Image source, Reuters

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres "strongly condemns the unconstitutional change in government" in Niger, his spokesman said on Wednesday.

It came after Nigerien soldiers announced a coup on national TV, saying they had dissolved the constitution, suspended all institutions and closed the nation's borders.

Mr Guterres said he was "deeply disturbed" by the detention of President Mohamed Bazoum and was “concerned for his safety and well-being” his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.

"The Secretary-General calls for an immediate end to all actions undermining democratic principles in Niger," Mr Dujarric added.

Forty African head of states are expected to attend the second Russia-Africa in St Petersburg.

Steve Rosenberg
BBC Russia editor

Image source, AFP

President Putin will host African leaders at a special summit in St Petersburg later.

But far fewer of them are taking part than expected, partly because of concerns about Moscow's invasion of Ukraine and its decision to withdraw from a UN-brokered deal to allow safe passage for grain shipments from Ukraine's southern ports.

With food security a major concern in the wake of the Russian invasion, the agreement had helped stabilise global food prices.

The first Russia-Africa summit in 2019 was attended by 43 leaders, this time only 17 are expected to take part.

Chris Ewokor
BBC News, Abuja

Image source, AFP

Services in government hospitals in Nigeria dried up on the first day of a strike called by public service doctors, with patients facing difficulties in accessing healthcare.

It came as the president of the resident doctors’ union told the BBC that his members had exhausted all options available to them to resolve the crisis.

At the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital in Kano, the largest city in the north-west, people were told to take their sick relatives home as no doctor was available to attend to them.

Khadijah Hassan brought her husband who was involved in a car accident to the hospital at midnight on Wednesday but doctors declined to attend to him.

The patient was left lying down in the hospital corridors. “What are we going to do? We will have to sit here in the hospital till the doctors resume work,” she said.

Khadijah’s case was not much different from Ishiaku Musa, who had brought his elder brother from neighbouring Yobe state to the teaching hospital in Kano 12 days ago.

He had been suffering from migraine headaches. He told the BBC that although his brother’s condition had not improved, they were given prescriptions and asked to leave because of the strike.

In the capital Abuja, the local chapter of the union said they were waiting for a statement from the national body before joining the strike, so patients were being attended to.

At the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital in the southern Nigerian city of Port Harcourt, doctors were seen handing their patients over to the few consultants available.

At the commercial hub of Lagos, doctors were still attending to patients who were admitted but no new patients were allowed.

Resident doctors, who make up the largest percentage of doctors in Nigeria’s tertiary hospitals, say they are on strike until the government meets their demands over salaries and welfare.

The medics are demanding the immediate payment of salary arrears owed to them and a new hazard allowance, as well as a training fund.

Nigeria has a fragile healthcare system and strikes by resident doctors could have a major impact on medical services in government hospitals across the country.

Niger's President Mohamed Bazoum has said the country's "hard-won achievements will be safeguarded" after soldiers announced a coup on national TV.

"All Nigerians who love democracy and freedom will see to it," according to a statement on the detained leader's account on social media platform X, external, formerly known as Twitter.

The foreign minister posted on the same platform calling for all democrats and patriots to make efforts to defeat this "dangerous adventure".

Hassoumi Massoudou was also quoted by the AFP news agency as telling France24 that the elected government was the "legitimate and legal authority".

The minister told the TV station that the president, who has been held by troops from the presidential guard since Wednesday, was "in good health".

Soldiers said on national television on Wednesday that they had carried out a coup, dissolved the constitution, suspended all institutions and closed the nation's borders.

The move has been condemned by the UN secretary general and other global leaders.

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As South Africa prepares to become the first African nation to host the Netball World Cup, shooter Lenize Potgieter tells BBC Sport what to expect.

Russia's president is hosting a summit of African leaders in a bid to increase Moscow's influence.

Army spokesperson Col Maj Amadou Abdramane said defence forces had dissolved the constitution, suspended all institutions and closed the West African country’s borders.

Wildfires have claimed most lives in Algeria, but blazes are also widespread in Greece and Italy.

The African Union condemns an "attempted coup d'etat" after President Bazoum is reportedly seized.

That's all from the BBC Africa Live team for now, we will be back on Thursday morning. There will be an automated news feed here until then.

You can also get the latest on the BBC News website and listen to the new Focus on Africa podcast for stories behind the news

A reminder of our wise words for the day:

Click here to send us your African proverbs.

And we leave you with this photo of Nigeria's Chiamaka Nnadozie during a Women's World Cup training session in Brisbane ahead the Super Falcons' game against hosts Australia. Kick-off will be at 10:00 GMT on Thursday:

Image source, Reuters

Kalkidan Yibeltal
BBC News, Addis Ababa

Image source, AFP

Ten of thousands of fighters who took part in the civil war in Ethiopia’s northern region of Tigray have been demobilised - in line with a peace agreement reached last November.

A senior figure in Tigray’s interim administration said more than 55,000 former fighters had been sent home to their communities.

General Tadesse Worde, who was also commander of the Tigray forces in the two-year war against the government, described the former fighters as “heroes who paid sacrifices”.

All sides, including troops from neighbouring Eritrea, were accused of severe rights abuses during the conflict.

Around half a million people were killed in the war and it created a humanitarian crisis with millions now dependent on aid.

However, the suspension of aid by the UN and the US amid reports of looting of food has worsened the situation with continued reports of hunger-related deaths.

Locals in northern Algeria take stock after fires destroy homes and char large areas.

Jose Tembe
BBC News, Maputo

Image source, FAO

Fishing has been banned at three lakes in northern Mozambique after the outbreak of a suspected fungal disease affecting fish.

It was imposed after fish at the Lakes Chiúta, Chirua and Amaramba, which straddle the border with Malawi, were found with red spots on their bodies.

This indicates an outbreak of epizootic ulcerative syndrome, also known as red spotted disease.

While some of the fish have been sent to a laboratory in the capital to confirm this, the authorities in Mecanhelas district have sought to calm fears.

"Although the subject is under investigation, we guarantee that the syndrome does not affect humans as long as the fish is boiled well," Armando Maulana, the district’s director of economic activities, said.

The Ministry of Fisheries further warned that it was advisable to properly cook all fish from endemic areas, with or without red spots.

According to the UN’s Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), external, the disease has the potential to financially decimate those who rely on fishing for income.

Communities around the lakes, which are fairly large, depend on fishing and the move is likely to affect many Mozambican and Malawian fishermen.

The FAO says infected fish should not be thrown back to open waters and should be disposed of properly by burying or burning.

Anthony Irungu
BBC News, Nairobi

A vigil has been held in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, for more than 30 people whom rights groups say lost their lives in recent cost-of-living protests.

Opposition leader Raila Odinga attended the event, laying flowers and lighting a candle at a memorial site where pictures of some of those who died were displayed.

Mr Odinga suspended this week's planned street anti-government protests over tax hikes as a mark of respect to those killed.

Such vigils are planned countrywide over the next few days.

The opposition coalition blames police brutality for the deaths, but the interior ministry has defended the force’s response to nationwide demonstrations.

Earlier in the day, opposition leaders, including Mr Odinga, visited various hospitals in Nairobi to check up on the people who were injured during the protests.

Image source, Emmanuel Wanson

Opposition politician Kalonzo Musyoka said it was important that justice was sought for them.

An announcement about further protests would be made on Friday, he said.

Critics of Mr Odinga say the veteran politician is trying to capitalise on the situation after losing the presidential election last year to William Ruto.

Diplomats and rights groups have urged the government and opposition to resolve their differences peacefully.

President Ruto has now offered to meet Mr Odinga “one on one”, but the 78-year-old told the AFP news agency he would not do so unless a third-party mediator was present.

"He is not somebody you can trust, he keeps changing words that is why I insist there must be a mediator between us," he said.

Ashley Lime
BBC News, Nairobi

Image source, Getty Images

About 500 million students worldwide - 72% of whom are mostly from Africa - did not have access to distance learning during the Covid-19 pandemic, a report from a UN agency says.

This was despite online learning having a potential to reach more than one billion students, the study by the UN's education agency (Unesco) said.

However, it did curb a crisis in the education sector when schools closed in 2020 because of coronavirus, its report on technology in education said, external.

Distance learning also helped 22,000 children affected by the Islamist Boko Haram insurgency in north-eastern Nigeria.

Mobile phones and radios were used to support them, showing an improvement in both literacy and numeracy skills.

But the report noted that access to internet was still unequal: “Globally, only 40% of primary, 50% of lower secondary and 65% of upper secondary schools are connected to the internet.”

The report advises countries to have technology designed on their own terms so that in-person, teacher-led instruction is not lost.

Unesco also warned that online learning was not a substitute for human interaction, saying the use of technology by students both at home and in classrooms could be “distracting, disrupting learning”.

“Its use must be for enhanced learning experiences and for the well-being of students and teachers, not to their detriment," Unesco head Audrey Azoulay said.

Mollie Perella
BBC World Service newsroom

At least 23 people have died in a bus crash in northern Senegal. More than 50 were injured.

The bus reportedly overturned in the village of Ngeune Sarre in the Louga region. The cause is unclear.

In a message on Twitter, external, Senegal's President Macky Sall called for more caution on the roads.

Interior Minister Antoine Diome is due to visit the scene.

In January, 19 people were killed in a collision in the same area, prompting criticism of the government.

The authorities responded by introducing measures including a ban on overnight bus journeys.

Bassam Bounenni
BBC Arabic, near Tabarka, Tunisia

Halfway between the town of Tabarka and Melloula, the Tunisian coastal village where 300 people have been evacuated because of wildfires, I came across dozens of cars parked in front of Adil El Selmy's eco-friendly restaurant.

People had rushed to express solidarity with the owner after his eatery was razed to the ground in the fires that are causing devastation in this area along the border with Algeria.

"We left the restaurant as the flames approached," Mr Selmy says.

The water supply in Tabarka was affected last week during an unprecedented heatwave, which made things even harder for those fighting fires.

"We couldn't douse flames, hours after the wooden building was devastated,” Mr Selmi told me, looking deeply afflicted.

He employed 22 people at the restaurant and cannot see to a way forward.

The ravaged restaurant normally overlooks the sea, however the Mediterranean can barely be seen as a haze of smoke is still blanketing the area.

Temperatures reached 48C (118F) in parts of North Africa on Monday.

Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

Image source, AFP

Several days of heavy fighting between rival military forces in the Sudanese city of Nyala have left at least 30 civilians dead and dozens others injured.

The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied Arab militias have been trying to take over the main army base in the city which is the capital of South Darfur state.

The army has responded with heavy artillery and shells have hit residential areas.

A human rights worker told the BBC that many people had fled to villages outside the city.

He also said the RSF fighters were forcing civilians to hand over their cars.

The western region of Darfur has seen the worst of the violence since the vicious power struggle erupted in April between the army and the RSF.

There have been several regional attempts to get the two sides to agree to a ceasefire.

More on Sudan's conflict:

• Darfur terror: The radio presenter who gave birth and kept walking
• Why an accountant took up arms