Pumza Fihlani
BBC News, Johannesburg

Image source, Getty Images

The US ambassador to Pretoria has made a damning accusation against the South African government - and it seems to have caught South African officials off-guard.

Ambassador Reuben Brigety says that the US has reliable intelligence that South Africa supplied arms and ammunition to a Russian ship which had docked, for about two days, at the Simon's Town naval base last December.

It is thought that the arms and ammunition were for Russia’s war in Ukraine.

For months the US has been critical of South Africa’s cosy relationship with Russia. This includes South Africa’s decision to carry out military exercises with Russia and China during the anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine earlier this year.

South Africa has repeatedly said it is neutral on the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Hot on the heels of the ambassador's accusation, an opposition MP ambushed South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa with a question about it in parliament, pressing him for clarity.

Mr Ramaphosa responded by saying that “the whole matter is being looked into. Allow the process to continue... in time we will be able to speak about it”.

Two players recount their experiences of the Sudan conflict as administrators consider restarting the league abroad.

BBC World Service

The UN Human Rights Council has voted to increase monitoring of human rights abuses in Sudan.

A total of 18 countries voted in favour of the Western-led initiative at a special session in Geneva, while 15 voted against and 14 abstained.

Sudan itself had vigorously opposed the motion, arguing that the conflict was an internal affair.

Earlier the session heard renewed calls for an immediate ceasefire to help efforts to get urgently needed humanitarian assistance into Sudan.

Hundreds of civilians have been killed since fighting erupted last month between Sudan's rival military factions.

Image source, Getty Images

The US has accused South Africa of supplying weapons and ammunition to Russia last December, despite its claim that it is neutral in the war Russia is fighting in Ukraine, South African newspapers are reporting.

In a briefing to South African journalists, US ambassador to Pretoria Reuben Brigety said the arms were loaded on to a Russian ship that had docked at a naval base in Simon's Town.

"Among the things we noted was the docking of the cargo ship in the Simon's Town naval base between 6 to 8 December 2022, which we are confident uploaded weapons and ammunition on to that vessel in Simon's Town as it made its way back to Russia," the ambassador was quoted by South Africa's News24 website as saying.

Asked how accurate the US’s intelligence was that South Africa supplied ammunition to Russia, Mr Brigety said he would bet his life on it, according to News24.

The TimesLive news site quoted Mr Brigety as saying it would be “a mistake to underestimate the concerns in Washington”.

South Africa's .President Cyril Ramaphosa told parliament that "the matter is being looked into", after the opposition questioned him about the ambassador's claims.

• Read more: Why is South Africa's navy joining exercises with Russia and China?

Nduka Orjinmo
BBC News, Abuja

Image source, @aonanuga1956

The familiar sight of a Nigerian leader waving and smiling from the open door of the presidential jet seems set to continue.

It is a sight Nigerians have become used to during the presidency of Muhammadu Buhari (currently in London for dental care), and it looks like it will continue under Bola Tinubu, the 71-year-old incoming president.

This is the second time Mr Tinubu has gone abroad since winning February’s election on the back of a gruelling months-long campaign, and these trips are raising questions about his health for the daunting job that lies ahead.

Mr Tinubu has no official powers until he is sworn in on 29 May so many are not buying this as the “work trip” it has been sold as by his aides.

But whatever his reason, he looks set to join other African leaders who tend to prefer foreign trips either for holiday, state meetings or routine medical check-ups.

While the man he will be replacing preferred the UK, Mr Tinubu’s choice destination is not far away in France.

• See earlier post: Tinubu off to Europe to 'fine-tune' transition plan

Jose Tembe
BBC News, Maputo

A man has been arrested in Mozambique's central Sofala province for being in possession of a man's head and genitals, police have said.

Children discovered the body parts in a plastic bag in Nhamatanda district and alerted the authorities, said Dércio Chacate, spokesperson for Sofala's police command.

Investigations led to the arrest of the man who confessed to killing a man and then cutting off his head and genitals so that he could sell them, he said.

The suspect admitting to killing and decapitating the bodies of three other people, Mr Chacate said.

Investigations were continuing to arrest alleged masterminds and buyers.

Body parts are used by some so-called traditional doctors to make potions, which they falsely claim can cure illnesses, remove bad omens and improve the lives of people.

"What if it's my daughter?" - Malawi's Towera Vinkhumbo on watching her country struggle from afar.

A teacher seen in a widely shared photo sewing a student’s torn dress at a school in Kenya has earned praise and admiration for her kind gesture.

Joyce Malit is seen in the picture sewing the dress as the eight-year-old pupil stands besides her, covered in a wrap cloth.

She told local media that the girl's dress had been torn by a nail at her desk, exposing her undergarment.

A fellow teacher at the school in Narok county gave the girl a wrap cloth to cover herself as Ms Malit sewed the dress using a needle that she always carried.

She said the photo, which went viral on social media this week, had been taken on 7 March by a colleague.

She said she had received many calls from people praising her.

She told the Nation news website that she had developed a special bond with the girl, who comes from a humble background and lives with her grandparents.

“She is a bright girl. Since that day, she is my great friend. This morning she brought me a flower as a token of appreciation, she moved me to tears,” she said.

United Nations human rights chief Volker Türk has said both groups in the conflict in Sudan have trampled upon international humanitarian law.

Opening an emergency session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Mr Türk urged countries "with influence in Africa" to help end the violence.

Fighting has been continuing in the capital, Khartoum, and in the city of Omdurman.

On Wednesday, witnesses in Khartoum reported air raids and counter-fire from anti-aircraft guns.

This is the fourth week of fighting between army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Image source, Getty Images

Namibian prisons authorities have banned recruitment of persons with visible tattoos as part of efforts to protect prisons' image, a local newspaper reports.

The decision follows concerns that some prison officers bear tattoos associated with criminal gangs, according to the Namibian Sun.

The Namibia Correctional Services (NCS) commissioner-general, Raphael Hamunyela, said visible tattoos were not a good reflection of the service.

He said the country's recruitment policy and the code of conduct would be amended to ensure that in future no person with visible tattoos is recruited into the NCS.

"New tattoos constitute a disciplinary offence," Mr Hamunyela was quoted as saying.

The names of correctional officers bearing tattoos will subsequently also be taken for record-keeping.

Mohammed Allie
BBC Africa, Cape Town

Image source, AFP

The South African Reserve Bank is standing by its decision to change the spelling of Xitsonga text on banknotes, amid complaints by some speakers of the language that it is wrong.

The bank said the Pan South African Language Board was the “statutory authority on [language] matters” and had approved the spelling on the 100 rand banknote.

The text on the new note reads Bangikulu, dropping the “n” on the old currency that read Banginkulu.

Some speakers of the language have been disagreeing with the change, saying it is incorrect and there had been no consultation with them.

But the reserve bank’s governor is quoted by local media as saying that the new note did not have an error.

Lesetja Kganyago said the new spelling was "correcting an error that existed before".

Bangikulu is the Xitsonga translation of "Reserve Bank". The language board explained that the contested “n” is only used when referring to a person and not an institution.

According Statistics South Africa, the country had 3.3 million Tsonga people in 2019.

The new note was launched along with four other denominations on 4 May.

In an effort by the Reserve Bank to promote inclusivity each of South Africa’s 11 official languages is represented on the five denominations, with English being a common denominator.

At least nine people have died and more than 80 others hospitalised from a mysterious disease in northern Kenya's Marsabit county.

A local administrator said out of the nine people who have died, six were adults and three were children between one and three years.

Most of the affected people exhibited flu-like symptoms, yellow eyes, swollen spleen and severe headaches, local media reported.

Some patients have tested positive for malaria but medics say visceral leishmaniasis - also known as kala-azar disease - cannot be ruled out.

Visceral leishmaniasis is characterized by irregular bouts of fever, external, weight loss, enlargement of the spleen and liver, and anaemia. It can be fatal if left untreated in over 95% of cases, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

The outbreak comes two months after the Kenya Medical Research Institute detected an invasive mosquito species in Laisamis and Saku areas of Marsabit county.

Hanna Temuari
BBC News, Addis Ababa

Image source, National Bank of Ethiopia/Twitter

Ethiopia has issued Kenya’s telecom giant Safaricom a licence to operate mobile money services, the first foreign firm to get such a permit in the populous nation.

Safaricom launched in August last year its operations in Ethiopia, which for years had been one of the largest closed market in the African continent.

The state-owned Ethio telecom had been the sole provider of telecom and mobile money services for a country of over 110 million people.

But Addis Ababa opened its market in 2021 for international bidders, granting a consortium led by Safaricom a licence to operate in the country.

On Thursday, the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) said in a statement, external that the issuing of the mobile money licence reflected its ongoing objectives of “fostering financial innovation and inclusion in the Ethiopian market”.

Safaricom chief executive Peter Ndegwa said the company would roll out mobile financial services in the country before the end of this year.

Ethiopia has seen a significant growth of mobile money services in recent months.

Two weeks ago, the authorities introduced a move that makes mobile money the sole means of payment at fuel stations and government financial institutions in a bid to nudge people towards digital payments.

Imogen Foulkes
Geneva correspondent

Image source, AFP

The UN Human Rights Council will hold an emergency session in Geneva on Thursday, to discuss the ongoing conflict in Sudan.

There are reports of widespread human rights violations, including attacks on civilians, sexual violence and the looting of hospitals.

Thousands of people have been displaced and aid agencies say they cannot work safely.

Several African nations, including Sudan, are reported to be reluctant about the meeting being held, fearing it could jeopardise ongoing ceasefire negotiations.

The session was called for by Britain, the US, Germany, and Norway.

Image source, National Broadcasting Commission/Facebook

A court in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, has barred the media regulator, the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), from imposing fines on TV stations in the country.

Presiding Judge James Omotosho, in a permanent injunction issued on Wednesday, said the NBC lacked the judicial powers to impose penalties on broadcast stations.

Justice Omotosho also set aside the $1,084 (£988) in fines imposed on 45 TV stations over alleged breach of code in March 2019.

He said the court would "not sit idle" and watch the body imposing fine arbitrarily without recourse to the law.

The Nigerian Guild of Editors has commended the court's ruling, terming the NBC's fines draconian.

The Newsroom
BBC World Service

Image source, AFP

The authorities in Guinea have released three civil society activists who had spent between four and 10 months in prison.

The men, from the National Front for the Defence of the Constitution, were freed after a day of protests against the military junta which seized power in September 2021.

The organisers of the rallies say seven people died and dozens were wounded in clashes with the security forces.

Hospitals reported just two deaths.

They were the latest in a series of demonstrations against the military leaders, who have delayed a return to civilian rule.

Image source, Bola Tinubu/Twitter

Nigerian President-elect Bola Tinubu has departed for Europe, in what his aide described as a “working visit”, and part of final preparations for his assumption of office on 29 May.

This is the second time Mr Tinubu will be travelling out of the country since he was declared president-elect in March. He returned to Nigeria on 24 April after a four-week vacation in France.

In a statement on Wednesday, his spokesperson Tunde Rahman said Mr Tinubu “will use the opportunity of the trip to fine-tune the transition plans and programmes, and his policy options with some of his key aides without unnecessary pressures and distractions”.

During the visit, the president-elect will also engage with investors and other key allies hoping to convince them of Nigeria’s readiness to do business under his leadership.

He is scheduled to return shortly for preparations towards his official swearing-in, his aide said.

Mr Tinubu’s victory is being challenged in a election tribunal by several opposition candidates, including Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi.

Outgoing President Muhammadu Buhari has extended his London trip for dental treatment after he attended the King's coronation last week.

Our proverb of the day:

Click here to send us your African proverbs.

That's all from the BBC Africa Live team for now. We'll be back on Thursday morning with the latest news and views from around the continent.

In the meantime, you can get updates on BBCAfrica.com or listen to the BBC's Africa Today podcast.

A reminder of wise words of the day:

Click here to send us your African proverbs.

And we leave you with this photo of Ugandan primary school pupils playing chess at a championship in Entebbe earlier in the week:

Image source, AFP

Shingai Nyoka
BBC News, Harare

Zimbabwe’s president has withdrawn an information ban on how the state procures medical and other supplies.

It followed an outcry after the government’s gazette - the official publication notifying the public about its actions and decisions - announced last Friday it was no longer going to make the information available.

Critics accused the government of fostering an environment that allowed corruption to flourish.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa has now distanced himself from the controversial notice, saying it was placed without authorisation and the government was committed to transparency.

Though crossed wires appear to be at play.

Earlier on Wednesday, government spokesperson Nick Mangwana defended the ban, saying it was to allow the purchase of emergency supplies and critical equipment repairs without a long drawn procurement process.