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A Russian drone strike that targeted a Ukrainian port on the River Danube has caused a spike in global grain prices.

At one point, the cost of wheat rose by about 5% after the attack on Izmail, close to the border with Romania.

Ukraine said the strike had damaged more than 40,000 tonnes of grain destined for countries in Africa, as well as China and Israel.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has come under pressure to return to a deal which allowed safe passage for grain shipments through the Black Sea.

It is feared that the attacks on ports along the Danube could further hit exports, potentially causing global food supply problems.

Haruna Shehu-Tangaza & Nkechi Ogbonna
BBC News, Nigeria

Image source, Reuters

The UK’s foreign minister has welcomed what he called "decisive action" by the West African bloc Ecowas in dealing with junta leaders in Niger a week after the coup.

James Cleverly, who is on a three-country tour of Africa, was speaking after meeting Nigerian President Bola Tinubu in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja.

Mr Tinubu is also chair of Ecowas and has taken a robust stance on the coup, which has been widely condemned.

On Sunday, he hosted a meeting of West African leaders who gave Niger's junta a week to give up power or face possible military consequences.

The British foreign secretary said:

"We touched briefly on the situation in Niger. I made the point that the UK very much welcomes Ecowas' and indeed his [Tinubu's] decisive action, his strong commitment to democracy and the unambiguous message that violence is not the means to bring political change in any circumstance.

"And that the commitment to democracy in Nigeria and in the region is unwavering. This very much supports the UK's position."

West African defence chiefs are also meeting in Abuja about Niger - consultations that will go on until Friday.

Nigeria’s military spokesperson, Brigadier General Tukur Gusau, told the BBC: “The military solution will be the last option.”

Their military plan is to be presented on Friday to Ecowas heads of state, who will then decide the bloc’s next line of action on Niger.

Jean Claude Mwambutsa
BBC Great Lakes, Kigali

A group of medical students from Sudan has been welcomed to Rwanda to continue their studies after a civil war erupted in mid-April.

Their campus at the University of Medical Sciences and Technology was overrun and turned into a base by fighters in the capital, Khartoum, where paramilitary forces and the army are involved in a power struggle.

The 160 undergraduates, who were eight months away from completing their course, have been offered space, along with their lecturers, at the University of Rwanda.

The group, who are mainly made up of women, will also be practising in local hospitals.

One of the students, Dina Abdalrahim Obaid, told a function in the capital, Kigali, what the welcome meant:

Prof Mamoun Mohamed Ali Homeida, vice-chancellor of the Sudanese university, emphasised how lucky they felt, as many other students had fled to different countries “with no chance to carry on their studies”.

The academic added:

While in Rwanda, the students will continue with their Sudanese curriculum but train in local hospitals, confirmed Didas Muganga Kayihura, the University of Rwanda’s vice-chancellor.

Officials said that the trainee medics were expected to return home when they finished - or if fighting was still continuing, they would get the opportunity to work in Rwanda or elsewhere.

In 2021 a private girls’ boarding school moved its students and staff to Rwanda after the Taliban took over in Afghanistan banning higher education for girls and women.

Uganda replaced a player in their Netball World Cup squad because she was "weak" with suspected malaria, says She Cranes coach Fred Mugerwa.

Nigeria have a 'weapon' to give themselves an even chance of beating England in Brisbane, says former Women's World Cup keeper Racheal Ayegba.

Nichola Mandil
BBC News, Juba

Image source, AFP

South Sudan is not yet prepared to hold elections next year, the UN mission in the war-torn country has warned.

The polls, now scheduled for December 2024, will be the first in the world’s newest country, which seceded from Sudan 12 years ago.

A brutal civil war and stuttering peace process have long delayed them.

But Nicholas Haysom, head of the UN mission, told reporters in the capital, Juba, that analysts believed the country had not yet established the necessary infrastructure.

He further cautioned:

Samba Cyuzuzo
BBC Great Lakes, Kigali

The quarter-finals of the top women’s basketball tournament in Africa are under way in Rwanda’s capital, Kigali, with Senegal defeating Cameroon and Mali thrashing Guinea.

The 12 continental finalists have been competing since last Friday in a championship now known as AfroBasket that has been played every two years since 1966.

Lots of young women have been turning up at the Kigali Arena to watch the games held on sunny and warm afternoons.

The arena gets especially busy when Rwanda is playing.

The most anticipated game of the day is when the hosts will face their northern neighbour and rivals, Uganda. It is the first time the two have met in a quarter-final.

Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt and Ivory Coast were eliminated on Tuesday.

Wednesday’s quarter-finals schedule:

• Senegal v Cameroon: Score 80-77
• Mali v Guinea: Score 96-40
• Rwanda v Uganda
• Nigeria v Mozambique.

The games continue until Saturday when the final will be held.

Nigeria reportedly cuts electricity supplies to increase pressure on the military junta.

Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

Image source, Getty Images

The West African regional bloc, Ecowas, says it has a delegation in Niger to negotiate with the leaders of last week's coup.

It is led by the former military ruler of Nigeria, Abdulsalami Abubakar.

At the start of a separate meeting involving West African defence officials in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, an Ecowas spokesperson said the use of force to reverse the coup would be a last resort.

On Sunday, the bloc had warned it was giving Niger's new rulers a week to reinstate President Mohamed Bazoum.

The state power company in Niger says Nigeria has stopped supplying its northern neighbour with electricity.

There are reports of lengthy blackouts in several towns and cities.

• Read more: Niger power blackouts blamed on coup sanctions

Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

Image source, CCTV

Somalia’s sports minister has apologised after a female participant in an international 100m race was so slow that people questioned how she ever came to be selected.

At a university games competition in the city of Chengdu in China, Nasra Abubakar Ali took close to 22 seconds to complete the race - almost twice as long as the winner.

In a video of the event, which has gone viral on social media, the Somali athlete is soon left out of shot and eventually completes the race with a jovial skip.

It looks more like a comedy sketch.

Sports Minister Mohamed Barre Mohamud described the incident as an embarrassment.

“What happened today was not representation of the Somali people... we apologise to the Somali people," he said, external.

The fact that she reportedly had no previous experience of competing has prompted some Somalis to wonder why she was ever selected. We are trying to find out.

If the whole point of this was to get publicity then she has won the equivalent of a gold medal with millions of views on social media:

Nicolas Negoce
BBC News, Dakar

Image source, Getty Images

TikTok has been suspended in Senegal as it is being used to spread "hateful and subversive messages threatening the stability of the country”, Minister of Communication Moussa Bocar has announced.

He described the popular social media app as the "preferred network for people with malicious intent".

The moves comes days after firebrand opposition politician Ousmane Sonko was arrested and charged with various offences, including calling for insurrection.

Three people were killed in the city of Ziguinchor, where the politician is the mayor, during protests against his detention.

Earlier this week, mobile data internet mobile data was temporarily shut, with the minister telling telecom companies to comply with the order.

Image source, AFP

Rwandan President Paul Kagame has appointed his daughter to a key position in his office.

Ange Kagame, 29, has been made the deputy executive director in charge of the strategy and policy council, according to a statement of a cabinet meeting chaired by Mr Kagame on Tuesday.

The statement also announced other appointments including new ambassadors to Ethiopia, Morocco, Egypt and Guinea.

Ms Kagame has been working in the president’s office as a senior policy analyst since 2019 and holds political science and international affairs degrees from US universities.

Two of President Kagame’s other children also hold positions in government.

His eldest son, Ivan Kagame, was appointed in 2020 to the Rwandan Development Board - which is tasked with fast-tracking economic growth through the private sector.

The third-born son, Ian, is an officer of the Rwandan Defence Force, and was last year enrolled into the presidential guard.

The Nigerian migrants hoped to travel to Europe, but ended up thousands of miles away in Brazil.

Biniam Girmay, the man aiming to become Africa's first cycling world champion, withdraws from the World Championships with injury.

BBC World Service
Newsroom

Image source, Getty Images

South Africa have reached the knockout stages of the women's football World Cup for the first time.

They beat Italy 3-2 in a dramatic match.

The South African team was involved in a pay dispute ahead of the tournament, with players boycotting their final warm-up game.

In the same group, Sweden - who have already qualified - won 2-0 against Argentina.

In later matches on Wednesday, France only need a point against Panama to qualify, and Jamaica face Brazil.

Tchima Illa Issoufou
BBC News, Niamey

Image source, Reuters

There are rolling blackouts in Niger’s capital, Niamey, as well as the other major cities of Maradi and Zinder.

People have power supplies for about an hour at a time and then the power goes off for four or five hours.

The Niger electricity company, Nigelec, says this is a result of Nigeria cutting supplies as part of sanctions imposed by the West African bloc, Ecowas, over the coup.

Nigeria is the major supplier of electricity to Niger. Its Transmission Company of Nigeria has declined to comment.

But an anonymous source says a supply to Niger was cut on Tuesday following presidential directives.

More on the Niger coup:

• A litmus test for democracy in West Africa

Kalkidan Yibeltal
BBC News, Addis Ababa

Image source, AFP

Fighting has flared up in multiple areas of Ethiopia’s Amhara region between the army and local militias.

Since April the security situation in Amhara has been deteriorating following the decision to disband the region’s state-backed paramilitary group.

Some paramilitary members were integrated into the army and police, but others are believed have joined local militias that feel Amhara has been left exposed to attacks from other regions.

Clashes on Tuesday forced flights to be cancelled in the historic town of Lalibela, a Unesco world heritage site, where residents told the BBC the violence was “intense”.

Amhara militias - referred to as Fano - now have control of the airport, according to activists and media outlets linked to them. The BBC has not been able to independently confirm this.

Fighting has also been reported around at least four other towns - some of which have been described as “heavy” by residents.

Images shared on social media show protesters blocking roads with rocks as they try to restrict the movement of troops.

An army spokesperson confirmed the military was engaged in an offensive against armed groups in Amhara.

The advocacy group Amhara Association of America (AAA) said it had confirmed clashes in several areas and expressed its concerns about the safety of civilians.

Yilkal Kefale, president of the region, said his office was open to resolving issues through dialogue.

Image source, Reuters

South Africa’s former President Jacob Zuma has returned from Russia where he has been receiving medical treatment.

“The check-up and observations went well,” his foundation said in a statement.

His trip came after he lost a case last month at the Constitutional Court, where he had tried to overturn a ruling that he must return to prison.

The Constitutional Court ruled that Zuma had been granted medical parole unlawfully.

The prisons department has now given the 81-year-old until Friday to submit reasons why he should not serve out the rest of his 15-month sentence.

Zuma was released in September 2021 after serving less than eight weeks.

He was given parole by the former head of the prison service, Arthur Fraser, who is regarded as Zuma's ally.

The former president had been convicted of contempt, after refusing to co-operate with an anti-corruption enquiry during his term in office.

Zuma is also facing a separate corruption and fraud trial related to an arms deal in the late 1990s.

The Jacob G Zuma Foundation said his return from Russia was “also necessitated by the private prosecution matter which will be sitting in the Pietermaritzburg High Court” this Friday.

More on this topic:

• Jacob Zuma - the survivor whose nine lives ran out
• Zuma, the Guptas, and the sale of South Africa

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

Trade union members in Nigeria are protesting against high fuel prices and inflation caused by the removal of a fuel subsidy.

This is after talks between the unions and the government failed to reach a deal on Tuesday.

Nigeria Labour Congress head Joe Ajaero urged members to “gather in our respective states and wherever we may be across the nation to give vent to this collective resolve”.

Police chief Kayode Egbetokun warned against violence during the protests and urged commissioners to fully deploy officers to secure the protesters.

The unions have said sweeping measures announced by President Bola Tinubu on Monday to ease the impact of the fuel subsidy removal, including conditional grants to at least a million small businesses, were insufficient.

The government said lifting of the popular but costly fuel subsidy would help alleviate a government funding crisis.

More on this topic:

• How the new president has shocked the nation

Nicolas Negoce
BBC News, Dakar

Image source, Reuters

Senegal's interior ministry says it is taking measures to "preserve peace and tranquillity" as opposition protests are still happening in some parts of the country.

Small protests are still happening in the capital, Dakar, and in Ziguinchor, a city where the opposition leader Ousmane Sonko is the mayor.

The latest protests were triggered by the arrest of Mr Sonko over the weekend and the dissolution of his party. He remains in custody and on Sunday began a hunger strike.

On Monday, Interior Minister Antoine Félix Abdoulaye Diome announced that the government had dissolved Mr Sonko’s Patriots of Senegal (Pastef) party for inciting unrest during violent protests last month in Dakar.

But Pastef says the Senegal's stability "is now compromised, because the people will never accept this ultimate forfeiture of power against 'the favourite'".

Videos on social networks showed demonstrators throwing stones at the security forces following the arrest and party dissolution.

Mr Sonko has denounced his imprisonment, saying it is "on false grounds". He is also waiting for the official notification about his party’s disbandment so he can fight it by "legal means".

It is the third time a political party had been banned in the West African nation since it gained its independence from France in 1960 - the others happened before multi-party democracy was introduced in the 1970s.

Pastef's supporters have accused President Macky Sall’s ruling party of trying to side-line his popular opponent, who came third in the 2019 presidential election, with trumped-up charges ahead of February’s vote.