Image source, Getty Images

Italy's energy giant Eni says it has has signed a deal with Congo-Brazzaville to increase gas supplies by more than 4.5 billion cubic metres a year, Reuters news agency reports.

The deal is the latest move by Italy to reduce reliance on Russian gas.

It also signed gas deals this week with two other African states - Algeria and Angola.

"We are building new energy partnerships with many friendly countries," Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio was quoted as saying.

Under the Congo-Brazzaville agreement, development of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) project will be stepped up so that production can begin in 2023, Reuters reports.

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The South African government has revised downwards - from 448 to 435 - the death toll from the floods that swept through KwaZulu-Natal province last week.

Post-mortems revealed that four people whose bodies were found in flood-affected areas had been murdered, while nine had died of natural causes, Police Minister Bheki Cele said.

The floods were one of the worst to ever hit KwaZulu-Natal, causing homes to collapse and destroying much infrastructure.

French president Macron debated with his opponent Marine Le Pen live on television.

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Botswana's former President Ian Khama has dismissed as "fabricated" 38 charges against him, including the unlawful possession and theft of firearms.

Mr Khama had been summoned to appear in court to face the charges on Thursday, but he did not.

"I was never served with that summons. That's why I wasn't in court today," he told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme.

Mr Khama has been in self-imposed exile in South Africa since November 2021.

He fell out with his hand-picked successor, Mokgweetsi Masisi, whom he accused of being authoritarian.

Ishaq Khalid
BBC News, Abuja

Image source, AFP

Horrific details have emerged of militants burning, shooting and slitting throats during an attack on a town in north-eastern Nigeria's Yobe state.

Residents say the attackers moved quietly on foot into Geidam town on Wednesday night.

A police spokesperson told the BBC the militants had killed one man and burnt down several buildings at a college - before heading to a bar where they killed at least nine people.

Witnesses say some of the victims, including women, were shot dead and others had their throats slit while their hands were tied behind their backs.

It’s still unclear who carried out the killings. But the jihadist group Boko Haram and its splinter faction known as Islamic State West Africa Province (Iswap) have been waging a deadly insurgency for more than a decade in the region.

Iswap, which is affiliated to the Islamic State group, had said it was behind an explosion in a bar in Taraba state on Tuesday. Several people were killed and more than a dozen were wounded.

The career of Kenyan-born runner Damaris Muthee Mutua "was picking up" before she was found murdered aged 28 in Iten.

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

A Moroccan court has sentenced eight minors to a month in prison for their roles in riots at a football match in Agadir last month, news website Hespress has reported.

The court in the southern city of Agadir convicted the young football fans of attacking officials and damaging the stadium and fined them 500 dirhams ($50; £38).

Brawls at the match between home team Hassania and FUS Rabat led to dozens of people being injured, including several policemen, domestic media reported.

Earlier this week, a court in Rabat sentenced eight people to prison terms of between four months and a year over riots at another match last month in the capital city.

More than 150 people, including 90 minors, were arrested at the match between FAR Rabat and MAS Fez in the country's national championships.

The violence left dozens injured, including 85 police officers, state media reported at the time.

Patricia Oyella
BBC News, Kampala

Image source, AFP

The Ugandan authorities say they have detained a Congolese national found transporting 122 African grey parrots in the western district of Kisoro.

The suspect was arrested with the birds crammed into two cages during a joint operation by the police, the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) and the army.

UWA spokesman Bashir Hangi said they acted following a tip-off that parrots were being smuggled from Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, to Uganda.

Three parrots had died when the man was arrested in Kibaya village near the border town of Bunagana.

The suspect is now being held at the Central Police Station in Uganda's capital, Kampala.

The parrots have been taken to the Uganda Wildlife Conservation Education Centre.

African grey parrots, native to rainforests in central Africa, are listed as an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Loss of habitat and large nesting trees have had a significant impact on their numbers.

They are one of the most heavily traded wild birds because of their ability to mimic human speech.

South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa has given some details about the telephone conversation he had with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky over the war in Ukraine.

"We agree on the need for a negotiated end to the conflict which has impacted Ukraine’s place in global supply chains, including its position as a major exporter of food to our continent. President Zelensky anticipates closer relations with Africa in future," Mr Ramaphosa tweeted, external.

See earlier post: Zelensky tells Ramaphosa about 'Russian aggression'

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

Italy and Angola have signed an energy co-operation agreement, external as European countries seek to reduce dependence on Russian gas.

The deal aims to “increase the export of Angolan gas and reduce the dependence of the European country on the Russian gas supply”, privately owned Angola24Horas says.

It was signed by Angolan Mineral Resources Minister Diamantino Azevedo and Italy's Ecological Transition Minister Roberto Cingolani in in Luanda, Angola's capital.

Image source, Getty Images

Italian multinational Eni is a major player in the Angolan oil and gas sector.

On Monday, Italy's Prime Minister Mario Draghi struck an agreement with Algeria to buy more of its gas in a further sign of Italy's attempts to reduce dependence on Russia.

Italy gets about 40% of its gas from Russia.

Image source, AFP

Most of the Nigerians detained at camps in Poland after fleeing the war in Ukraine have been released, the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission has said.

A total of 13 were released following the intervention of the Nigerian embassy, it said in a statement.

Five other Nigerians had "unfortunately" applied for asylum, external and would not be released until Poland took a decision on their request or they withdrew it, the statement added.

Africans repeatedly complained of racism while trying to leave Ukraine at the start of the war.

There were numerous reports of Ukrainian security officials preventing them from catching buses and trains going to the border.

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

Image source, AFP

A court in Botswana has summoned former President Ian Khama to appear before it on Thursday on multiple criminal charges, including possession of firearms.

The "unprecedented" charge sheet showed that Mr Khama was accused alongside three others, the private Mmegi website reported.

He and ex-intelligence chief Isaac Kgosi, former police commissioner Keabetswe Makgophe and ex-deputy permanent secretary Bruno Paledi face a total of 38 charges, ranging from illegal acquisition, unlawful possession and theft of firearms.

In Botswana, the illegal possession of guns could lead to a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

Mr Khama previously told South Africa's Daily Maverick newspaper that he keeps his hunting rifles, external, shotguns and “a few handguns” collected over three decades at his home.

Some of these belonged to his official and private security detail, he was quoted as saying.

It is unlikely that Mr Khama will appear in court in person.

Mr Khama - the son of Botswana's founding President Seretse Khama - went into self-imposed exile in South Africa in November 2021.

At the time, he denied that he was fleeing Botswana but he hasn't returned to the country since.

Mr Khama was president from 2008 to 2018.

He fell out with his handpicked successor, Mokgweetsi Masisi, whom he accused of authoritarianism. Mr Masisi was the vice-president under Mr Khama, from 2014 to 2018.

The summons against the former president come ahead of President Masisi's planned meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in Pretoria on Friday.

The Chinese embassy in South Africa has donated a million rand ($66,000; £50,000) toward flood relief effort but some South Africans have been complaining about how meagre the amount is.

Chinese ambassador Chen Xiaodong said the donation was part of its efforts to support South African people affected by the disaster in KwaZulu-Natal province.

One social media user however said the amount “was a joke when billions of rands [are] needed to rebuild everything”.

Another compared the Chinese donation to a bigger amount offered by a wealthy South African businessman.

“One million rand from China? When even [Patrick] Motsepe donated 30 million as an individual but a country that is rich, I mean they are the second richest country in the world but they donate a million.”

On Tuesday the African Union announced a $150,000 donation from its emergency fund to support the relief efforts.

More than 450 people have died in the devastating floods, infrastructure has been destroyed in several parts of the province and the government has declared a nation-wide state of disaster.

Image source, EPA

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had a phone conversation with his South African counterpart Cyril Ramaphosa on Tuesday evening.

In a tweet, Mr Zelensky said the pair talked about his country's resistance to the invasion by Russian troops.

They also discussed about relations between the two countries and co-operation within international organisations.

The Ukrainian president has been reaching out to global leaders and regional blocs to solicit world support.

Mr Ramaphosa's office has not issued a statement on the phone call.

South Africa was among 17 African nations that abstained from voting on a United Nations resolution that demanded an end to the Russian offensive in Ukraine.

A Russian soldier has reportedly been killed in Hombori in Mali's central Mopti region.

The AFP news agency quoted a military memo as saying that a "Russian advisor" had struck an improvised explosive device on Tuesday morning.

It said the Russian died after being airlifted to a hospital in the central town of Sevare.

The AFP said an unnamed official in Sevare hospital official as well as an elected official had confirmed the death.

Mali's army has not officially commented on the events.

The Malian junta has repeatedly denied the presence of mercenaries from Russia's paramilitary company Wagner to assist in its counterinsurgency operations.

It comes as the UN on Wednesday accused Malian authorities of preventing its human rights investigators access to a village where hundreds of people were killed.

Malian troops and their Russian collaborators are accused of carrying out a massacre of hundreds civilians during the operation against militants last month.

Mali said those killed were jihadists, while Russia said they were not involved in the operation.

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

The founder of Tanzania's Umoja Party says they have decided to use the portrait of the late President John Magufuli on their T-shirts because their policies resonate with those of the former leader.

Former President Magufuli died in March last year.

The party has submitted an application for registration to the registrar of political parties, who on Tuesday warned it to stop engaging in political activities without being a registered entity yet.

The social media is awash with pictures of people alleged to be followers of Umoja Party wearing T-shirts with the flag of the party and a picture of Magufuli.

Speaking to the Mwananchi newspaper, party founder Seif Maalim says they have used Magufuli's image to popularise their party.

"Basically, we didn't have bad intentions by using the photograph of the late Magufuli, who is not our member, but we have done that to market ourselves to the public and because our policies relate with what Magufuli was standing for," he said.

Mr Maalim said he believes that the office of the registrar will write to them indicating the party's mistakes and where they have erred in order to make amends, saying they are not against the guidelines of the registrar.

The hugely popular Real Housewives franchise has landed in Lagos, Nigeria.

Image source, AFP

The UN has expressed concern that Malian authorities have denied its human rights investigators access to a village where hundreds of people were killed.

"We are extremely concerned that Malian authorities have still not granted UN human rights investigators access", a statement by the UN Human Rights Office, external said.

It says "time is of essence to ensure accountability and prompt, effective justice for victims", noting that it first sought access to the site of the killings on 1 April.

Malian troops and their Russian collaborators are accused of carrying out a massacre of civilians during an operation against militants last month.

At least 300 people are believed to have been executed during the 27-31 March raid in the village of Moura, which is in Mali's central Mopti region.

The killings sparked calls by the Human Rights Watch, the US, the European Union and the UN for an independent investigation into the matter.

The Malian army insists that those killed were jihadist fighters and the allegation of a massacre is an attempt to tarnish its image.

A Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman said this had been a successful operation by Mali’s army alone.

The Mali junta denies that mercenaries from Russia's Wagner group are helping it fight the insurgents.

The country has been battling a decade-long insurgency that has affected millions of people, and has also engulfed other countries in the region.

More on the story:

• Mali troops and suspected Russian fighters accused of massacre

Image source, Reuters

French President Emmanuel Macron went head to head with his far-right challenger Marine Le Pen over the country's diminishing influence in Africa during their only televised debate.

Ms Le Pen brought it up as a way of criticising Mr Macron as being too Euro-centric and not global-minded.

"France has become a continental country. We are a global power, and we need to renew our ambitions of global influence working together with special partners particularly French-speaking countries in Africa, who are long standing partners of France. We need to restore our relationship with them,” she charged.

Mr Macron responded by highlighting his efforts to repair relations with former colonies and addressing the legacy of colonialism.

"I have been to Africa more than any of my predecessors. I value this relationship. I re-established it, I relaunched it and I’ve been honest and brave about our history," he said.

"I don’t think that’s the case for you. They are stunned by what they hear you, I mean you want to ban the headscarves on the streets," Mr Macron added.

French unpopularity in Africa has risen to levels not felt for decades.

This is despite Mr Macron's efforts to increase aid, initiate return of cultural artefacts stolen during the colonial wars and reaching out to engage younger generations and the civil society.

More on this topic:

• Why France faces so much anger in West Africa
• What Macron doesn't get about colonialism

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