emerged within the former rebel group and it ran into trouble with the government, which accuses the group of having links with a splinter armed group behind attacks in the Oromia region.

The party boycotted last year's general election, alleging that some of its key officials were in jail and that some of its offices had been shut down by the federal Oromia Regional State security forces, making it hard for it to prepare for the elections.

Chris Ewokor
BBC News, Abuja

Image source, AFP

Nigeria's Centre for Disease Control says 60 people evacuated from Ukraine have tested positive for coronavirus.

The new cases pushed the number of new daily infections to 118, the agency said in its latest update.

These new cases were reported mainly in the capital, Abuja, and in Lagos.

Earlier Nigeria had reported only two new infections this week, the lowest daily figure ever since the outbreak reached here in 2020.

The World Health Organization had warned that the Russia-Ukraine war may result in undetected transmission of Covid-19.

More than 700 Nigerians have returned home from Ukraine as the government hopes to evacuate approximately 5,000 citizens.

Many of them reportedly crossed into Romania, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia from where they will be transported back to Nigeria.

Our African proverb of the day:

Click here to send us your African proverbs.

A video of a woman driver being assaulted by motorbike taxi riders sparks renewed calls for action.

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

You can also keep up to date on the BBC News website, or by listening to the Africa Today podcast.

A reminder of our wise words of the day:

Click here to send us your African proverbs.

We leave you with a photo of dancers in Ivory Coast's main city Abidjan:

Image source, Reuters

Ishaq Khalid
BBC News, Abuja

Gunmen in north-western Nigeria have shot dead several members of the security forces, a day after dozens of local self defence volunteers were killed in the same area.

The deputy governor of Kebbi State, Samaila Yombe Dabai, was in Kanya village at the time of the latest attack on Tuesday.

He confirmed there had been casualties but gave no details.

AFP news agency is reporting that at least 19 members of the security forces were killed, including 13 soldiers.

Due to the frequent attacks by armed gangs across northern Nigeria, some communities have formed self defence or vigilante groups.

On Monday at least 60 of these volunteers were killed by gunmen.

Security forces say they have been bombarding and raiding the forest hideouts of the gunmen.