Two of the canal's ports were closed as parts of Egypt were engulfed by dust and sand.

The Newsroom
BBC World Service

Police in the Senegalese capital Dakar have surrounded the home of the main opposition leader, Ousmane Sonko, after deadly unrest erupted over a jail sentence pronounced against him.

Mr Sonko wasn't in court on Thursday when he was sentenced to two years in prison for immoral behaviour.

But the justice minister said he could be jailed at any time.

At least nine people were killed in Dakar and the southern city of Ziguinchor when Mr Sonko's supporters clashed with police.

Senegal's government blocked some social media and insisted it would maintain order.

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

Angola has denied that it was abolishing fuel subsidies as a result of pressure from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Finance Minister Vera Daves said on Thursday that the withdrawal of fuel subsidies came as a result of a sovereign decision by the Angolan government.

It follows government's decision to raise the price of petrol from 160 kwanza ($0.27) to 300 kwanza ($0.51) per litre, which came into effect on Thursday.

The measure does not affect public service vehicles and motorcycles - whose operators will get a non-transferable pre-paid card that they will use to buy fuel.

Image source, AFP

South African athlete Caster Semenya is publishing a memoir later this year, saying she hopes the book will show "how the world can welcome those born different".

Semenya is an intersex woman and has spoken about the ordeals she's faced in her career - including having to take testosterone-suppressing drugs, and offering to show her vagina to athletics officials when she was 18 to prove she was female.

The Race To Be Myself will be published in October in the UK by Merky Books, external, the publishing imprint started by British-Ghanaian rapper Stormzy. In South Africa it will be released by Jonathan Ball Publishers, who've also published a young adult fiction book about the athlete , externalin the past.

Semenya says the public may know her for her Olympic feats, yet "there is still so much I need to relate about strength, courage, love, resilience and being true to who you are."

Image source, Getty Images

State house in Zambia has dismissed accusations that women are being barred from carrying handbags to its functions.

This follows a complaint about “gender-insensitive security measures” witnessed at a recent event at the official residence of the president.

Grace Sinkamba, from the Non-Governmental Gender Organisation's Coordinating Council, said it amounted to discrimination against women and girls.

But state house spokesperson Clayson Hamasaka said no woman had been denied access to the building “solely due to carrying a handbag”.

He said that those who decline to have their bags screened forfeit their right to enter.

Chris Ewokor
BBC News, Abuja

Image source, Getty Images

Bola Ahmed Tinubu has promised reforms to deal with Nigeria's insecurity, in what was his first official meeting with security and intelligence chiefs since becoming president.

Terrorism and an Islamist insurgency are entrenched in the north-east of the country, banditry and armed militias are common in the north-west and central Nigeria - while separatist agitations, oil theft and sea piracy threaten the south.

His predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari, famously promised and failed to defeat Islamist insurgents.

But newly sworn-in President Tinubu "has made it very, very clear that he's determined to build on whatever gains have been made and to reverse misfortunes and turn the tide in our favour," said national security adviser Babagana Monguno after Thursday's meeting in Abuja.

Better co-ordination, consultations and timely reporting were all needed to improve the way security agencies work together, Mr Tinubu said.

At his swearing-in on Monday, Mr Tinubu said health, education and infrastructure development would also be major priorities for his government.

Grant Ferrett
BBC World Service

Image source, Getty Images

At least nine people were killed during clashes between riot police and protesters in Senegal after the opposition leader, Ousmane Sonko, was given a two-year jail sentence.

The casualties were announced by Interior Minister Antoine Diome in a late-night news conference after a day of violence across the country.

Mr Diome said that social media, such as Facebook and WhatsApp, had been blocked.

Some of the worst clashes were in the southern city of Ziguinchor, where Sonko is the mayor.

The prison term - which was handed down in his absence - could prevent the opposition leader from contesting a presidential election next year.

He was found guilty of immoral behaviour, but cleared of rape

The ruling means he was found to have acted immorally towards an individual younger than 21. The charges stemmed from allegations made by a massage therapist. He denied any wrongdoing.

The Senegalese government says it will take all necessary steps to protect people and property following the deadly unrest.

Our proverb of the day:

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The talks attended by Russia in South Africa are clouded by allegations of war crimes in Ukraine.

A selection of the best photos from across Africa and beyond this week.

That's all from the BBC Africa Live team for now, we will be back on Thursday morning.

You can also follow the latest news at BBCAfrica.com and listen to the Africa Today podcast for more.

A reminder of our wise words of the day:

Click here to send us your African proverbs.

We leave you with a photo of a demonstration outside Egypt's embassy in Manila, the capital the Philippines, to urge the Egyptian government to ban the use of horses and camels for transporting tourists at the pyramids of Giza:

Image source, Getty Images

Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

Image source, Getty Images

A court in Eswatini has found two lawmakers guilty of murder and terrorism for their role in a wave of protests that hit the country in 2021.

Mduduzi Bacede Mabuza and Mthandeni Dube face up to 20 years in jail.

The two were detained after taking part in pro-democracy protests in what is Africa's last absolute monarchy.

They pleaded not guilty to inciting unrest.

Amnesty International said the convictions were evidence of the country's continuing crackdown on dissent.

The demonstrations were violently crushed by the security forces leaving dozens of people dead.

Eswatini has been rule by King Mswati III since 1986 and political parties are banned from taking part in elections.

Protesters, angered by economic decline, have become increasingly vocal in demanding political reform.

Africa scores a double as Malawi's Tabitha Chawinga finishes as leading scorer in Italy's top flight, just like Napoli star Victor Osimhen.

It caused the most civilian casualties in a single incident in the capital since the war began.

Protests erupt as politician Ousmane Sonko is cleared of rape but gets two years for another offence.

Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

The US government has issued sanctions against four Sudanese companies and several individuals for fuelling the war between rival military forces.

It said the sanctions would cut off key financial flows to the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) - who get a lot of their funding from the country’s gold mines.

Seven weeks of conflict have forced close to 1.5 million people from their homes.

On Wednesday at least 18 civilians were killed during fighting between the rival military forces at a market in southern Khartoum.

Image source, Getty Images

As he looks ahead to the NBA Finals, Denver Nuggets forward Zeke Nnaji explains why he's nurturing budding scientists in Nigeria.

BBC World Service

An appeals court in Switzerland has upheld a 20-year jail sentence against a former Liberian warlord convicted of rape, murder and cannibalism.

Lawyers say Alieu Kosiah was also found guilty of the additional charge of crimes against humanity, which had been added by prosecutors.

The former rebel commander was found guilty of war crimes in 2021.

The case was the first of its kind in Switzerland, or anywhere else, for atrocities committed during Liberia's multiple civil wars which lasted from 1989 to 2003.

Hundreds of thousands of people were killed and mutilated during the conflict.

Image source, Getty Images

There have been clashes between police and protesters in the Senegalese capital Dakar after a court handed down a two-year prison sentence to an opposition leader.

Ousmane Sonko was cleared of raping a woman in a massage parlour but convicted of a separate criminal offence of immoral behaviour towards someone under the age of 21.

It is referred to as "corrupting the youth" in Senegalese law.

Mr Sonko denied any wrongdoing and his supporters see the trial as aimed at stopping him from running in next year's presidential race.

The Brics summit of heads of state will be held in South Africa's main city Johannesburg in August, Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor has said, Reuters news agency reports.

Her comments follow speculation that South Africa could ask another country to host the summit as it will be under legal obligation to arrest Russia's President Vladamir Putin if he attends.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an arrest warrant for Mr Putin over the conflict in Ukraine.

He has not yet indicated whether he will attend, but a Kremlin spokesman had earlier in the week said that Russia would participate in the summit at the "proper level".