At least nine people were killed and several others wounded in twin car bomb attacks in a town in central Somalia on Wednesday, the AFP news agency reports quoting a local security official.

The official said the attackers used vehicles loaded with explosives to stage the attack in Mahas town.

Militants have continued to carry out attacks in central and southern Somalia despite recent government troops backed by African Union forces and local militias retaking areas previously captured by the al-Shabab group.

Read more:

• Al-Shabab: Are militant attacks on the rise in Somalia?

Five people have been killed in an attack by unidentified assailants in south-east Mali about 80km (50 miles) from the capital Bamako, the authorities said on Tuesday.

The victims comprised three civilians and two firefighters who were members of a civil defence force.

Military ceremonies and burials for the two service members are due for Wednesday, the AFP news agency reports.

Monday's attack is said to have happened in a part of the country where violence is rare while a jihadist insurgency rages in the central and northern regions.

Jose Tembe
BBC News, Maputo

Image source, Getty Images

Mozambique replaced Kenya at the UN Security Council on Tuesday with a promise to prioritise the fight against terrorism.

The country will serve at the council as a non-permanent member for the next two years.

"We are going to deal a lot with terrorism," said Mozambican ambassador to the UN, Pedro Comissário.

Mozambique has been battling an Islamist insurgency in its northern Cabo Delgado province for the past five years. The conflict has displaced over one million people and killed around 4,000 others, according to official data.

Mr Comissário said the country would also push for reforms at the Security Council to address “African concerns”.

“It is necessary to pay attention to reforming the Security Council to reflect African concerns, a region that has suffered historical injustice. We have no permanent member on the Security Council,” said Mr Comissário.

The Security Council has five permanent members – the United States of America, Russia, France, the United Kingdom and China – and 10 non-permanent members.

Omar Wally
Journalist, The Gambia

Image source, AFP

Police prosecutors in The Gambia have charged two civilians and a police officer in connection with last month's alleged coup plot.

The three men were charged with concealment of treason and conspiracy to commit a felony. They deny the charges.

They are accused of conspiring and failing to report information on the planned overthrow of President Adama Barrow in October and December 2022 within the capital, Banjul, and other places in the country.

They were further accused of being informed by the alleged ringleader of a plan to overthrow President Barrow, which they failed to report to the relevant authorities.

Last week, a national security adviser said civilians were involved with their role being to finance the alleged foiled coup.

In December, the government said it had thwarted an attempt to stage a coup and arrested some soldiers.

This is the first time the accused people have been taken to court. The military personnel will be taken to a court martial.

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Ghanaian fishermen have told the BBC of widespread abuse on Chinese fishing vessels.

That's all for now from the BBC Africa Live Page team but we'll pick things up again on Wednesday 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:

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And we leave you with these pictures from Sudan taken by Nichole Sobecki for an article in the National Geographic:

Jose Tembe
BBC News, Maputo

Mozambique's disaster relief authority has expressed concern over an apparent rise in the number of people who have died from lightning strikes in the country’s central region, particularly during the current rainy season.

The worst-hit area is in Zambezia province where 18 people have died after being hit by lightning and 15 others have been injured in the last two months.

The National Disaster Management and Risk Reduction agency is promoting an education campaign on the measures to take to avoid more fatalities.

Safety measures recommended by the UK's Met Office, external include:

• If outside avoid water and find a low-lying open place that is a safe distance from trees, poles or metal objects
• Be aware of metal objects that can conduct or attract lightning
• If you find yourself in an exposed location it may be advisable to squat close to the ground, with hands on knees and with head tucked between them

President Samia Suluhu Hassan's decision is the latest move to improve relations with the opposition.

South Africa Test captain Dean Elgar has called for more Test cricket alongside the rise of T20 competitions.

Ameyu Etana
BBC Afaan Oromoo

Our recent article about a Ghanaian who was thought by some to be the word’s tallest man has sparked an Ethiopian to come out on social media to say that he is bigger.

Negewo Jima posted his picture alongside that of Sulemana Abdul Samed on Facebook saying "never give up".

"Bring him if you want - this guy will not be longer than me," he said in an earlier post, external.

“From what I see on the pictures, I can say he’s not longer than me,” Mr Negewo later told the BBC.

At 7 ft 4.6in (225cm) Mr Negewo is said to be Ethiopia’s tallest man.

Despite some initially saying that 29-year-old Ghanaian was 9 ft 6in a BBC reporter measured him and found him to be 7ft 4in – which is indeed shorter than the Ethiopian.

In the past other Ethiopians have said they were taller than Mr Negewo, but later found that this was not true.

Chris Ewokor
BBC News, Abuja

Image source, Reuters

Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari has signed the 2023 budget of more than $45bn (£37bn) into law.

It is the last budget of his administration.

The budget reveals that the government wants to sell some public assets in order to lessen the huge deficit, which amounts to just less than 5% of GDP.

Alongside the main spending plan is an additional spending plan to deal with the aftermath of the recent nationwide floods which damaged vital infrastructure.

A large portion of the budget is funded by the earnings from crude oil but volatility in the oil price has meant that borrowing has increased and forced the government to look for other ways to raise funds.

Mr Buhari's two terms in office will come to an end after voters elect his successor next month.

Eagan Salla
BBC Swahili, Dar es Salaam

Image source, Reuters

Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan has lifted a ban after six years on opposition political rallies outside of election campaigns.

It was imposed by her predecessor, the late President John Magufuli, who argued that in between elections they were a waste of time and money.

But it was criticised by the opposition and activists as unconstitutional.

President Samia made the announcement during a meeting with leaders from all 19 of the country’s registered political parties.

“Our duty as a government will be offering protection for the rallies… now that the rallies are back, I hope we are going to conduct ourselves in civil and mature way and avoid trading insults,” Ms Samia said.

The lifting of the ban is part of the president’s political reconciliation and reform drive which she initiated after taking power in 2021 following MagufuIi’s death. His period in power was often seen as taking Tanzania down a more authoritarian route.

In recent months, the president and her governing CCM party has been talking with opposition parties behind closed door talks.

Speaking on Tuesday, President Samia also said her government would try to restart a stalled constitutional review process.

Rhoda Odhiambo
BBC Africa health reporter, Nairobi

Image source, Reuters

Ghana and Morocco have become the first African countries to impose travel restrictions on passengers from China over concerns about coronavirus.

From Tuesday, Morocco has banned travellers from China regardless of their nationality until further notice.

The foreign ministry says the move is aimed at preventing a spike in infections in the country.

Ghana’s restrictions will take effect on Friday.

The moves come after China abruptly dropped its Covid-19 controls in December last year.

Other countries outside Africa have also imposed restrictions.

For example, passengers arriving in England from China now have to provide a negative Covid test before they board a flight. The US is testing people on arrival.

Countries that plan to test travellers say the policy will help spot worrying new variants early and prevent an influx of cases.

Ghana says passengers from China will be tested at the airport for free and must also present a negative test result 48 hours before arrival.

International health experts have argued that the lifting of restrictions in China has led to Covid-19 spreading much faster.

But Beijing's foreign ministry has said coronavirus rules should only be introduced on a "scientific" basis and accused Western countries and media of "hyping up" the situation.

Read more:

• China Covid: How many cases and deaths are there?

Peter Jegwa
Lilongwe, Malawi

Malawi police say they will charge a driver of a school bus in which one student was killed after a road accident.

He was taking school students from the capital, Lilongwe, to the northern city of Mzuzu on Monday.

The country's schools re-opened on Tuesday (except in Lilongwe and Blantyre) following the festive break.

Marymount Secondary School, a girls boarding school owned by the Catholic church, hired a private bus to transport students ahead of the re-opening.

The accident happened after the driver lost control of the bus, which was carrying 58 students, due to speeding, according to the police.

A 14-year-old girl was pronounced dead on arrival at a nearby district hospital while another, aged 12, had her left arm amputated.

Police say the bus driver will be prosecuted, but did not say on what charges.

Emery Makumeno
BBC News, Kinshasa

Image source, AFP

The Democratic Republic of Congo's last surviving World War Two veteran, Corporal Albert Kunyuku, will be buried next Friday, according to the producer of the film about his life José Adolphe Voto

Corporal Kunyuku died on 25 November last year, aged 100.

He was was among 25,000 soldiers of the Belgian Congo Army, La Force Publique, deployed to fight alongside Belgian troops during the conflict.

He was honoured last June by Belgium's King Philippe at an elaborate ceremony during the monarch's first visit to the African country.

Patricia Oyella
BBC News, Kampala

Image source, AFP

Investigations have started into the circumstances in which a Uganda soldier under the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (Atmis) shot three of his colleagues dead in Mogadishu on Monday morning.

The shooting took place at the headquarters of the Ugandan army contingent.

The spokesperson of the Ugandan army, Felix Kulaigye, confirmed the incident to the BBC and the arrest of the soldier.

He is said to have gone on a rampage and shot his first victim in the chest.

Other soldiers initially thought that their base had come under attack.

The second victim was shot three times in the head as he tried to find out what was happening. A third soldier was shot in the back as he tried to run away.

The shooting only stopped when an officer tiptoed and disarmed the shooter.

This is the first incident in several years in Somalia involving Ugandan soldiers.

A similar incident happened in 2019 when a Ugandan captain killed himself after shooting a colleague dead.

The government says the victims were shot dead and it is investigating the motive behind the attack.

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

The Ethiopian army says it has "liberated several localities" from the rebel Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) in operations in the Oromia region, the military posted on Facebook on Tuesday, external.

An unnamed senior army officer said "the security forces have launched a co-ordinated operation to stop the subversion by the Shene and ensure stability in the region".

The report said the army was carrying out a mission in West and East Guji zones and Borena zones in South Oromia.

"The operation is aimed at annihilating the Shene [OLA} and creating a stable region," said Haru Germa, a senior official in East Guji Zone.

The OLA, which claims to fight for the right of ethnic Oromo people, was designated a terrorist group in 2021.

BBC Focus on Africa radio

Prominent travel vlogger Tayo Aina has been talking about how he felt he was discriminated against when arriving in Ethiopia as he is a Nigerian.

He was speaking on the BBC's Focus on Africa radio programme in the wake of news that Kenyans travelling to South Africa will no longer need a visa when visiting for up to 90 days.

There has long been a dream of visa-free pan-African travel but the reality is that it is often very hard and expensive to fly across borders.

"There is a lot of discrimination across African countries... I don't feel Africa is really united," Mr Aina said.

He blamed bad leadership and government inertia for the problems.

He told Focus on Africa that when he went to Ethiopia to film promotional material about the country he was pulled aside by the immigration authorities and given a humiliating body search. He said it was because he was coming from Nigeria.

Listen to the interview here: