BBC World Service

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US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen arrives in Senegal on Friday at the start of an African tour.

She's expected to outline President Joe Biden's commitment to the continent and offer African governments and businesses an alternative stream of investment to that of China.

There's growing suspicion in many quarters over the terms of many of the loans offered by Beijing.

The US is yet to meet many of its own multi-billion dollar commitments, for instance on climate mitigation.

Image source, AFP

A Ghanaian economist has told the BBC’s Newsday radio programme that "you need to go back about 20 years to understand the root causes” of Ghana’s current economic problems.

The West African nation is facing the highest rate of inflation in more than 20 years, making the cost of living unbearable for many, with some people even telling the BBC they cannot afford basic commodities like cooking oil.

In the early 2000s the country went on a “borrowing binge” because it got “significant debt relief” and discovered “vast quantities of crude oil which it was believed would transform the economy, economist Theo Acheampong said.

In the 13 to 14 years up to 2021 it had borrowed in excess of $15.5bn (£12.5bn) in Eurobonds alone, Mr Acheampong said.

His comments come as aid groups are calling on international creditors to cancel a large portion of Ghana’s debts as it struggles to contend with an economic crisis.

Mr Acheampong says the move would “make a difference in bringing down the debt profile but also giving the country a bit of fiscal space”.

Samba Cyuzuzo
BBC Great Lakes

Image source, Facebook/John Williams Ntwali

A widely known journalist and government critic died in a road accident in the capital, Kigali, police have told his family.

John Williams Ntwali - who was the editor of The Chronicles news site - died on Tuesday night when a motorbike taxi he had boarded was hit by a car in Kimihurura area, his brother Emmanuel Masabo was told by the police.

Mr Masabo said he was called by police on Thursday afternoon to confirm the identity of the body in a mortuary.

“When I arrived, they took me to the mortuary. I saw that it was him and I confirmed to them,” Mr Masabo told the BBC.

He added: "They did not provide with me more details… maybe they will later. I also had no energy to ask for more [at that moment]."

The Chronicles news site has also confirmed the death of the 43-year old journalist in a tweet. He had been the publication's editor since 2021.

Mr Ntwali was critical of the government and the ruling party in his reports that focused on injustice and social issues facing Rwandans through his YouTube channel, Pax TV-Ireme news.

Government sympathisers criticised him of being “an extremist” and repeatedly attacked him on social media.

Journalists and friends have expressed shock over his death.

He is survived by a wife and a daughter.

More on this topic:

• Is Rwanda a land of safety or fear?

Our proverb of the day:

Click here to send us your African proverbs.

African football's governing body says it is "impossible" a Comoros player who tested positive for Covid played at last year's Afcon.

That's all from the BBC Africa Live team for now.

There'll be an automated news feed until Friday morning. You can also get the latest news from the BBC News website and listen to the Africa Today podcast.

A reminder of Thursday's wise words:

Click here to send us your African proverbs.

We leave you with a photo of Rwandan cricket players at the ICC Women's U19 T20 World Cup 2023 in South Africa.

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BBC World Service

Mali has taken a delivery of warplanes and helicopters from Russia as Moscow deepens its involvement in the country.

Since breaking ties with France, the military regime in Mali has become reliant on its new ally, which has deployed mercenaries from the Wagner group, according to multiple sources.

Correspondents say these troops are doing little of the fighting against the Islamist insurgency, and appear to be concentrating on securing Mali's mineral resources for exploitation.

Russia has also been accused of becoming involved in another African nation, Eswatini, though Moscow's ambassador there has denied reports it is training security officers.

Alexander Surikov said it was just giving scholarships for military education.

Rwanda's government has accused the Democratic Republic of Congo of wanting to "perpetuate conflict and insecurity" and failing to stick by a peace agreement, according to the AFP news agency.

It comes amid ongoing fighting in the east of DR Congo and comments from Congolese Foreign Minister, Christophe Lutundula, that accused Kigali and the M23 rebel group of "once more failing to uphold their commitments", to the peace deal aimed at stopping fighting in the tense region.

The UN recently confirmed the discovery of mass graves in the eastern Congolese Ituri province. It was not clear who was responsible, but many armed militias operate in the area, including M23.

Mr Lutundula added that his country would "safeguard its territorial integrity" and "all means" would be used to protect itself.

DR Congo, along with some European nations and the US, accuse Rwanda of supporting the M23, but Rwanda denies this.

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Sierra Leone has passed an historic law to improve women's rights, including better employment rights.

Under the new Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Act (GEWE) 30% of government and private sector jobs in the country are reserved for women, according to an official statement.

"Today is an historic day when Sierra Leone can rightly say it has legislation carefully designed to do away with gender inequality," Gender Minister Manty Tarawalli said.

"Today is an important step in the right direction but more steps will have to be taken before the country can say fairness has been achieved across the genders," she added.

Women will also now benefit from ringfenced senior positions in the workplace, at least 14-week-long maternity leave, equal access to bank credit and training opportunities.

There are harsh repercussions for employers who do not stick to the new gender ratios including hefty fines, and even potential prison time for financial institutions that do not give women fair access to financial support. It is thought this will make it easier for women to start their own businesses.

The government says the employment law will apply to any business with more than 25 employees.

BBC World Service

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State media in Ethiopia are warning that more than eight million people are facing acute water shortages in those parts of the north-western Amhara region worst affected by the conflict in neighbouring Tigray.

Regional officials say almost 1,500 water sources were destroyed during fighting between the federal government and Tigrayan secessionists.

The conflict ended in November, but there remain marked shortages of food, water and medicine in both Tigray and Amhara.

Under the terms of the peace accord, Tigrayan rebels have disarmed, but thousands of troops from neighbouring Eritrea, who had fought alongside federal forces, remain in the region.

Alfred Lasteck and Munira Hussein
BBC News, Dar es Salaam

Image source, Nemes Tarimo/Facebook

Tanzanian citizen Nemes Tarimo, 33, who fought in the in the Ukraine war as part of the Russian Wagner Private Military Company, died last October while performing a combat mission, a close family member has confirmed.

According to Mr Tarimo's family, he was in Moscow to study at the Russian Technological University (Mirea) before receiving a prison term for drugs-related offenses.

He was later pardoned under the condition of joining Wagner to fight for Russia against Ukraine in the on-going war.

"Nemes informed me and some other family members on joining Wagner, and we advised him not to, but he said he will join to have himself free," the family member said.

"We last communicated with him on 17 October last year, [when he was] already a member of Wagner," they added.

"We then got information from his friends over his death in late December and later we were officially informed by the Tanzania ambassador in Moscow,” they concluded.

The BBC met the family as they waited for the arrival of Mr Tarimo's body in Dar es Salaam.

They plan to bury him at their home cemetery in a village in the Southern Highlands of the country.

Mr Tarimo's close relatives described him as a very polite and charming young man.

According to media reports, Nemes died after coming under fire from artillery from Ukraine forces.

Towards the end of last year, we learned of the death of Zambian Lemekhani Nyirenda in similar circumstances.

BBC World Service

A Spanish charity says almost 2,500 migrants died or disappeared trying to cross from Africa to Spain in 2022. However, this is around half the number who died the previous year.

Most lives were lost attempting to reach the Canary Islands, but almost 500 went missing on an increasingly popular route from Algeria to Spain's eastern Mediterranean coast.

The charity, Caminando Frontreras, says more than 90% of the victims die without their bodies ever being found.

It says this has a terrible impact on their families and their communities of origin due to the impossibility of fully mourning as well as legal and psychological implications.

BBC World Service

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The Somali National Army (SNA) says it's killed almost 50 Islamist militants in a reprisal raid in the centre of the country.

In a post on social media, the military said it had targeted a farm in the Middle Shebelle region, where al-Shabab fighters had moved after they'd attacked a Somali army base on Tuesday.

The SNA said Thursday's raid had been supported by its international partners and local militia.

Over the past year, government forces have driven al-Shabab from some of their heartlands.

Having recovered swathes of territory in the centre, correspondents say the military may now be preparing to strike against al-Shabab in the south.

President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud made the fight against the militants a key pledge in last year's successful election campaign.

Read more: Somalia’s men in sarongs taking on al-Shabab militants

Former Brighton midfielder Enock Mwepu is discharged from hospital in Zambia after suffering a health scare.

Catherine Byaruhanga
BBC News Africa correspondent

United Nations Peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of Congo responded to reports of attacks on the shores of Lake Albert and made a grim discovery on Wednesday.

In the fishing village of Nyamamba, mostly populated by the Hema community, they discovered mass graves with 42 people including women and children, as we reported earlier.

In Mbogi village, the bodies of seven men were found in one grave.

On Thursday morning, frustration and anger were almost palpable in the voice of Dieudonne Lossa, a civil society leader in Ituri province: “It is really a chaotic situation and deserves the special attention of the whole world," he told the BBC.

Much of the international community’s focus in eastern DR Congo has been on conflicts involving the Islamist ADF rebels, or M23 fighters threatening the major city of Goma.

However, further north in Ituri - which borders Uganda - more than 1.5 million people have been forced from their homes by fighting since 2017. Moreover, since December last year, nearly 200 people have been killed.

Long-standing tensions between the Lendu farmer and Hema herder communities in Ituri resurfaced in 2017.

The UN says initial reports suggest Codeco, a loose organisation of Lendu militia, was behind the latest attacks.

Another group called Zaire says it is fighting for the interests of the Hema community. But civilians are often the victims of attacks by both Codeco and Zaire.

Like much of eastern DR Congo, Ituri has lucrative mineral wealth especially gold, which could make it harder to resolve this conflict.

Mayeni Jones
BBC News, Lagos

Image source, NRC

The authorities in Edo state in southern Nigeria says the last two hostages from a group of people who were kidnapped from a train station in the state almost two weeks ago have now been released.

Seven suspects, including two village chiefs, have also been arrested and are currently in police custody.

Twenty people were kidnapped from the Igueben train station by armed men on 7 January.

Six victims were freed within 48 hours, and a further 12 victims were rescued by security services and armed vigilantes over the weekend in a separate rescue operation.

Kidnapping for ransom is common across Nigerian roads and there are concerns that criminals are starting to target the country’s railways.

More on Nigeria's kidnapping crisis:

• 'How I survived my train hijacking'
• Why Nigeria wants to jail those who pay ransoms
• 'I was kidnapped and now only travel by train'
• Kidnappers demand millions for a child's life
• The motorcycle bandits terrorising northern Nigeria

Image source, Getty Images

South Africa's military has announced it will next month hold joint military drills with Russia and China off its coast.

The drills will run for 10 days from 17 February to 27 February in the port city of Durban and Richards Bay.

The aim is sharing operational skills and knowledge, the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) said.

South Africa was among African countries that abstained from taking sides in Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The country assumed the chairmanship of the Brics group of nations - which brings together Brazil, Russia, India and China - last month.

This will be the second time such a military drill is taking place. The first was held in November 2019 in Cape Town.

"This year's exercise will see over 350 SANDF personnel from various arms of services and divisions participating," said SANDF.

A UN spokesperson, Farhan Haq, has told the BBC’s Newsday programme that the body wants “the perpetrators” of killings in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) to be “brought to justice” after it confirmed the discovery of two mass graves in the Ituri province in the east of the country.

They found “bodies of some 42 people”, including “12 women and six children” in Nyamamba village and then the bodies of “seven men” in Mbogi village about 30km east of the city of Bunia, as we reported earlier.

There has been suggestion linking the deaths to the Codeco militia group, but Mr Haq said that cannot be confirmed and further investigation would be needed.

He also added that the UN is conducting “patrols” in the area and supporting DR Congo’s military.

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

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The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) has refuted remarks by African Union (AU) mediator Olusegun Obasanjo that Eritrean forces have withdrawn from Ethiopia's northern Tigray region following a truce to end two years of civil war.

Mr Obasanjo told Financial Times last week that “all Eritrean forces” who had been fighting alongside Ethiopian federal troops in the Tigray war that broke out in November 2020 had pulled back to the Eritrean border.

However, TPLF official Prof Kindeya Gebrehiwot on Thursday morning posted, external an undated picture of Eritrean soldiers purportedly in the town of Shire.

“The fact is Eritrean forces are still in Tigray, not at the borders! This recent picture shows Eritrean forces in Shire. Tigray had handed over heavy weapons, and Eritrean and non-ENDF forces should have concurrently left Tigray as per the pact,” he said.

Mr Obasanjo's comments were also been refuted by TPLF spokesperson Getachew Reda who said AU officials should "do their job first before such remarks are made".

The TPLF forces have been handing over heavy arms to federal troops as part of the peace deal with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's administration.

Separately, the TPLF-run Dimtsi Weyane TV reported that an Amhara militia group is allegedly forcing residents in a disputed area between the Tigray and Amhara regions to register as ethnic Amhara.

The Wolkayit-Tsegede region was captured by Amhara forces during the civil war leading to deadly violence.

Fashion designer Sierra Ndagire never imagined Maya Jama would wear an outfit designed by her.