Moseph Ekine
BBC News, Lagos

Image source, AFP

The Nigerian Institute of Medical Research says it has suspended the operation of its free drive-through testing centre for Covid-19.

Director-General of the Institute Prof Babatunde Salako explained that the action was taken because Nigerians were no longer turning up for the tests.

Just 7% of Nigerians are fully vaccinated, according to Our World in Data, external. In South Africa, 31% of people are fully vaccinated, and in Kenya that number stands at 17%.

You may also be interested in:

• Coronavirus in Africa tracker
• True pandemic death toll is 15 million - WHO

Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

Image source, Getty Images

After several delays a date has finally been set for a presidential election in Somalia.

MPs from the country's upper and lower houses of parliament will choose the next president on 15 May.

President Mohamed Abdullahi "Farmajo" is seeking a second term but faces stiff competition from several candidates including two former presidents.

The election was postponed by more than a year because of a power struggle between Mr Farmajo and the Prime Minister, Mohamed Hussein Roble.

The timing of the vote ensures Somalia does not miss out on a $400m (£320m) financial package from the IMF.

It is set to expire unless a new administration is in place by 17 May.

More on this topic:

• Somalia's elections - where the people don't vote
• A quick guide to Somalia

Tunisia's Ons Jabeur becomes the first African to reach the final of a WTA 1000 event after a straight-sets victory at the Madrid Open.

Ishaq Khalid
BBC News, Abuja

Image source, AFP

UN chief António Guterres has expressed his support for an African country to be given a permanent seat on the UN Security Council.

"It's entirely fair to recognise that there should be a permanent member of the security council from the African continent," Mr Guterres said in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, at the end of his tour of West Africa.

He acknowledged that Africa was underrepresented in most international institutions including the UN Security Council, saying the continent is a "double victim of colonialism".

The UN chief said reform of the security council was essential to reforming the UN as a whole.

But the head of the global body said it was up to UN member states to deal with the matter saying he does not have the authority to decide alone.

The UN Security Council currently has five permanent members - the US, the UK, Russia, France and China - with each having veto powers on any issue presented at the council.

It’s one of the principal organs of the UN with the responsibility of ensuring international peace and security, as well as approving changes to the UN Charter and admitting new member states.

Over the years, there have been growing calls for the council to be expanded to include permanent representation from Africa to meet the reality of the changing world.

Africa has three non-permanent seats on the council, which are currently held by Gabon, Ghana and Kenya.

Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

Image source, Reuters

Africa's top public health body has urged all those purchasing Covid-19 vaccines for use on the continent to place orders with South Africa's Aspen Pharmacare, which is facing closure due to lack of demand.

Last November, Aspen negotiated a licensing deal to package and sell Johnson & Johnson's vaccine for distribution across Africa.

The deal was seen as a major boost for African countries which received far fewer doses than richer parts of the world and where vaccination rates are low.

The Africa Centre for Disease Control said it was doing everything it could to prevent Aspen closing its facility due to a lack of orders.

You may also be interested in:

• Coronavirus in Africa tracker
• True pandemic death toll is 15 million - WHO

The Kenyan villagers were on alert after some of their livestock had recently gone missing.

Image source, AFP

Following this week's deadly attack on African Union troops in Somalia by al-Shabab militants, the continental body has offered its "heartfelt condolences" to the families of the dead.

Its statement did not confirm how many soldiers were killed. The militants had said that more than 170 AU soldiers had died - mostly Burundian nationals - but this number has not been independently verified.

The AU mission in Somalia (Atmis) has however confirmed that the base in the Middle Shabelle region was staffed by Burundian peacekeepers, and its spokesman offered his condolences to the government and people of Burundi.

Spokesman Stephane Dujarric wished a "speedy recovery to the injured" - without specifying how many or who they were, and called for the "the international community to provide all necessary support to Atmis and to the Somali security forces in their fight against Al-Shabab".

The Burundian army has said 10 of its soldiers died and another five were missing.

Jonathan Paye-Layleh
BBC News, Monrovia

Liberia's president has sacked the head of the country's only international airport after dark runways, caused by power failures, had forced numerous incoming flights to land in neighbouring Sierra Leone instead.

A presidential press release says the new man to manage the airport will be Darlington Karnley, who presently works at American aircraft manufacturer Boeing as a aviation electronic technical specialist manager.

It's not clear when he's assuming duties at the Roberts International Airport, 45km (28 miles) south east of Monrovia, but already critics say the faults at the airport are purely administrative.

The change in leadership comes amid reports of jet fuel shortages at the struggling airport.

Liberia’s oldest independent daily, the Daily Observer newspaper quotes a press statement from Conex Energy - the company that supplies jet fuel to the country - as informing the public "there is a [jet] fuel shortage in the region" due to the Russia-Ukraine crisis.

"This is causing major delays of jet fuel and other petroleum product vessels around the world," Conex Energy said, adding, "the next jet fuel vessel to Liberia is expected around May 17."

The country’s hydro-electro plant, destroyed in the brutal civil wars, were repaired by the former government of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, but electricity transmission and distribution have remained a challenge, nearly 20 years after the wars ended.

UN chief António Guterres has told the BBC he does not support the UK’s plan of giving asylum seekers a one-way ticket to Rwanda - something also being considered by Denmark.

He told BBC Focus on Africa radio presenter Paul Bakibinga:

The UN secretary general gave the interview at the end of his three-nation tour of West Africa, visiting Senegal, Niger and Nigeria. He pointed out that Africa was the continent that was suffering most in the aftermath of coronavirus and now the war in Ukraine.

He hit out over the fact that Africa was given no debt reduction to help it recover from the pandemic.

With dramatic price rises on food, fertiliser and energy because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Mr Guterres said there were areas of the continent where people were in danger of starving.

He said this was why the UN had just launched The Global Crisis Response Group on Food, Energy and Finance (GCRG) to support such nations.

Listen to the full interview, which also includes the UN chief's optimistic outlook for Borno state in north-eastern Nigeria where an Islamist insurgency has raged since 2009:

Yetunde Olugbenga
BBC News Yoruba

Image source, BBC News Yoruba

An evangelist is in trouble after telling people he knows of a gate leading to heaven from south-western Nigeria that he can show them - for a fee.

Pastor Ade Abraham was reported to police by one of his followers, who said the pastor had charged him 310,000 naira ($750; £600) to see the supposed site in Araromi-Ugbeshi town, Ekiti state.

The cleric admitted to the BBC that he had made the statement about heaven's gate, saying it was "the God he serves" who revealed it to him to try the faith of his church members, but says he has not received any payment.

The Christian Association of Nigeria has released a statement disowning Pastor Ade Abraham, and Ekiti state police have collected written statements from members of his church and launched an investigation.

Pastor Ade Abraham's church was originally based in Kogi state then Kaduna state, before moving southwards with his followers to a camp he built in Ekiti state.

Image source, BBC News Yoruba

The parishioner who reported him to police has since moved back home to Kaduna state but his wife refused to join him, saying the "rapture" was coming soon.

But the couple, who do not wish to be named, told the BBC they speak to each other on the phone every day.

Pastor Ade, also known as Noah Abraham, recently went viral with a video in which he asked worshippers to tell their relatives living overseas to contribute money to his church.

Image source, BBC News Yoruba

Jose Tembe
BBC News, Maputo

Image source, Getty Images

Mozambique is planning a new law that will regulate churches' activities, impose taxes on them, and require them to have a minimum number of 200 signatures in order to register.

Justice, Constitutional and Religious Affairs Minister Helena Kida said a government analysis had revealed “warning signs” amid a runaway proliferation of churches.

Mozambique has a total of 900 officially registered religious denominations, but a lot more exist.

The Christian Council of Mozambique (CCM) is backing most of the provisions of the proposed law, saying it recognises that the government wants to "bring order".

The provision to tax churches however worries the churches.

“It’s an aspect that was talked about, but we didn’t reach any consensus,” says CCM President Felicidade Chirindza, noting that churches have never been taxed.

Peter Mwai
BBC News

There was a scare on Wednesday in Kinyana village in Meru county, central Kenya, after villagers believed there was a lion hiding in a flower hedge.

The supposed lion was spotted by a farm hand at a homestead who raised the alarm. The authorities were notified and wildlife wardens summoned.

It turns out the feared big cat was a picture of a lion printed on a plastic shopping bag.

Pictures of it have been doing the rounds on social media:

The area chief, Cyrus Mbijiwe, told the BBC that the owner of the homestead had last week returned with avocado seedlings in the plastic bag after attending a farmer training session in Muranga town, about 140km (87miles) away.

On arrival, she decided to place the seedlings "in a place where they wouldn’t dry up" and ended up placing the bag between her house and a flower hedge.

On Wednesday afternoon, the farm hand who was returning from cutting grass for livestock noticed what he believed looked like a lion and raised the alarm.

The homestead is about a kilometre from the Mount Kenya National Park.

“Residents came to see what was happening. Many were convinced it was a lion because you couldn’t go near. I also arrived and saw what looked like a lion although I had doubts,” Mr Mbijiwe said.

The home owner was called and she explained details of the shopping bag and its content - to the relief of the gathered villagers

The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) has confirmed that its wardens were deployed to the homestead and said it will issue a detailed statement later.

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

Image source, AFP

Gambian President Adama Barrow has appointed a new cabinet, replacing the country's vice-president and key ministers, the government spokesperson, Ebrima Sankareh, announced on state TV on Wednesday.

Alieu Badara Joof, a former education minister, has been named the new vice-president, replacing Dr Isatou Touray.

Eleven ministers were retained in the new 23-member cabinet that includes three women, Kerr Fatou website said.

Dr Mamadou Tangara was named minister of foreign affairs, Seedy Keita as finance minister, while Siaka Sonko is the new interior minister.

Modou Ceesay was named the chief of staff - a new position created in the cabinet.

President Barrow was sworn in for a second five-year term in January.

Image source, Getty Images

A South African minister has called for an export ban on scrap metal amid vandalism of public infrastructure.

Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan said this would ensure there was no external market for the metal that is stolen for sale as scrap.

"There is absolutely no doubt that copper theft and rail theft and other infrastructure theft and vandalism is having a major and disastrous effect on the efficiency of logistics in South Africa,” Mr Gordhan is quoted as saying in parliament.

He said his ministry was looking at measures to deal with the menace.

In January, Kenya imposed a ban on trade in scrap metals to curb rising cases of vandalism of key public installations.

It came as a nationwide power outage was blamed on vandalism of electricity pylons for scrap metal.

Image source, AFP

The UN Secretary General, António Guterres, has explained his snub on Mali during this week's West Africa tour.

Mr Guterres visited Senegal, Niger and Nigeria in his annual Ramadan solidarity visits to nations.

He told the BBC that his itinerary was meant to reward those making progress in fighting terrorism.

"This visit was a reward to those that are doing better in relation to the fight against terrorism because this was my annual visit of solidarity with Ramadan and it is a visit in solidarity with victims of terrorism," Mr Guterres said.

Mali has the UN's biggest peacekeeping contingent but relations between its military rulers and Western countries have deteriorated after two recent coups.

The junta has been accused of hiring hundreds of mercenaries from Russia's Wagner group to help in its fight against jihadist groups.

Togolese President Faure Gnassingbé has agreed to act as a mediator in the Malian political crisis, both countries’ foreign ministers have confirmed.

Mali has been mired in a crisis since the military seized power in 2020 and has been under pressure to return the country to democratic rule.

There has been growing tension between the junta and international partners, including the deterioration of Mali’s relations with its former colonial power France.

The West African regional bloc, Ecowas, has imposed sanctions on the country, including freezing its assets.

On Wednesday, Malian Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop met his Togolese counterpart Robert Dussey in Lomé to seek Togo’s support in discussions with the international community. The Malian minister also met the Togolese president.

Mr Dussey said his president and the Togolese government "are ready to facilitate a fruitful dialogue between Mali and the international community”.

Mali's military leader Assimi Goïta first seized power in August 2020 following protests over the government's handling of a war against a jihadist offensive in the country.

He staged another coup in 2021 to oust the transitional civilian leaders - accusing them of failing in their duties and trying to sabotage the transition to democracy.

He was sworn in as interim president and an 18-month deadline was agreed for presidential and parliamentary elections to be held.

The elections that were due in February this year never happened - with the junta resisting international calls to promptly organise elections.

Image source, Getty Images

South Africa’s judiciary has invited public comments on the suitability of of the next deputy chief justice after the president nominated Justice Mandisa Maya.

Justice Maya is the first black woman nominee for the position.

In a statement, external, the Judicial Service Commission said the judge had accepted the nomination by President Cyril Ramaphosa.

"Justice Maya has accepted this nomination. Furthermore, on 3 May 2022, she submitted the required JSC questionnaire and all the necessary and standard documentation required for persons who seek to be appointed as a judge," it said.

The public, law bodies and other institutions have been invited to make written submissions on her suitability. She will then be invited for a public interview on 20 June.

Justice Maya has been the president of the appeals court since 2017, after becoming the first black woman to join that court in 2005.

She has previously been shortlisted for the chief justice position.

The position was taken by Justice Raymond Zondo, who was appointed by the president in March.

Ishaq Khalid
BBC News, Abuja

Image source, Audu M Linus/Gloria Matthew

Nigeria's president, Muhammadu Buhari says he's shocked to learn that a military officer and his female partner were shot dead and then beheaded in the south-east of the country.

Mr Buhari has ordered that the perpetrators of the barbaric crime be brought to justice.

The authorities have accused a separatist group, the Indigenous People of Biafra, for killing the couple as they travelled for their wedding last weekend.

The group has denied their involvement.

Gunmen in south-east Nigeria have recently stepped up their attacks mostly targeting the security forces.

Ishaq Khalid
BBC News, Abuja

Image source, AFP

The UN Secretary General, António Guterres, has appealed to international donors not to divert resources from other humanitarian activities around the world to Ukraine.

Instead they should donate more for the Ukrainian crisis without undermining efforts elsewhere around the world.

Mr Guterres made the remarks during a visit to Nigeria, where he's been to areas affected by the jihadist conflict.

He said the war in Ukraine was making things worse across the world particularly in areas of food and energy.

Some humanitarian agencies are already complaining of a huge funding shortfall as countries focus more on what's happening in Ukraine.

Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari said the visit by the UN chief was an assurance that Africa had not been forgotten despite the global attention on what he called the ''unfortunate situation in Ukraine".

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