Marcus Erbe
BBC World Service News

Eritrea has joined Ethiopia in accusing the United States of unfairly apportioning blame for crimes committed during two years of civil war in the Tigray region.

On Monday the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Ethiopian, Eritrean and Amhara regional forces had committed crimes against humanity, but he did not accuse the rebel Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) of this crime.

He did accuse the TPLF of war crimes, along with the other parties in the conflict.

Eritrea said the allegations were defamatory.

The Ethiopian foreign ministry described the US approach as partisan, ill-advised and unwarranted.

Anthony Blinken made his first visit to Ethiopia last week, since a peace deal was signed in November last year between the federal government and Tigrayan rebels.

Image source, AFP

The US is calling on Nigeria to prosecute people who intimidated voters and tried to stop them casting their ballots in last weekend's governorship and state assembly elections.

Its embassy says there was evidence of this happening in Lagos, Kano, and other states and that "the use of ethnically charged rhetoric before, during, and after the gubernatorial election in Lagos was particularly concerning", external.

Similar concerns were voiced by EU observer mission chief Barry Andrews, who said Lagos was among several states troubled by violence, ballot snatching and the intimidation of voters, election officials, observers and journalists.

At least 21 people were killed in the violence, the EU says.

These latest polls come three weeks after a contentious presidential election, which at least one opposition leader is now challenging in court.

Nigeria's two biggest political parties, the governing APC and the main opposition PDP, have won control of most of the states in the governorship election. But there were some upsets.

The New Nigeria People’s Party, formed just months to the poll, defeated the APC to win the governor seat in Kano - the economic hub of the north.

Reports, results and scorecards from West Indies' tour of South Africa, featuring two Tests, three ODIs and three Twenty20 internationals.

Up to 200mm of rain could hit parts of the continent which have been suffering one of the worst droughts in history.

The BBC's Helen Willetts has the details:

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

Egyptian actor Mostafa Hashish has been quoted by several Egyptian outlets as saying he does not believe that women should work, and that it was better for them to stay at home to take care of their children.

The remarks created a row on social media, especially among some prominent pundits.

Writer Ibrahim Eissa said that "women were qualified to lead a country".

Media outlets also highlighted remarks made by President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, during a ceremony marking International Women's Day, including his belief that Egypt's women deserve greater representation at all levels of public life and for progress towards equal pay.

BBC World Service

Image source, AFP

The French journalist Olivier Dubois has made an emotional return home after being held captive for nearly two years by militants in West Africa.

He was warmly embraced by family members and President Emmanuel Macron on the tarmac of an air base near Paris.

Mr Dubois disappeared in Mali's northern city of Gao in April 2021.

He was released on Monday along with the American aid worker Jeffrey Woodke, who had been held for six years.

Details about their release remain unclear.

Image source, AFP

Image source, AFP

Michael Kaloki
BBC News, Nairobi

Kenya on Monday received about 30,000 metric tonnes of wheat from Ukraine to help families affected by drought and famine.

The donation is part of Ukraine's humanitarian programme.

Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, who received the shipment, said the donation will go to at least 5.4 million Kenyans who are facing starvation.

The UN's World Food Programme has supported the delivery. The donation has also been financed by several countries including Norway, Belgium, Italy, the Czech Republic and the United Kingdom.

The programme has delivered more than 140,000 tonnes of wheat to African nations since November 2022.

Click here to hear more on this story on BBC Focus on Africa radio.

Chris Ewokor
BBC News, Abuja

Image source, Reuters

One of the defeated opposition candidates in Nigeria's presidential election has formally challenged the results in a petition filed at a court tribunal in the capital, Abuja.

Peter Obi of the Labour Party came third in last month's poll behind Atiku Abubakar and victor Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress.

A spokesperson for Mr Obi's presidential campaign told the BBC on Tuesday that their petition argues that Mr Tinubu should not have been eligible to run for the top office.

It also raises questions on the processes leading to the outcome of the election and the announcement of a winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission, he added.

Mr Abubakar, the who ran for president with the Peoples Democratic Party, has also vowed to challenge the election results.

Election disputes take months to be resolved in Nigeria, despite the constitution stipulating that they should be concluded, where possible, before a candidate is sworn into office.

This year's election was the tightest presidential race since the end of military rule in 1999, but international observers said it lacked transparency and there were operational failures.

The electoral commission has acknowledged that there were major technical hitches which affected the uploading of election results on its server.

More on Nigeria's presidential elections:

• Can Nigeria's election result be overturned?
• Who is Peter Obi of the Labour Party?

Image source, AFP

Ethiopia's government has rejected a statement by the US alleging that members of its forces, along with Eritrean and Amhara forces, committed war crimes during the two-year war.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the US statement "selective" and "inflammatory" saying "the partisan and divisive approach from the US is ill-advised".

It said that it was "untimely", coming shortly after Ethiopia launched a national consultation on transitional justice policy aiming to bring peace and reconciliation.

"For no apparent reason, the statement appears to exonerate one party from certain allegations of human rights violations such as rape and other forms sexual violence despite the clear and overwhelming evidence about its culpability," the ministry said.

It said the US statement would "be used to advance highly polarised campaigns pitting one community against others in the country".

On Monday, the US said it had determined that all warring parties in the brutal war in northern Ethiopia had committed war crimes.

It also accused the Ethiopian and Eritrean Defence forces as well as Amhara forces of committing crimes against humanity including murder, rape and other forms of sexual violence and persecution.

Image source, Ousmane Sonko/Facebook

Senegalese opposition leader Ousmane Sonko has accused the country's president of leading a "strategy of terror" to drive out political opponents, and says he's survived a brutal attack on his "physical safety".

He also alleges that police sprayed him with a toxic liquid and that he has sent his clothes abroad for testing.

President Macky Sall has yet to comment on Mr Sonko's statement, which he's filmed from a hospital bed, external four days after he was pulled from his car while driving to court to face defamation charges.

The security forces had been angered by the circuitous route Mr Sonko was taking and blocked his convoy, leading to angry confrontation between his supporters and riot police.

Mr Sonko is accused of discrediting the Minister of Tourism Mame Mbaye Niang, but says the real purpose of the trial is to disqualify him from running for the presidency.

Meanwhile, Senegal's president has told French media that it wouldn't be unconstitutional for him to seek a controversial third term in power.

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

Image source, Getty Images

The government-funded Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) has said it is documenting allegations of human rights violations committed in Monday’s protests by both police and demonstrators.

In a statement, the commission called on the government's police watchdog to also investigate reports of vandalism, arrests, injuries and use of live fire by police officers.

"Police officers should be able to isolate and arrest violent protesters who are in breach of peace and at the same time protect those who are innocent during the demonstrations," the KNCHR said, external.

"The commission further affirms that any human rights violation or abuse in the context of these demonstrations must be investigated promptly, thoroughly and impartially.”

The protests against the high cost of living and alleged electoral malpractices turned violent in several opposition strongholds, including parts of Nairobi and the west of the country.

Image source, Getty Images

Authorities in Malawi say the number of people who are still missing following Storm Freddy has risen from 349 to 427, as more countries continue to send humanitarian aid.

Malawi's Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DoDMA) on Monday said it received rapid assessment reports from 15 affected regions in the country.

"As of Monday, 20th March 2023, the number of displaced people is at 508,244. The death toll has risen from 476 to 499, with 1,332 injuries," DoDMA said in a statement, external.

Several countries including the UK, Tanzania and Zambia have sent teams to help in rescue operations.

The storm struck Mozambique and Malawi last week for the second time in a month, destroying scores of homes and triggering widespread floods.

Malawi’s government has set up over 500 camps across the country’s southern region, where up to 10 districts have been affected.

Priyanka Sippy
BBC News

It has been two months since the public launch of AI chatbot ChatGPT – and it has quickly become the world’s most talked about AI system.

But how well is Africa represented in ChatGPT?

Timi Odueso, a journalist with Tech Cabal, told BBC Focus on Africa that the data being fed into artificial intelligence systems is rarely from the African continent.

“At the heart of the concern is the data we are feeding AI. AI is not infallible. If you teach it biases it will regurgitate that bias.”

“The problem is the data. The data being fed is not data from the continent.”

“I think only Egypt so far has done any significant machine learning language models. That is the number one problem. We are ignoring the language, the information, the nuances of the continent.”

ChatGPT answers questions using natural human-like language using the internet as it was in 2021 as its knowledge database.

There are concerns that it could one day take over many jobs currently done by humans.

Image source, Getty Images

Forty-three Facebook content moderators in Kenya are suing the social media site's parent company Meta for unfair dismissal.

The moderators say they lost their jobs with Sama, a Kenya-based firm contracted to moderate Facebook content, for organising a union, the Reuters news agency reports.

They also say they were blacklisted from applying for the same roles at another outsourcing firm, Majorel, after Facebook switched contractors.

In January, 260 content moderators working at Facebook's moderation hub in Nairobi were told they would be made redundant by Sama, the outsourcing firm which has run the office since 2019, said Foxglove, a technology rights group which is supporting the lawsuit.

"The redundancy being undertaken is unlawful because no genuine nor justifiable reason was given for the redundancy," the moderators said in their court petition.

Meta is yet to comment on the matter.

Sama has told the BBC it "has not been served" legal action yet "by any entity" on this matter, insists that is has "followed Kenyan law in every aspect", and says that "discontinuing the content moderation business was a difficult decision that we made when Sama shifted its focus to computer vision data annotation technology platform and solutions".

Last month, Meta filed an appeal in Kenya challenging a ruling which said it could be sued even though it has no official presence in the East African country.

Image source, Getty Images

Namibian activists have vowed to go on with protests against unemployment despite a police ban, as the country marks 33 years of independence on Tuesday.

Inspector General of Police Joseph Shikongo on Monday directed the Namibia Economic Freedom Fighters (NEFF) to choose another day to protest.

Mr Shikongo said holding protests on independence day "may cause feelings of hostility".

NEFF activists have, however, said they will go on with their demonstrations and accused the government of undermining their rights by deciding when to protest.

NEFF activist Michael Amushelelo has called on unemployed youth to join the nationwide protest. He said unemployment in the country was now a national crisis.

He said Namibia would celebrate 33 years of "high unemployment, high poverty, corrupt governance, looting and mismanagement of the country", local media reported.

Last week, President Hage Geingob dismissed calls by some MPs to declare youth unemployment a national crisis, but agreed it was a "serious problem" that could push young people to terrorism for survival.

President Geingob said the government planned to create close to 3,000 new jobs in the police, prisons and in the army, in an attempt to address the unemployment issue.

The Namibian government last week shelved plans to serve extra dishes like Greek salad to VIPs during the independence day celebrations, following criticism on social media.

Official events to mark 33 years of independence are being held in Outapi, the capital of the northern region of Omusati.

Image source, AFP

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he gives a "priority" to relations with African countries as he looks for international partners in the face of Western sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine.

"I want to emphasise that our country has always given and will continue to give priority to co-operation with African states," Mr Putin said on Monday at a conference on Russian-African relations in Moscow.

He said Russia will supply foods to needy countries in Africa free of charge if an agreement on Ukrainian grain exports is not renewed.

"We are ready to supply the whole volume sent during the past time to African countries particularly requiring it from Russia free of charge to these countries," he said, according to the Russian news agency Tass, external.

He said Russia will share its technologies with African nations and continue helping them produce electricity.

Russia has been expanding its influence in Africa in recent years and Mr Putin said he believes the continent will continue increasing its authority and role in the "emerging multipolar world order".

The conference is being attended by more than 40 delegations from African countries, according to Kremlin's press service.

Mr Putin is scheduled to host African leaders in June for the Russia-Africa summit - the second of its kind.

More on Russia's relations with Africa:

• Why Russia's invasion of Ukraine still divides Africa
• Ukraine conflict: How Russia forged closer ties with Africa

Hanna Temuari
BBC News, Addis Ababa

Image source, Reuters

The US says it has determined that all warring parties in the brutal war in northern Ethiopia have committed war crimes.

Speaking on Monday, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, who visited Ethiopia last week and met Ethiopian government and Tigrayan officials, said his department had carefully reviewed the laws and the facts to determine the crimes.

He accused members of the Ethiopian National Defence Force, Eritrean Defence Forces, Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and Amhara forces of committing war crimes during the two-year bloody conflict.

He also blamed the Ethiopian and Eritrean Defence forces as well as Amhara forces of committing crimes against humanity including murder, rape and other forms of sexual violence and persecution.

"Many of these actions were not random or a mere by product of war. They were calculated and deliberate," he said.

He urged the governments of Ethiopia and Eritrea as well as the TPLF to hold those responsible for these atrocities accountable.

None of the accused forces have commented yet on the latest accusation.

A landmark cessation of hostilities agreement was signed in November 2022 between the Ethiopian government and the TPLF, ending the conflict believed to have cost hundreds of thousands of lives.

On Tuesday, the UN Human Rights Council is expected to hear a briefing of a Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia, an independent group mandated to investigate the reported human rights crimes.

Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

Image source, Reuters

Senegal's president has rejected claims that it would be unconstitutional for him to seek a controversial third mandate.

Macky Sall's comments in an interview with the French magazine L'Express are likely to fuel an already tense political climate.

The constitution in Senegal was amended in 2016 to shorten a presidential term from seven to five years.

It states that no-one can serve more than two consecutive terms which the opposition says clearly prevents Mr Sall from running in next year's election.

Critics of Mr Sall accuse his government of using the courts to sideline the opposition politician, Ousmane Sonko.

Mr Sonko is currently facing two court cases that could threaten his eligibility for the election.

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The group of South African singers wowed 19th Century British audiences but also faced discrimination.