Image source, AFP

Burkina Faso military leader Ibrahim Traoré has assured US diplomats he will not recruit Russian mercenaries fight Islamist militants in the country, according to a senior US official who has just returned from West Africa.

"He was unequivocal in saying that only Burkinabe will defend their country. They have no intention of inviting Wagner," US Under Secretary for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland said.

Western nations have condemned neighbouring Mali for deploying Russian mercenaries to battle jihadist groups in the country.

They accuse Russia of providing material support in the deployment of mercenaries from the Wagner group, although Kremlin denies any government links with the shadowy private military company.

Read more on this story:

• Why Russia is cheering on the Burkina Faso coup

BBC World Service

The head of Pakistan's powerful military intelligence agency has criticised the Pakistani government for its handling of the death in Kenya of a Pakistani investigative journalist, Arshad Sharif.

Addressing a highly unusual news conference at army headquarters, Lieutenant General Nadeem Ahmed Anjum, said his agency had been excluded from the investigations.

It has accused local government officials in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of forcing the journalist to leave Pakistan by telling him his life was in danger.

Mr Sharif's death remains a mystery, after Kenyan police gave conflicting accounts about the circumstances.

Three Pakistani security officials have been sent to Kenya to help investigate the killing.

Shingai Nyoka
BBC News, Harare

Security guards shot and wounded a man dressed in military attire outside the Russian Embassy in Harare on Wednesday night, police have said.

Police spokesperson Paul Nyathi told the BBC that the 24-year-old man had confronted security guards at the embassy.

He was taken to a local hospital where he remains under arrest as police conduct an investigation into the incident.

The Russian embassy press attaché, Egor Kuropitnik, told the BBC that surveillance footage showed a man staggering towards the guards.

As he approached the perimeter of the embassy an officer fired what could have been a warning shot, but the man continued to move towards the security. A second shot was fired and the man collapsed.

He did not appear to have been trying to scale the wall, Mr Kuropitnik said.

We've been investigating an air strike against one target in Tirgray.

Image source, EPA

Pakistani’s prominent journalist Arshad Sharif who was shot dead by Kenyan police at a roadblock on Sunday is set to be buried on Thursday afternoon in Islamabad.

Kenyan police has said Mr Shariff's killing was a case of mistaken identity.

The Pakistani government has deployed three top military and intelligence officers to Kenya to help in the investigations of the death which has caused outrage and outpouring of grief in Pakistan.

There are reports that the driver of the ill-fated car is missing and so are Mr Shariff’s phone and laptop.

Lawmakers from Ghana's governing party have suspended their push for Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta to be removed from office until a relief package is negotiated with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Ghana is facing its worst economic crisis in years. Its currency has lost 52% of its value against the US dollar since the beginning of the year and annual inflation has climbed to 37%.

In a statement, the ruling New Patriotic Party said that President Nana Akufo-Addo told them "their demands would be acted upon" after the 2023 budget reading and culmination of ongoing IMF support talks.

A section of legislators had on Tuesday demanded the immediate sacking of the finance minister and his deputy over the state of the economy and the depreciating cedi - the local currency.

The minister is currently negotiating a $3bn (£2.6bn) bailout fund from the IMF.

Image source, EPA

Kenya's new 22-member cabinet is set to sworn in on Thursday, a day after they were approved by parliament.

President William Ruto has retained one minister from his predecessor's cabinet as a adviser on national security and introduced the position of a prime cabinet secretary.

Former head of the central bank, Njuguna Ndung’u, will be the new treasury secretary, while former parliament speaker, Justin Muturi, will be the new attorney general.

The president rewarded his political allies with cabinet appointments.

Despite promising that the cabinet would be gender balanced, Mr Ruto nominated only seven women to the 22 ministerial positions, with two women as presidential advisers and one woman cabinet secretary.

The new cabinet's immediate focus will be to tackle the rising cost of living and the food crisis caused by failed rains.

On Tuesday, the president said that he will need at least a year in order to reduce the price of maize flour - the country's staple food.

South Africa has appeared to downplay a warning by the US embassy, external of a possible threat of a terrorist attack over the weekend in the commercial hub, Johannesburg.

The US embassy on Wednesday advised its staff to “avoid crowds of people and other large public gatherings in the greater Sandton area of Johannesburg”.

In response, the South African presidency noted the US’s “terror alert” was part of “the US government’s standard communication to its citizens”.

The presidency said it was the responsibility of the South African security forces to ensure security and safety for all people in the country.

It said law enforcement agencies were monitoring any threats to the citizens and the nation.

“Should the need arise, the South African government will be the first to inform the public about any imminent threat,” the presidency said in a statement., external

A minister in the presidency was quoted by local media on Wednesday as saying that the "alarm has been going on but up to this point it is not backed up by any evidence".

BBC World Service

Image source, Getty Images

Researchers studying an unusual Madagascan lemur have witnessed the nocturnal creature picking its nose and eating the mucus.

The Aye Aye, a cat-sized primate, which lives in the forests of the Indian Ocean island, was known to use its exceptionally long middle finger to hunt for insect grubs in hollow logs.

But for the first time it's been recorded sticking its finger up its nose and then licking it clean.

Similar behaviour has been seen in other primates, including humans, prompting scientists to suspect the unpalatable activity could have health benefits.

It's thought nasal mucus may contain proteins beneficial to an animal's immune system.

Read more on this story:

• Nose-picking primates spark scientific quest

Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

Image source, Getty Images

The World Bank says it has approved a $270m (£232m) loan to Zambia to help it recover from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, the economic impact of the war in Ukraine and to manage its debt crisis.

In late 2020 Zambia became the first African country since the onset of the pandemic to default on its debt.

In August, the International Monetary Fund approved a $1.3bn loan to help Zambia - a major copper producer - restructure its debts.

The president of the World Bank has urged other creditors to help reduce Zambia's debt.

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Susan Wamaitha was urged to take a Chinese-made contraceptive not knowing it was banned in Kenya.

A lack of government ministers in Sudan hinders attempts to prevent a woman being stoned to death.

The president oversees nuclear tests while an oligarch's luxury yacht sparks anger in Cape Town.

Their schools in the capital Kampala have not been closed - yet the virus is highly contagious.

That is all from the BBC Africa Live team for now. We will leave you with an automated service until our team returns on Thursday morning Nairobi time.

Until then you can find the latest updates on the BBC News website, or listen to our podcasts Africa Today and The Comb.

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And we leave you with a photo of the Nile island of Zamalek in Egypt's capital, Cairo.

Image source, AFP

Pumza Fihlani
BBC News, Johannesburg

Image source, Getty Images

South Africa’s presidency has dismissed as “grand-standing” calls by Cape Town’s mayor to block a businessman and friend of President Vladimir Putin from docking his mega yacht in the country.

The ship, which is sailing from Hong Kong and destined for Cape Town belongs to US-sanctioned Russian oligarch Alexei Mordashov - owner of one of the world’s largest steel businesses.

Mayor Geordin Lewis-Hill has criticised the decision to allow Mr Mordashov's yacht to travel to South Africa, saying the country should not be seen as supporting “Russia’s unjust war”.

Explaining South Africa’s position, presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya told the BBC South Africa was only legally obliged to follow sanctions imposed by the UN, not individual countries or trade blocs.

He said that unless Mr Mordashov violated the country’s immigration laws, South Africa had no reason to refuse him entry – like any other business person.

My Magwenya added that "he is not being given any special treatment".

In the eyes of the US, the oligarch is a key part of Mr Putin’s support base.

Announcing the sanctions in June, the White House said the move against Mr Mordashov and members of his family, was “to degrade the key networks used by Russia’s elites, including President Vladimir Putin, to attempt to hide and move money and anonymously make use of luxury assets around the globe”.

Mr Mordashov has been quoted as saying he has not broken any international laws in his business ventures and has had no involvement in Russia’s politics and had little influence with the Kremlin.

The luxury yacht is expected to arrive in Cape Town in the next few weeks, and it is unclear how long it will be allowed to stay.

BBC World Service

A four-year-old girl who reached Italy on a migrant boat without her family is to be returned to Tunisia.

Her father is said to have handed her to a people smuggler in the town of Sayada while he went back to help his wife and son, but the boat left before he returned.

He'd paid the smuggler nearly $7,500 (£6,500).

Tunisia's President, Kais Saied, has called for international help to curb the growing number of migrants leaving his country, many of whom die trying to reach Europe.

The much-awaited talks, facilitated by the African Union, are the first formal attempt to bring peace in Ethiopia.

Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

As peace talks aimed at ending Ethiopia's civil war continue for a second day in South Africa, heavy fighting is reported to be taking place on several fronts in the northern Tigray region.

A senior military commander with the Tigray forces told the BBC that the clashes near the town of Adwa involved heavy artillery and tanks.

Correspondents say the outcome of the fighting there could determine who controls the two roads leading to Mekelle, the capital of Tigray.

There have also been reports of clashes involving forces from neighbouring Eritrea near the border with the Afar region.

The Ethiopian military and its Eritrean allies recently took control of major towns in Tigray including Shire, Aksum and Adwa.