Kennedy Gondwe
BBC News, Lusaka

Image source, Diamond TV

Zambian student Lemekhani Nyirenda, who died last year while fighting for Russian forces in Ukraine, is due to be buried on Wednesday.

Nyirenda was serving a drugs-related prison sentence in Russia but was freed on condition of signing up and and then deployed to the front lines in Ukraine. He died in September.

The burial will take place in Rufunsa district, eastern Zambia, six weeks after his body arrived in the country.

Nyirenda’s mother, Florence, told a farewell church gathering in the capital, Lusaka, that she will miss her son who was the last born in the family of four.

"I will miss my son’s naughtiness which I enjoyed so much,” she said.

Family spokesperson Ian Banda thanked the government for the support given during this trying moment.

Read more about Nyirenda:

• Ukraine war: Lemekhani Nyirenda's Zambian family demands answers from Russia

Marcus Erbe
BBC World Service News

There's been a warning of a dramatic rise in the rate of malnutrition among child refugees in northern Kenya.

The charity Médecins Sans Frontières said conditions in part of the overcrowded Dadaab complex had worsened, and required an urgent response from donors.

MSF blamed factors including a cholera outbreak, severe drought and conflicts in the region.

Dadaab hosts a quarter of a million people, many of them Somalis. Some of the refugees have been there for decades.

Rhoda Odhiambo
BBC Africa health reporter, Nairobi

Image source, AFP

Kenya is set to begin a mass vaccination drive against cholera, which has killed 78 people since September and infected a total of 4,000.

Cholera caught early is easily treatable. But public health experts are warning that if people do not have access to clean water and improved sanitation, tehre could be a rise in cases that could overwhelm hospitals.

A total of one million vaccines are needed, says Kenya's health chief, who warns that majority of patients seeking treatment in hospitals come when at a late stage, and some die as a result.

Speaking to the BBC, Director General of Health Patrick Amoth said the campaign will first be rolled out in the capital, Nairobi, and three other counties in the arid north of Kenya – where infections are high. A total of 14 counties are to be targeted.

Cases in urban areas have been linked to people eating out and not observing proper hand hygiene. On-going drought in semi-arid has made it difficult for people to access clean water and they are also moving further away from health facilities.

A humanitarian worker has been kidnapped from his car in eastern Mali, the head of the World Health Organization says.

Mahamadou Diawara is a doctor who works for the global health body, and in a tweet WHO boss Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he "deplored" the actions of the "unidentified assailants" who abucted Mr Diawara in the district of Ménaka.

"We are working with local authorities to investigate the abduction and ensure our colleague’s quick return to his family," Mr Tedros added.

Image source, Getty Images

Tems has become the first Nigerian musician to be nominated for an Oscar award, for her role in creating Rihanna's song Lift Me Up from the Wakanda Forever soundtrack.

It's the latest accolade for the singer-songwriter - who has been shortlisted for a Golden Globe and Grammy in recent months.

This time around it's her writing that's up for an award - along with Ryan Coogler, Ludwig Göransson and Rihanna.

Tems has yet to comment publicly on the news, but fans of the star have been congratulating her on social media.

Follow the latest news on the Oscar nominations.

Former Black Stars boss Kwesi Appiah reveals he is eager to return for a third stint in the Ghana hot seat.

Alfred Lasteck
BBC News, Dar es Salaam

Image source, Nemes Tarimo/Facebook

Tanzania’s government has for the first time formally confirmed that one of its citizens has died fighting with Russian forces in Ukraine. Up until now there had been no official comment from the authorities.

Thirty-three-year old student Nemes Tarimo died in October after having been recruited by the Wagner Group, which is a private military outfit.

His family in Tanzania continue to wait for his body to be returned home.

Foreign Minister Stergomena Tax said Tarimo, who had been studying in Moscow, had been imprisoned last March. She did not offer any clarity on what charges that he had faced.

“According to the information shared to us by the government of Russia, Tarimo opted to join the Wagner Group with the promise of receiving money and to be pardoned after the war ends,” she said.

“He then joined the group and died in October 2022 while at war. Procedures of returning his body in Tanzania are on and any time from late today his body will arrive and will be handed to the family for burial procedures,” the minister added.

She also used the opportunity to remind Tanzanians that it was against the law for a Tanzanian to join a foreign army.

"Tanzanians are only allowed to join and register with the Tanzania army according to our constitution and laws."

Read more:

• Tanzanian killed in Ukraine: We told him not to go

Patience Atuhaire
BBC News, Kampala

Image source, AFP

Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni has said that the country will develop its oil resources responsibly.

He added that the East African country will also invest in solar, wind and hydropower alongside oil at a time when wealthier countries are urging people to move away form fossil fuel investment.

The government insists that laws and other mechanisms have already been put in place to ensure environmental protection.

Mr Museveni was speaking as Uganda launched oil drilling activities at one of its wells in the Kingfisher Oil Field, in the mid-west of the country. This kicks off the drilling of production wells, and a process that should culminate into the extraction of commercial quantities of oil, expected in 2025.

The oil rig launched today, which was shipped from China and assembled at Kingfisher in Kikuube district, will be operated by Chinese multinational CNOOC.

In recent months, climate activists have campaigned against Uganda’s oil project, especially against a pipeline that is meant to export the oil to the Tanzanian port of Tanga – the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (Eacop).

Activists say construction of the pipeline will endanger fragile ecosystems and that it makes communities vulnerable to human rights abuses.

But Uganda is determined to carry on with the joint venture project.

Officials have previously argued that while there is global pressure to leave the oil in the ground and focus on developing green energy, Uganda is still living with energy poverty – with the larger part of the population still dependant on wood fuel, and that it should therefore be allowed to exploit its resources.

Of 6.5 billion barrels of crude reserves discovered in the country over 15 years ago, about 1. 4 billion barrels are said to be commercially viable.

Energy officials have said that Uganda is currently carrying out geological mapping of areas in the Karamoja region in the east, and will soon announce a new round of exploration licensing.

Read more:

• Why Uganda is investing in oil despite pressures to go green
• Cop 27: Uganda-Tanzania oil pipeline sparks climate row

Guy Bandolo
BBC News

Image source, AFP

Cameroon has denied picking any foreign facilitator in its efforts to end armed conflict in the country's English-speaking regions.

The government's statement comes after Canada announced it had been chosen to broker a peace deal between the state and separatist militia, which are accused of serious human rights violations since 2017.

Although the Cameroonian government neither confirms nor denies holding peace talks with the rebels, it has called on the country’s partners to track down suspected funders of the armed insurgency and hold them accountable in courts.

The Canadian government meanwhile said it was in touch with all parties involved in this conflict and reiterated its commitment to supporting peace-building efforts in the central African nation.

Cameroon's two Anglophone regions - called the North-West and South-West - make up about 20% of the population.

More than five years ago separatists fighters took up arms, claiming to fight discrimination by the French-speaking authorities. Since then, violent clashes between the army and the separatists have forced almost 800,000 people from their homes.

More than 6,000 people have been killed, and 600,000 children can’t access a full education.

Read more on this topic:

• 'I go to a secret school'
• Why separatists in Cameroon and Nigeria have united
• Who are the rebels fighting for Anglophone independence?

• Burning Cameroon: Images you're not meant to see
• Find out more about Cameroon

The daughter of a prominent Algerian journalist who was arrested and detained last month says her father must be released immediately.

Longstanding government critic, Ihsane El Kadi, is accused of receiving foreign funds and threatening national security.

He owns a popular radio station and a website, both of which have been closed down by the authorities.

His daughter, Tin Hinane, tells BBC Focus on Africa's Bola Mosuro that her father had been continuously harassed by the authorities, and she fears the journalists who worked for him are now in "dire situations."

Nigeria defender William Troost-Ekong says he will leave Watford after three seasons with the Hornets.

Kenya's Collins Injera, the second-highest scorer in Rugby 7s history, announces he is retiring.

Samba Cyuzuzo
BBC Great Lakes

Image source, Getty Images

One of the first female referees ever to serve at a men's World Cup has been insulted and physically threatened during a match in her home country, where some fans called her a "prostitute".

Salima Mukansanga officiated a 0–0 draw on Saturday between Kiyovu Sport and Gasogi United, but "game reports show that she was insulted", a Rwanda Football Federation (Ferwafa) spokesman told the BBC

Rwanda’s football body is now investigating harassment and attempted assault by fans in the local male’s league against her, and it says measures will be taken by the disciplinary committee after investigation.

People who attended the game told the BBC that a group of Kiyovu Sport fans repeatedly chanted, calling Ms Mukansanga "a prostitute". After the game security staff had to intervene to prevent some of them from physically attacking her,” Jules Karangwa of Ferwafa says.

In an open letter, Kiyovu Sport fans President Hemedi Minani condemned the "harassment and insults" against Mrs Mukansanga and apologised to her.

Last year in Qatar, Ms Mukasanga was part of the first team of three female referees to ever officiate a male’s world cup. Months earlier she had also become the first female to officiate the men’s Africa Cup of Nations.

Related stories:

• Salima Mukansanga hailed in BBC's 100 Women list
• Read more about Salima Mukansanga

Image source, Reuters

Zambia's finance minister says China has shown "optimism" in negotiations to ease the country's debt, a day after US treasury secretary said Beijing was a barrier to ending the crisis.

The country is straining under an immense debt burden and became Africa's first nation to default on its debts during the pandemic, when it failed to make a payment in 2020.

Talks to try to ease Zambia's debt have been dragging on - with China being blamed by some.

But Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane, soon after meeting Secretary Janet Yellen in the capital, Lusaka, told the BBC's Newsday programme that he was encouraged by the last meeting with the creditors:

He added that talks on restructuring the debt could be completed by the end of March.

Chiagozie Nwonwu
BBC, Lagos

Videos claiming to show rocks producing electricity have been viewed millions of times across and beyond Africa.

One appears to show electric sparks flying between two rocks as they come into contact and has the caption, “Electrically charged stones discovered in the Democratic Republic of Congo”.

This video went viral when South African businessman Daniel Marven posted it to his over 800k followers, adding “….now more trouble coming, cry my beloved Africa”.

Another Twitter user commented on Marven’s post with another video of a man apparently illuminating a light bulb by touching wires connected to it to a stone.

Marven also posted a tweet with this video a few hours later, garnering more than 1 million views.

Both videos were picked up and used in a thread by popular Twitter page African Archives. The thread went mega-viral, with one of the videos getting around 35 million views.

But the rocks may not quite be what they seem. A reverse image search reveals that the first video shared by Marven appeared on the Facebook page of the Mohamed First University, external, in Oujda, Morocco.

The caption read simply “Lithium!!?” without any more context.

BBC has contacted the university but has yet to receive a reply.

But more importantly, is it likely the rocks in the videos could store or produce electricity?

No, says Dr Ikenna Okonkwo, a Geology lecturer at the University of Nigeria.

“The rock looks like zinc or lead ore, and they do not have that kind of property. Perhaps [they could hold] static electricity of the kind that happens to some fabrics, but it won’t keep an LED light bulb powered.”

Dr Okonkwo concluded that the video is “some kind of trick”.

Samba Cyuzuzo
BBC Great Lakes

Image source, AFP

Fresh fighting has erupted in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, despite an agreement between the government and rebel groups to end hostilities.

The fighting between the army and M23 rebels on Tuesday is said to have caused many people to flee their homes, according to local reports.

"There is mass displacement towards the town of Mweso," a local journalist told the BBC on Tuesday morning.

The military has not commented on the latest fighting, but a spokesman for the rebels accused government forces of attacking their positions as they prepared to further withdraw as outlined in an agreement reached in Angola's capital, Luanda.

Last week in Davos President Félix Tshisekedi said the rebel group was not withdrawing but "moving around and redeploying to other areas".

The rebels have accused President Tshisekedi of being more keen on "destroying the M23" instead of peacefully resolving the conflict.

The UN says more than 400,000 people have fled their homes in the conflict since last year.

BBC World Service

Image source, Getty Images

Portugal has announced that all debt repayments it receives from its former colony of Cape Verde will be fully reinvested into the African country to drive its transition to a greener and more sustainable future.

The archipelago of 10 small islands, off Africa's west coast, owes Portugal more than $650m (£524m), of which $13m is due to be repaid by 2025.

Speaking in Cape Verde, Portugal's Prime Minister António Costa said that money will now be ploughed back into Cape Verde to support renewable energy and other green projects.

More stories from Cape Verde:

• 'My dad, the claw hair clip inventor'
• The Cape Verde rapper with a feminist message
• A quick guide to Cape Verde

Uganda will on Tuesday start drilling its first oil well in the Kingfisher oil field, the state petroleum agency said.

It is hoped that by 2025 the first of a potential 1.4 billion barrels of oil will be pumped from wells across the mid-western region.

"Today we mark another milestone and move a step closer to first oil with the launch of the drilling of development and production wells for the Kingfisher oil fields," the Petroleum Authority of Uganda (PAU) said on Twitter.

President Yoweri Museveni is due to officiate the event.

The Kingfisher oil field is operated by China's CNOOC, while the second Tilenga oil field is operated by France's TotalEnergies.

More on this story:

• Why Uganda is investing in oil despite pressures to go green
• Uganda-Tanzania oil pipeline sparks climate row

Yves Bucyana
BBC, Kigali

Image source, Rwanda Government

A high court in Rwanda has sentenced a former youth and culture minister to five years in prison over corruption charges, extending a previous sentence by a year.

The original sentence, which came last year, against Edouard Bamporiki was a rare case of a top official convicted over corruption in the country.

He was suspended from cabinet last May and put under house arrest while being investigated for corruption and misuse of power. He remained under house arrest until this ruling.

Bamporiki confessed to the charges on Twitter and asked President Paul Kagame for forgiveness, but in September a court sentenced him to four years - which he appealed.

On Monday, a high court judge in the capital, Kigali, said “justice needs to be served to set an example”.

The 39-year-old poet and filmmaker was previously a vigorous supporter of President Kagame and the ruling party and rose rapidly through the ranks.

His lawyer, Evode Kayitana, told the BBC that they had not decided on whether to appeal.

BBC World Service

Image source, Reuters

The US Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen, is visiting South Africa on the latest stage of a three-nation African tour aimed at boosting US influence.

The tour - which also included Senegal and Zambia - comes as Washington faces growing competition in the region with Russia and China.

South Africa has recently taken over the chair of the Brics economic group - made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - which was set up as a counterweight to US global dominance.

While in South Africa, Ms Yellen is expected to push President Cyril Ramaphosa to pursue plans for a gradual transition away from a heavy reliance on coal to cleaner energy.