The Home Office is to scrap face-to-face interviews for asylum seekers from five countries.

In West Africa, indigo is more than just a colour, it is also a fabric. It has been associated with dignitaries, as well as widows.

Ferdinand Omondi
BBC News, Nairobi

Kenya’s Senate Majority leader Aaron Cheruiyot has told the BBC that parliament "will get to the bottom of the matter" after a BBC exposé showing widespread sexual abuse in tea plantations.

The Africa Eye investigation found that more than 70 women had been abused by their managers at plantations operated for years by two British companies, Unilever and James Finlay & Co, which supply some of the world’s most popular brands.

Speaking to the BBC at his parliament office, Mr Cheruiyot said he was heartbroken at the levels of sexual abuse exposed in the tea farms run by companies which speak of fair business practices.

Mr Cheruiyot said parliament would demand decisive action including jail terms and sackings, as well as compensation for the victims.

He regretted that the women were afraid to speak out and suggested setting up safe spaces for victims of sexual abuse.

The public prosecutor has already directed police to investigate the matter for labour and sexual offences, including rape and deliberate transmission of HIV.

In parliament, a task force has been formed to investigate the companies and the business practices of multinationals in Kenya.

James Finlay & Co said it immediately suspended two managers named in the report and it was investigating whether its Kenyan operation had "an endemic issue with sexual violence", the company added.

Unilever said it was "deeply shocked and saddened" by the allegations. The company sold its operation in Kenya while the BBC was filming.

The new owner, Lipton Teas and Infusions, said it had suspended two managers, and had ordered a "full and independent investigation".

Watch the BBC report here:

His close family says he should not have been reburied at the spot where he was killed 35 years ago.

Pumza Fihlani
BBC News, Johannesburg

Image source, AFP

Outgoing Eskom CEO André de Ruyter’s hasty exit from the power utility follows a damning interview that ran on local partner channels eTV and ENCA earlier this week.

Mr De Ruyter accused the governing African National Congress (ANC) of using the state-owned company as a “feeding trough”.

He also alleged that unnamed senior government officials, including a minister, were benefitting from coal deals at the utility.

Mr De Ruyter's hour-long interview also contained allegations suggesting criminal gangs were doing business with Eskom and how there had been an attempt on his life last year when he announced his resignation.

The business executive was due to leave Eskom next month, but his comments seem to have led to an earlier departure.

He was with the power company for less than three years. His leaving comes amid crippling blackouts across the country known as load-shedding.

This week, South Africans have endured between 10 and 12 hours of power cuts each day.

Reacting to the explosive interview, the minister in charge of Eskom, Pravin Gordhan, said the former utility boss should keep his political views private and instead focus on ending load-shedding.

The ANC has rubbished accusations that the party is complicit in Eskom corruption - describing them as unacceptable, irresponsible and baseless.

Meanwhile Eskom would not be drawn to comment further on Mr De Ruyter’s allegations, saying its focus was on hiring his replacement.

• Read more about South Africa's energy crisis here.

Mayeni Jones
BBC News, Lagos

Image source, AFP

On the last day of campaigning, politics is the furthest thing from a lot of Nigerians’ minds.

In the upmarket neighbourhood of Victoria Island, there are long lines outside several banks on Adeola Adeku, a major commercial road.

Those in line look weary and tired, some have been waiting for hours. Others are angry.

Outside one branch, people start shouting and jostling when the security guards asks them to step back from the gates.

“The country is in confusion,” shouts someone from a passing car.

A young man asks me if I have any cash at all as he hasn’t got money to get to work and hasn’t eaten in days.

There’s an acute cash shortage as a result of the Central Bank‘s decision to redesign the country’s currency, the naira, late last year.

People are now spending hours outside banks trying to get their hands on the newly designed currency, which has been scarce.

It’s hard to predict how the cash shortage will impact Saturday’s polls.

There are fears some may not have enough cash to travel back to the areas where they first registered to vote.

But the anger generated by the botched new cash roll-out could also propel voters to turn up at the ballot and have their voices heard.

They’ll want the next president not only to end the crisis, but also to tackle the country’s ailing economy.

Since President Muhammadu Buhari came to power eight years ago, unemployment has quadrupled.

Inflation is now at 21% and food inflation is higher still.

The price of many staples like rice and oil has doubled in Lagos’ markets in the past year. Nigeria’s next leader will have a long to-do list.

Read more: Young people pin their hopes on outsider

Nigerian voters at this local eatery cite insecurity, unemployment and education as issues they want their next president to tackle.

Birmingham's Sudanese community raises concerns about mental health provision after two men died.

Some 40% of Nigeria's voters are under 35, and many want change after years of misrule.

Shingai Nyoka
BBC News, Harare

Image source, AFP

Mozambican authorities are setting up shelters and preparing to evacuate people in high-risk areas as the southern Africa country braces for Cyclone Freddy.

The powerful cyclone made landfall in neighbouring Madagascar on Tuesday, where it killed five people, and is expected to intensify before it hits south-central Mozambique on Friday.

The provinces of Sofala, Inhambane, Manica and Gaza provinces are the most at risk, according to officials.

A red alert has been issued by the national risk management agency that allows for response operations to be expedited.

Heavy rains have already caused flooding in some parts of the country and the authorities say additional rain from the cyclone might affect up to 1.75 million people

In Zimbabwe, officials said they will close schools on Friday in areas likely to be affected. People have also been warned against crossing swollen rivers and miners warned against going underground.

The cyclone is expected to bring high winds and heavy rains to eastern, southern and central Zimbabwe.

An army of social media users backs Peter Obi for Nigeria's presidency, but will that translate into votes?

As Nigeria elects a new president, young people highlight issues they want to be given priority.

Atiku Abubakar, 76, is basing his sixth presidential bid on promises to restore Nigeria's economy.

Image source, SA Police Service/Twitter

The South African police service has warned community members, external after a lioness escaped from a container in North West province.

The lioness is said to have escaped while being transported by its owner on the back of a truck.

It’s not clear exactly when or how the big cat escaped from the container, with the owner only realising it after reaching the destination in Tlakgameng, local media reported.

Nature reserve workers and farmers are on the hunt for the wild cat.

The police have urged anyone who sees the lioness to report to the nature conservation authorities.

It comes after two tigers went on the loose in two separate incidents last month in Gauteng province.

Lalla Sy
BBC News

Image source, Getty Images

The military government in Burkina Faso is preparing to rebury the remains of former President Thomas Sankara on Thursday even after his family said they would not attend.

The private ceremony will be held at the spot where Sankara was gunned down along with 12 others in a military coup in October 1987.

His family said they would not attend because they were not satisfied with the site, but the government said the choice was guided by "socio-cultural and security imperatives of national interest".

Sankara remains a hero for many across Africa because of his anti-imperialist stance and austere lifestyle.

The government says his reburial will be done according to customary and religious funeral rites.

Sankara rose to power 1983 and was killed four years later at the age of 37 in a coup led by by his close friend Blaise Compaoré.

Mr Compaoré proceeded to rule the country for 27 years before being deposed in 2014 after a popular uprising. He was handed a life sentence in absentia in 2022 for the death of Mr Sankara.

Read more on Thomas Sankara:

• 'Africa's Che Guevara': Thomas Sankara's legacy

Jose Tembe
BBC News, Maputo

Image source, Radio Mozambique

Laboratory analyses have confirmed that deaths of fish on Mozambique beaches earlier this month were caused by large amounts of fresh water from rivers flowing into the sea.

The BBC had reported on 10 February about the dead fish washing up on Maputo Bay and causing concern for the authorities.

On Wednesday, Fisheries Minister Lidia Cardoso said the results revealed that the main cause had to do with the change in climatic conditions.

She also dispelled rumours that the fish had died because of chemical poisoning.

“[It] had nothing to do with chemical components. The discharge from the rivers due to the floods affected the fish, which are very vulnerable to stress - and because the salinity level in the water dropped, the fish died,” she said.

Image source, Getty Images

Zambia's education ministry has disowned pages of school books showing explicit sexual content that have been circulating on social media.

The ministry says the pages are "photo-shopped and a misrepresentation" of Zambian curriculum, according to a statement.

It said one of the fake pages - which explains sex in lurid terms - originated from Tanzania and started circulating in the country in 2021.

"The books circulating on social media are not developed by ministry of education. The cover is correct but that page circulating is not from any of the Zambian books," said Douglas Syakalima, the education minister.

The ministry has also renamed its Comprehensive Sexuality Education curriculum to Life Skills and Health Education Framework following complaints by teachers and religious leaders.

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

Image source, AFP

Equatorial Guinea Vice-President Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue has dismissed a resolution by the European Parliament which holds Equatoguinean authorities responsible for the death of opposition leader Julio Obama Mefuman.

"The government of Equatorial Guinea, vehemently rejects and dismisses the unfounded accusations made by the European Parliament regarding the alleged human rights violations in our country, through its unfortunate resolution," said Obiang Mangue, in a post on his Twitter account.

In a series of posts, Obiang Mangue, who is also the son of President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, accused the European Parliament of resorting to a "colonial and paternalistic discourse" and of disparaging Equatoguinean institutions and its representatives.

Mr Mefuman, a Spanish national and member of the opposition Movement for the Liberation of the Third Republic of Equatorial Guinea (MLGE3R), was accused by the authorities of plotting to overthrow the government.

According to the MLGE3R, Mr Mefuman and three other dissidents were lured to South Sudan under false pretences and then forcibly flown to Equatorial Guinea where they were tortured over an alleged coup plot.

On 16 January, Equatorial Guinea's Foreign Minister, Simeon Oyono, stated that Mr Mefuman had died in a hospital in the eastern town of Mongomo in Wele-Nzas province, as a result of an illness he had been suffering from.

BBC World Service

Image source, AFP

A final day of campaigning is getting under way in Nigeria ahead of Saturday's presidential poll.

Three contenders are thought to have a change of winning in Africa's most populous country.

It's thought to be the most competitive election since the end of military rule in 1999.

All sides have promised to resolve any disputes through the courts.

In addition to the candidates from the two main parties - the governing All Progressives Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party - a third leading contender has emerged.

Peter Obi of the Labour Party has attracted enthusiastic support from young activists on social media.

Read more on Nigeria's elections 2023:

• Young people pin their hopes on presidential outsider
• What you need to know about Nigeria's elections

Image source, Getty Images

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky have held talks for the first time, according to a statement by the Ukrainian presidency.

A tweet by the Ukrainian president, external said he outlined the Ukrainian peace initiatives at the UN.

He said they also discussed the potential for the development of bilateral relations.

Mr Zelensky said that he expected close co-operation especially in strengthening food security.

It came as the 193-member UN General Assembly met to debate a Ukraine-backed motion calling for a vote on a resolution for achieving peace in Ukraine.

The assembly has voted on three resolutions opposing the Russian invasion in the past year, receiving between 140 and 143 votes in favour.

The latest vote comes just ahead of the anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.