BBC World Service

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An Algerian court has sentenced the brother of the former president Abdelaziz Bouteflika to 12 years in jail for corruption.

Saïd Bouteflika, who was his brother's advisor, was also fined nearly $60,000 (£50,000).

Several top Algerian businessmen were convicted with him and also given long prison terms.

Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who was accused of fostering corruption over his 20 year rule, was forced to resign as president in 2019 following a wave of pro-democracy protests.

He died two years later.

Anne Soy
BBC News, Nairobi

Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, has met Sudan’s military rulers and urged the country to solve its political challenges internally without what he termed as "attempts to teach the Sudanese how to do things",

The country has been in political turmoil since the generals ousted Western-backed civilian leaders of the transitional government in October 2021.

Russia and Sudan have also been in talks about opening a naval base in Sudan by the Red Sea.

Mr Lavrov has said the plan is now awaiting ratification, but Sudan is currently embroiled in a prolonged political crisis.

Western diplomats met the military rulers ahead of the Russian foreign minister’s visit, and received assurances of the council’s commitment to an agreement intended to lead to a civilian transitional government.

But Mr Lavrov has criticised their support for the process.

He also accused Western leaders of stalking him as he visits Africa. This is his third trip in just six months.

The continent is seeing renewed interest from global powers who are seeking to expand their influence.

Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

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The World Health Organization (WHO) says Malawi is going through its worst ever outbreak of cholera.

It has killed more than 1,200 people over the last year. All but two of the country's 29 districts are now affected.

There have been two large vaccination campaigns, but, due to limited supplies, people have been offered just one oral dose instead of the recommended two.

The UN health body said efforts were under way to improve sanitation and access to clean water with house-to-house chlorination in affected areas.

It says there has been an increase in cholera outbreaks worldwide, which has led to a shortage of vaccines.

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Nigerian singer Tems has thanked her fans after winning a Grammy award in the Best Melodic Rap Performance category for her contribution to the hit song Wait for U with Future and Drake.

Writing on Twitter, she said she appreciated the support of her fans, known as the Rebel Gang: "To everyone one that has been supporting me still. Through everything, please know I don’t take it for granted. I truly appreciate it, the love has been too too much," she wrote.

She has received widespread praise after the win, with fellow Nigerian artists like Tiwa Savage, Waje and Omowunmi posting congratulatory messages.

Tems, 27, whose real name is Temilade Openiyi, is well known for featuring on Wizkid's hit song Essence, as well as other popular tracks Free Mind and Higher.

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

The non-governmental organisation Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has suspended its activity in the Mouhoun region in north-western Burkina Faso following the killing of two of its employees,

Armed assailants opened fire on Wednesday morning on an MSF vehicle and killed two of its occupants.

MSF President Isabelle Defourny condemned the attack, saying: “We are going to have to hold urgent talks with all the parties in the conflict to understand what has happened.”

The security situation in Burkina Faso has become increasingly volatile with armed militants regularly attacking both civilians and security forces.

Emmanuel Igunza
BBC News, Nairobi

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Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki has dismissed reports of alleged war crimes committed by his troops during the conflict in northern Ethiopia.

In rare comments about the war, which begun in November 2020, President Isaias said the claims were part of a disinformation campaign by detractors of the peace deal reached between the government in Ethiopia and Tigrayan forces for a permanent ceasefire in the country's civil war.

He also declined to answer questions regarding when Eritrean troops will fully leave the Tigray region or on a succession plan in his country.

Rights groups allege Eritrean soldiers have committed atrocities in northern Ethiopia which include killing unarmed civilians, raping women and the widespread looting of public and private property.

President Isaias was speaking in Kenya following a bilateral meeting with his counterpart, William Ruto.

Mr Isaias took power after independence in 1993, but the country has never held a national election with critics accusing him of jailing people opposed to his rule.

Springbok winger Sbu Nkosi, who broke contact with his club for almost a month because of "mental pressures", returns to training with his Bulls side in Pretoria.

Amira Bouraoui, banned from leaving Algeria, makes it to France via Tunisia sparking a diplomatic row.

Samba Cyuzuzo
BBC Great Lakes

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Rwandan President Paul Kagame has accused his Congolese counterpart Félix Tshisekedi of dishonouring several agreements on addressing the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

Tensions between the African Great Lakes region neighbours continue to raise as DR Congo accuses Rwanda of invading its territory “disguised in M23 rebels”.

In an address to diplomats in Rwanda on Wednesday night, external, Mr Kagame criticised Mr Tshisekedi for failing to address Congo’s internal issue and putting the blame on Rwanda.

Kinshasa hasn't reacted to Mr Kagame’s remarks.

“This person has dishonoured dozens of agreements he has made with people… including even last time in Bujumbura”, Mr Kagame said.

“We discuss things in the open, he participated, we wrote a communiqué, giving people of what we discussed and the way forward. The communiqué is read, but the next day an opposite communiqué is read in Kinshasa,” he added.

Last weekend’s East African heads of state meeting in Bujumbura, Burundi, directed “immediate ceasefire”, “withdrawal of all foreign groups” and need for “dialogue among all the parties”.

A day later, Congolese government spokesperson said they would “only abide” by the November agreements in Luanda to end the conflict.

President Kagame deplored that the rebels’ issue kept “coming back for nearly three decades” despite the UN having more than 10,000 peacekeepers deployed to address it.

Akisa Wandera
BBC News, Nairobi

Four miners are trapped in a rubble after a gold mine collapsed in western Kenya.

The incident in Kakamega county happened in the short hours of Thursday and initially saw 12 artisanal workers trapped for hours.

Eight of them were rescued by the morning, following hours of digging by community members and they are said to be in stable condition.

The miners were operating at an aged mining tunnel and were unlicensed by the local government, according to the authorities.

“What they are doing is risking their lives and most of the people here are mostly youth who are doing this work. Due to the unemployment problem, people are putting their hands on anything that can put food on their table,” Kakamega county commissioner John Ondego said.

He added that mining at night time will no longer be allowed.

Incidents of collapsed mines are rampant in parts of western Kenya.

In 2021, gold mining company Shanta Gold reported a discovery of huge deposits of gold in the region.

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The Nigerian National Universities Commission (NUC) has ordered the country's universities to close from 22 February to 14 March because of the general elections, which will be held on 25 February.

The decision follows concerns about the safety and security of staff and students during the poll.

The NUC comes under the Federal Ministry of Education and was given the order by Education Minister Adamu Adamu, local media report.

There has been concern about, external whether the elections will be able to go ahead as planned on 25 February because of ongoing insecurity problems in the country.

However, the head of the electoral commission has insisted that they will take place.

Young people make up a large proportion of those who have registered to vote in the election.

Nkechi Ogbonna
BBC News, Lagos

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Nigeria’s Attorney General Abubakar Malami has asked the Supreme Court to dismiss the lawsuit filed by three state governors which has halted the introduction of new naira notes.

The attorney general’s office argues that the Supreme Court lacks the jurisdiction to rule on issues the suit raises.

With the crucial forthcoming elections, Festus Okoye, the National Commissioner of Nigeria’s electoral body Inec, told the BBC this will not affect the general elections and “the dates fixed by the commission for the conduct of the general election are fixed and firm.”

Last November, Nigeria’s Central Bank redesigned the 200, 500, and 1,000 naira banknotes aimed at curbing soaring inflation, cash hoarding and counterfeiting.

Kalkidan Yibeltal
BBC News, Addis Ababa

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The authorities in Ethiopia have banned parallel rallies by supporters of the Orthodox Church and those backing a breakaway group that were planned to be held in the capital, Addis Ababa.

In a statement, the Security and Intelligence Task Force said no permissions were issued for the rallies and warned citizens to keep off the venues.

The Orthodox Church is the country’s largest religious denomination.

It's highest decision making body, the synod, had called for the rally in Addis Ababa’s main square to protest against alleged government's support to breakaway clergy.

The breakaway group also announced it would also hold rallies on the same day.

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.

The security task force blamed unnamed foreign enemies and domestic forces for exacerbating the problem.

Richard Kagoe
BBC News, Nairobi

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Kenya's former interior minister Fred Matiang’i has sought anticipatory bail, saying he fears he could be arrested and arraigned in court for political reasons.

His lawyer filed an application at a high court in the capital, Nairobi, seeking to bar the police from arresting or harassing the former minister.

The court has not ruled on the request.

It comes as police denied a reported security operation at the ex-minister’s home on Wednesday night.

Inspector General of Police Japheth Koome said the police force had not deployed any officer to the home of the former minister.

But Mr Matiang’i's family said that a group of men who declined to identify themselves arrived at their home on Wednesday night and did not explain their mission.

The family says they pressed the men to identify themselves and produce a summon or search warrant which they failed to.

They say the men took off shortly after the family lawyers and media arrived at the home.

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Uganda's environmental management agency says it will start imposing fines from April on motorists driving private cars without rubbish bins.

Offenders will face a maximum fine of up to 6,000,000 Ugandan shillings ($1,630; £1,350), according to a penalty scheme announced on Wednesday.

Motorists who refuse to pay the fines will face prosecution and imprisonment or a fine determined by the courts, the agency said in a statement, external.

Currently passenger buses travelling over long distances in the country are obligated to have rubbish bins.

But it's the new requirement for bins in private cars that has got the attention of Ugandans, with many asking if there was a particular standard for what counts as a rubbish bin.

"As long as you are using something that is not prohibited to hold your rubbish, you should be fine. Plastic bags are prohibited," Naomi Karekaho, the spokesperson of the agency, told the BBC.

She said the agency would capture the definition of what counts as a rubbish bin in the next amendment.

"Of all penalties for environmental breaches that we announced this seems to have caught the attention of most people. Maybe it's the sheer excitement of having a dustbin in a car," she added.

Peter Jegwa
Lilongwe, Malawi

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A high court in Malawi has rejected a bid by the government to uphold the suspension of head of the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), Martha Chizuma.

Ms Chizuma was interdicted on grounds that she was facing criminal charges whereby she is accused of defaming some high-ranking government officials.

The alleged defamatory remarks are contained in a secretly recorded private conversation that she had with a person not employed by her office.

In the recording she purportedly accused some top officials in government and courts of frustrating the fight against corruption.

The recording was made and circulated widely online last year, with Malawi President Lazarus Chakwera saying at the time that he had reprimanded Ms Chizuma for the remarks.

The president however said he would not sack her because he considered the recording and its circulation to be “corruption fighting back”.

The secretary to the president and cabinet, Colleen Zamba, nonetheless interdicted Ms Chizuma late last week, but the directive was set aside by the court on Monday following an application by the Malawi Law Society.

On Tuesday the government filed an urgent application to suspend the order that stopped Ms Chizuma’s interdiction which the court has now rejected.

Early on Wednesday, the US and the UK - two of Malawi’s main donors - expressed “deep concern” with the government's actions which they said undermined the credibility of the country’s fight against corruption.

Ms Chizuma is seen as a committed anti-corruption crusader.

She has so far indicted the country’s Vice-President Saulos Chilima and several other high-profile individuals over corruption and has hinted there will be even more arrests. The vice-president has denied any wrongdoing.

The head of Kenya police service has disowned a reported operation on the home of former interior minister Fred Matiang’i in Nairobi on Wednesday night.

Inspector General Japhet Koome told journalists that no officers under the National Police Service were sent to the former minister’s residence.

The ex-minister’s lawyer had on Wednesday said that Mr Matiang’i was holed up in his home and accused the government of trying to falsely accuse and frame his client.

“The police have not declared what they want or what he's done wrong. We do not understand why the police would come to arrest our client in the dead of the night,” lawyer Sam Nyaberi told journalists.

Opposition leader Raila Odinga and a host of politicians arrived at the home for a night vigil following the incident.

He said police had surrounded Mr Matiangi’s home and criticised what he described as “the return of midnight arrests without charges”.

The police officers were said to have left after dozens of lawyers arrived at the residence. The police had not commented on the matter.

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Algeria has recalled its ambassador to France for consultations, the presidency said on Wednesday in a new spat over the evacuation of Algerian activist Amira Bouraoui who is wanted by Algiers.

President Abdelmadjid Tebboune ordered ambassador Said Moussi to be recalled "with immediate effect", a statement said.

Ms Bouraoui, 46, was arrested in Tunisia on Friday and risked being deported to Algeria, but she was finally able to board a flight to France on Monday evening, the AFP news agency reports.

The French-Algerian was sentenced in Algeria in May 2021 to two years in jail for "offending Islam" and for insulting the president. She has not been placed under arrest since then pending an appeal.

French President Emmanuel Macron visited Algeria in August 2022 to repair fractured relations after a long period of tension over conflicting memories of Algeria's bloody war of independence.

Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

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Human Rights Watch says the authorities in Eritrea are punishing the relatives of people accused of evading forced military conscription.

The campaign group says it has spoken to parents who were evicted from their homes, and an 80-year old man who was detained for failing to hand over his youngest son.

There are other cases where people were forced to sleep on the streets.

Eritrea has a policy of indefinite national service - which is often cited as a reason why thousands of young Eritreans try to flee to Europe.

Round-ups by the military intensified as a result of Eritrea's recent involvement in the civil war in neighbouring Ethiopia.

Richard Kagoe
BBC News, Nairobi

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Police reportedly surrounded the home of former Kenya Interior minister Fred Matiang’i in Nairobi’s Karen suburb on Wednesday night

The motive behind the police operation was not clear.

The ex-minister’s lawyer told journalists that Mr Matiang’i was holed up in his home and accused the government of trying to falsely accuse and frame his client.

Opposition leader Raila Odinga and a host of politicians arrived at the home for a night vigil following the incident.

Mr Odinga condemned the action terming it harassment and intimidation by the state.

A group of lawyers were due to accompany the former minister to the nearest police station on Thursday morning to record a statement.

Mr Matiang’i was a powerful cabinet minister and key ally of former President Uhuru Kenyatta who campaigned to block President William Ruto from ascending to power.

Security officers attached to influential individuals who served under Mr Kenyatta, including Mr Matiang’i, were scaled down earlier this month.

Mr Kenyatta and Mr Ruto fell out during their second term in office following a political truce between the former president and his erstwhile arch-rival Mr Odinga.