Recovering forests offset just 26% of carbon emissions from new logging and wildfire, say scientists.

Jose Tembe
BBC News, Maputo

An estimated 800 people in central Mozambique are in dire need of food after being cut off by the devastation wrought by Tropical Storm Freddy.

They have been surviving on wild fruit for the last few days.

Their wellbeing is not fully known because transport and communication networks have been almost completely destroyed by heavy rains which have hit the region for weeks.

Local authorities say they have sent food to the town of Marromeu, in Sofala province. They didn't say how it would be transported to the desperate people.

About 20 deaths have been reported in Mozambique following the tropical storm, but there's concern that the number could rise.

The South African government has said it would assist its neighbour to recover from the destruction.

The storm has led to the death of about 200 people in Malawi.

Jacobs Odongo Seaman
Music journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Congolese rhythm guitarist Lokassa ya Mbongo has died, his long-time friend and fellow guitarist Ngouma Lokito has said.

Lokassa, who was 77, died on Tuesday night at a hospital in Nashua in New Hampishire, US, where he had been living since 1996.

Late last month, fellow guitarist Dally Kimoko told the BBC that Lokassa's health was fragile as he was battling diabetes and complications from a mild stroke he suffered in 2020.

Born Denis Kasiya Lokassa in 1946, the rhythm guitarist, arranger and composer was one of the founders of Soukous Stars alongside fellow guitarists Ngouma Lokito (bass) and Dally Kimoko (lead), and vocalists Yondo Sister, Ballou Canta, Neil Zitany and Shimita.

The band, formed in Paris in 1989, battled for attention during the Soukous explosion of the 1990s with Aurlus Mabele’s Loketo.

Lokassa is reputed for hits such as Bonne Annee, Monica, and Marie-Josse as well as medleys Lagos Night and Nairobi Night – songs that he punctuated with his layered rhythm textures around which Dally Kimoko’s lead hits the octane.

Lokassa, who did not sing, started playing professionally rather late compared to most Congolese musicians of the time. His family refused to let him play music, which was then considered a basement undertaking.

He was 22 in 1968 when he joined Tabu Ley Rochereau’s then African Fiesta Nationale, where he spent 10 years in near obscurity alongside more prominent guitarists such as Attel Mbumba, Mavatiku Visi, and Dino Vangu.

Growing frustrated with himself, Lokassa lost patience and in 1978 broke loose from Tabu Ley during a tour of West Africa.

Alongside guitarist Dizzy Mandjeku and drummer Ringo Moya, he teamed up with singer Sam Mangwana in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, to form the African All Stars.

The group’s hit, Suzana Coulibaly, brought out the best in Lokassa with his guitar eruptions coming to full effect in the faster tempo.

West Africa was the getaway to Paris. Having already worked with prominent producers such as Ibrahim Sylla, Lokassa found his way to Paris in 1984 – as a "sans-papiers" (someone with no proper travel documents).

With no residence card, Lokassa was unable to tour or make recording dates outside France.

“I was stuck in Paris. It was really very, very difficult. People needed for me to come to the United States, other continents, even to other countries in Africa. But people couldn’t see me because I didn’t have papers,” Lokassa told James Winders, author of Paris Africain, Rhythms of the African Diaspora.

But everything changed in 1989 when Ngouma Lokito rang him up and suggested his “big brother” put together a group to help them emerge from the status of session performers.

Lokassa worked the phones and Soukous Stars was born later that year.

Fifa is controlling Africa for strategic reasons and its ethics committee lacks independence, says former Caf president Ahmad.

Emmanuel Igunza
BBC News, Nairobi

Victims of lead poisoning in Kenya's coastal city of Mombasa have gone on hunger strike demanding the speedy conclusion of a case they filed against the government more than three years ago.

The 3,000 residents of a slum in Mombasa were awarded $12m (£9m) in a landmark case against the government and a lead-smelting factory.

But the money has never been paid out, after the government appealed against the judgment of the High Court

On Wednesday the residents marched from their homes to the main square in the coastal town carrying placards and chanting anti-government slogans.

They say they will continue their hunger strike until the Court of Appeal issues its final judgement on Friday.

Lawyers representing the victims have accused the court of postponing the ruling severaltimes with no clear reasons.

The compensation was meant as reparations for those who died due to the poisoning, medical treatment of other victims and a clean-up of their settlement, which has not happened to date.

Read more: The woman who won $12m fighting lead battery poisoners

Image source, AFP

The leader of a 4x4 vehicle owners’ club is volunteering in the Malawian city of Blantyre to help those made homeless by the floods caused by Tropical Storm Freddy.

Penjani Msowoya, the chairman of the Malawi's Landrover Defenders Club, told the BBC's Newshour programme about how members had been using their 4x4s to rescue people and run missions to collect donations.

When the floods hit, they rushed to try and reach people on Soche Mountain as their vehicles were able to make it over the tricky terrain. They found devastation, he said.

“Their houses had been swept away - it’s a terrible scene. Many died."

He said they started to rescue survivors, moving them to a makeshift camp in a primary school in Blantyre from around 16:00 local time on Monday until 02:00 the next day.

He said they had not slept since Monday, “running up and down trying to mobilise items from Malawian well-wishers and the Indian community, they are helping us a lot”.

The volunteers have set up a drop-off point at a Shoprite mall in Blantyre where people can donate items and then they pick them up and takes them to the camp.

“People are providing things like basic items: blankets, buckets, soap, clean fresh water, babies’ diapers - the babies are shivering because they don’t have something to put on", he said.

The tropical storm in southern Malawi has led to the deaths of 225 people and displaced some 20,000 people.

Shingai Nyoka
BBC News

Image source, Reuters

A rescue effort is gathering pace in southern Malawi as rains have eased allowing aid workers to move further into the areas affected by Tropical Storm Freddy.

The country’s information minister told the BBC that helicopters are now flying to areas cut off by swollen rivers and mudslides.

Nearly 200 people have died, with dozens still missing. Almost 20,000 people were also displaced by the storm.

For the first time in days, the skies over the commercial capital of Blantyre have cleared.

It has allowed for air rescue operations to begin delivery of supplies to communities that remain cut off by still raging rivers and damaged roads and bridges.

The country’s Information Minister, Moses Kunkuyu, told the BBC that helicopters are already on their way to some of the worst affected areas, but also appealed for more support from neighbouring countries.

The government is gradually restoring power and water supplies.

But the road to recovery remains long. Entire communities have been washed away and thousands of households are displaced, crammed into schools and temporary camps.

The authorities have extended the schools closures in several districts until the end of the week.

Malawi police services are "trying their best" as more than 200 die as a result of Storm Freddy.

Image source, Getty Images

Two of four journalists who were detained in January after a video appearing to show South Sudan president wetting his trousers at a public function have been released.

The Union of Journalists of South Sudan (UJOSS) said in a statement that it welcomed the release of Victor Ladu and Mustapha Osman.

In December last year, a video shared on social media appeared to show Mr Kiir urinating on himself as the national anthem played at a function.

Six staff from the state broadcaster were later arrested, but two remain in detention.

"[We] urge the government to release Garang John and Jacob Benjamin or if they have a case to answer, they should be produced in a court of law," UJOSS statement said.

The arrests had been condemned by rights groups including The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

The arrests match "a pattern of security personnel resorting to arbitrary detention whenever officials deem coverage unfavourable", said CPJ's sub-Saharan Africa representative, Muthoki Mumo said at the time.

Image source, Getty Images

A Zimbabwean man has been sentenced to eight life sentences and an additional 88 years by a South African court for murder and rape, local media report.

Themba Prince Willard Dube, 36, was accused of kidnapping and murdering seven women in Limpopo province.

He was convicted on Tuesday on multiple crimes of rape, murder, robbery, extortion, possession of stolen property and being an illegal immigrant.

He is said to have entered South Africa without a permit or a passport in 2008.

He was initially arrested in 2021 for possession of a phone suspected to have been stolen from a kidnapped woman.

He denied all the charges in court except for contravening immigration laws.

Image source, Getty Images

Sierra Leone main opposition presidential candidate, who is facing a corruption trial, has named his running mate for the 24 June elections.

Samura Kamara named Chernor Ramadan Maju Bah after a unanimous endorsement by the All People’s Congress (APC) party's National Advisory Committee.

“I accept this vote of confidence, this honour, this privilege with humility," Mr Bah posted on Twitter, external.

Mr Kamara was defeated by current President Julius Maada Bio in the 2018 presidential run-off. He is seen as the main competitor to Mr Bio, who has also declared himself a candidate.

This comes as a court last week began a corruption trial against the opposition candidate.

In December 2021, he was charged with misappropriating more than $2.5m (£2m) in public funds while he was foreign minister under ex-president Ernest Bai Koroma.

A conviction would prevent Mr Kamara from running for president and holding public office.

Image source, AFP

US ambassador to Kenya has held a meeting with the LGBT community in the country to show support amid hardening attitudes against the group.

"The US proudly advances efforts to protect LGBTQI+ persons from discrimination and violence and will continue to stand up for human rights and equality, " Ambassador Meg Whitman posted on Twitter, external on Wednesday.

This was a stronger stance from her previous statement in which she said the US would “respect” Kenya’s view on gay rights although it differed from her country’s.

Homosexuality is illegal in Kenya. The Supreme Court last month upheld the gay community's right to register an association, but the decision has sparked a fresh wave of resentment against homosexuality.

Education officials have initiated a campaign to address the perceived infiltration of LGBT advocacy in schools, while the First Lady, Rachel Ruto, has declared homosexuality a threat to the family.

A local MP is pushing a bill to increase the maximum punishment for homosexuality to life in prison.

Image source, Nema

The Nigeria Railways Corporation says it has begun building overhead bridges and underpasses at all level crossings in the city of Lagos in order to avoid accidents.

The head of the railways company is quoted by local media as saying that the construction of barriers at these crossings in the past had not helped.

This is because they were being vandalised soon after being erected or being hit by vehicles.

He criticised Nigerians for not adhering to traffic regulations and urged motorists to be more cautious at level crossings.

It comes after a collision between a passenger bus and train last week in Lagos that left three people dead.

The Newsroom
BBC World Service

The US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, is due to meet political leaders in Addis Ababa later on Wednesday to assess the implementation of the peace deal that ended Ethiopia's civil war.

He will also discuss humanitarian needs and human rights concerns during meetings with aid workers and civil society groups.

The two-year civil war between Ethiopia's federal government and the regional Tigrayan administration is thought to have claimed more than half a million lives.

Mr Blinken will travel to Niger after Ethiopia where he will discuss the growing jihadist movement across the Sahel.

Grant Ferrett
BBC World Service

Image source, AFP

A prominent broadcaster and political activist in Mali has been detained for asserting that a former prime minister who died last year in prison was assassinated.

Mohamed Youssouf Bathily - a well-known radio and television host who's popularly known as Ras Bath - faces charges including disturbing public order.

He made the remarks about the late prime minister, Soumeylou Boubeye Maiga, at a political meeting on Saturday.

Videos of his speech have been widely shared online.

There have been calls for Mali's military government to allow an investigation into Mr Maiga's death.

He was an ally of the former president, Ibrahimm Boubacar Keita, who was overthrown three years ago.

Image source, Getty Images

Two Malawian soldiers went missing after their rescue boat was swept away on Tuesday in the southern Mulanje area.

The New York Times quotes, external a military spokesperson as saying that the mission was hampered by a swollen river.

The soldiers were part of a six-member crew that went to rescue people stranded after Tropical Storm Freddy ripped through the region, Minister of Local Government Richard Chimwendo Banda told a local outlet.

Two other soldiers and one civilian managed to swim back after the boat malfunctioned on the way to the rescue mission, the minister told Zodiak Online, external.

Mr Banda said one of the missing soldiers was spotted on a tree and efforts were ongoing to rescue him.

Tropical Storm Freddy, a record-breaking storm that barrelled into the landlocked south-east African nation over the weekend, has left more than 200 people dead.

Malawi's commercial hub, Blantyre, has recorded most of the deaths, including dozens of children.

Authorities have delayed school reopening to Friday and declared a state of disaster in 10 southern districts that have been hardest-hit by the storm.

Patricia Oyella
BBC News, Kampala

Image source, Twitter / Uganda Police

Three Ugandan students were killed after a lorry rammed into their classroom at a school near the capital, Kampala.

At least 18 other learners were injured in the incident at Kasaka Secondary School on Tuesday afternoon.

The lorry got nearly halfway into the building and tore up part of the roof.

Uganda police say the lorry driver lost control and drove through the school fence before hitting the school's computer laboratory that was occupied by students.

The driver, a 26-year-old man, has been arrested to help with investigations, police said.

The school is located in the country’s central district of Gomba, about 130km (80 miles) away from Kampala.

Learning has been suspended for week and the students sent home.

Image source, Twitter / Uganda police

The BBC's Jonathan Paye-Layleh is retiring after covering Liberia for three tumultuous decades.

Dozens of children are among the dead as rescue workers use shovels to find people buried in mud.

Three younger lions killed Bob Junior in a battle for dominance, wildlife officials say.