BBC World Service

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Health officials in Cameroon say they have detected two suspected cases of the Marburg virus close to the border with Equatorial Guinea, where there is an outbreak of the deadly haemorrhagic fever.

Neither of the pair had travelled across the frontier.

Officials are now trying to track down everyone they have been in contact with.

The World Health Organization has sent more contact tracing teams to eastern Equatorial Guinea to try to contain the spread of the virus.

Nine people are thought to have died from the disease in Equatorial Guinea where there are a further 16 suspected cases.

Restrictions on movements had already been in force in Cameroon's southern border area.

Read more:

• What is the Marburg virus and how can it be avoided?

Our proverb of the day:

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A 2022 peace deal halted Ethiopia's two-year civil war. Women say it did not stop the violence.

Nigeria and Ghana are known hubs for catfishing where users pretend to be someone they're not online as part of a romantic or financial scam.

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

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

A reminder of Tuesday's wise words:

Click here to send us your African proverbs.

And we leave you with this picture of a skater in Cape Town, South Africa.

BBC Monitoring

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Ukraine has launched a training course for diplomats from African countries, as part of an effort to strengthen relations with the continent, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has said.

The Foreign Ministry said on its website on 14 February that a "comprehensive" four-day online training course would be delivered at the Hennadiy Udovenko Diplomatic Academy.

According to the ministry, the agreement was reached during the first-ever tour of a Ukrainian foreign minister to African countries in October 2022.

"During my tour, our African partners showed considerable interest in studying Ukrainian diplomatic experience," Mr Kuleba said.

He added that since Russia's invasion last year, Ukraine had proven to be an "undisputed international leader" in public diplomacy.

He further said the course developed by the ministry was a" continuation of the renaissance of relations between Ukraine and African countries, and will also be our practical contribution to strengthening the stability of the African continent".

More than 200 diplomats from Nigeria, Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia, Ivory Coast, South Africa, Botswana, Mozambique and Senegal "will have a unique opportunity to learn from the experience of practising Ukrainian diplomats, leading international relations scientists and experts of think tanks" during the course named "Security and Diplomacy in Wartime. Ukrainian experience", the foreign ministry said.

Ukraine has been trying to win support in Africa where Russia has a much stronger foothold.

BBC World Service

UN rights experts have urged Zimbabwe's President Emmerson Mnangagwa not to sign into law new legislation that will severely restrict the activities of civil society groups.

The bill approved by parliament two weeks ago bans charities from engaging in politics, and allows the state to monitor their finances and management.

The government says this will prevent money laundering and terrorism, but the experts say the restrictions will have a chilling effect on organisations particularly on dissenting voices.

Zimbabwean rights groups and opposition parties say the government is clamping down ahead of a general election later this year.

Kennedy Gondwe
BBC News, Lusaka

Image source, Nathan Mubanga

A 13-year-old Zambian boy has so far spent four weeks at home after being denied admission into a government school for having dreadlocks.

Chisanga Mubanga had reported to join Kasama boys secondary school, in the northern province, but administrators told him to cut his hair first, an order his father, a Rastafarian, refused to comply with.

“No, because the boy has vow of a Nazarite, check Numbers six ,chapter five [‘They must never cut their hair throughout the time of their vow, for they are holy and set apart to the Lord. Until the time of their vow has been fulfilled, they must let their hair grow long’].” Nathan Mubanga told the BBC of the biblical verse.

His son attended a private school in his lower grades and did not face any demand to cut his dreadlocks, but this changed when he wanted to join a government institution.

Joel Kamoko, the ministry of education permanent secretary, told the BBC that he backed the school's decision.

“A learner in any school is expected to conform to the prescribed school rules that include being clean and keeping hair short or shaven for boys and smart for both girls and boys,” Mr Kamoko said.

“Dreadlocks are not an accepted hair style in any government school because it defies the general guidance given from which individual schools draw their specifics," he added.

Maiko Zulu, a civil rights activist and a Rastafarian, complained about the treatment of Chisanga Mubanga.

Image source, Chisanga Mubanga

He said there is no law in Zambia that requires children with dreadlocks to cut their hair as a condition to school admission.

“I find the denial of dreadlocked pupils in government schools to not only be discriminatory but also an infringement on children's rights,” he told the BBC.

“We have children of other faiths including Muslims in some schools while Rastafarians with dreadlocks are not only denied an opportunity to get an education but also being denied access to obtain national identity documents like national registration cards, passports and drivers’ licenses until they cut their hair.”

Mr Mubanga said he's determined to get justice for his son.

The stand-off has divided opinion in Zambia.

Results and scorecards from West Indies' two-Test tour of Zimbabwe.

Footballer Christian Atsu is still missing after the Turkey earthquake on 6 February, his agent has said.

Image source, Getty Images

The World Health Organization (WHO) says it's sending teams of trained contact tracers to eastern Equatorial Guinea to try to contain an outbreak of the deadly Marburg virus.

More than 4,000 people have been placed in lockdown in Kie Ntem province following the deaths of nine people and a further 16 suspected cases.

The WHO has been holding an emergency meeting of its Marburg team in Geneva.

The haemorrhagic fever is from the same family of diseases as Ebola, but no vaccine has yet been developed.

The virus's natural host is the African fruit bat, which can pass the virus to primates.

Police say the rapper was shot dead at close range in an apparent contract killing.

Image source, Getty Images

President Muhammadu Buhari has asked his United Arab Emirates (UAE) counterpart, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, to lift a visa ban his nation imposed on Nigerians.

"Nigeria and the UAE have enjoyed excellent and beneficial relations for many years, including at the highest political levels. We can and must continue to iron out whatever issues arise between us", external, Mr Buhari tweeted.

Nigeria and the UAE have been embroiled in several diplomatic disputes with the UAE imposing a visa ban on Nigerians, and suspending its national carrier, Emirates Airlines, from operating in Nigeria since October 2022.

President Buhari assured the UAE that judicial sanctions will be imposed on Nigerians found to have committed criminal acts in the UAE.

Richard Kagoe
BBC News, Nairobi

Kenya's President William Ruto has taken his biggest security decision on the domestic front since taking office about five months ago by ordering the military to join police in tackling bandits and cattle rustlers in a restive northern region.

Attempts by previous administrations to disarm the heavily-armed bandits operating with impunity in Turkana county have failed.

The recent killing of 16 police officers by the bandits proves how challenging the operation will be.

At the centre of the attacks is the lucrative meat trade. Locals rely on it for their livelihood.

Thousands of cattle are stolen every month and driven hundreds of kilometres away for slaughter for sale in the local or international market.

“The meat you eat on your plates in Nakuru and Nairobi, 70% of it is from these criminal activities. The bandits are paid a paltry Sh7,000 ($55; £45) per head, with the same being sold for up to Sh100,000 ($800),” Trans-Nzoia Governor George Natembeya, who previously served in the region as a top government officer, said.

Ethnic rivalry instigated by politicians and competition for natural resources are also factors behind the banditry.

Analysts say that to resolve the security challenge, the government should prioritise dialogue, and improve the economic well-being of communities.

Image source, Getty Images

South African police say evidence gathered to date leads them to believe the killing of the rapper AKA on Saturday was an assassination.

The police commissioner of KwaZulu-Natal province, Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, said the gunman had approached Kiernan Forbes from behind and shot him at close range in the side of the head.

A second gunman then started firing to deter onlookers from getting involved.

One of these rounds killed the friend with AKA, Tibz Motsoane.

Local News24 has shared a screengrab of the moment AKA was allegedly shot by a gunman.

General Mkhwanazi said his officers were still checking the identities of all of those at the scene in Durban that night.

Rwanda will prioritise education institutions in its plan to roll out low-cost internet delivered by Starlink, an internet initiative owned by SpaceX, a company founded by US billionaire Elon Musk, local New Times site reports.

Hundreds of schools in Rwanda will be connected next month in a pilot, said Paula Ingabire, the country's minister of ICT and innovation.

“We are going to start with at least 500 schools so that at least such internet will be tested, and distributed there,” she said.

Starlink operates more than 3,000 small satellites in low earth orbit, they can can deliver internet speeds of up to 200 megabits a second (mbps).

Ms Ingabire said Starlink would increase competition amongst internet service providers and estimated that users could pay $44 (£36) a month for speeds of up to 150 mbps.

Rwanda's internet speed averages to about 52 mpbs, among the fastest on the continent. , external

Africa is set to account for the highest rise in the global supply of of gas by 2050, news site Quartz reports, external, quoting a study by the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF).

It will be a 6% jump from 2021, making the continent second only to the Middle East, the study says.

Increased gas exploration will see production jump from 60 billion cubic meters in 2021, to 585 billion cubic meters in 2050.

The report features Algeria, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Libya, Nigeria, Angola and Mozambique.

Demand for natural gas , externalis set to rise by 82% by 2050, and gas will account for 30% of Africa’s energy mix.

Gas will be crucial in driving energy access across the continent.

BBC World Service

The World Health Organization says it's to hold an emergency meeting on the outbreak of the Marburg virus in Equatorial Guinea.

Nine people have died from the haemorrhagic fever, and there are a further 16 suspected cases in the eastern Kie Ntem province, where the disease has never previously been recorded.

The deaths have been preliminarily linked to a funeral ceremony, with four of the victims - members of the same family.

The virus is believed to be transmitted to people from fruit bats and, like ebola, spreads between humans through the transmission of bodily fluids.

Kenyan President William Ruto is hosting a national prayer day to seek God's intervention on challenges facing the country including drought and hunger.

The interdenominational event is being held at a stadium in the capital, Nairobi.

The East and Horn of Africa region is witnessing the worst drought in 40 years, with Kenyan officials saying at least 4.3 million people are in dire need of food assistance.

“All Kenyans should pray for our country so that God can bestow favour and blessings to our nation Kenya,” President Ruto said on Sunday, according to a local media outlet.

The prayers have however drawn criticism from people who say the government should be working on mitigation measures instead of holding prayers.

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

Militants have attacked an army outpost and a gold mine run by precious stones miner Gemfields Group in the northern Mozambican district of Montepuez in Cabo Delgado province, privately-owned radio station Zumbo FM has reported.

The early morning attack took place in the village of Nairoto at around, the radio station said.

An unspecified number of police and forest rangers were killed in the attack, sources told the station, while staff were evacuated from the mine.

The attack appeared to have been carefully planned, the station said, as hours before targeting the mine, militants targeted a nearby army outpost.

Montepuez district administrator Isaura Maquina confirmed the attacks but provided no details on casualties.

Cabo Delgado has been the epicentre of militant violence since 2017.