Guy Bandolo
BBC News

A two-day curfew has been called in a northern province of Equatorial Guinea, called Kié-Ntem, after 20 people died of an as-yet unidentified illness.

The deaths were confirmed by the head of Olamze District Hospital, which is a short distance across the border in Cameroon.

According to the Cameroonian health authorities, the victims contracted some form of haemorrhagic fever because their symptoms included nosebleeds, weakness, vomiting blood, fever and diarrhoea.

The cases of contagion and deaths are from three localities in northern Equatorial Guinea. Four of the victims came from the same family.

Contamination occurs through direct contact with the infected person, according to the Cameroonian health authorities. They're telling Cameroonians to stay vigilant.

The Equatoguinean authorities say Kié-Ntem will star under quarantine until the nature of the illness and the source of the outbreak are confirmed.

Jose Tembe
BBC News, Maputo

Image source, Radio Mozambique

Cases of dead fish washing up on Maputo Bay in southern Mozambique since last weekend are a cause for worry for the authorities, who are investigating .possible causes alongside academic institutions, civil society groups and fisherfolk

One theory is that the fish could have been killed by low oxygen levels, caused by high levels of suspended sediment in the water, as a result of dredging and excavating when fibreoptic cables were installed.

The authorities also suspect that fresh water from rivers flowing into the bay may reduced salinity levels.

This isn't the first time such cases have occurred in Maputo Bay, with smaller incidents associated with discharges of fresh water into the bay being recorded in the past.

The authorities have urged residents, especially fisherfolk, to be vigilant and collaborate with experts on the ground who are investigating the incident.

They have also urged people not to eat the dead fish found on the beach and in the sea.

Kennedy Gondwe
BBC News, Lusaka

Zambians have begun to assess the scale of the devastation caused by flooding, following heavy rain across the country.

The southern African country is currently going through its rainy season and heavy downpours have left roads submerged and buildings flooded.

One southern province and the capital, Lusaka, are reported to be the worst-affected.

The meteorological department warns the rains are likely to become heavier across the country in the coming days.

No figures of human casualties have been issued yet by the authorities but local media outlets have tweeted pictures of drowned cattle after rivers broke their banks.

In Lusaka, residents have been tweeting pictures and videos of flooded toilets and inaccessible buildings after the sewage system got overwhelmed by the floods.

Sweden's ambassador to Zambia, Johan Hallenborg, also tweeted his experience when he waded through flood water to reach a shop.

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

Image source, AFP

The foreign ministers of Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso have called for their countries' reinstatement into two regional blocs that suspended them after recent military coups.

In a joint statement, the ministers said they had agreed to work together to push for the lifting of their suspensions from the African Union (AU) and the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas).

Abdoulaye Diop of Mali, Morissanda Kouyate of Guinea and Burkina's Olivia Rouamba held talks in Ouagadougou where they "agreed to pool their efforts and undertake joint initiatives for the lifting of the suspension measures and other restrictions" taken by the AU and Ecowas.

The coups in Mali and Burkina Faso were triggered by frustrations following a jihadist insurgency that has claimed thousands of lives in the Sahel countries.

Guinea's coup, on the other hand, was as a result of public anger against then President Alpha Conde who sought a third term in office, contrary to the provisions of the constitution.

Image source, Getty Images

Ethiopia has limited access to social media and messaging platforms amid mounting tensions between the authorities and the Orthodox church.

Netblocks, an organisation that monitors freedom of access to the internet, said the restrictions impacted Facebook, Messenger, Telegram and TikTok.

This comes after the church’s highest body, or the synod, defied a ban by authorities and announced it would go ahead with planned protest rallies.

Schools were closed on Friday following a directive by the authorities.

The Orthodox Church, the country’s largest religious denomination, accuses the government of backing a breakaway faction in Oromia region.

The breakaway clergy accuse the church of maintaining a system of linguistic and cultural hegemony in which congregations in Oromia are not served in their native languages. The church denies the accusation.

Ethiopia has previously been accused by rights groups of blocking access to internet.

Emmanuel Igunza
BBC News, Nairobi

Image source, Getty Images

The United States has issued a security alert to its citizens in Kenya over potential terrorist attacks in the country.

The note warns that hotels, embassies, restaurants and malls frequented by foreigners and tourists could be attacked with little or no warning.

It comes just hours after Kenyan authorities released the names of five men wanted for their links to the al-Shabab Islamist group.

They are on the most wanted list in Kenya for alleged attacks carried out in the coastal town of Lamu.

The jihadist group has been blamed for carrying out attacks in northern and coastal Kenya targeting civilians, security officers and government installations.

But the al-Qaeda affiliated group has suffered huge losses in recent days, losing top commanders, hundreds of fighters and huge swathes of territories in central and southern Somalia where they have been in control for decades

Richard Kagoe
BBC News, Nairobi

Image source, AFP

East African Community (EAC) leaders have been urged to fast-track the deployment of additional troops in the regional force deployed to eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

Former Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta, a mediator for the East African Community (EAC) bloc, says more troops need to take up positions in areas where armed groups have withdrawn, according to the Luanda ceasefire agreement.

Mr Kenyatta expressed concern over the deteriorating security situation in North Kivu province where M23 rebels have clashed with security forces in recent weeks.

Uganda and South Sudan are planning to send troops after contingents from Burundi and Kenya arrived in eastern DR Congo last year to help end decades of instability.

Mr Kenyatta welcomed recent calls for cessation of hostilities by all sides in the conflict by East African leaders.

In a statement, the facilitator said he would intensify plans for the fourth round of talks in Nairobi by mobilising regional and international support for the meeting.

He has urged all parties involved to accelerate implementation of resolutions of the third consultative talks in Nairobi.

He has also appealed for urgent humanitarian support to more than half a million people displaced by the conflict in North Kivu province.

The conflict has strained relations with DR Congo, which accuses neighbouring Rwanda of backing the M23 rebels. Rwanda denies the accusations.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has signed an executive order setting up a transitional team that will usher in a new government after the forthcoming general elections.

“The new executive order puts in place a legal framework for the seamless transition of power from one presidential administration to another,” he said.

Nigerians go the polls on 25 February.

Mr Buhari, 80, is serving his last term in office, as he is constitutionally barred from running again in the elections.

A new president will be sworn in on 29 May.

Read more:

• Nigeria elections 2023: What you need to know

BBC World Service

Image source, Reuters

Archaeologists in Kenya have dug up some of the oldest stone tools ever used by ancient humans, dating back around 2.9 million years.

They say the discovery is evidence that tools were used by other branches of early humans, not just the ancestors of Homo Sapiens as scientists have previously thought.

Researchers say two big fossil teeth found at the site in Kenya belong to an extinct human cousin, known as Paranthropus.

The team found evidence to suggest the tools were used to butcher hippos and pound plant materials like tubers and fruit.

Image source, Reuters

Nomsa Maseko
BBC News, Cape Town

Image source, AFP

South Africa's president has declared a state of disaster to try to deal with an energy crisis.

Cyril Ramaphosa's announcement on Thursday gives the government additional powers to tackle crippling electricity shortages that have worsened in recent months.

He insisted South Africa would emerge with a more efficient energy network.

The president was making an annual address to parliament, which was repeatedly disrupted by the opposition.

There was chaos in the chamber before his speech. At one point members of the Economic Freedom Fighters stormed the podium, before being forced to leave.

Mr Ramaphosa also said access to the witness protection programme for whistle-blowers that exposed government corruption was under way.

But that brings little relief to those whose relatives were murdered for exposing maladministration.

To address the rising cost of living, Mr Ramaphosa extended the relief funding which is earned by more than eight million unemployed South Africans.

Our proverb of the day:

Click here to send us your African proverbs.

Ghanaian international Priscilla Okyere describes the moments her women's team escaped the devastating earthquake in Turkey.

A selection of the best photos from across Africa this week.

When Mubarak Bala posts criticism of Islam on social media, it sparks a landmark legal case and leaves him facing 24 years in jail. Raised in a Muslim family, Mubarak is the son of an Islamic scholar in the religiously conservative Kano state. But in 2014, Mubarak renounces Islam and later becomes president of Nigeria’s Humanist Association, gaining a reputation as an outspoken critic of religion.

In 2020, a group of Muslim lawyers call for him to be tried for offences related to blasphemy over social media posts which they say insult the Prophet Muhammad and the religion of Islam. With access to Mubarak’s wife and lawyers, the BBC’s Yemisi Adegoke follows his case through the Nigerian court system, finding out what it tells us about freedom of belief in a country where religious tensions run deep. She talks to other Nigerian atheists as they follow Mubarak’s case and wrestle with the challenges of being open about their beliefs in a deeply religious society.

Presenter: Yemisi Adegoke Producers: Valeria Cardi and John Offord Production co-ordinator: Mica Nepomuceno Editor: Helen Grady

(Photo: Mubarak Bala speaking at Kaduna Book and Arts Festival in 2018, still from the film The Cost of Being an Atheist)

That's all for now from the BBC Africa Live team, but we'll be back on Friday morning Nairobi time.

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

A reminder of Thursday's wise words:

Click here to send us your African proverbs.

And we leave you with this photo from the beach in Accra, Ghana, by photographer Nana Kofi Acquah.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa's 2023 state of the nation address was interrupted by jeering from one opposition party leading to chaos in parliament in Cape Town.

As he stood up to start the speech a group of MPs attempted to drown out his speech, before being asked to leave the house.

A group of MPs from the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) then attempted to storm the stage, with some carrying placards, and were forced out by security guards in dramatic scenes.

Procedures were then suspended.

You can watch the state of the union address here:

Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

Civilians in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo are fleeing their homes near Goma, amid fears that the M23 rebel group are advancing.

There are reports that the Congolese army has been fighting the militia near the town of Sake.

Tens of thousands of people have been displaced in recent months after the Tutsi-led rebels launched an offensive.

Ten years ago the same group was chased out of eastern DR Congo into Uganda and Rwanda.

Rwanda's government has been accused of supporting the M23, but it denies it.

Rwanda has for many years criticised the Congolese authorities for failing to disarm Hutu rebels - some of whom were linked to the Rwandan genocide.

Patricia Oyella
BBC News, Kampala

Image source, Getty Images

Two Ugandan women are missing after their flat in the Turkish city of Diyarbakir collapsed during a devastating earthquake that hit the southern part of the country and northern Syria on Monday, causing the death of at least 19,700 people so far.

The identities of the two women are not yet known, Uganda’s ambassador to Turkey, Nusura Tiperu, said in a statement.

They lived in the same building with two other Ugandan women who survived.

Turkish authorities were also able to rescue another Ugandan in the city of Malatya from his collapsed flat yesterday. Karara Ashraf is a graduate of Inonu university and was working as a teacher and model.

He is currently admitted at Malatya Yesilyurt Hasan Malik State hospital.

Three other Ugandans are stranded in the city of Gaziantep and are taking shelter in cars. A fourth is said to have left for another city.

Uganda’s State Minister for Foreign Affairs Henry Okello Oryem said many Ugandans do not register with their embassies when they travel abroad but estimates that up to 6,000 of them are in the country.

Most are said to be living in the cities of Istanbul, Konya, Ankara, Izmir, and Antalya, which are considered safe.

Read more about the earthquake here.

Kennedy Gondwe
BBC News, Lusaka

Image source, AFP

Zambia’s power utility, Zesco Ltd, has announced an end to the power rationing which the country had been experiencing.

Company managing director, Victor Mapani, announced at a press briefing on Thursday that households and companies countrywide will now enjoy 24 hours of power supply without any disruptions.

He said this had been made possible by various measures - which include restoration and upgrading of power generation at stations in the country, according to the state broadcaster, the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC).

Mr Mapani said Zesco had revamped the Victoria Falls power station which is currently feeding about 20MW into the national grid.

He said generation had also been upgraded at two other stations by over 150MW and that Zesco will soon increase power generation at Lake Kariba from the current 250MW to 350MW.

Zambians had initially been hit by up to 12 hours of load shedding, which later reduced to four.

The blackouts were because of low water levels at Kariba Dam, which is used for hydroelectric generation, and routine maintenance works at Maamba Collieries whose power also feeds into the grid.

Somali-born model Waris Dirie on convincing her mother to stop relatives undergoing the practice.