Victims of Nigeria oil blast buried in mass gravespublished at 11:32 British Summer Time 28 April 2022
The bodies of more than 100 victims of an illegal oil refinery blast in Nigeria have been buried.
Read MoreVictims of Nigeria oil blast buried in mass gravespublished at 11:32 British Summer Time 28 April 2022
Dark runway forced flight to abort Liberia landingpublished at 11:31 British Summer Time 28 April 2022
Jonathan Paye-Layleh
BBC News, Monrovia
Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Brussels Airlines is among two European airlines still flying to Monrovia
A Brussels Airlines flight destined for Liberia’s Roberts International Airport was forced to abort its landing on Wednesday evening because the runway could not be lit up.
The lighting problem meant the flight was diverted to neighbouring Sierra Leone before returning to Monrovia, Liberia's capital, a few hours later.
There were reports the plane was running short on fuel when the flight was diverted.
An MP has described how the Brussels Airlines plane circled over her farm, which is within the vicinity of the airport, when it could not land.
Liberia’s Transport Minister Samuel Wlue confirmed to the BBC that there had been lighting “glitches” at the airport when the plane was about to land but they had not taken long to fix.
He sent the BBC footage of the aeroplane finally landing in Liberia at almost midnight.
Mr Wlue said he was heading to the airport on Thursday morning to ascertain more facts.
Information Minister Ledgerhood Rennie told the BBC that an Air France flight had also managed to land at the airport after the problem was fixed.
Last month, the airport authorities shut down all after-midnight flights for up to 12 months to enable a team to fix frequent lighting problems that have caused diversions in the past.
Air France, one of only two European airliners still flying to Liberia, informed the government it would stop flying to Liberia at the end of April for reasons that included the viability of the route.
The airport situated some 45km (28 miles) south of Monrovia, was built by the Americans in the 1940s to enhance refuelling and movements of allied forces during the World War Two.
SA farmer 'aiming at hippos’ held for shooting womanpublished at 10:35 British Summer Time 28 April 2022
A South African white farmer has been arrested after he fired a gun at a group of black people who were fishing - saying he was shooting at hippos.
The 77-year-old man is said to have shot in the direction of a couple fishing in Mogol River in Limpopo province on Tuesday.
A 38-year-old woman was wounded while her partner is said to have hid and reported the matter to the police.
The police arrested the suspect for attempted murder and he was expected to appear in court on Thursday.
“The woman was taken to hospital for treatment and the police investigations ensued. The arrested suspect alleged that he was shooting at the animals [hippos],” the South African Police Service said in a statement., external
The police seized two rifles, one revolver, one pistol and two airguns during the arrest.
Algeria threatens to cut Spain's gas supplypublished at 09:51 British Summer Time 28 April 2022
Image source, AFPImage caption, Algeria supplied Spain with more than 40% of its natural in 2021
Algeria has threatened to cut off its gas supply to Spain if any of it ends up in another country that is not specified in the contract.
It said supplying the gas to a third destination would be a breach of contract between Algeria's state-owned Sonatrach and its Spanish customer.
Spain has confirmed that it plans to ship gas to Morocco, but says that none of that gas will be of Algerian origin.
Algeria's threat comes amid a decision by Madrid to supply gas to Morocco in a reverse flow through a pipeline that links Spain via Morocco.
The Maghreb-Europe pipeline, through which Morocco also obtained its gas supply, has not been used since October - a few months after Algeria severed diplomatic ties with its neighbour.
Algeria and Morocco have long had a fractious relationship - especially over the disputed territory of Western Sahara.
Algeria supplied Spain with more than 40% of its natural gas last year through a direct pipeline.
European countries have been looking to African countries for natural gas amid the Russia-Ukraine war that has cast doubt on supplies from Russia.
Plans under way to rebury Ghana's Nkrumah - partypublished at 09:15 British Summer Time 28 April 2022
Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Kwame Nkrumah was overthrown in a military coup in 1966
Ghana's opposition Convention People’s Party (CPP) has announced plans to rebury the country's founding leader Kwame Nkrumah in November.
The independence-era ruling party says Mr Nkrumah wasn't given a fitting burial by the state following his death in April 1972, and that his "soul was still restless".
Mr Nkrumah died 50 years ago while being treated in Bucharest, Romania, and was buried in his Nkroful village in southern Ghana.
His remains were later transferred to a mausoleum in the capital, Accra.
The CPP party said it would soon unveil a timetable of activities that would culminate into Mr Nkrumah's "actual funeral".
It did not offer details whether it plans to exhume and rebury Mr Nkrumah's remains at another site.
Local outlet Joy News has published a video of the remarks by the party's General Secretary Nana Yaa Jantuah on the proposed reburial:
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Congolese rebels urged to lay down arms for talkspublished at 07:53 British Summer Time 28 April 2022
Image source, AFPImage caption, Government soldiers, pictured, have recently been battling M23 rebels
Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta has urged armed groups in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo to lay down their weapons and work with government "in nurturing peace and stability".
The representatives of armed groups are meeting in Kenya's capital, Nairobi, for direct talks with DR Congo officials. More than 20 groups are said to be represented.
The talks are part of resolutions passed at a recent summit of East African heads of state.
Groups that will not participate in the talks will be dealt with militarily, a statement from the summit said.
"Without laying down weapons and forging an unbreakable national compact to secure the [DR Congo], the fruits of prosperity, that you all deserve from the teeming rich endowments, will remain elusive," President Kenyatta said in a recorded address, external on Wednesday.
East African heads of state have agreed to deploy a joint military force to eastern DR Congo to deal with the armed groups operating in that region.
Fighting resumes in Sudan's Darfur - reportspublished at 06:52 British Summer Time 28 April 2022
Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service
Image source, AFPImage caption, Communities in Darfur have clashed over land for decades
There are reports that fighting has resumed in the city of Geneina in the Sudanese region of Darfur where at least 200 people died over the weekend.
Following a lull in the fighting on Tuesday the sound of heavy gunfire can once again be heard.
Tension has been high between Arab nomads and members of the Massalit community who have clashed over land for decades.
On Sunday members of the Janjaweed militia backed up by a paramilitary unit known as the Rapid Support Force launched an attack on Geneina.
The city is home to many thousands who fled their homes during the Darfur war that took place almost two decades ago.
Somali MPs elect new Speaker in crucial votepublished at 06:17 British Summer Time 28 April 2022
Farah Lamane
BBC Somali
Image caption, The MPs, pictured here last week, voted overnight in the tight contest
Somalia's members of parliament have elected Sheikh Adan Madobe as the Speaker of the country's lower house of parliament.
Mr Madobe's election comes a day after the upper house re-elected its speaker.
The election of speakers is a crucial step towards the conclusion of the country's long-drawn out electoral process - a complex and indirect political system.
The new parliamentary leaders are expected to spearhead the process of electing the country's next president, which must be done by the end of May.
Mr Madobe, 66, previously held the speaker's position for two years from 2007 during the transitional administration of the late President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed.
He garnered 163 votes against his closest contender Hassan Abdinur's 89 votes in a hotly contested election that ended in the early hours of Thursday.
He took the oath of office at the end of the vote that was held in an air force hangar near the African Union peacekeeping mission base in the capital, Mogadishu.
The country had missed several deadlines to conclude the elections, resulting in sanctions against MPs by the US.
Related stories:
Nigeria’s senate wants ransom payers to go to jailpublished at 05:33 British Summer Time 28 April 2022
Ishaq Khalid
BBC News, Abuja
Image source, AFPImage caption, Nigeria has been struggling with a deadly wave of kidnappings for ransom
The Nigerian senate has passed a bill imposing jail terms of at least 15 years on anyone paying a ransom to free someone who has been kidnapped.
Critics say the move is unfair as it criminalises people who are desperate to free their relatives.
The new law will also provide the death penalty or life in prison for anyone found guilty of kidnapping.
For more than a decade, Nigeria has been struggling to deal with a deadly wave of kidnappings for ransom by armed groups.
The bill needs to be debated and passed by the lower house before the president signs it into law - a process that could take weeks or months.
More on Nigeria's kidnapping crisis:
Wise words for Thursday 28 April 2022published at 05:30 British Summer Time 28 April 2022
Our proverb of the day:
Quote MessageThere are no valleys, rivers or mountains on the way to a loved one's home."
A Kikuyu proverb sent by Rebecca Kariuki in Arusha, Tanzania
The privilege of being the child of immigrantspublished at 01:25 British Summer Time 28 April 2022
Maher Mezahi reflects on moving between his two "home countries" - Algeria and Canada.
Read MoreThe tiny country where accordion music can get you killedpublished at 01:12 British Summer Time 28 April 2022
Rivalry between stars of Famo, a popular style of music in Lesotho, has sparked years of gang warfare.
Read MoreThe accordion wars of Lesothopublished at 01:00 British Summer Time 28 April 2022
A form of oral poetry accompanied on the accordion is the basis of a wildly popular form of music in Lesotho, southern Africa. But jealousy between Famo artists has triggered warfare that’s killing hundreds. Some of the genre’s best-known stars became gang bosses, and their rivalry has helped make rural, stunningly beautiful Lesotho the murder capital of Africa, with the sixth highest homicide rate in the world. Musicians, their relatives, producers and DJs have all been gunned down. Whole communities live in fear, and are now demanding action from politicians and police who are accused of protecting the Famo gangsters. Tim Whewell tells the story of a style of music that developed among Basotho migrant workers in the tough world of South African mines. He meets some of Famo's greatest artists - now disgusted by the violence - and talks to the families of victims of a cycle of revenge that the authorities appear unable to end.
Presented and produced by Tim Whewell
(Image: Famo group leader Ntei Tsehlana was shot at a Democratic Congress (DC) party concert and later died from his injuries. Credit: BBC/Tim Whewell)
The Accordion Wars of Lesothopublished at 01:00 British Summer Time 28 April 2022
A form of oral poetry accompanied on the accordion is the basis of a wildly popular form of music in Lesotho, southern Africa. But jealousy between Famo artists has triggered warfare that’s killing hundreds. Some of the genre’s best-known stars became gang bosses, and their rivalry has helped make rural, stunningly beautiful Lesotho the murder capital of Africa, with the sixth highest homicide rate in the world. Musicians, their relatives, producers and DJs have all been gunned down. Whole communities live in fear, and are now demanding action from politicians and police who are accused of protecting the Famo gangsters. Tim Whewell tells the story of a style of music that developed among Basotho migrant workers in the tough world of South African mines. He meets some of Famo's greatest artists - now disgusted by the violence - and talks to the families of victims of a cycle of revenge that the authorities appear unable to end.
Presented and produced by Tim Whewell.
Bitcoin becomes official currency in CARpublished at 20:20 British Summer Time 27 April 2022
The Central Africa Republic is one of the world's poorest countries, and is a close Russian ally.
Read MoreScroll down for Wednesday's storiespublished at 18:34 British Summer Time 27 April 2022
We'll be back on Thursday morning
That's all for now from the BBC Africa Live team for now, but we'll be back on Thursday morning.
Until then 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:
Quote MessageThe pig lacks horns even though his uncle is the one who gives them out"
A Beti proverb from Cameroon sent by Paul Etoga in Japan
Click here to send us your African proverbs.
And we leave you with a photo from South Africa of a contestant sitting backstage at Miss Freedom Day as her sister (C) styles her hair before the competition in Soweto:
Image source, AFPNigeria train hostage photos bring relief and painpublished at 18:25 British Summer Time 27 April 2022
Pictures show 62 people allegedly being held captive after an attack on a high-speed rail link.
Read MoreUganda may deploy troops to Mozambique - Musevenipublished at 18:13 British Summer Time 27 April 2022
Patricia Oyella
BBC News, Kampala
Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, The militants have waged an insurgency in Mozambique since 2017
Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni says Uganda may deploy a large force to help fight Islamic militants in Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province.
His Mozambican counterpart, Filipe Nyusi, is on a three-day visit to Uganda to strengthen ties between the two nations.
Ugandan troops are currently deployed in Somalia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Troops from Rwanda and others from the regional bloc, the Southern African Development Community (Sadc), are helping Mozambique fight the insurgents.
Uganda has so far helped the Mozambican forces with military equipment.
A study by the Geneva-based Global Initiative Against Transnational Crime, external warned in February that the militants had expanded their operations inside and outside of Mozambique despite the intervention of regional forces.
Muslim worshippers killed in Ethiopia - clericpublished at 18:09 British Summer Time 27 April 2022
Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service
Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Muslims constitute a minority in Ethiopia (archive shot)
There are reports that 20 Muslim worshippers have been attacked and killed in Ethiopia's Amhara region as they were on their way to a burial.
The violence appears unrelated to the conflict between pro-government forces and Tigrayan rebels.
The head of the Islamic Affairs Supreme Council in Amhara said an explosive device thrown into the crowd killed three people.
He said the other victims died when clashes broke out which also saw shops looted.
The cemetery where the attack occurred has been the subject of a dispute between Muslims and Orthodox Christians who account for the majority of Ethiopia's population.
Charity challenges UK-Rwanda asylum dealpublished at 17:43 British Summer Time 27 April 2022
A charity has begun what it says is the first legal challenge to the British government's policy of removing asylum seekers from the UK to Rwanda.
Campaign group Freedom from Torture said it had “serious concerns about the lawfulness of the policy”. The government has defended it.
In a pre-action letter - the first step in applying for a judicial review of the policy - the charity asked the Home Office to disclose details of the policy, including risk assessments.