Peter Mwai
BBC Reality Check

As controversy continues about Nigeria's election, a prominent opposition politician has shared a misleading video that questions the official results from one area.

Senator Dino Melaye from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), whose candidate Atiku Abubakar is challenging the results, tweeted about what he called “INEC magic”,, external referring to Nigeria’s official election commission.

The video has had thousands of views and shows a results screen from a TV channel with people heard off-camera joking about the total for the ruling APC party, because the figures shown in the rows above don’t add up to anything close to the total seen at the bottom. They don’t mention that the results for other parties shown also don’t add up.

The reason for that is the Twitter video only shows part of a full table displayed on a television screen, which we've found matches the results from Delta state.

It's clear from watching the official announcement ceremony, external that there are rows of numbers above those seen in the tweet, and these can be heard being read out by officials.

The state has 25 local government areas, not just the 10 visible in the social media post.

We’ve contacted Senator Melaye about his tweet, but have not yet had a response. The Labour Party won the state, and the PDP came second with the APC in third place, according to the official results.

Some African parents on moving to the UK discover that attitudes towards disciplining your children is very different.

Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

Image source, AFP

An explosion at a crude oil pipeline in southern Nigeria has killed at least 12 people.

Police in Rivers State said the blast was caused by thieves who were trying to steal oil.

In the creeks of the Niger Delta, criminals frequently break into the pipelines and take the oil to illegal refineries.

This hurts the country's economy and also causes environmental damage.

A civil society group said the number killed was far higher, as all the people who had gathered at the tapping point were killed in the explosion.

Related stories:

• Nigeria's stolen oil, the military and a man named Government
• Can Africa replace Russian gas supplies to Europe?
• The story of oil, Shell and Nigeria

Midfielder Iliman Ndiaye praised by Sheffield United team-mate and manager after his late winner knocks Spurs out of the FA Cup.

Kennedy Gondwe
BBC News, Lusaka

An alleged suicide attempt by a judge in Zambia - who is facing corruption accusations - has been foiled after he was rescued from a river he is said to have thrown himself into.

Wilfred Muma, a high court judge in western Zambia, is currently facing allegations of transferring a land title involving a Zambia Army property in Lusaka to the governing party, which wanted to use it to build its offices.

He has denied the charges in court.

He was arrested two weeks ago but according to Zambia police spokesperson Danny Mwale, the judge on Wednesday went missing after sending "suicide-like" messages to his relatives.

Mr Mwale said police started investigations, leading to the recovery of Mr Muma’s official vehicle, which was found abandoned at the Zambezi Bridge with keys in the ignition.

“Initial investigations indicated that Judge Muma committed suicide by throwing himself in the Zambezi river and around 06:00 hours, Zambia Police Marine officers and members of the public were on site again continuing with the search,” Mr Mwale said in a statement.

The police spokesman said officers received information two hours later that the judge had been rescued by a fisherman who heard him calling for help while clutching grass - and took him to a river island.

He was later ferried using a canoe to the location where he had abandoned his car and was handed to the police, Mr Mwale said.

He was rushed to hospital where he is currently receiving medical attention. Police have opened an inquiry into the matter.

After developing in early February the storm is now one of the longest running in the southern hemisphere. It's currently re-intensifying as it moves back towards Madagascar.

Image source, Getty Images

A man who sold potato chips cooked in dirty oil from a power transformer has been sentenced by a court in Kenya.

Elijah Mwangi Muthoga was arrested just over a year ago in possession of 11 litres of the oil at a hotel he runs in Nyandarua County.

He must now serve a two-year prison sentence or pay a fine of 200,000 shillings ($1,570; £1,300).

A harsher sentence of 10 years in prison or a 10m shilling fine was handed to Zachary Mwangi Gitau, the man found guilty of procuring the oil for Muthoga by vandalising a power transformer.

The policy led to a nationwide shortage of cash, with people sleeping outside banks.

In northern Liberia, a yellow bus is travelling from school to school to teach students how to use computers.

Image source, Getty Images

Ghana will require all fishing vessels operating in its waters to fit electronic monitors, the country's Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development told the BBC's Newsday programme.

"The electronic monitoring system with have cameras and we have tied this to the licensing of the vessel to be able to go for fishing," Mavis Hawa Koomson said.

She said that the monitoring will not only track the vessels but also, through attached cameras, allow authorities to deal with claims of abuse of Ghanaian workers by Chinese vessel operators.

The move comes after Ghana committed to ensuring 100% electronic monitoring of its industrial fisheries at the One Ocean conference in Panama City.

It’s hoped the new policy will help Ghana better manage its marine resources.

• More on this topic: Abuse, corruption and death on Chinese vessels

Kalkidan Yibeltal
BBC News

Image source, Getty Images

The government appointed Human Rights Commission in Ethiopia has strongly criticised the security forces for beating people and using live bullets against a crowd in the capital, Addis Ababa.

It says at least one person was killed and many others were injured.

People had gathered on Thursday to celebrate a holiday commemorating the country's victory over Italian invaders in the late 19th Century at the Battle of Adwa.

Tear gas was fired inside one of the city's historic Orthodox Christian churches.

The Ethiopian authorities have been reluctant to allow crowds on the streets since protests were called following a split in the influential Orthodox Church.

For three weeks most social media platforms have been blocked.

Russia's embassy in Kenya has been showing support to a push by local leaders to condemn what they allege is a promotion of LGBT culture.

It follows last week’s Supreme Court ruling which allows the LGBT community to register lobby groups in Kenya.

Supporters say the judges were asserting a right to association as given to all citizens, but opponents, including President William Ruto and opposition leader Raila Odinga, accused the judges of promoting "un-African" values.

Many have wrongly interpreted the judgement as giving the LGBT community freedom to get married in Kenya - which the Russian embassy has been keen to exploit.

One of the embassy's tweets , externalsaid: "Vladimir #Putin, external: “As long as I'm president, we will have ''dad'' and ''mum''”.

Another, external said: "The West will come for more. Traditional values shall be protected, otherwise humanity is doomed."

Nichola Mandil
BBC News, Juba

The UN has condemned the presence of South Sudanese soldiers in the southern part of Abyei, an oil-rich border area being contested by Sudan and South Sudan.

The UN peacekeeping force, called the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abye (Unisfa) says “uniformed personnel” were spotted in Abyei on Tuesday.

It said it was "deeply worried" the development would further exacerbate the conflict and cause a humanitarian crisis for civilians living in the area.

South Sudan's army spokesperson, Maj Gen Lul Ruai Koang, has denied the presence of government soldiers in Abyei.

Unisfa said Abyei remains a “weapon-free area” that should not have the presence of any force.

“Unisfa condemns the renewed fighting within and around the borders of Abyei Box and urges all parties to ceasefire and allow the political process to resolve the lingering crisis,” it said in a statement.

It urged both countries to respect the UN Security Council resolution on demilitarization of Abyei.

Image source, AFP

A man who survived a hyena attack two years ago has been killed by an elephant in Makueni county in eastern Kenya, local media report.

Seventy-two-year-old Musili Musembi is said to have been trampled on by an elephant as he walked home on Wednesday night.

Human-wildlife conflicts are common in the area that borders the vast Tsavo East National Park, with residents complaining of attacks and destruction of their crops by wildlife.

In 2020, the deceased is said to have fought off a hyena that attacked his livestock, sustaining an injury on his left hand.

On Thursday, angry residents demanded a meeting with the minister in charge of wildlife. They also wanted the Kenya Wildlife Service to put down the rogue elephant.

Police are said to have fired in the air to disperse the residents to retrieve Mr Musembi’s body, which was later taken to a hospital mortuary in Kibwezi town.

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

Breakaway Somaliland has warned over an impending attack, external on its territories by troops from the neighbouring Somali region of Puntland and vowed to defend itself against any aggression.

In a statement, Somaliland’s defence ministry said it received credible intelligence indicating that members of the Puntland Security Force (PSF) and Puntland Maritime Police Force (PMPF) were planning to attack its military over the next few days.

Somaliland says it is taking the threats seriously and has taken all the necessary steps to safeguard its people and territories.

It has also urged the international community to condemn the “unjustified act of aggression” and support its right to self-defence.

The move is seen as an escalation in tensions over the past two months in disputed territories whose ownership is claimed by both Puntland and Somaliland.

The statement was issued hours after the local administration ruled out that clan militias fighting against Somaliland troops were getting help from Puntland and Somali government troops.

Image source, Getty Images

Nigeria's President-elect Bola Tinubu will relocate to a military facility in the capital, Abuja, ahead of the swearing-in ceremony, according to his campaign team.

"The president-elect will be moving into Defence House, in Maitama, FCT, where he will spend the next couple of months, and from where he will move into the Presidential Villa," it said in a tweet.

It did not specify when Mr Tinubu will move to the facility.

The president-elect will receive briefings and hold key meetings at the location, a local newspaper reports.

Outgoing President Muhammadu Buhari had also moved into the facility ahead of his swearing-in in May 2015, it adds.

Mr Tinubu of the ruling APC party was declared the presidential election winner with 37%.

Opposition parties have said they will challenge the result in court. They have 21 days from the day the results were announced to challenge the result at Nigeria's highest appeal court.

Kalkidan Yibeltal
BBC News, Addis Ababa

Image source, Gett

Tensions remain in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, after police targeted civilians who held parallel celebrations to mark Adwa Victory Day on Thursday.

The day marks victory over Italian invaders in the famous Battle of Adwa in 1896 by the army of Emperor Menelik II, the founder of modern-day Ethiopia.

Police fired tear gas inside a historical Orthodox Christian church where some people had sought refuge after hundreds of people were dispersed from a city square named after Menelik II.

Residents told the BBC that police also blocked all ways leading to the square, which one described as “unprecedented”.

The official celebrations were held at Meskel Square, the city’s main square, which is uncommon for this particular holiday. Senior army and government officials were in attendance.

Several people who sustained injuries were reportedly admitted to hospitals.

An opposition party, the National Movement of the Amhara, said one its members was killed by bullets fired by security forces. The BBC has not independently confirmed the claim.

A statement by the government communications office blamed individuals it claimed wanted to “create disturbances”.

It admitted that “some people” were injured in the church including those who were attending religious services.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

The Tunisian authorities have banned an opposition rally that was due to take place on Sunday.

Members of the opposition coalition that called it are suspected of crimes against the state.

A Tunisian official said the coalition’s request for the rally had "not been approved as some of its leaders are suspected of plotting against state security".

In the past month, the authorities have launched a wave of arrests of key figures including rivals and critics of President Kais Saied, with dozens of them held.

On Thursday, police arrested Sadok Chourou and Habib Ellouz - two senior officials of the main opposition party Ennahda.

The party said the arrests were meant to "terrorise the opposition" and called on Tunisians to join the planned protests.

The country has been in a deepening political and economic crisis, amid protests by Tunisians frustrated with the economy and against Mr Saied's near-total power.

In 2021, Mr Saied shut down the parliament and moved to rule by decree before rewriting Tunisia’s constitution.

Image source, Getty Images

The World Obesity Federation is urging governments to act because it predicts just over half of the global population will be classed as obese or overweight by 2035.

Its new report , externalsays more than four billion people will be affected, and rates are rising particularly quickly among children.

It says almost all of the countries expected to see the greatest increases are low or middle-income countries in Africa and Asia.

Reasons include trends in dietary preferences towards more highly processed foods, greater levels of sedentary behaviour, weaker policies to control food supply and marketing, and less well-resourced healthcare services to assist in weight management and health education.

The federation says the financial cost of obesity will amount to $4tn annually by 2035.

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