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Miners in Somaliland are uprooting centuries-old trees used since antiquity to make perfume.

The al-Qaeda linked group al-Shabab says it was behind the attack in the central province of Hiraan.

That's all for now from the BBC Africa Live Page team but we'll pick things up again on Thursday morning Nairobi time. For now, there will be an automated service here.

You can also check our stories on the BBC News website or listen to our Africa Today podcast.

A reminder of our African proverb of the day:

Click here to send us your African proverbs.

And we leave you with this picture taken in Mali's capital, Bamako.

African scientists rarely get the recognition they deserve on the global stage, Professor Tulio de Oliveira, who led South Africa's response to the Covid-19 pandemic, has told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme.

He was one of the scientists who identified the Omicron variant in November 2021.

He expected praise for the discovery by South African experts, but instead the announcement earned the country a travel ban.

“African scientists in general, in the past hundreds of years, never got the recognition that they deserve," said Prof Oliveira, who is the director of South Africa's Centre for Epidemic Response and Innovation.

He said that the continent was just as prepared as other parts of the world to deal with the outbreak of infectious diseases.

“We have very advanced systems, advanced labs and we also have advanced researchers.”

So far, two African countries – Ghana and Morocco – have introduced new travel restrictions on passengers from China amidst a spike of Covid-19 infections in the country.

Listen to the full interview here: African scientist reflects on Omricon discovery

It was part of a special edition of Focus on Africa guest-edited by South Africa's former Public Protector Prof Thuli Madonsela.

Comedian Dave Chapelle is the latest African American celebrity to arrive in Ghana ahead of the inaugural Black Star Line Festival which is being fronted as an event to forge connections between black people around the world.

The week-long event will have panels to discuss various topics and culminate in a concert in Accra’s historic Black Star Square.

"The goal here, [is] to be able to bring our experiences from different parts of the world to one space, and obviously relish and celebrate in our differences and in our similarities, but also to be able to have conversations and figure out where it is that we all meet," Chance the Rapper, the event's organiser, told RollingStone magazine last year.

Chapelle joined dancers when he visited Ghana's diaspora office.

At his first press conference in Saudi Arabia, the football star refers to being in South Africa.

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

Image source, Getty Images

Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi has instructed officials to speed up the release of all the commodities at its ports, as the country continues to grapple with a dollar crunch.

In a meeting with the country's prime minister and minister of finance, Mr Sisi reviewed the current and future rates of releasing commodities from ports and into Egyptian markets, the presidency's spokesman said in a statement.

It added that they also reviewed the "international standards" implemented at the Egyptian Customs Authority, particularly with regards to reducing the time required to release commodities.

Back in December, Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli said his cabinet was working on releasing $9.5bn (£8.3bn) worth of commodities from the ports.

The meeting also tackled the progress of the national economic reform programme supported by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), especially the amendments recently made to the law on prohibiting monopolies and the approval of the controversial state ownership policy document which the spokesman reiterated aims to increase the role of the private sector and its investments in the economy.

Critics previously deemed the document as a way to sell the state's assets.

Egypt's economy has been hit hard by the consequences of the Russia-Ukraine war and the Covid-19 pandemic.

Egypt recently managed to secure a $3bn loan from the IMF and an additional $6bn from other international organisations.

Ahmed Rouaba
BBC News

Algeria will start manufacturing insulin in a move expected to significantly reduce the cost of importing the drug used to manage diabetes, the pharmaceutical industry minister says.

"The validation process has been completed and the unit is ready to start manufacturing insulin from 15 January," said Ali Aoun.

The Biotherapeutics unit has been built by Algeria company Biocare.

Mr Aoun said importing insulin cost the country $425m (£350m) last year.

Local production is estimated to cover 50% of the demand.

At least 15% of Algeria's population - that is 2.8 million people - are diabetic, according to the ministry of health.

They estimate that the number could double by the year 2030.

Globally, the International Diabetes Federation estimates the number of people with diabetes at 537 million, and that half of them are not aware of their condition.

The Estadio Nacional will now be called the Pele Stadium in tribute to the late Brazilian great.

Kennedy Gondwe
BBC News, Lusaka

Zambia’s power utility - Zesco Ltd - has announced crippling 12-hour electricity blackouts until further notice.

Power rationing officially started on Tuesday with some areas being hit by up to eight hours of power cuts, but the extended 12-hour blackouts take immediate effect.

A statement from Zesco’s corporate affairs department says the measure is needed because of a lack of water in the Kariba dam, which is used for hydropower.

“At present, the power station’s generating capacity has been reduced from its installed 1080MegaWatts (MW) to below 400MW,” the statement reads.

It adds that the removal of a 150MW generator at Maamba Collieries Limited Power Plant for routine annual maintenance from 4 January until 20 January 2023 has exacerbated the situation.

Some Zambians have taken to social media to express their unhappiness.

Zambia and neighbouring Zimbabwe, which has also been experiencing long blackouts, share the Kariba dam for hydroelectricity generation.

Read more:

• Zimbabwe power outages hit businesses and families

• South Africa electricity crisis: No power for up to six hours
• Why South Africa will struggle to wean itself off coal

Kenya's ministry of health has assured the nation that there are enough condoms following weeks of reported shortages.

Susan Nakhumicha said on Wednesday that 38 million condoms were ready for distribution, adding that supply challenges were to blame for regions experiencing shortages.

“We are working to ensure that it takes the shortest time possible from order to delivery of the condoms,” Ms Nakhumicha said.

Activists have been critical of the government saying that delays in condoms distribution were putting people's lives at risk.

Former England batter Gary Ballance included in Zimbabwe's squad for the upcoming series against Ireland.

BBC World Service

The death toll from a double car bomb attack in the central Somali province of Hiraan has increased to 19.

Witnesses said people far away from the site of the blasts were wounded by flying fragments.

Several houses were flattened.

The district commissioner of Mahas town said his home and that of an MP were the targets.

The Islamist group al-Shabab said it carried out the attacks.

The insurgents have stepped up attacks in recent months following an all-out offensive against them.

The footballer mistakenly says he is in South Africa as he is unveiled as Al Nassr's star signing.

A robbery suspect died and five others were injured on Tuesday after they drove into oncoming traffic following a high-speed chase by the South African police in Durban.

Police said the vehicle has been reported to have been involved in a house robbery earlier in the day and was spotted by officers on patrol along a road in Umbilo.

“With the suspects defying police’s instruction to stop, a high speed chase ensued,” the police said in a statement., external

They said the vehicle collided head-on with a horse and trailer after driving into the oncoming traffic.

The driver died at the scene while the injured were taken to hospital.

Puzzled Ugandans are still commenting on the government's New Year's post on Facebook celebrating 50,000 followers.

Image source, Facebook

The authorities banned Facebook in January 2021 accusing the social media platform of meddling in the country's affairs.

Facebook said at the time it acted after an investigation found that the accounts were involved in a co-ordinated effort to undermine political debate in the country ahead of Uganda's elections.

President Yoweri Museveni then banned the social media platform. For the last three years users have been using Virtual Private Networks (VPN) to access Facebook.

"I think even Facebook is laughing at Uganda, how can the whole government post on something it blocked!," one user commented about the government's New Year's post.

"I thought the same government banned the use of Facebook in Uganda!" another posted.

Two weeks ago Mr Museveni said that Facebook would remain blocked in the country.

"We have our problems with Facebook and we have expressed them. If they are worked on, we have no problems opening Facebook," he tweeted.

The final World Championship F1 race in East London saw drivers from one country dominate a race like never before or since.

Patricia Oyella
BBC News, Kampala

Image source, AFP

A Ugandan music promoter has been charged with nine counts of negligence over the death of 10 people in a New Year's Eve stampede at a concert in the capital, Kampala.

Abbey Musinguzi appeared before the Makindye chief magistrates’ court on Tuesday evening. He denied the charges and was remanded at Luzira prison.

The prosecution alleges he caused a stampede at Freedom City Mall when he closed outlets to the venue leaving only one gate for more than 20,000 people to exit.

The 52-year-old was arrested on Monday.

His lawyer claims his client is being targeted because he is a known supporter of the opposition National Unity Platform leader Robert Kyagulanyi, also known as Bobi Wine.

Meanwhile, the police have summoned more people including the owner of the building to record statements over the deadly incident.

Image source, Reuters

Football star Cristiano Ronaldo had a slip of the tongue at his official unveiling with Al Nassr on Tuesday after he mistook Saudi Arabia for South Africa.

He joined Al Nassr as a free agent on Friday after leaving Manchester United.

"The football is different, so for me it's not the end of my career to come to South Africa. This is why I want to change, and to be honest I'm really not worried about what people say," Ronaldo told the media as he was presented at the Riyadh club.

He added: "I won everything, I played for the most important clubs in Europe and now it is a new challenge in Asia."

After the media conference, he posed in his new Al Nassr kit on the club's pitch in front of thousands of fans.